Abingdon Boarders' Handbook

Where can I find help if I need it? House and School Staff The easiest place for you to find help is the house staff. There will always be a member of staff in the house in the evening and the  weekend and the house matron will be in the house all day during the week. Never be afraid of asking a member of the house staff for  help about anything. They will always do their best to fix the problem.  School Counsellor Sometimes you might want to talk to someone who is not one of the teachers or a member of your family. There is a School Counsellor  who is a trained expert with lots of experience in helping young men your age. She is very popular with the boys at school who use her  a lot. To contact her you should email school.counsellor@ abingdon.org.uk to make an appointment. She will tell you how to get to her  office once you have made contact. The school counsellor will explain about confidentiality when you first meet her.  Designated Safeguarding Leads There are a number of teachers at school who have a special responsibility for child protection (looking after all of the pupils). They are  Mr Hindley (the Deputy Head Pastoral), Mr Kendry (the Head of Boarding), Mr Crisp (the Middle Master),Rev. Gooding (the Director of  Wellbeing) and Mrs Morris (the Senior Nurse). In addition to them, Mrs O’Doherty is also part of the safeguarding team. If there are  problems that you don’t want to speak to your house staff or other teachers about then you should tell one of them. They will help you  sort out the problem.  Health Centre The Health Centre is also a good place to go for help. You can go for help about medical issues but they are happy to help you with  other problems as well. It is a good place to go if you are feeling upset or unhappy and just need some time to yourself. The nurses are  very kind and understanding. You might even get a cup of tea and a biscuit!  Whistleblower The whistleblower is an online source of help. You can report something anonymously on Whistleblower. The link for Whistleblower  can be found on Firefly, the school study site (on the right hand side after you log in).  Complaints and suggestions boxes Each house has a complaints and suggestions box. If you have complaints or suggestions you can post a note. Your Housemaster will  check the box regularly and do what he can to respond to your complaint. You can also submit a suggestion to the online suggestion  box which is available on the Firefly Boarding page. The two complaints policies (for parents and for pupils) are on the Policies page of  the school website.   Prefects Sometimes you may not want to speak to an adult about a problem you have. School prefects are senior pupils who have proven that  they are mature and sensible. They are a good place to go for help. They know the school very well and will be able to help you find  the support you need if they can’t provide it themselves.  Outside School There are also lots of other places outside school you can seek help. You will find these advertised on notice boards around the  boarding house. Some of them are listed below:  ● NSPCC (for advice regarding child abuse): ​ 0808 800 5000 ​ or ​ www.NSPCC.org.uk  ● Childline (for advice on any issue or problem): ​ 0800 1111 ​ or ​ www.childline.org.uk  ● Abingdon School’s Independent Listener: St Helen’s School Chaplain, Rev. Kate Windle, tel. ​ 01235 520173  ● Abingdon Social Services (to report suspected child abuse or neglect): ​ 0845 050 7666 14