'School Staff Thank You Scheme' reward for Tammy

Tammy was nominated by her Headteacher for the Exeter Consortium ‘School Staff Thank You Scheme’ and has been selected to receive an award for the support she provides for children and families in her role as ELSA and Pastoral Lead. The Headteacher said “Tammy has supported so many children and families in our school and has changed the lives of many of the families. She also looks out for the staff, setting up a ‘feel good’ basket in the staffroom, making cups of tea and always being a listening ear. She makes such a difference to so many lives!”
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​About Tammy and her role as Pastoral and ELSA Lead.

Hello, my name is Tammy and I am the Pastoral and ELSA support worker at Woodbury C of E Primary School. My role is to support our children and their families.
My ELSA role starts with building a relationship with the child and for that child to know they have a trusted adult within our school that they can meet with one to one to talk with and to support them. I am a warm and caring, approachable person and I want all children to be happy at school and to be able to reach their full potential.
 
My aim is to build the child’s emotional development and support them to cope with any challenges they may face and find solutions to any problems they may have. At times I also support groups of children, this is usually when children are finding social situations and friendships difficult.
 
My ELSA sessions offer support with the following:
 
●Loss and bereavement
●Emotional literacy
●Self esteem
●Social skills
●Friendship issues
●Relationships
●Managing strong feelings
●Anxiety
●Bullying
●Conflict
●Emotional regulation
●Growth mindset
●Social stories
 
I have also completed plenty of training to support children within our school with other needs, such as autism, ADHD, auditory processing and mental health.
 
My pastoral role is to support our families with any challenges they may be facing. I start by  building a relationship with the family and then help them to resolve any issues they are facing, this support is offered by myself or by liaising with outside agencies.  I also support our staff at times by baking treats, having a wellbeing basket in our staff room and placing positive affirmation sheets around the staffroom and being there with a listening ear to offer support and advice.
 
The children at  Woodbury school are aware I am here to support them even if they are not currently having Elsa sessions and often a child will drop in to see me for a chat and I will support them with their needs.
 
I run a wellbeing club once a week at lunch time for children to attend where the children engage in mindfulness activities, yoga and use a chill out area. The children are given time to chat in a group or one to one if needed. I also work with our year 6 Mental Health Parliament Leads who help me to run our wellbeing club at lunchtime.The children have named this club The Feel Good Club.
 
I thoroughly enjoy my role at our school and feel very rewarded by the results I see with my children and their families. 

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​The ‘School Staff ‘Thank You’ scheme’ is open to all Exeter Consortium partner schools as listed on our website HERE and a school can nominate one member of staff per year. To nominate a member of staff from your school please use the Google form HERE. The deadline for nominations is the last Friday before each half term break.
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For information about the Exeter Consortium ‘School Staff Thank You Scheme’ please contact [email protected]
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