Positive Futures Worker

St Francis Church of England Aided Junior School

"To be the best we can be"

Positive Futures Worker - Miss Mason

Welcome to my page!

Hello! My name is Miss Mason and I am the "Positive Futures Worker" (PFW) here at St. Francis. My role as a PFW is to offer support to children and families. This could involve supporting you with mental health and emotional well being, attendance and school refusal, safeguarding and behaviour support. On this page I will share helpful resources that might be useful to families in our St. Francis community. Alternatively, you can contact me via email (s.mason300@stfrancisjunior.org.uk) or by calling 01325 300236.

Useful Contact Info

Action for Happiness - Jump Back Up July

The Mental Health Support Team

We are part of a Mental Health Support Team (MHST) which is attached to our Education Setting. The MHST offer early help to children and young people who are struggling with mild to moderate mental health difficulties such as anxiety and/or low mood. We have attached a leaflet below that explains the role of the Education Mental Health Practitioner (EMHP) within the team and the support they can offer.

As well as working directly with children and young people the team offer advice and guidance to staff members, parents and other professionals. Please see the leaflet below for more information.

If you feel your child would benefit from support from the MHST or you would like additional information about the team please contact Miss Mason (Positive Futures Worker), Mrs Lakey (SENDco) or your child’s class teacher to discuss further.

The Lord Crew Fund

At St. Francis we are lucky to have access to a pot of funding to support families in our community. With this funding, we can provide to you and your children, school uniform, coats and hats/scarf and gloves for winter. We can also provide school shoes and school bags. If this is something you think would be helpful, please feel free to pop me an email. We are happy to help in any way we can, so don't worry about reaching out and asking for some help.

Attendance Support

At St. Francis we view excellent attendance and punctuality as vitally important for the learning and progress of the children. Your child’s time at school is very valuable! It is therefore very important that they miss as little school as possible.

Research shows that children who have good school attendance are more likely to do well in the future. Regular attendance also helps children to develop their confidence and make and keep lasting friendships.

How much school have you missed?

90% Attendance might sound good, but this means:

On average half a day's school missed every week.
Four weeks school would be missed each year.

How can I improve this?

If your child is unwell because of illness, please contact the school office as early as possible on the first day of illness. You can do this by telephone, answer machine message or email.
Establish a morning routine.
Set a regular and age appropriate bed time schedule.
Plan ahead the night before (e.g. laying out school clothes, pack school bag).
If applicable, provide a note from the doctor for any medical appointments to the school office.

If you are concerned about your child's attendance, please contact the school office where Miss Hockaday, Miss Hutchinson and Miss Mason will be able to help you to ensure the necessary support can be put in place.

Training/Courses for Parents & Carers

CAMHS/Rollercoaster Parent Information & Training Sessions

Rollercoaster Family Support (based in Newton Aycliffe) and CAMHS are running a series of parent/carer training and information sessions during July and September.

Supporting Children Who Are Anxious

Tuesday 28th September 9:30 AM - 11:15 AM

Emotional Wellbeing

Tuesday 20th July 1:00 PM - 2:45 PM

To book a place, please email: tewv.countydurhamcamhstraining@nhs.net .

See the flyer below for more information.