Working Together, Achieving More
Cydweithio a Chyflawni
Holiday Application
Report a Learner Absence
Outstanding
Ysgol Maesydderwen.
everything we do at
pastoral care is at
the heart of
Pastoral Care
Headteacher: Mr P. Grimes
Tudor Street, Ystradgynlais, Swansea, SA9 1AP
01639 842115
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Attendance
At Ysgol Maesydderwen we recognise and understand the direct link between attendance at school to good emotional health, good educational progress and attainment.
Being a community school with strong links with our primaries we are able to effectively monitor and track the attendance of all our students.
Attendance is a particular focus of our Progress Leaders who work closely with our attendance officer, Mr Huw Thomas to ensure that any barriers in coming to school are addressed early with both the student and their family in a supportive manner. We have an excellent record of attendance which demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategies.
Children who miss school frequently can fall behind with their work which can impact on confidence and self esteem.
The school attendance target that students should be aiming for is 95%.
From an academic perspective, government research shows that
It is important to let your child’s Progress Leader or Mr Huw Thomas of any attendance concerns.
Lateness = Lost Learning
(Figures below are calculated over a school year)
5 minutes late each day
10 minutes late each day
15 minutes late each day
20 minutes late each day
30 minutes late each day
3 days lost
6.5 days lost
10 days lost
13 days lost
19 days lost
Pastoral care at Ysgol Maesydderwen is a strength of our school with pupil wellbeing at the heart of what we do. The caring ethos of our students is reflected in how they support each other both in and outside of school and can be clearly ‘felt’ throughout our community.
Our students are encouraged to make the most of their time at Ysgol Maesydderwen so every effort is made to remove obstacles to learning and to equip young people with confidence and skills to be successful members of our school and local community.
In addition to our Progress Tutors, we have a specialist team of people who are responsible for the pastoral care of our students (see below) led by Miss Kirsty Irvine, Deputy Headteacher who is responsible for inclusion, learner engagement, attendance, safeguarding and wellbeing within the school. Progress leaders promote and support engagement and wellbeing within their Year groups and are supported by Learner Support Officers.
Our Pastoral team is made up of:
Progress Leader for Year 7 and Transition -
Progress Leader for Years 8 and 9 -
Progress Leader for Years 10 and 11 -
Progress Leader for Sixth Form -
Pastoral Support Assistants:
Mr Huw Thomas
Mrs Lucy Watkins
Mr Sean Harvey
Mr Joe Muzil
Daily check-
Children are made aware that they can talk to our Pastoral Team or any member of staff to discuss issues they may be experiencing. One strategy may be to complete One Page Profile with that student as a means of discussing how we can best support them. This will be shared with the class teachers and parents. All school staff will always listen, comfort and work together with the child and families to ensure a positive outcome.
To ensure that pupil wellbeing is at the core of teaching and learning, all pupils in Years 10 and 11 study ‘Sweet’. Sweet is an innovative and engaging resource used to deliver a BTEC Level 1 and 2 qualification in Personal Growth and Wellbeing. Mapped against, and supporting the delivery of, the Health and Wellbeing AoLE and RSE new curriculum. Sweet teaches valuable skills to help students lead happier, healthier and more successful lives. Available in both Welsh and English, Sweet creates engaging conversations about life’s big issues, helping learners to gain a better knowledge of themselves and the world around them.
A variety of interventions are run within our ‘Enfys’ centre by trained staff to ensure bespoke programmes of support for our pupils. Emotional and behaviour support is offered, mentoring and coaching, careers advice, focused ‘Trauma Informed’ work and restorative justice, to name but a few. To compliment these programmes, our Pastoral Team work very closely with a variety of outside agencies, such as Children’s Services, Educational Psychology Service, Learner Support, Youth Intervention Service and the Kooth counselling service to ensure that the right wellbeing support is in place for our pupils and their families.
The aims of pastoral support at Maesydderwen:
- To provide support that meets the differing needs of all students so that each child is equipped with the social and emotional skills needed for life.
- To support children to address social, spiritual, mental, emotional and physical needs.
- To maintain an atmosphere in which children feel secure, are encouraged in their learning, growth and social development and know that they are valued within a healthy and safe environment.
- To support parents/carers with emotional health.
- To work with a range of stakeholders, parents, support staff, outreach agencies and other schools to ensure the continuity and progress of individual pupils.
