Our Supports for Learners

Community Child Health (CCH)

School Doctor : Dr Marwa Abdelraham 


CCH provides assessment and help for Neurodisability and neurodiverse children or children with visual or hearing problems.

Email: gram.cdtnorth@nhs.scot  Phone: 01224710775

Referrals may also be made by school staff.  Appointments take place at the Bucksburn Clinic.

Barnardo's Northern Star

Northern Star Project Worker at Westpark Primary School

My name is Gemma, and I am a project worker based full time at Westpark Primary School. I work for Northern Star, which is a Barnardos service funded by the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF). The service supports primary aged children and their families both during term time and over holiday periods as well. The overall aim of the service is to support children to improve attainment, succeed in school, and achieve their goals. I work with children who may be experiencing some challenges whether this is in school, at home or in the community, and support them to feel safe, happy, and ready to learn. I work alongside parents/caregivers to find the best ways to support their children too.

 

When children are referred to me, I will take time to build a trusting relationship with the young person and provide them space to talk. We come up with ideas together to improve school participation, engagement, and motivation, while using the child’s interests and strengths to do so. Each child will have one 1:1 session with me each week, but they also know that I am around to speak to throughout the day.

 

I can support children and families through:

 

1:1 sessions

Daily check-ins

Group work

Home visits

Activities/excursions (both as part of the school term and during the holidays)

 

It is important to me and the Northern Star service that we are involved within the whole school community. Therefore, you might see me taking part in various other parts of school life and after school activities.


AOR vision and values (1).pdf

Autism Outreach

Children with a diagnosis of ASC will be referred to Autism Outreach by school staff (with parent consent).

Mrs Heather Ross

Autism Outreach

BUILDING CAPACITY AND CONFIDENCE MASTER.docx

Autism Outreach Framework

Karen Bowie

Hi my name is Karen Bowie. I am one of the school counsellors at Westpark school. My role is to offer support to children p1_p5 who may struggle with anxiety, emotional issues peer relationships or just find school a struggle generally.

 

I am in school on Wednesdays from 8.30 till 3pm. Children attend sessions for 45minutes for around 10 weeks during term time. This can be more or less, depending on the childs needs.

 

The time spent with me is confidential which allows children to use the play resources to explore their feelings, develop confidence, and supports their education in a safe environment.

 

Parents/carers are involved from the beginning as are class teachers and senior staff. Referal to the service can come from parents, carers, teaching staff and only happens with consent including the childs consent.

 

I am happy to discuss the service but not the content with parents and carers who may feel anxious about their child being referred to the service. Please let Mr Watson or Ms Atkinson know if you would like to speak directly to me.

SN Service Referral Form (September 2020) (1) (1).docx

School Nursing Service

Parents can also self refer to the school nursing service using this email gram.schoolnursing@nhs.scot using school nursing referral form.  Parents may also discuss with class teachers or senior leadership to request that a referral is made.


I’m Carolyn and I work for Acis Youth Counselling. Acis Youth forms part of Mental Health Aberdeen. I work within Westpark School with children who are in either p6 or p7 who may be experiencing some difficulties and who have been identified as pupils who may benefit from a ten-week course of counselling within school.

I provide a safe, secure and confidential space where children are gently encouraged to express what they may be feeling and talk about what may be worrying for them. Issues may be areas of conflict, anxiety, and feelings of low mood. Counselling sessions can provide an opportunity for a child to process painful experiences and to work on building up resilience and self-confidence.

The sessions are very relaxed and I work in a creative and holistic way, often using therapeutic play which can help the child understand and process their own experiences. Referrals are made in consultation with parents, teachers and senior leadership.

Fit Like_leaflet_FINAL.pdf

‘Fit like? Family Wellbeing Hubs are a group of services working together to support children and young people’s mental wellbeing. 

We work with families across the city offering practical and emotional support from our three Hubs in Northfield, Torry and Tillydrone.

