At Parkhall Integrated College, we are committed to providing a caring and inclusive environment for our students. We know that pupils enjoy school and are successful when they feel valued and respected, have good relationships with their peers and with the adults who are working with them.
All staff in school are committed to supporting our students in a safe and secure environment conducive to raising self-esteem, building confidence and developing resilience. We strive to ensure every child has opportunities to achieve success, not only in academic or vocational study, but also in the wider life of our school.
The pastoral care team have a particular responsibility for fostering positive relationships and promoting the self-worth and self-esteem of all our students. This team plays an important role in ensuring that there is a good partnership between home and school. If parents have a concern about their young person, they should phone the office and ask that the year head give them a call.
The pastoral care team is led by Mrs McKibbin, the vice-principal and designated teacher of child protection.
We have two heads of pastoral care who lead the teams of year heads. Mrs Davidson Brown is the pastoral head for girls, and Mr Harbinson is the pastoral head for boys.
Here at Parkhall Integrated College, we are committed to providing children with every opportunity to reach their full potential during their time with us. While the support given through our pastoral care staff and heads of year is of the highest standard, we are very conscious that some young people appreciate the opportunity to speak to an adult who is not directly involved with their education. Independent school-based counselling provides this opportunity.
The Independent Counselling Service for Schools (ICSS) is managed by the Education Authority and funded by the Department of Education. The counselling support provided conforms to the highest professional standards and current best practice for school-based counselling. Our current provider is Familyworks, and we have a counsellor who comes in every Wednesday to support our students.
Pupils have the option to self-refer if they have worries or concerns. If parents or guardians feel their child would benefit from counselling support, they can speak to any member of staff, and school will make a referral.
The counselling service will be responsive to students’ needs and will operate as an integral part of the school’s pastoral care provision. We will work with the counselling providers to deliver this service.
Should you have any further queries on our counselling support for students, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Davidson Brown.
This section of the page gives useful advice for parents/guardians and students on a range of issues related to college life.
Please find below some really useful links for tips on maintaining good mental health and local agencies that can help.
Further advice on diet, physical health and wellbeing may be found at the following links:
In Parkhall Integrated College, we play a crucial role in raising awareness of the risks, highlighting the impact of behaviour when engaging with online technologies and educating children and young people about how to act appropriately and stay safe. We also want to engage parents/guardians on these issues by making important online safety messages available through dedicated parent evenings and through our school website/social media where appropriate. Here are some links and resources which you may find useful:
Parkhall Integrated College Vision Statement
The pastoral curriculum is mainly delivered through the areas of Learning for Life and Work (LLW) and Preparation for Adult Life (PAL).
Pupils are provided with a taught programme which focuses on the three key strands of:
Personal Development - topics include feelings and emotions, safety and managing risk, drugs awareness and self image.
Local and Global Citizenship - topics include equality and social justice, human rights and social responsibility.
Employability - topics include career action planning, self-awareness, CVs and application forms.
The taught programme is complimented by a series of other presentations and workshops covering aspects of the pastoral curriculum including, attendance, conflict resolution, healthy eating, Heart Start, relationships and sexuality and e-safety.