The role of the Pastoral Team:
- To support and work alongside parents in addressing pastoral concerns impacting on their child’s learning and development.
- To work with staff in ensuring good student support and build upon the caring and respectful relationships that exist between staff, pupils and families.
- To provide specialist support for individual children; listening and talking to children who may need support in a variety of pastoral issues, for example, self-
esteem and confidence, bereavement, managing feelings, anxieties/worries, separation and developing social and friendships skills. - Responding to situations as they arise within school.
- Provide learning coach support for KS4 and 5 students to manage exam stress.
- Meeting with parents/carers to discuss issues relating to their child.
- To ‘signpost’ families to outside services for appropriate provision and support
Emotional Health & Wellbeing
Every member of staff is committed to supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of all our students and their families. As a school we are aware of the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE’s) on emotional health as well as the many life events which can be regarded as traumatic, all of which can be barriers to learning. At Ysgol Maesydderwen all staff use a trauma informed approach to their teaching with members of our Pastoral team being qualified Trauma Informed and Mental Health Practitioner’s. This means that they can provide specialist intervention for either small group’s or on an individual basis.
Where appropriate, they can also signpost for further specialist support eg CAMHs, counselling, etc.
How does the Trauma intervention work?
- A Motional is completed with parent/carer before intervention starts. The Motional allows us to target the most appropriate support.
- Sessions (usually 45 minutes) can be individual or in small groups and tailored to the child’s individual needs.
- There is no limit to the number of sessions. In some cases a member of staff may work with an individual for up to 2 years. It’s important that the student has time to work through their trauma and is able to reflect on their emotional/mental health.
- Sessions might include role-
play, puppets, board games, art and craft, therapeutic or sand tray and of course time to talk. - A pupil’s progress will be reviewed on a half-
termly basis.
Contacts:
- Pupils – any child in the school can ask to speak to our Pastoral Support Officer if they have a problem or a worry at school or at home. They can do this by either approaching the team or by asking a member of staff (Form Tutor/Progress Leader). A suitable time will then be arranged to meet.
- Parents/carers – if you have a pastoral concern regarding your child then you can phone the school, speak to your child’s Form Tutor/Progress Leader.
Behaviour for Learning
Staff -
Behaviour for Learning is a structure that is used across the school to promote positive attitudes to learning. It is underpinned by the following principles:
- Our school ethos is one which promotes a culture of social engagement in staff -
pupil interactions. - All staff use empathic modes of interaction and appropriate language when supporting behaviour.
- We are firm on behaviour but gentle on the child. This means that we have clear structures, routines and expectations which are communicated effectively to pupils.
- The classroom ethos provides a psychologically safe environment where pupils are encouraged to take risks with their learning.
- All staff promote and value the development of the whole child so that pupils have an understanding of their self worth.
- We provide experiences for pupils that promote and foster a child’s love of learning.
- All staff are able to adjust expectations and practices around vulnerable children to correspond with those children’s developmental capabilities and experience of traumatic stress and loss.
- Restorative approaches are used to repair pupil -
pupil/staff - pupil relationships. - Staff use skillful approaches to de-
escalate situations in class.
ClassCharts
ClassCharts is the IT system that we use to:
- Award merits.
- Track and monitor completion of homework.
- Track and monitor student engagement.
Both students and parents can access the ClassCharts app to check their own progress. Pupils can get their code from their Progress Leader.
Parents can contact the school if they require the code.
Pupils can receive a merit for:
- Being on time.
- Kindness.
- Showing perseverance in their work.
- Their work in extracurricular activities.
- Being motivated.
- Working with others.
Rewards assemblies are held each term which celebrate the progress a student has made through their merits, attendance and community help.
Inappropriate behaviour is also recorded on ClassCharts and can result in a negative comment. This can include:
- Bullying.
- Racist/homophobic comments to others.
- Inappropriate use of phone.
- No homework completed.
- Rudeness.
Deliberate disregard of Covid safety protocols can result in an exclusion.
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School Uniform
SWIMMING
OUTDOOR
AND
INDOOR
ACTIVITY
SWIMMING
During inclement weather pupils should wear additional layers of suitable clothing underneath the compulsory items.
On health and safety grounds we do not allow Learners to wear jewellery in our school. The exceptions to this rule are:
- Plain ear-
ring studs in pierced ears - Small objects of religious significance
- Watches (not smart watches)
The school does not permit Learners to have ‘extreme’ haircuts that could serve as a distraction to other Learners.
