Calendar
Year 8 Induction Day (No Transport)
Year 8 and Year 12 (No transport)
All students return
Mid-Term
Staff development day (no students)
Christmas Holidays ( school ends for pupils @ 11.45) (students return 7th Jan 2025)
Care & Support
New Year 8 Students
At Blackwater Integrated College, we understand that it can be quite difficult for young people to make the change from primary to post-primary education so care is taken to ensure that the transition goes as smoothly as possible. A structured induction programme is in place to enable students to settle quickly and feel part of the College.
We place great emphasis on the pastoral care of our students. The basic pastoral unit is the tutor group, which consists of approximately 20 students. A tutor is assigned to each class and usually remains with the group as they move through the College.
Tutor groups meet each morning before class for registration and announcements and again in the afternoon. These tutorials ensure that a student who may be worried about any aspect of College life has daily access to his or her tutor who works closely with all staff to monitor each student’s academic performance and personal development. The Form Tutor and students are also supported with a Year Head, who provides another layer of support.
Tutor groups also follow a Preventative Curriculum during which students cover a wide range of relevant issues. Our pastoral system is a caring system that aims to put the children at ease right from the first day, free from worries and concerns, allowing them to feel safe and secure in their environment and to grow in confidence. There is also a real focus on promoting positive behaviour throughout all year groups.
As part of the induction programme for our new intake the first day of term in 2021 will be set aside for Year 8 only. This allows the children to settle and form relationships with their teachers and peers; they will spend lots of time exploring their new surroundings. The induction process will continue through the early weeks of your child’s time at the College within our Personal Development programme and will be reinforced by the Year 8 residential, the purpose of which is twofold: to strengthen friendships and build confidence.
During the first term you will be invited to the College to meet with your child’s form tutor. This will be an opportunity for you to find out how well your child has settled into the College and to discuss with his or her form tutor any concerns you might have.
Pastoral policies for Positive Behaviour, Anti-Bullying, Child Protection, Drugs and E-Safety are available on request from the College office.
Ongoing Pastoral Support:
All students have the support of a Form Tutor who they meet every morning for registration. The aim is for the Form Tutor to remain with the same class throughout their time at the College. This structure allows the Form Tutor to take an interest in the student’s moral, pastoral, behavioural and academic development. The Form Tutor is the most important element within the pastoral care system of the College and they link in closely with the Head of Year and the Pastoral Co-ordinator. The Form Tutor will ensure that strong links are developed with the student and their parents / guardians.
As well as developing links with Form Tutors the students are supported at all levels to achieve their best and the College will use external agencies, if necessary to support each individual. All students have timetabled Form periods where they work on structured themes and programmes throughout the year. This helps to develop student awareness around key issues that they encounter on a regular basis.
Pastoral policies are available on request from the College office or can be viewed via this link.
Meet Our Youth Worker
Hi Folks, My name is Gary Boyd and I have the privilege of being the youth worker at BIC when I’m not wrestling with or playing personal waiter to my 3 boys who could eat for eternity. I have a wonderful wife Anna who keeps all us boys in line and makes sure we shower everyday. My interests are quite varied from obsessing over Man City football club (someone has to), to geeking out with retro gaming. I’m from the generation that had to negotiate between using the phone or the internet and from a time when 10p crisps were 10p.
I have always dreamed of having a youth work role within a school environment after having spent 16 years as a youth worker in community and church settings often and regularly delivering youth work sessions and experiences in multiple schools over that time. The key to great youth work for me is grounded in having significant and trusting relationships with the young people where they hold the power to invite you in to their lives to invest in their personal and social, emotional development.
My role can be incredibly varied and in most parts reactive to whatever situation or issue may arise on any particular day. Currently I work in one to one sessions and small group settings to help our pupils discover more about who they are, where they are going and how they can get there. In a nutshell it’s all about identity. To get there however I journey alongside them through the highs and lows of life, the set backs and celebrations and the wins and the loses to support them in becoming everything they can be and to reach their full potential. Although my role does not teach anything in the traditional classroom setting my hope is that it prepares young people to fully participate in society, accept and understand anyone who they may consider to be the other, support their emotional development and well being and encourage an unwavering set of positive values
Finally, I hope I can develop this role further to support our pupils lives in and beyond the school gates and help them all to be well rounded contributing members within their school family and communities.
Staying Safe online
Blackwater Integrated College takes the online safety of its students seriously and builds into lessons the need to stay safe online, at all times.
Students participate in Safer Internet Day and explore the theme of Digital Resilience and Staying Safe online as part of their Form Tutor period.
Supporting your child in the safe and appropriate use of the internet can sometimes seem a daunting task. There are a lot of online resources available to help you support your young person stay safe online, some of which are listed below. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or are looking for further advice. Parents are advised to make use of the Safer Schools App to keep up to date with the ever changing world of social media.
Helpful Links
