Wellbeing at ISH Secondary
At ISH we recognise that all students require different levels and kinds of support to ensure their wellbeing. First and foremost all staff at ISH are responsible for and committed to, providing a safe and secure environment for our students. And secondly, we have a specialized department dedicated to student's wellbeing: the Student Wellbeing Department (SWD). This department offers a variety of mental health support to students, both addressing the wider students’ needs and individual student needs.
We support our Yr7-Yr11's through the FlourISH Mentor Programme whereby all students work with their class teacher on the development of important social, emotional and behavioural skills that support their approaches to academic learning. Mentors also provide guidance on healthy lifestyles and help students develop other life skills that will enable them to be successful beyond school. Having built strong foundations through Flourish Yr12&Yr 13 students shift focus to strengthening the skills and knowledge they will need for life beyond school.
Additionally, as part of FlourISH the wellbeing department visits each year group twice a year to offer sessions on a wellbeing topics. These sessions are tailored to the needs of each year group and aim to spread awareness, stimulate reflection, as well as teach skills.
For students who need additional support we have the Student Wellbeing Team.
Our Student Wellbeing Department
- The Student Wellbeing Coordinator leads the department and is the main point of contact for the Student Wellbeing Department for parents, staff, and external organisations. They work collaboratively with the core Student (multidisciplinary) Support Team.
- Our Student Wellbeing Counsellors provide individual and group support to students and their families, working collaboratively with teachers and other professionals.
- Our Social Worker is the school representative from Schoolformaat, an organisation that works with children and families. They provide counselling support to students and their families in their homes as well as in school. They connect students and their families requiring additional support, with professionals and organisations outside school.
The SWD also has links with a range of private practices, professionals and organisations outside of school that can offer specialist advice, information and support where required.
The SWD plays an active role in the school’s safeguarding and child protection measures. For more detail about this, please see the link below to “Safeguarding and Child Protection”.
Meet the Student Wellbeing Team
Beth Alpert
Maëlle Badibanga
Helen Melville Kenney
Simon Parkin
Tim Smeets
Simon Teal
Josee Kuiper, School Social Worker (Schoolformaat, Den Haag)
Dutch Law on Support in Education
All students who are resident in The Netherlands have the right to access education that suits their qualities and abilities. The education provided by a school must provide them with the potential to be successful and therefore the school should try to determine before entry whether the education that is offered by the school is appropriate. Entrance to The International School of The Hague is determined by the nature of our academic programmes and the availability of the additional support that we provide.
We offer a range of support for students with additional needs, including academic, social-emotional and health - but we are not a special educational needs school.
During the Admissions process we need all available and accurate information regarding any needs the children may have, so that we are able to determine whether they will be happy and safe following our educational programmes.
In the event that we are provided with inaccurate and/or incomplete information a student’s place at the school may be jeopardised.
How Do We Offer Support?
- Individual counselling: a one-to-one counselling lasts for 45 minutes
- We have an open-door policy so that students can access support without an appointment
- Referrals to external professionals/agencies when additional professional support is needed
- Educational sessions to all students as part of the Mentor programme, to raise awareness of the Student Wellbeing Department, how to access support and information about self-care strategies
- Workshops for parents to support the above sessions for students
Rock and Water
Rock and Water is an assertiveness and resiliency training that uses physical and self defense exercises as tools to increase physical, emotional, and self-awareness.
The Camino Group
“Camino” means path in Spanish, this name was chosen for students who take a different path in life. This could refer to students on the autism spectrum, students with mental health challenges or diagnosis’ and so forth. Camino is an open space students can access at any point in the day to take time to ground themselves, or a quiet space to spend breaks and lunches.
Confidentiality
Any information shared with the Student Wellbeing Department will remain confidential. It can be helpful to share information with other people (e.g. parents and teachers) and this will be done with the agreement of the student. If someone shares information with us that indicates risk of significant harm, we have a duty of care to share that information to protect all involved.
Get in Touch
If you have any questions about the work that we do, or what what could mean for you or your children, don't hesitate to get in touch.
