Assertive Mentoring
YEAR 7
We have now rolled out our Mentoring Scheme to Year 7 students. Our new arrivals will be supported throughout their time at Helenswood to help them achieve the high standards we set for them.
Staff with a wide variety of experience will be regularly monitoring each girl’s progress against their own individual targets and helping them to keep on track.
From looking at the reports that we have just issued to parents, I know that the vast majority of girls have made a good start and settled quickly into the Helenswood way of life. They are working hard and enjoying the new found responsibility of being in charge of their own learning. For some that do need assistance, their Mentors will be helping them identify where they are not doing as well as they could and offering them support.
Each student should record in their planner the names of their Mentor so that Parents know who this key worker is. Form Tutors will still be the main person to contact for pastoral issues, and subject teachers will always be willing to discuss individual concerns.
YEAR 11
Students will be enjoying a well earned rest after preparing for and sitting their Mock Exams. The results of these provide teachers with valuable information about which areas of their subjects have been understood and which might need revision.
Towards the end of the first week of term we will be preparing reports so that Mentors can interview each student to review their performance and make detailed plans for the run up to the real thing.
There will be revision sessions during lunch times or after school in most subjects. Staff are always available in the Upper School library until 4.30, Monday to Thursday. There are also two days set aside during the Easter break when the school will be open and some staff available to help with revision and exam preparation.
All Year 11 students should start planning their revision in detail as soon as they return to school in January. Their Mentors are here to help.
Enjoy the holiday and the snow, come back prepared to work and look forward to those good GCSE results in the Summer.
Students’ FAQs
What is it?
At Helenswood it will mean setting realistic target GCSE grades, regularly assessing you against the targets, congratulating you if you are on target and putting action in place if you're not.
Where do the targets come from?
We work these out by seeing how well you did at primary school and then expecting you to make the same amount of progress at secondary. We have predictions based on thousands of girls in similar schools throughout the country (we only use girls results as they usually do better than boys). We also take into account when your birthday is and where you live, but we don't set lower standards just because some think that people who live in Hastings have no ambition!
Can I do better than my target?
Definitely – Some girls don't do as well at Primary school as they could, these will have lower target grades, with hard work at Helenswood they can easily exceed their targets. If we think that you're one of those, we'll put your targets up.
What if I don't think I can reach my target grades?
Some girls don't carry their enthusiasm for learning from primary schools into secondary, others are 'distracted'. This doesn't mean we will lower your target grades. We will remind you what you are capable of and help you to get back on track.
A very few, perhaps one or two each year have serious problems during their first few years at secondary school and miss out on some of the teaching – for these we will make every effort to help you get back on track, but we will be honest with every student and let them know what a realistic target should be in this case. But this really is only one or two students – we won't let you let yourselves down.
How will I be assessed?
Your teachers will mark key pieces of class work, coursework, homework or tests and assess how you will do in the final GCSE exam if you carry on working as hard as you have done to produce those pieces.
What will actually happen if I am below my target?
You should ask your teacher how to get back on track– you are old enough to do some things for your self! Your Mentor will be asking your teacher as well and he or she will check that you know what you have to do and make sure that you do it.
What if I get so far behind I can't see any point in trying?
Your Mentor will be able to help you organise your work, he or she might negotiate for a little bit of extra time or arrange for someone to help you after school? We all want you to get back on track.
Isn't after school work just a nice way of putting me in detention?
Definitely not! Just keeping you after school is a waste of everyone's time. We will expect you to want to get back on target; if it means staying behind to give you more time then we will do it. Taking time after school will mean you have more individual attention – You should aim to do all of your work in class, but we know that sometimes things don't go the way we want.
What if I really can't get on with my Mentor?
Your Mentor is there to keep you on track, you don't have to like him, if there is a real problem we may consider changing.
Where does my Form tutor fit into Mentoring?
He or she will be interested in how you are getting on, and will tell you Mentor if there are any serious problems they ought to know about. Your Form tutor is still your first point of contact for all of the little things that can go wrong in school, and for things outside school that they have always helped you with. Your Mentor will just focus on your academic progress, how well you are doing in each subject – it won't be that they don't care about you – many will be form tutors as well, but as a Mentor they will just concentrate on helping you reach your targets – it may seem a bit hard at the time, but good grades at GCSE are your passport to choice and success in the future.
For more information refer to the Mentoring section that will soon be in place on the Helenswood Learning Platform.
Any queries email me: bchild@helenswood.e-sussex.sch.uk
