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Mentoring scheme to help pupils
A mentor has spoken about a school's battle to tackle student suspension.
The Evening Telegraph reported last week that one in 10 pupils has been suspended from secondary schools in the county.
But Ken Jackson, 61, a pastoral mentor at Weavers school in Wellingborough, explained a new mentor system could see this number reduced drastically.
Former civil servant Mr Jackson, of Tweed Close, Burton Latimer, started at Weavers as a learning support assistant two-and-a-half years ago.
Eighteen months ago, he was asked by headteacher Jon Davis to become a pastoral mentor, a new idea by the school to try to reduce suspensions.
Mr Jackson said: "If we get a student who is being disruptive or not settling down, I would have a chat with them and try to find out what the underlying cause is.
"It could be they're in conflict with a teacher or with their peers.
"They could have problems understanding their school work or have things on their mind so they can't concentrate."
Each year group has a pastoral mentor who works under the direction of the pastoral leader, who is a qualified teacher.
The mentors aim to help students who lack confidence, have issues such as bullying, have had a bereavement or have any problem which teachers have not got the time to deal with.
Mr Jackson said the task of the mentors – who have the support of a parent support officer, Every Child Matters support officer and education welfare officer at the school – is to try and head off trouble before it escalates, reducing the need to exclude pupils.
Having looked after children at the Weavers Road school last year, Mr Jackson said: "I've had self-harmers, potential suicide victims and children suffering from depression. I can make an appointment for the pupil to get counselling or see someone."
In the two years the school has been running the pastoral system, Mr Jackson said it has achieved better results, with the school receiving a good Ofsted report.
Mr Jackson said: "If pupils are settled in their personal life, their academic studies go along a lot smoother.
"They come to the mentors as someone they can trust and someone they know can help."
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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