We can help with:

How do we work?

We work with you to help set your own goals and support you to achieve them. This might be individually, as a family or in a group.
We will identify a key person or a team of people who can help you achieve your goals. It is important that you and your family feel comfortable and that you have a point of contact within the Hub team.

Who is the Hub Team?

Contact us

If you need our help, or would like to find out more you can contact us by e-mail Fitlikehubs@aberdeencity.gov.uk
You can also speak to your child’s Teacher, Health Visitor or Family Nurse.

Follow us on social media
Facebook  - @fitlikeaberdeen
Twitter - @fitlikeaberdeen

Active Schools Assistant

As Active Schools Assistants we aim to build positive relationships with pupils to help increase attainment, through accessing the benefits of sport and physical activity:

Working one to one and in small group settings we support children’s achievements in and out of the classroom.  Our aims are to deepen the knowledge on how to be a good sport, use effective communication skills, regulate emotions and build resilience in competitive situations.

 

By supporting and encouraging participation we hope to inspire the pupils to support and encourage each other, improve self esteem and confidence in a safe, fun environment.

Active Schools

My name is Stacey Stuart and I am the Active Schools Coordinator for Northfield ASG. My role is to organise extra-curricular clubs and festivals for all 8 of the schools in my ASG as well as arranging many opportunities for pupils to be active in school too. I work closely with partner organisations, schools, coaches, students, young leaders and volunteers to achieve this.

Active Schools Aberdeen are a very inclusive organisation and work hard to break down any barriers to participation faced by the pupils of ACC schools. All Active Schools activities are run free of charge to participants and we aim to ensure all our sessions are welcoming and engaging for all.

I hope to see you all at one of our sessions!

Please see weekly bulletin for details of upcoming clubs and events.

Parent-Guardian Information.pdf

Befriending

Hi, my name is Nicola Milne, and I am the Befriending Manager at Befriend a Child. My team are responsible for recruiting, training and matching reliable volunteer befrienders with a child, aged 5-16 years who will spend time on a one-to-one basis twice a month for a minimum of one year taking part in fun activities to help them increase their confidence and self-esteem, learn new skills, reduce their social isolation and show them more of what life has to offer.

The children are referred to the organisation by a range of statutory bodies including social work health and education for a variety of reasons including parental substance use, mild behaviour difficulties, economic disadvantage, and social isolation.

If you think this is something your child may benefit from, please contact Mrs Atkinson at the school or visit our website at www.befriendachild.org.uk for more information.

Mentoring

Hi, my name is Olivia Polak, and I am the Senior intandem co-ordinator at Befriend a Child. The project I oversee is for young people aged 8-14 years who have cared experienced supported by social work, or living in Kinship care with extended family members. Young people can become involved in the care system when parents struggle to navigate tough times. We recruit mentors to take the young people out twice a month for a minimum of one year taking part in activities and outings. Having a consistent, caring mentoring relationship can help young people develop confidence improve their wellbeing and build resilience, giving them the foundation they need to build strong relationships in the future while overcoming challenging experiences from their past.  If you think this is something your child may benefit from, please contact Mrs Atkinson at the school or visit our website at www.befriendachild.org.uk for more information


Youth Club Flyer.pdf

Befriend A Child Youth Club

Youth Clubs

Hi there, my name is Daniel Nyssen, and I run two youth clubs in term time with volunteers who are PVG checked and fully trained in the local area. One in Northfield Community Centre on a Tuesday evening from 6pm -7.30pm and the other in Cummings Park Learning Centre on a Thursday evening from 6pm -7.30pm. The clubs are funded by Fairer Aberdeen so there are no costs involved. These clubs are open to not only befriended and mentored children but also children from the local community

Activities include arts and crafts, baking, free play indoors and outdoors (weather permitting) In the past we have also had Aberdeen Science Centre join us.

If you think this is something your child may enjoy contact jean@befriendachild.org.uk who will send you out a registration form to complete.