At St Thomas More we offer a range of options to help support our students and parents through every day challenges and school life. We work with local providers to broaden and enable easy access to the support available.
Below you will find contact details for staff and a list of the services available within the school and externally.
Internal School Support
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Form Tutor The emphasis is placed on the role of the form Tutor. The form Tutor acts as the primary advocate for their tutees, and is the person that you will primarily have contact with to discuss any concerns. Contact details of all staff can be found here. |
Head Of Year Year 7 - Mrs L Belcher |
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Emmaus Our Emmaus is an individual student support centre, which is designed to meet the needs of our current and future students, families and staff. The Emmaus Centre is open daily from 8.30am to 9.00am, at break and lunch times and from 3.35pm through to 4.30pm. You can read more about our Emmaus here. |
Chaplaincy The Prayer Room is used regularly as a place of calm and quiet which makes it an ideal space for not only prayer and meditation but also for reconciliation and personal reflection. You can find further information regarding activities and open times of the prayer room here. |
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Member of Staff Any member of staff is available to offer support. |
Main Reception Staff on the main reception desk are always available and happy to assist with any queries. |
There are a number of other internal support tools available and you can find more information on them by clicking on the links below:
External support providers within the school
School Nurse
Our School Nurse is available for drop in sessions during lunchtime on a Thursday in Emmaus
CAMH school link professional
A CAMH practitioner is in school on Tuesday every 2 weeks. Ask Form Tutor, Head of Year or Emmaus for information. Teachers can make a referral to the school link professional for further support.
Careers advisor
Our Careers advisor is available every Thursday to have one-to-one discussions with students in Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 regarding their future pathways. Further information on our Careers support can be found here.
External support providers and services
There are many services available for help and guidance in all areas ranging from Physical to Mental Health. Below you will find a brief description of each of the services with a link to further information and how to contact them.
GP
For any immediate physical or mental health concerns your local GP will be able to refer you for further support.
ChatHealth - NHS
ChatHealth is a secure and confidential text messaging service for young people. It allows patients to easily and anonymously get in touch with a healthcare professional for advice and support. Further information can be found here.
CHUMS
CHUMS Mental Health & Emotional Wellbeing Service for Children and Young People provides therapeutic support in a variety of ways. CHUMS has developed a unique service delivery model to ensure that children and young people are able to access a service that supports their individual needs. Further information can be found here. You can find information on their September workshops on the attached (Parent) (Teenager)
County Lines
County Lines is the Criminal Exploitation of Children (CCE), where gangs will find and use young people to move drugs and money for them. For more information on the warning signs and how to report it can be found here.
Open Door
Bedford Open Door is a charity providing free and confidential counselling to young people. Counselling is provided by a team of fully trained, experienced and friendly volunteer counsellors.
Counselling is often confused with other types of helping relationships. People sometimes believe that they will receive advice and be told what to do by their counsellor, but the overall aim of counselling is to provide a chance for you to work towards living in a happier way and to help you find your strengths. Further information can be found here.
Relate
The UK's largest provider of relationship support, helping over two million people of all ages, backgrounds, sexual orientations and gender identities to strengthen their relationships. Find out more about what they do and how they can help you here.
Early Help - Triple P
Early Help means receiving help or speaking to someone about things that are important to
you or that you are worried about before they become a bigger problem.
There can be many reasons you might ask for Early Help. You might have some concerns
about your health, education or your family and want to talk to someone who will listen.
You can find more information on Early Help here.
Childline
Are here for you, whatever's on your mind. They will support you, guide you and help you make decisions that are right for you. They offer advice on:
- Bullying, abuse, safety and the law
- You and your body
- Your feelings
- Friends, relationships and sex
- Home and families
- School, college and work
Samaritans
Give people ways to cope and the skills to be there for others. And to encourage, promote and celebrate those moments of connection between people that can save lives. They offer listening and support to people and communities in times of need.
Samaritans are working with people who are going through a difficult time and training others to do the same. Further information can be found here.
Kooth
Kooth.com is a website you can use to get advice, support and guidance for any problem, no matter how big or small. For more information on Kooth click here.
Young Minds
Leading the fight for a future where all young minds are supported and empowered, whatever the challenges. We’re here to make sure they get the best possible mental health support and have the resilience to overcome life’s difficulties. For more information click here.