At Parkhall Integrated College, we are committed to providing a caring and inclusive environment for our students. We know that students 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 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.
The pastoral care team is led by Mrs McKibbin, the vice-principal and designated teacher of child protection. Mrs Davidson Brown is the senior leader for pastoral care. Mr Roberts is the head of key stage 3 and Miss Huey is the head of key stage 4.
Rewarding positive behaviour through our school rewards structure is a key aspect of school life. In this way, students will achieve recognition for a positive contribution to school life.
The current rewards structure is based around four main categories: attendance, academic performance, sporting performance and good behaviour, courtesy and manners. Rewards may be informal – through teacher praise and simply good work – and more formal, such as achievement points, certificates, vouchers, trips or other reward prizes that have been identified by the school council.
The system aims to raise self-esteem and self-confidence through recognising and rewarding our student’s achievements, and we are delighted to receive the financial support of our local business partners, through our Business Community Partnership Scheme. We currently receive support from the following local business partners and we are indebted to their contribution:
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 is of the highest standard, we are very conscious that some students 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. The counselling service is responsive to students’ needs and operates as an integral part of the college’s pastoral care provision.
Students have the option to self-refer if they have worries or concerns. If parents/guardians feel their child would benefit from receiving counselling support, they can speak to any member of staff.
Should you have any further queries on our counselling support for students, please do not hesitate to contact Mrs Davidson Brown.
Parkhall Integrated College is proud to be a Take 5 School. The 5 Steps to Wellbeing will help you deal with challenging situations and provided practical tips for how you can overcome these.
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 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:
This section of the page gives useful advice for parents/guardians on a range of issues related to home and college life. These links tips on supporting you as parents/guardians and also for supporting your family.
Parkhall Integrated College Vision Statement
The pastoral curriculum is mainly delivered through the area of Learning for Life and Work (LLW),
Students 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, relationships and sexuality and e-safety.
