House System
Each child who joins Pittville is placed in a House. The four Houses are Abbott, Aston, Livingstone and Stokes. Children with older brothers and/or sisters already at Pittville normally join the same House.
Although each house has its own “personality” certain principles apply to all. It is hoped that each House provides pupils with an education of the highest quality so that they leave Pittville with the qualifications, skills and personal qualities they need to lead a successful life.
The Four Heads of House
Abbott House
Abbott House is named after David Abbott, who was the first Headteacher of Pittville School.
Our motto is ‘floreat domus’: may this house flourish. We emphasise the contribution that every student within Abbott House can make towards our combined success. At the heart of our House ethos is the importance of competition. We will compete for House points by striving to work hard in lessons, we will compete to the best of our ability in sporting events, and we will use our creative talents to represent the House in school activities such as drama, dance, photography and art. Every member of the House is valued and can make a positive contribution by getting involved and striving to achieve their full potential.
Head of House: Miss E Allan
Aston House
Aston House is named after Lynn Aston, a local police officer who sadly lost her battle with cancer a couple of years ago.
Lynn worked very closely with Pittville School and was involved in school life for a number of years. She was respected and loved by many pupils and staff. Her personal motto for life was “Always be the best you can” and we have adopted this as our Aston House motto and ethos.
Head of House: Mr J Sheather
Stokes House
Stokes House is named after Julie Stokes, the founder of Winston's Wish.
Winston's Wish is a childhood bereavement charity founded in 1992 which offers support to bereaved families in Cheltenham. Over the years the charity has offered support to students and families at Pittville.
Head of House: Mrs Crowe
Livingstone House
Our aim is for everyone to feel part of a community where you are valued and rewarded for your positive contributions to our house.
We like to promote the following values at every opportunity in Livingstone; the values of respect for others, individual responsibility and honesty. We want students to embrace every opportunity open to them in school, and together we will celebrate our successes to make Livingstone a strong, happy house; a house of which we can be proud. Livingstone House is named after Sir Richard Livingstone – who laid the foundation stone for the school in 1938.
Head of House: Mr D Kavanagh
All Houses aim to ensure
- A commitment to the highest academic standards
- A caring and stimulating environment
- A partnership with all pupils and parents
- A wide range of House activities and competitions including Sports Day, and House assemblies
Through well-established systems each House demonstrates a commitment to the welfare of each pupil. As they progress through the school, older students are encouraged to support younger pupils. During Year 10 pupils in each house are encouraged to become prefects. From the ranks of School Prefects come our Senior Prefects and House Captains who form a senior body of pupils consulted from time to time on matters of school policy, having a higher status and a wider range of responsibilities than School Prefects.
House Competitions
The house system we operate provides the perfect structure for organising interschool competition. Each house competes in a range of competitions including; music, dance, and sporting events such as cross country and sports day.
Pastoral care and wellbeing
As a school we believe that Pastoral support underpins the whole school community. Ensuring that every child matters and is valued is a focus for the school through the house system. This is vital to ensure that every child can access a quality education. In addition to the house teams, the following services are available through Pittville School.
The School Nurse
The school nurse is regularly in school. These are free drop in sessions for any pupil who feels they need some support or guidance. Your Head of House will be very happy to arrange a session for any pupil.
Text School Nurse
Young people aged 11-16 can get text advice from the school nurse by texting 07507333351
School Counsellor
Lisa is our school counsellor who can offer support for pupils, appointments are made through your head of house. Lisa works in school on a Monday and a Thursday
Education Welfare Support
Rachel Fitzpatrick is the Welfare support worker who provides support to the school and parents with advice on improving attendance
Early Help Coordinator and Education Inclusion Officer:
Visit Pittville regularly and works closely with the Head of House team. Early help involves everybody and the aim is to identify emerging problems, to enable the right level of intervention and support when needed, through the designated school lead and other professionals.
Other support available
We recognise that there will be times when people need support. The positive relationship between children, parents, friends, the community and school is fundamental to develop a well rounded member of society. The following outside agencies provide a range of support and guidance to families and young people.
Bereavement
Winstons Wish Provides services to bereaved young people and their families offering practical advice and guidance in helping to grieve and cope with bereavement. Winstons Wish founder Julie Stokes is the name behind our Stokes House and we do have direct links for support from Julie and Winstons Wish in Pittville School. https://www.winstonswish.org/
Hope is a charity set up to help young people effected by bereavement. https://hopesupport.org.uk/
Cruse Bereavement Care - Provides Information on what you can do to help a child or young person who is grieving. https://www.cruse.org.uk/
Hope Again - is aimed at young people aged 12-18 and is part of Cruse Bereavement Care. The website is designed to help young people find their own way with dealing with loss. https://www.hopeagain.org.uk/
Drugs and alcohol
Frank is a charity that provides advice and information for young people and parents on drugs. https://www.talktofrank.com/
General help
There are a number of charities that provide support and advice to young people and families on a range of issues. The following charities are important organisations that we recommend on a regular basis to parents. Visit the websites and then use their search engines to find more information.
The NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children are the the leading children's charity fighting to end child abuse in the UK with a range of advice on different issues for parents and children. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/
Glos Families Is a local information page that is linked to local authority providers, with information on a range of issues. https://www.glosfamiliesdirectory.org.uk/kb5/gloucs/glosfamilies/home.page
Childline provides counselling service for parents, children and young people. https://www.childline.org.uk/
Gloucestershire Healthy Living and Learning provides support around the PSHE curriculum to teachers and advice for parents. There are resources, as well links to partner organisations to support the emotional health and wellbeing of all children and young people. https://www.ghll.org.uk/mental-health
Parenting Support Line (no website) is a free confidential advice line providing guidance and emotional support on any aspect of parenting and family life.
Call 0800 542 02 02, email familyinfo@gloucestershire.gov.uk, or message on Facebook.
Child Explotation
CEOP website The Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre is dedicated to eradicating the sexual abuse of children. That means we are part of UK policing and very much about tracking and bringing offenders to account either directly or in partnership with local and international forces." You can also report concerns and abuse and will find a button to CEOP on most social networking sites as well as in instant messaging and other interactive software.
Internet safety
The Safer Internet website has lots of information whether you're a student, a parent or carer, or a member of staff on how to access the internet safely
https://saferinternet.org.uk/guide-and-resource/parents-and-carers
You can find:
- top tips on how to keep your child safe online.
- how to be kind online.
- If you want to set up your parental controls on your child's phone there is an guide to be found on this website.
LGBT support
Gay Gloucester is a local charity providing support for LGBT people, their families and friends. https://www.gayglos.org/
Stonewall is a lobbying and focus group working for equality for LGBT and provide support and help for people experiencing abuse and/or discrimination because of their sexuality. https://www.stonewall.org.uk/
Eating Disorders
Beat eating disorders -This charity aim to support people who have or are worried they have an eating disorder, as well as others affected, such as friends and family members. https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/
Mental Health
Anxiety UK is a charity to help people suffering from anxiety disorders. https://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/resources/
Calm Harm is an app designed to help reduce the need to self harm. It offers lots and lots of ways to distract yourself, it is endorsed by the NHS. https://calmharm.co.uk/
No Panic is a helpline providing support for panic attacks and anxiety disorders. https://nopanic.org.uk/
Gloucestershire self harm is a safe, non-judgmental helpline for young people and adults who self harm, and their friends, families and carers. https://www.gloucestershireselfharm.org/
Young Minds is a national charity that provides practical support and advice on Mental Health. They also have a Young Minds Parent Helpline phone number: 08088025544. https://www.youngminds.org.uk/
Chat Health is a confidential text messaging service for young people to get in touch with a healthcare professional for advice and support on physical and mental health issues. https://chathealth.nhs.uk/
Kooth is an online support platform for 11 to 18 year olds where young people can access free anonymous counselling, join friendly discussion boards, keep online journals, goal trackers, and read self-help articles with the option to contribute their own experiences or advice. https://www.kooth.com/
Young Gloucestershire offer Counselling by phone and via online chat for 16 to 25 year olds facing challenges with their mental and emotional wellbeing. Young people can be referred or can refer themselves. https://www.youngglos.org.uk/about-us/
The Mix supports under 25s with mental health, money, homelessness, finding a job, relationships and drugs. They can talk to young people about their situation and signpost them to organisations that could help. https://www.themix.org.uk/
Heads Together is a charity designed to promote support and communication about mental health issues. https://www.headstogether.org.uk/
Headroom - The BBC have created a new website called 'Headroom'. This website has lots of resources to help those who may be experiencing mental health difficulties. https://www.bbc.co.uk/topics/c3gv154y89wt
The NHS have a website offering mental health support called 2gether this website offers a range of other services for young people and parents. https://www.2gether.nhs.uk/
Students against depression offers excellent advice for anyone feeling low, stressed or depressed. https://www.studentsagainstdepression.org/
Mindful is a new service for 11-17 year olds providing help and advice on mental helath and emotional well being. https://www.mindful.org/meditation/mindfulness-getting-started/
On Your Mind is a website run by NHS to provide advice to people with a range of concerns from Mental health to Bereavement. https://www.onyourmindglos.nhs.uk/
Teens In Crisis is a charity who aim to to improve, preserve and promote good mental health and well-being among young people and their families. https://www.ticplus.org.uk/
Teens In Crisis is a charity who aim to to improve, preserve and promote good mental health and well-being among young people and their families.
Radicalisation
Educate against Hate The Educate Against Hate parents' hub provides resources and government advice for parents and carers on keeping young people safe from extremism, including online. https://educateagainsthate.com/parents/
Lets Talk About It This website provides support for parents and carers to keep children safe from online radicalisation. https://actearly.uk/
GOV.UK referral tool Any member of the public can report terrorist content they find online through the GOV.UK referral tool. More information about what to report and what happens when you make a report can be found on the Action Counters Terrorism campaign. https://www.gov.uk/report-terrorism
Social Media
Safer Internet Center offer advice on how to ensure that young people remain safe when online. https://saferinternet.org.uk/
Sexting Advice from the South West Grid for Learning for parents and young people dealing with issues arising from sexting. https://swgfl.org.uk/online-safety/topics/sexting/
SafeTo Net This is an app for parents to help you safeguard your children from online risks like cyberbullying and sexting, whilst respecting yourchild’s rights to privacy. https://safetonet.com/en-gb/landing-pages/covid/
Own It The BBC have a website and app called own it. The website has a lot of content for children to help them navigate their online lives, and the free smartphone app comes with a special keyboard which can intervene with help and support in the moments that children need it the most. It can be downloaded for free in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. https://www.bbc.com/ownit