Other Adults in School

School Social Worker (currently Laura Winfield is on maternity leave)

Every parent and carer wants the best for their child and we know that asking for help can be very difficult.  This is why The Waterloo School feels that there is a need for a School Social Worker.  A School Social Worker is someone who parents and carers can talk to without feeling that they are being judged.  A School Social Worker is someone who will listen to you and offer guidance. Also to help you identify any out of school agencies that could help you and support your family.           

Please contact the school office by e/mail: adminoffice@waterloo.hants.sch.uk or call by telephoning the School on 02392 255956.

Support for children and families:  Many children at sometime in their school lives will have to cope with issues that may affect their learning.                                          

These might be:  coping with change, relationships, family difficulties, separation, divorce, bereavement, debt and money worries and/or emotional troubles.                               

All of these can have an affect on how a child behaves or how they cope in their everyday lives.                                                                                                               

Home, GP and visits to other professionals:  This is support that the Waterloo School’s Social Worker can offer you.  If you are unable to come in to school or need support at an appointment the School Social Worker can make sure that your views and feelings are passed on to other professionals.  This will create a better understanding and communication between parents, carers and professionals.                                  

Parent groups/Home School Link Meetings:  The Waterloo School can offer you the opportunity to get together with other parents and carers to share your experiences. Parents and carers Home School Link Meetings are held in various places where we can chat in an informal setting.  Come for as long as you would like.  Sometimes we have guest speakers but mainly we meet with other like minded parents, who understand what it is like living with our children.  We are a small non-judgemental friendly group and siblings are welcome.  Together we can help develop a better understanding and communication with your child and to help create strategies to cope with challenging behaviour.                                                                                                         

Dates of these meetings can be found here

School Nursing Team:   https://www.healthforkids.co.uk/hampshire/school-nurses/?utm_source=WessexHealthier+Together&utm_medium=Website&utm_campaign=WessexHealthierTogetherPSN                                                                         

The staff within the school nursing teams have knowledge and skills to support children and young people.                                                                                                     

Musician in Residence - Luke                                                                          

Luke comes into teach piano, guitar, drums and singing every week.  Children enjoy performing in celebration assemblies during the year.

Speech and Language Therapist                                                                         

Speech and language therapists work with people of all ages with speech, language, communication or swallowing difficulties.      

Waterloo School, like all Hampshire Special Schools, has access to the Hampshire County Council SEND Speech and Language Therapy Service.                                               

We assess and offer support to children who may have difficulties with:                 

Speech sounds, understanding of language, using words and sentences, vocabulary, attention and listening, social communication skills        

We work in lots of different ways:                                                                             

At Waterloo we work closely with all class staff.  Staff have done specialist training (ELKAN Supporting Children with Speech and Language Difficulties) and all staff have ongoing training and support sessions on speech, language and communication so that all classes can focus on speech, language and communication activities within the classroom and across the curriculum.  Additionally, we can see individuals and offer assessments, programmes or specific therapy and regularly run groups within classes or with specific identified children.                                                                          

Please contact Kirsty through your child's teacher if you have concerns about your child's speech, language and communication skills.

Art Therapy or Art Psychotherapy can help some people, especially children, to communicate their feelings a lot better than a more structured verbal therapy.  There is no expectation of producing a "good" piece of art to please anyone but the child taking part.  It is the therapist's role to encourage play and experimentation with materials that will lead to self-expression and development of a trusting relationship where the child feels safe enough to think about and explore changes that they would like to make in their lives.  Spontaneously made art can bring unexpected feelings to the surface and it is important that the therapist is a properly trained, qualified and registered Art Therapist.  Here at Waterloo we have access to a fully qualified Art Therapist who, through a referral from the school, can work with children.