Wellbeing and Equalities 

At Portlethen Academy we want everyone to feel safe, happy and respected at all times, so that their wellbeing can flourish. All members of staff take part in annual GIRFEC and wellbeing training, and are committed to the wellbeing of our young people and upholding their Childrens’ Rights.  

We are also lucky to have a dedicated Pupil Support Team, including our fantastic team of Principal Teachers of Guidance, ASL Teachers, Pupil Wellbeing Worker, Pupil Support Workers, Pupil Support Assistants (PSAs) and partners. Our Guidance Team, who lead in coordinating universal and targeted wellbeing supports for young people in their Houses, have strong working relationships with our GIRFEC partners and they will always find out the answer to any query, if they do not already know the answer themselves. 

We track our young people’s wellbeing by having regular wellbeing conversations with them, responding to wellbeing concerns as and when they arise, and by undertaking our wellbeing surveys with all our PSE classes twice a year. This helps us to respond quickly when wellbeing support is needed and also helps us to track emerging themes and needs across our pupils and year groups. 

We also take part in Aberdeenshire’s partnership with the SHINE survey, which is conducted every two years to help us know about and track emerging trends regarding wellbeing strengths and challenges per year group and per school. This enables our Health and Wellbeing and Equalities Leadership Group to plan well thought out and focused Health Weeks during the school year.  

We have an established calendar of wellbeing focused weeks including Physical Health Week, Emotional Health Week, Social Health Week, Mental Health Week and Anti-bullying week. These are led by pupils alongside staff.  

We have several opportunities for our young people to be involved in planning their learning around wellbeing, including: 

• Our Anti-bullying Champions who meet on Friday lunchtimes with Mrs Edwards and Miss Povilonyte; 

• our Rights Respecting Schools Team, who meet on Wednesday lunchtimes with Miss Ferguson and Miss Hill; 

• our Eco group who meet weekly with Miss Stewart; 

• our Pupil Action Group Reps who meet regularly with Mr Drennan and other members of SLT; 

• our Senior Pupil Leadership Team who regularly meet with Mrs Law and others to plan inputs; 

• and our senior Leadership classes, who support all members of SLT with various initiatives. 

This section of the website has lots of information about various aspects of wellbeing and will signpost you to helpful supports and resources.