North London Collegiate School

NLCS places safeguarding and wellbeing at the center of pastoral care. Staff receive regular safeguarding training to recognise and respond to concerns. The school operates a whole-school Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy, promoting regular physical activity and addressing adolescence challenges such as social media pressures and healthy boundaries around tech. The wider pastoral team includes Heads of Year, Heads of Section, a Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, the School Nurse, a Healthcare Professional and two Counsellors. The Medical Centre and Cedar Space provide spaces and activities for physical and emotional wellbeing, including Mindfulness and wellbeing-focused clubs. Peer support and PSHE help students develop resilience, confidence and healthy relationships.

NLCS operates a whole-school SEND approach. Every teacher is a teacher of all pupils, including those with SEND, and each pupil is supported to reach her full potential, academically, socially and emotionally. The school has two SEND advisers: Mrs Lisa Weisgard (Junior School including EYFS) and Mrs Sonya Beale (Senior School). The SEND policy emphasises equality under the Equality Act 2010 and the Children and Families Act 2014, and embraces the neurodiversity of its pupil population. The policy follows a graduated approach (Assess, Plan, Do, Review) to identify and address needs and involves parents in planning and reviewing support. It covers admissions, assessment and the provision of Individual Support Plans, with liaison to outside professionals where appropriate.

The School has an English as an Additional Language (EAL) Policy. EAL is defined as language used at home differing from the language of instruction. EAL pupils may come from multilingual backgrounds and may be fully bilingual. The policy promotes equality of access to the curriculum and compliance with the Equality Act 2010. A five-stage model of English acquisition is used, ranging from New to English through Fluent. When pupils are identified as having EAL needs, the Deputy Head (Academic) works with SEND advisers to provide support, including Individual Support Plans and targeted differentiation; additional English teaching is provided as required.

NLCS runs a school-wide Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy. The team includes a Mental Health and Wellbeing Lead, School Nurse, part-time Health Care Professional and two part-time Counsellors. The Medical Centre and the Cedar Space host wellbeing spaces and activities. The PSHE programme supports pupils to develop resilience, healthy relationships and to manage issues such as online safety and body image. Tooled Up Education provides resources to families to support wellbeing at home.

NLCS has a Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. Safeguarding is central to all activities and all staff are trained to identify and respond to concerns. The school designates safeguarding leads; details are available in the policy. The policy sets out staff responsibilities to identify and report abuse and to involve external services when necessary. Early help is provided by staff, and safeguarding information is kept confidential and shared only with those who need to know. Safeguarding records are securely stored and disposed of in line with policy. The policy requires at least annual safeguarding training for staff and annual review by the Governing Body, with oversight by the Pastoral, Safeguarding and Compliance Committee.