Personal Care

Ensuring Dignity, Courtesy and Respect

Many of our pupils need high levels of care. We encourage all pupils to be as independent as they possibly can and ensure dignity, courtesy and respect are paramount in any care given.

How we ensure the best standards of care for your child

Our academy’s organisation, around pastoral class teams, ensures that your child will be cared for by staff who know them extremely well. All classes have a team of support staff and welfare staff attached to them providing them with all their care needs in addition to supporting them with their learning. Class teams are led by the pastoral teacher or teachers where classes are shared. We maintain as much consistency with younger children as possible. As children move up the school, we organise their time-table so they spend increased amounts of time with different teachers. This is an important part of their preparations for adulthood.

There are well-established systems in place to ensure all health care plans, moving and handling risk assessments, medical Information and therapy programmes are shared, followed and regularly reviewed.

Training

All staff receive full Moving and Handling training when they first start. All staff do an annual refresher. Staff often work in pairs. All staff new to role will be led by the other person until they become established in their skills.

Our Moving and Handling Instructor Charlotte Gooderham provides on-site training to all staff and additional training when requested or needed. She ensures all risk assessments are up-to-date and clearly communicated. She supports individual children with their physical development goals, offering suggestions and ways forward where challenges arise. She supports access to curriculum activities or other aspects of the school day which require a higher level of expertise, e.g. sailing or PEEPs, (Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans) for pupils needing to access stairs. She ensures all Moving and Handling equipment is serviced and in good working order. She works closely with our Health and Safety Manager Ian Lipman and the Co-Principal responsible for Health and Safety in the academy. If you have any questions or concerns around Moving and Handling, please forward them to [email protected] or [email protected].

All staff receive training in the administration of medicines. There are tight guidelines in place to ensure your child receives the correct medicines or medical interventions when needed. Our Health Care Assistants, Danielle Hayward and Kelly Root provide the majority of First Aid assistance and are based in our First Aid room on our main corridor. Class teams contact them by radio to enable them to respond promptly to any calls. There is always at least on Health Care Assistant on at any one time and any breaks are covered by senior staff who are First Aid trained and have lots of experience of working with children with complex medical conditions. Our Health Care Assistants ensure all paperwork relating to the administrations of medication is in-date, clearly communicated and followed by staff. They work closely with the Co-Principal responsible for medical needs in the academy Helen Dickenson. If you have any questions around medication please forward them to [email protected] or [email protected] or [email protected].

All staff working with children receive feeding training when they first start. This is delivered by the Speech and Language therapists. There is annual feeding refresher training, also delivered by Speech and Language therapists. Staff are qualified to be a ‘basic feeders’ initially, i.e. support children with the least complex feeding needs. After a period of at least 6 months and after developing competencies and confidence in basic feeding, staff can progress onto become ‘advanced feeders’. Further training is delivered by the Speech and Language therapists. All pupils have ‘meal mats’ and ‘feeding protocols’ out and available when eating.

Intimate Care

Our welfare team provide the majority of intimate care and are led by one of the Co-Principals Emily Webster. They are attached to classes so they get to know the children they work with well. Welfare generally work in pairs and are supported by support staff from the class team. Please read our guidelines on imitate care that anyone supporting with intimate care are required to follow.

Key Documents

Thomas Wolsey Ormiston Academy Intimate Care Guidelines

Thomas Wolsey Ormiston Academy Moving and Handling Policy