Charlton School

Happy New Year and welcome back to school for the new term!  There have been some changes to the LCT Attendance & Welfare Team, some new faces and some differences to which schools we are working with, so we wanted to update you.  We are all based at HLC but are in our schools every week providing advice and guidance and working hard to ensure that our students get the best possible education and support.  We would like to introduce you to everyone and let you know who to contact if we can help or support you.

Our Education Welfare Officers work with our schools, families and students to promote and support good school attendance and to help resolve any issues that may be impacting on attendance and welfare at school.  We also liaise with the local authority regarding unauthorised holidays in term-time, persistent absence, child employment, elective home education and legal issues relating to school attendance.  Please always try to contact your child’s school in the first instance, but if you feel that you need to speak to us, please contact school staff and ask them to pass your details to the relevant EWO.  We will then get in touch with you.

Nikki Morrison: Nikki is the LCT Attendance & Welfare Team Leader and manager of the EWOs, counsellors and mentors.  She supports all of our schools with a variety of attendance and welfare issues and has specific responsibility for Charlton School.  Nikki is our Senior Education Welfare Officer.

Dan Santopietro: Dan is the EWO for HLC Primary, Wrekin View Primary, Lantern Academy and Crudgington Primary, and also provides EWO support to Meadows and Millbrook Primaries.  Dan has a dual role and is also an Education Mentor.

Dawn Mitchell:  Dawn is the EWO for our specialist schools, which are Queensway (North and South) and Severndale Specialist Academy in Shrewsbury.  Dawn also provides EWO support to Kickstart Academy.

Adrian Rawsthorne: Adrian is the EWO for HLC Secondary and Ercall Wood Academy, and also works alongside Nikki at Charlton School, which is the biggest of our secondary schools.  

Nikki also manages the Food Hub at HLC, which is part of our food support project.  Our LCT colleague, Russell Garner, manages the Community Fridge at Wrekin View Primary and the Community Café.  If you need to access food support but are unable to get to HLC or Wrekin View, please ask your child’s school to pass your contact details to Nikki or Russell.  If we aren’t available, any of our team will be able to help you.  Please just ask, we are here to help, and all requests can be kept confidential.

Our Education Mentors work with our students whose attendance, behaviour or health issues are preventing them from reaching their full potential at school. 

Wayne Denfhy and Dan Santopietro: Wayne and Dan mentor students across the LCT schools, and also provide mentoring support for students at Meadows Primary and Kickstart.  School staff and LCT staff can make referrals for students who they feel need the support and advocacy that a mentor can provide.

Our Counsellors help our students to discuss their problems, thoughts and feelings in a confidential setting, and offer them strategies to help improve their emotional wellbeing and mental health.   With our younger children, this can be done through play as well as through talking and listening.  Our counsellors have a variety of resources and a wealth of experience that enables them to work with our children from Reception to year 11.

Jessica Jenkins:  Jessica is the counsellor for HLC Primary, Wrekin View, Crudgington and Lantern Academy and also provides counselling services to students at Meadows and Millbrook Primaries.

Adrian Jama: Adrian is the counsellor at Charlton and Kickstart and also provides counselling support at HLC Secondary with Laurisa.

Laurisa Clayton: Laurisa provides the counselling service at Ercall Wood and also works alongside Adrian at HLC Secondary.

Maxine Hatton:  Maxine is part of the Queensway Connect Team and provides counselling for students on both the North and South sites.

Our schools have systems in place to identify and support students who may benefit from emotional health and wellbeing support.  As well as the counsellors, our schools have teams including pastoral staff, SEND staff, safeguarding staff, attendance officers and family liaison officers, all of whom can offer different skills and experience alongside that of teaching staff, to help your child at school. WE ARE ALL HERE TO HELP.