Staff at St Ninian’s are working hard behind the scenes to maintain the link between home and school. We recognise the importance of working together to safeguard all our students under the current circumstances. The main reason for staff doing a ‘roll call’ for each lesson of home learning is so that all students know there is a trusted adult on line and available if they have any questions or concerns. In addition, students have a direct link to their pastoral team of form tutors and Heads of Year via Google Classroom during school hours. Those students with identified additional needs can also contact members of staff from the Progress Zone via the appropriate Key Stage Google Classroom, which they should have already been invited to join.
If anyone has a serious concern about the welfare of another young person or themselves, please report this through one of the channels below.
If the child is a student at St Ninian’s, you can contact the Designated Safeguarding Lead or Deputy Safeguarding Lead via the school e-mail SNHSenquires@sch.im or directly:
Joanne.white@sch.im Safeguarding Lead and Deputy Head Teacher
Alex.watts@sch.im Deputy Safeguarding Lead and Associate Head Teacher
Alternatively, you can contact the Duty Social Worker on 686179 during office hours, or 631212 (ask for the Duty Social Worker) if out of hours or over the weekend.
If it is an emergency and you are concerned that a young person is at risk of immediate serious harm, ring 999 and ask for the Police.
We have gathered together some practical resources that might help students and families on a day to day basis, as well as some useful resources from trusted organisations here on the Isle of Man and in the UK.
The Listening Service is continuing to support young people on the Island and you can contact our school’s Listening Service staff via a new Facebook page – search on Facebook for Manx Youth Connected. This is a page for young people only and is also where you can find details of how to contact Emma, our Listener, during school closure.
Helen Holder is a local mental health nurse who has put together a resource pack for people of all ages on the Isle of Man. It contains many helpful tips and exercises to promote positive mental wellbeing and we are delighted to be able to share it with you. A copy can be found here and on our website under ‘Parents’ and in the ‘Home Learning’ section.
IOM_mental_health_Resource_Pack_1_.pdf
The Department of Education, Sport and Culture’s Inclusion and Safeguarding team have provided some guidance for parents and carers. A copy of the guidance can be found here and on our school website under ‘Parents’ and in the ‘Home Learning’ section.
IOM_ECP_Anxiety_and_Cornoavirus_Guidance_1_.pdf
If you have not already done so, download the Safer Schools app which we launched to parents earlier this year. It contains lots of helpful tips and advice for staying safe online and also links directly to the SNHS website. The access code for St Ninian’s High School parents and carers is 7675.
Young people can access the Kooth website for help and advice as well as being able to chat to their counsellors Monday to Friday 9am to 10pm and weekends 6pm to 10pm. https://www.kooth.com/
The CEOP website is widely recommended for excellent digital safety resources for young people and their parents. They are also releasing some home activity packs which you can access any time on https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/
The Anna Freud Centre is a trusted UK based organisation supporting mental health in young people and families. They have posted some great tips for children and families who may be struggling to manage anxiety during this uncertain time. https://www.annafreud.org/
https://youngminds.org.uk/ is another well respected UK based charity supporting mental health. They have posted some really useful articles, including some looking at how teenagers may be feeling about exams being cancelled. There are also links to other sources of advice and helplines.
SEBDA is a UK organisation for professionals working with young people with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. They have produced a useful help sheet for all parents containing helpful advice and activities for both primary and secondary aged children. A copy of the help sheet is here and on our website in the ‘Home Learning’ section.
Anxiety_in_children_and_the_Coronavirus.pdf
Please remember that though school is closed to most pupils, staff will continue to monitor their Google emails during school hours wherever possible. General questions can be asked through the contact section of our website or via SNHSenquires@sch.im . Pupils can use their school Google email account to contact their teachers with any questions they may have about home learning during lesson times.