Our form tutors are the first line of pastoral support for students at Northgate. They will see students each day and can be contacted in the event of a concern not linked to academic progress. Our form tutors will use social prescribing to find ways to support students who are struggling with low level concerns. 

Our assistant heads of year are non-teaching members of staff who support students with barriers to learning. Each assistant head of year is linked to specific year group but they are available to support across year groups. 

The heads of year can be contacted by families in the event that they need help and support with an issue relating to pastoral care or progress across a range of subjects. They do have a busy teaching schedule, so contact with them may sometimes go via the assistant head of year. 

Volunteers from businesses and the local community who are trained to mentor young people. They meet once a week and help with target setting and signposting. Apply for this support via the head of year. 

Students who are struggling with their mental health can be referred by the head of year to gain therapeutic support in one of three ways. The first is a 6-week, short-term intervention with the school counsellor. The second is a 12-week, medium-term intervention with an external agency that provide walking therapy off-site. The third is longer term year of intervention provided by student counsellors from the University of Essex in their second or third years of training. 

Emotional Literacy Support Assistants work with young people who are struggling with their emotional needs. They provide them with strategies for coping and wider weekly support. This offer has to be accessed via the head of year. 

The Thrive team work with students who are struggling with their emotional, social or well-being needs by identifying development needs and planning ways to help the young person. This offer has to be accessed via the head of year. 

The school nursing team hold fortnightly drop-in sessions where students can come and talk to the team about worries they have. We can also refer to the school nursing team if an appointment is needed.

Our school staff have been trained to identify when a young person is struggling with an issue and what they can suggest to try and help that student. For example if they notice them being hungry in the mornings they can refer them to breakfast club before school. Please see the clubs list for all the clubs that are available at Northgate.