Pastoral Care
The Academy is committed to providing the highest level of pastoral care, welfare and guidance for every student. The primary aim is to offer a stable environment with a sense of security and belonging from which they can:
- Develop their social, intellectual, physical and practical skills
- Participate in community life
- Learn to care for themselves and be able to access any help they need emotionally
- Become aware of the needs and feelings of others around them
- Be prepared for their life when they leave the academy.
Students join us in Year 7 aged 11-12 and leave us in Year 11 aged 15-16. Each Year group has a Head of Year whose primary focus is to make sure every student fulfils their potential. Working alongside them is their Assistant Head of Year, who supports attendance, behaviour, student well-being, uniform, and other non-academic issues. We have a comprehensive Safeguarding system and Anti-Bullying Policy in place and recognised as a School of Sanctuary in 2016. To further support the sense of belonging each year group has their own colour on their ties. This will be their identity throughout their time at Mayfield. For the academic year 2023-2024 the ties are as follows:
Year 7 – Blue, Year 8 – Green, Year 9 – Teal, Year 10 – Purple, Year 11 – Yellow.
Protecting and promoting positive mental health at Mayfield
One of the areas we are continually developing is supporting students to care for their mental health wellness and being able to recognise when they need to ask for help or to be able to take the first steps in any personal conversations.
- Young Minds UK
- Rethink Mental Illness – mental health info for young people
- Mental Health Foundation – mental health in children and young people
- Mind Uk - For Better Mental Health
- Time to Change - Let’s end mental health discrimination
- The Children’s Society – no child should feel alone
- Mental Health Helplines from the NHS
| Talk about your feelings Talking about your feelings can help you stay in good mental health and deal with times when you feel troubled. It is part of taking charge of your wellbeing and doing what you can to stay healthy. |
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Eat well |
| Keep in touch Friends and family can make you feel included and cared for. They can offer different views from whatever's going on inside your own head. They can help keep you active, keep you grounded and help you solve practical problems |
| Take a break A change of scene or a change of pace is good for your mental health. It could be a five-minute pause from cleaning your bedroom, walking the dog, going for a run or a a weekend exploring somewhere new with friends and family. A few minutes can be enough to de-stress. |
| Accept who you are Some of us make people laugh, some are good at maths, others cook fantastic meals. Some of us share our lifestyle with the people who live close to us, others live very differently. We are all different and it's okay! |
| Keep active Exercise releases chemicals in your brain that make you feel good. Regular exercise can boost your self-esteem and help you concentrate, sleep, look and feel better. Exercise also keeps the brain and your other vital organs healthy. |
| Ask for help None of us are superhuman! We all sometimes get tired or overwhelmed by how we feel or when things go wrong. If things are getting too much for you and you feel you can't cope, ask for help! |
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Do something you are good at |
| Care for others Caring for others is often an important part of keeping up relationships with people close to you. It can even bring people closer together... |
| CARE FOR YOURSELF! and be kind to yourself. |
We are a School of Sanctuary
Whatever your age, wherever the place, making a beginning somewhere new can be an intimidating experience. Students at Mayfield have been learning about the dangers for refugees travelling over a thousand miles, along with the difficulties of transition, and have subsequently made a number of changes to make the academy as welcoming as possible, while running an appeal for the Refugee Crisis. In recognition of their efforts, Oasis Academy Mayfield has now been awarded a ‘School of Sanctuary.’
To be designated a ‘School of Sanctuary’, a school commits to be a safe and welcoming place for those seeking sanctuary. This could be people whose lives were in danger in their own country, who have troubles at home or are just looking for a space of safety.
At Oasis Academy Mayfield students have been learning what it means to ‘seek sanctuary,’ why people become refugees and why many need protection and help. The academy has been visited by some of the Oasis charity’s team in Belgium to learn about their work supporting refugees, and their work raising awareness of human trafficking. The students have also run an academy appeal for the Refugee Crisis.