The Sullivan Centre provides education for children and young people who cannot attend their usual school because of their medical or mental health needs.
A Venn Academy Trust School – Together we will… Venn is a pioneering academy trust, committed to building educational environments where all pupils are inspired to become lifelong learners who achieve the very highest standards possible. Collaborating with all partners, the Trust works with its unique settings to create world class learning experiences for all.

Pastoral Offer

The Sullivan Centre is committed to supporting children who are experiencing medical and mental health challenges.

The highly experienced and trained staff team offer a range of pastoral and wellbeing services designed to support the children in their care.

The pastoral and wellbeing team at The Sullivan Centre comprises of different roles such as life coaches, therapists, counsellors, and other mental health professionals.

Life coaches work with the children to identify their goals and help them achieve their full potential. Therapists provide counselling services to help children overcome emotional and psychological challenges. Counsellors offer support and guidance to children who are experiencing difficulties in their personal lives.

The Sullivan Centre is supported the school Nursing team, holding regular sessions and training within our settings.

Staff Role Responsibility

Mrs  Troake

Principal/ Senior Mental Health Lead/PSHE and Personal Development Lead Overall Responsibility for Pupils Mental Health and Wellbeing and the PSHE curriculum
Mrs Blake Assistant Principal/ SENDCO To support pupils behaviour, To co-ordinate all support for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities, Designated teacher for Looked After Children
Mrs Stockton Safeguarding and Welfare Lead To support with pastoral care, attendance and liaise with families and other agencies
Mrs Cook Attendance and Welfare Officer To support pupils to attend school regularly, liaising with families, wider agencies and pupils, to carry out welfare checks for pupils not in school.
Executive Functioning Coaches

Mrs Black

Miss Offen

To support pupils offering targeted and reactive support for pupils emotional needs, including 1:1 and group sessions such as WRAP.
Melanie Clark School Nurse To work alongside families and school to ensure the correct medical care is in place. To offer pupils 1:1 targeted medical advice and share information with students regarding health and wellbeing
Specialist Team Class teachers and support staff

To ensure that children with the highest level of need within school are having their needs fully met in order for them to access the curriculum and make accelerated progress.

Marina Hartley Pet Therapist

To work with children using dogs as a means to improve confidence, social skills and self-esteem.

Jamie Honhold Music Therapist To use the teaching of music to increase confidence and self esteem in children.
Louise Savage Phoenix Wellbeing Counselling To provide individual targeted counselling sessions and small group wellbeing sessions to improve emotional wellbeing.

Corrine Wallis

Aromatherapist To use essential oils to help improve the children’s emotional wellbeing and relieve stresses.
External Agency Support External Specialists

To support staff at The Sullivan Centre in ensuring that the correct support is in place to allow all children to have their needs met and flourish. These may include:

– CAMHS

– IPASS

– Educational Psychologist

and many others

Therapeutic activities

In addition to traditional counselling services, The Sullivan Centre provides a range of therapeutic activities to help children on their journey to recovery. These activities include art therapy, music therapy, equine therapy, aromatherapy and others. These therapies are designed to provide a holistic approach to healing, addressing the physical, emotional, and spiritual aspects of the children’s wellbeing.

Progress and Executive Functioning Skills

The Sullivan Centre takes a comprehensive approach to mental health support. Each child receives an intensive report that is updated regularly to track their progress. The report contains details of the child’s mental health history, the challenges they face, and the progress they have made. This report is used by the pastoral and wellbeing team to develop a personalised support plan for each child.

The Sullivan Centre places a strong emphasis on personal development. They offer a range of programmes designed to help children develop Executive Functioning skills. These skills are essential for success in school and in life. The programmes focus on developing skills such as time management, organisation, planning, and problem-solving.

The Sullivan Centre’s commitment to the wellbeing of the children in their care is evident in their approach to mental and medical health support and is evident in the impact that the Sullivan team has on our students’ lives.

Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP)

WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) is a self-care focussed programme over 10 weeks for young people aged 5 – 19. Targeted children at The Sullivan Centre participate in WRAP® sessions led by our own trained WRAP® leaders. WRAP® enables you to plan, in advance, what you can do to keep yourself emotionally ‘on track’ and build a foundation to support yourself to stay well. It helps you to work out what your resources are and to focus on things that you do well. It helps you to draw on things that are simple and safe to create significant change in your life. WRAP® supports a better understanding of what impacts your wellness and mental health. It provides opportunities to increase coping strategies, helping to prevent or decrease troubling feelings and behaviors. Additionally, WRAP® focuses on identifying key supporters who can assist when needed, boosting your confidence and teaching you how to bounce back from setbacks.

Parent/Carer WRAP sessions coming in 2024-25 – Watch this space!