Pupil Voice and Pupil Action Groups
Sugar Hill Rota Kids
Sugar Hill Rota Kids will soon be working hard supporting the work of Newton Aycliffe Rotary Club. Rota Kids are Year 5 pupils and they have been appointed following completing an application form. Just like applying for a real job! They will be doing lots of different activities to raise money for charities.
Year 5 Mini Police
We are delighted to inform you our 2022-2023 Year 5 Mini Police will soon be taking their roles and responsibilities seriously and making a difference supporting other pupils across school.
The Mini-Police project engages with children aged 9-11 years in a fun and interactive way, with the emphasis being that the children have fun whilst learning about the police.
During activities the children will learn about their personal safety and community problem solving, as well as gaining insight into how the police work in our area.
You can find out more about the project at https://www.facebook.com/Mini-Police-711783442300557/timeline/
Watch out for Traffic Surveillance outside school and our Mini-Police representing Sugar Hill and Durham Police.
Peer Mediators
At Sugar Hill Primary our Mini Police are also Peer Mediators. Peer Mediation is problem solving child with child. It is a process by which two or more children involved in a dispute meet in a private, safe and confidential setting to work out problems with the assistance of a Mini Police Peer Mediator. When children have a problem at school they are encouraged to find a solution that is safe, fair and leads to good feelings for everyone. The Mini Police Peer Mediators help children to look at a problem and identify a solution by thinking about feelings, thoughts and actions. Mini Police Peer Mediators always refer any unresolved problems to school staff but they are highly skilled at helping younger children to say sorry and make friends again. Fantastic!
Sugar Hill Pupil Leadership Team
At Sugar Hill Primary School we have a Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team. It is the responsibility of the Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team to seek the views of all pupils in school and to share this information with Senior Leaders and our Governing Body.
This year we have some exciting things planned for our Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team. We would like them to take forward projects on behalf of the pupils and be involved in planning with members of staff and our Governing Body.
Our Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team will be adding some information to this page about their role and responsibilities.
Our Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team take on additional responsibilities in school such as showing visitors around school, talking with governors and attending school and community events as Sugar Hill Ambassadors.
To be effective, they must:
- Represent all pupils and include as many people as possible
- Take time to listen to all pupils and communicate their views
- Feed back to pupils about what happened about their views
- Make things happen – or explain why they can’t!
At Sugar Hill Mrs Legge works hard with the Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team to ensure they are supported in ensuring that:
- any elections we have in school are fair and open
- everyone is represented
- there are different ways for people to give their views (e.g. class time, suggestion boxes, questionnaires, focus groups)
- training is in place
- there is effective communication so that people know what happens to their suggestions and ideas
- the Year 6 Pupil Leadership Team make a difference for all children at Sugar Hill Primary
Buddies
Buddies at Sugar Hill are 'Special Playground Friends'. They are children who have volunteered to provide support in the playground, helping other children with playing games and trying to ensure that everyone enjoys happy playtimes and lunchtimes. Buddies are sensible, kind and caring and they have a good understanding of other people’s feelings. They are always willing to help. At lunch time Buddies are available to support children that may need help outside at lunchtime.They support those children who need someone to play with or need something to be sorted out. Our friendly and caring group of buddies can assist the children with whatever it may be. Buddies will always seek the support of adults in school if needed.
Leap Leaders
If you need someone to give you some ideas to have a great playtime you might need the help of a 'Leap Leader'. Leap Leaders will be working with the teachers very soon to plan some interesting activities for playtimes. We have recently purchased some new equipment for playtimes.
School Nutrition and Action Group (SNAG)
We will soon be appointing new members to our SNAG group in school. We will be looking at ways to improve lunchtimes and we will be involving all children in school by conducting a survey. Survey Results will be shared on this page soon. In the meantime if you bring a packed lunch the new SNAG group will be checking to see if you are eating a healthy lunch.
Young Carers
At Sugar Hill Primary we demonstrate a strong commitment to Young Carers and their families,
If you think your child is a Young Carer please share this information with Mrs Legge to access additional support. We need your permission and authorisation to access services. We will respect confidentiality and to this end no photographs will be uploaded to this area of the website to identify Young Carers unless this is agreed by both the Young Carer and their parents/carers.
Definition of a Young Carer
A Young Carer is someone between the ages of 5-18 years who has caring responsibilities for a family member at home who has:
A serious or long term illness
A physical disability
A mental health problem
A drug or alcohol dependency
A learning disability
Young Carers’ may do things like:
Household chores
Preparing or cooking food
Personal care
Giving medication
Communicating on behalf of someone else
Ensuring someone’s safety
Providing emotional support
Indications that a pupil is a Young Carer
The pupil may:
May be late for school for no apparent reason or have erratic attendance.
