Meet our Oakmeadow Pastoral Team

At Oakmeadow, we all play an important role in supporting the mental health and emotional well-being of all our pupils.
We all have the same shared desire to ensure every child receives the necessary support to help them achieve their potential by applying our expertise to help reduce barriers to their learning. We are aware this can be often be due to emotional well-being being compromised by a range of factors. 
Although many members of our staff receive training in various areas around mental health and emotional wellbeing, we have a team of dedicated individuals who form our Pastoral Team. These staff members have a wealth of skills and extensive experience in this vital area.
 
We will shortly be sharing with you some very EXCITING NEWS about the development of Oakmeadow's pastoral offer. Watch this space!
 

  • Miss Lisa Oliver

    Family Inclusion, Designated Safeguarding Lead & SEND Support Assistant

    admin@oak.mmat.co.uk

    I feel privileged to be in my sixteenth year here at Oakmeadow. Although we are a large school, we have a real family feel which I love. We have a dedicated team of staff who have a wealth of knowledge and expertise to support all of our children and families.
    I have worked across all key stages within school supporting a wide range of children to help them reach their full potential. Initially, I started as a 1:1 teaching assistant; gradually over the years my role has evolved and I now work as part of Oakmeadow’s Pastoral team.
    I am a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL), which involves supporting our Senior Leadership Team to effectively safeguard all of our Oakmeadow children and families,
    Over the years, I have been given lots of opportunities for CPD. I have received specific training to support children with ASD, dyslexia and developing Speech and Language, where I have a Level 3 Elklan qualification. I have gained further qualifications in counselling and supporting children with mental health difficulties, Most recently, I have had the opportunity to train as an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant. (ELSA). This is a part of my role that I am passionate about. Training is provided by the Educational Psychology team and regular supervision sessions are arranged to support me in providing the best for our children within school. Some of the areas that I cover in my work as a ELSA include improving self-esteem, team building, supporting friendships, developing social skills, supporting bereavement, anger management and helping children to recognise and understand their emotions.
    Other parts of my pastoral role include supporting our many families, I do this alongside my colleagues, Mrs Severn and Mrs Morris and between us with have a wealth of knowledge to draw upon. We are always here to support families, who might need some additional support, or signposting to other external services that may be able to provide further additional targeted support.
    I have acquired lots of knowledge to support families and children’s behaviours, whilst delivering the ‘Solihull Approach Parenting programme, Understanding Your Child’. I do this alongside my colleague Mrs Severn as we are both facilitators within school.
    We are always here to talk, no matter how big or small your problem, please feel to contact us at any time.
    The Pastoral team have some exciting times ahead, there are lots of new developments coming – I can’t wait!

  • Mrs Helen Morris

    Deputy Headteacher

    helen.morris@oak.mmat.co.uk

    I became SENCo at Oakmeadow in 2014 and achieved my National Award for Special Needs Coordinator qualification in 2015. Since working at Oakmeadow, I have had the privilege of working with our experts within our Pastoral Team and now I have the privilege to lead such an integral part of our Oakmeadow school.
    From the outset of my teaching career, I have always had the desire to see all children achieve and most importantly enjoy the experience of coming to school. Sadly, in some schools, not all children do. Being the school's SENCO and now the Deputy Head Teacher, gives me the unique opportunity to work with a range of our children and families across the entire school. I am passionate about all children deserving and receiving the same opportunities to help them make progress, achieve and enjoy life. In this role, I can introduce and drive initiatives to make a difference. Working with our highly experienced pastoral team, we can ensure Oakmeadow continues to strive to provide an outstanding inclusive education for all our children and provide the necessary support for our families.
    I am the Designated Lead Teacher for our children who are Currently Looked After (CLA) and those who have been Previously Looked After (PLAC).
    Over the past couple of years, I have become particularly interested in the impact of early trauma on the lives of children. I have completed various training programmes and carried out extensive research around this area. I have also recently qualified to train all our staff members in a Team Teach approach. This is an extensive programme which underpins our ethos around behaviour. The foundation of good practice when working with our children is through building relationships of trust and understanding. At Oakmeadow, we all understand behaviour is a form of communication and has a purpose. We know at times, children may not always display our expected behaviours and therefore need coaching and support in regulating their emotions. Using the ‘Team Teach’ philosophy throughout our practice, a positive culture with positive behaviours are promoted and provide children with the support they deserve.

  • Mrs May Severn

    Family Inclusion, Behaviour and Designated Safeguarding Lead.

    admin@oak.mmat.co.uk

    I started working at Oakmeadow in 2013. My job title is Family Inclusion, Behaviour and Safeguarding Lead. As the title suggests, the role is varied and busy and no two days are ever the same. The main objective of the role is to ensure that all our children at Oakmeadow are able to successfully access the curriculum, the learning and the social activities; enabling children regardless of their ability, gender, race or social standing to reach their full potential.
    Here at Oakmeadow, we understand that sometimes, some of our families may need some additional support to make sure that our children are able to do their best, achieve and be happy both in school and at home. To this end, families can access support via our Early Help process. As Family Inclusion Lead, this is my area of expertise. Early Help support can range from, an informal chat and signposting to a universal service eg, Autism West Midlands, BEAM, Parenting team and other community-based support networks, to more intense support i.e. Early Help meeting at school with myself and in some cases a referral to an outside agency for more targeted work.
    I am an Understanding Your Child facilitator and together with my colleague Lisa Oliver, regularly deliver the 10 week parenting program here at Oakmeadow.
    Previously to working at Oakmeadow, I worked as an Inclusion & Behaviour Mentor for the Learning & Behaviour team at Telford & Wrekin. The main purpose of the role was to support children who found attending school challenging and needed additional support and mentoring to enjoy and achieve at school. I gained many transferable skills during my time as an Inclusion & Behaviour mentor which support my practice here at Oakmeadow.
    I qualified with the Nurture Network as a Nurture practitioner many years ago and it is an area of my experience that I can apply to my current role as Oakmeadow has a strong nurturing ethos.
    As Family Inclusion lead, I manage the pastoral team and hub from “The Meadows” where we have created and developed a safe space that is nurturing and supportive of our children’s Social, Emotional & Mental health needs. The work and additional intervention that is delivered in The Meadows compliments and sits comfortably within our Recovery and Resilience program.
    CPD
    I have a diploma in Mindfulness practice for children and enjoy sharing these new skills with the children in Oakmeadow.
    For the past three years, I have been a MAPA (Managing Actual &Potential Aggression) trainer enabling me to support and train my colleagues in identifying, deescalating and managing potential challenging behaviour.
    Finally, as Safeguarding Lead , I support our Senior Leadership team with Child Protection and Safeguarding, working closely with them in this area to ensure that we have effective procedures and processes in place to effectively safeguard the children, colleagues and families of Oakmeadow.