‘Helping Hands’
Year 7 Lunchtime Club

The ‘Helping Hands’ lunchtime club was formed in September 2021 to provide a safe environment for Year 7 students to attend twice a week.

The club is supervised by Mrs Holdsworth, one of our Inclusion SEND team, with the help of our Young Leaders. Through togetherness and teamwork, the club aims to encourage students to build new friendships, widen their social circles and develop their confidence, whilst engaging in a range of fun and educational activities such as board games, card games, art/crafts, and teambuilding exercises. In sessions, students are motivated to interact with their peers and make new connections, decreasing the risk of any experiences of social isolation in the school setting.

‘Helping Hands’ prides itself on helping others and promotes a keen sense of community which is apparent in all that we do at Mount St Mary’s.
A safe place for students to come to at lunchtimes is important in any school, however, through making this safe space revolve around
peer-support and building friendships, it really does contribute towards each student’s sense of wellbeing and their positive experience of school life.