Support
Pastoral Care
We provide caring and responsive pastoral support which puts the needs of our pupils at its centre. We work in partnership with parents to help all pupils develop positive relationships and learn to cope with the issues that they face. Students build strong relationships with their tutor and College Achievement Leader. All students are part of a small vertical tutor group which belongs to one of four colleges. The College is very proud of its small and friendly community. Our aim is to encourage students to become confident, responsible and independent members of society.
Young Carers
Bassingbourn Village College recognises the important role young carers play within their families’ lives and the additional responsibilities this places upon them. We are committed to meeting the needs of young carers and young adult carers so that they can attend and enjoy school in the same way as other pupils and achieve their potential. From January 2023, the school census will include young carers for the first time. Schools will record whether a pupil is a young carer, and who identified them as such. The change will provide a much better picture of their number and has the potential to significantly increase awareness, identification and support.
Young carers are children and young people under 18 who provide or intend to provide care for another person who is ill, disabled, has a mental health condition or addiction problem. A young carer becomes vulnerable when their caring role risks impacting upon their emotional or physical wellbeing and their prospects in their education and life.
The school has designated Young Carers’ School Leads with responsibility for young carers and their families:
Young Carers’ Champion: Vicki Piggott
The school will only share information about young carers with professionals and agencies on a need to know basis in order to support pupils and their families.
The school actively seeks feedback and ideas from young carers and their families to shape and improve support.
The school has an effective referral system and strong partnership in place with Centre 33, the local young carers’ service, where a representative from Centre 33 assists in the running of the young carers group each Wednesday. The group provides young carers with mentoring support, a time to relax and unwind and a range of fun-packed activities which they are thoroughly engaging with.
DOMESTIC ABUSE HELPLINES AND SUPPORT
As reported in the press, there has been a significant rise in cases of Domestic Abuse during the Covid19 outbreak. There are a number of additional support provisions for families affected by this. The PDF downloads from Chums and Cambridge Women’s Aid provide useful advice and contact details: CHUMS-Duty-Line-2020-1 (1)
The National Domestic Abuse Helpline continues to operate 24/7 on 0808 2000 247. There is a form you can complete online and they will call you back at a safe time https://www.nationaldahelpline.org.uk/Contact-us
Women’s Aid online chat: https://chat.womensaid.org.uk/
Men’s Advice line, for male victims: https://mensadviceline.org.uk/
Domestic Violence (Male) Advice and Enquiry Line: 0808 801 0327
Men Reaching Out Email: menreachingout1@gmail.com
Locally, Outreach Services are still available too:
Cambridge City/East Cambs/South Cambs 01223 361214
Fenland/Hunts/Peterborough 07787 255821
For support around sexual violence – National Rape Crisis is still available and they also have online chat https://rapecrisis.org.uk/
The Elms Sexual Assault Referral Centre: https://www.theelmssarc.org/
Tel: 0800 193 5434 (24 hour)
Bright Sky is a free to download mobile app, launched in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation, providing support and information to anyone who may be in an abusive relationship or those concerned about someone they know.
https://www.hestia.org/brightsky
And for victims the police advise to phone on 999 if it is an emergency, and if unable to speak at that time, press 55 after the automated message. The call will then be transferred to your local police and callers will be given further instructions
Breaking Barriers
The Ormiston Families project Breaking Barriers, which supports children who have a parent or other close family member in prison, are still able to provide support using remote intervention practices.
To access support, please follow the link below.
https://www.ormiston.org/what-we-do/working-with-families-affected-by-offending/breaking-barriers/