Branded items, I.e the school jumper, tie and PE Tops, can be purchased from:
Pethau Plant, 16 Station Road, Ystradgynlais SA9 1NT
Telephone: 01639 849 111
Web address: https://pethauplant.com/product-
All of the school PE polo shirt and rugby jerseys can be purchased from Pethau Plant 16 Station Road, Ystradgynlais SA9 1NT -
Year 7 to 11
- grey tailored shorts, trousers or grey skirt (for boys or girls -
leggings, tracksuit bottoms, jeans or jean like trousers are not acceptable, the skirt should not be tightly fitted and should be no shorter than 2 inches above the knee) - navy v-
neck jumper with school logo - navy and yellow striped Velcro tie
- either socks (grey, black or white) or tights (grey or black)
- white collared, formal shirt
- plain black leather type footwear (no boots or canvas shoes)
- plain black or navy outdoor coat (no logos or markings, except reflective strips/markings to aid road safety)
- Rucksack or school bag
Holiday During Term-
While we always take personal circumstances into account, as a general rule, holidays will not be authorised for pupils with attendance under 95%, our attendance target for all pupils is 95%. We also take into consideration the possible impact on any key periods of learning identified and highlighted by the school.
There is a strong link between good school attendance and achieving good results. Good attendance at school also shows potential employers that a young person is reliable.
Before booking holidays during term time, we ask that the impact that this will have on attendance and subsequently, progress is considered. The rewards for good attendance are clear; pupils are more likely to enjoy school, achieve better results and increase their career opportunities.
Should authorisation be given at the time of application, this will be conditional on attendance remaining above 95%. This authorisation will be withdrawn if attendance drops below 95% prior to the commencement date of the holiday.
Only parents/carers with parental responsibility should complete this form.
In the event that families wish to book a holiday during term-
Holiday Application
To report a learner absence, you can either telephone the school on the number above, email the details to the email address
attendance@maesydderwen-
or send a text to the dedicated line 07312 263570
Reporting a Learner Absence
School uniform is compulsory for all Year 7 to 11 learners. It is the responsibility of parents and carers to ensure that their children come to school in the correct uniform, in line with our policy that can be found on the policies page of this website. In summary the school uniform from September 2024 is as follows:
Sixth Form learners are not required to wear a uniform but they must take pride in their appearance. They are expected to dress in a manner that is smart/casual, comfortable yet purposeful, and is appropriate for a professional environment which is directly linked to accommodation for younger learners. Learners may be asked to go home and change if their clothing is deemed not to be appropriate.
Expectations:
- Clean, closed footwear – no sliders, flip-
flops, Croc type shoes. - No frayed or ripped clothes, or holes in clothes
- No loungewear or nightwear
- Skirts and dresses can be worn but must be an acceptable length
- Leggings can be worn, but with modesty
- Shorts can be worn but should not be tight or short making them revealing
- Hats / hoods should not be worn indoors.
- Appropriate tops (eg shirts, jumpers, roll-
necks, cardigans, smarter jumpers) and must not be revealing - Offensive or explicit slogans and/or images on clothing should not be worn
NB:
- For school events such as concerts, parents’ evenings, Celebration Assemblies etc. where members of the 6th form are representing the school we expect a smarter dress such as a tailored jacket, smart cardigan/jumper, tailored trousers/skirts/dress and suitable footwear.
- During exams, learners are not permitted to wear tops or jackets with pockets or hoods.
OUTDOOR
AND
INDOOR
ACTIVITY
Compulsory items:
- Black t-
shirt with badge or plain black t- shirt - Black training top (badged ones available from Pethau Plant)
- Black shorts or black sports leggings
- Black hockey/football socks (outdoor)
- White socks (inside)
- Trainers (cross-
trainers only)
Non-
- Black track suit bottoms
- Gum shield
- Shin pads
- Black swimming suit all in one (No bikinis)
- Goggles
Compulsory items:
- School rugby jersey
- Black t-
shirt with badge or plain black t- shirt - Black training top (badged ones available from Top Sports)
- Black rugby shorts (outdoor)
- Black rugby socks (outdoor)
- Boots (togs) (outdoor)
- Black shorts (indoor)
- White socks (indoor)
- Trainers (cross trainers only)
Non-
- Black track suit bottoms
- Gum shield
- Shin pads
- Black swimming trunks (No long shorts)
- Goggles