Might be often tired, withdrawn or pre-occupied.
May have difficulty in joining in activities outside of school hours.
Could be a victim of bullying- may have few friends or skills with own age group.
May be under-achieving. Often hasn’t completed homework or it’s of a poor quality.
Could be anxious or concerned over ill/disabled relative.
May display behavioural/emotional problems.
Might have physical problems such as back pain from lifting an adult.
At Sugar Hill Primary school we recognise these signs and behaviours could indicate other problems, but being a Young Carer should be considered a possibility and explored with the pupil in a private place. The Class Teacher/Support Assistant may refer the pupil to the Key Worker for further support. Our Deputy Head Teacher and SENDCo Mrs. Kathryn Legge, is the nominated Key Worker in our school.
Why we feel it is important for our school to have a Young Carers’ Working Party
Research tells us that Young Carers have explained that they don’t always feel supported appropriately at school. We believe having a Young Carers Working Party will increase communication between our school and the Young Carers’ Service. We feel that this will support pupils in a way that will benefit them. We take seriously our responsibility to respond promptly and effectively to the needs of Young Carers.
At Sugar Hill Primary School it is the responsibility of everyone working in school to meet the outcomes set out in the Every Child Matters (ECM) document to secure a better future for children, whatever their background.
We always aim to ensure children can:
Be healthy
Stay safe
Enjoy and achieve
Make a positive contribution
Achieve economic well being
We have a Young Carers Policy. The aims of this policy are:
1.To provide all in our school community with an understanding of what a Young Carer is and what their responsibilities may be.
2. To clarify our responsibilities for Young Carers and inform parents and pupils.
3. To enable the creation of generic and individual plans to support Young Carers.
Actions we will consider to support Young Carers in particular circumstances.
We will always consider a confidential approach, providing a private space to speak with pupils who are taking on a caring role and to listen to their voice.
We recognise, however, that some Young Carers prefer not to discuss their caring role; but others might find it helpful to discuss their own personal situation with a member of staff.
We will ensure that all Young Carers are reminded of our Anti-Bullying policy and ensure that their experience is that this is being adhered to in practice.
We will help Young Carers to become aware of what their rights are in school.
We will set up a card system for Young Carers (if required) to be excused from class if they need support to deal with their emotions outside the classroom environment.
We will set up a ‘Late Pass’ card system (if required) for genuine reasons that cause Young Carers to be late, so children arriving late to class, are not questioned by staff, about their lateness.
We will ensure that all Young Carers are provided with additional support in school, as necessary, with homework tasks, which are not easily completed at home.
We will set up ‘Pastoral Support Plans’ (if required) for each Young Carer within school. These plans will be supported by Mrs Atkinson-Jones (Social Learning Mentor) and/or Bridge Young Carers’ Service.
We will maintain flexible arrangements for parents with disabilities to access our school/information about school including regular contact with Mrs Legge and/or Mrs Atkinson Jones.
The Key Worker, Mrs Kathryn Legge supported by Mrs Atkinson Jones will offer joint home visits for parents/carers if this is the preferred option for parents/carers rather than meeting in school.
School staff will work actively to refer pupils they think may be a Young Carer to Mrs Legge and Mrs Atkinson Jones for sensitive contact to made with the child’s family prior to any referral to Bridge Young Carers’ Service.
Parental permission will always be sought prior to any referral to an outside agency for a pupil in school staff think may be a Young Carer. If a referral is agreed Family Action- Bridge Young Carers’ Service aims to reduce the caring role of children by involving other services and enabling the family to find other solutions. Where caring continues, services will help to reduce the impact of the caring role.
The services provide:
• information
• informal advocacy
• one-to-one and family support
• group support
• time out from the caring role
• training and awareness-raising for other agencies.
Staff from Bridge Young Carers’ will be invited into school (when appropriate) to attend ‘Parent/Carer Awareness Sessions’ and/or Key Stage/Whole School Parent Sessions to raise awareness of the work of ‘Bridge Young Carers’ and how they can support Young Carers and their families.
Posters,Flyers and Newsletters will be displayed in school to provide information about ‘Family Action- Bridge Young Carers’ for children and their families.
Desired Outcomes
Governors, teaching and non-teaching staff will be aware of identified Young Carers within school and how we can work together to support them.
Young Carers will feel that there is more support for them within school and so will be more likely to talk with staff about their caring role. This will help to maintain an understanding and positive relationship between the pupil, their family, our school and the Young Carers’ Service.
