Spratton Hall School, located in Northamptonshire, is an independent co-educational day school for children aged 4-13. It has approximately 335 pupils enrolled.

“We were aware that a minority of pupils would never come and seek support from staff when struggling with emotional issues of mental health issues though, and we wanted a way for those children to reach out for help and support.“

How are you using tootoot at Spratton Hall School?

We have been using Tootoot for a year, having implemented it to target those children who find speaking directly to an adult very difficult. Children at Spratton are generally able to and good at seeking support and advice on a range of issues. They know where to go and who to ask for help, and they do so regularly as we have an excellent range of pastoral systems in place. We were aware that a minority of pupils would never come and seek support from staff when struggling with emotional issues of mental health issues though, and we wanted a way for those children to reach out for help and support. 

“When Tootoot was launched through assemblies and ICT lessons, it was met with a great deal of positive feedback.”

What have your pupils said about tootoot?

When Tootoot was launched through assemblies and ICT lessons, it was met with a great deal of positive feedback. Many children used the system for many different reasons. They also shared their use of the system with parents and staff, which demonstrated that they were confident to acknowledge to others when they were finding things tricky. Our target group of children who were reluctant to seek support were slower to react to the new system, but after three weeks, several of these children reached out for help using Tootoot. Most did so anonymously to start with, but were very quick to share their identity when they realised that help was at hand. 

“Tootoot has been a brilliant way of increasing the capacity and breadth of our pastoral support systems within school. It is an extremely effective resource.”

How did you integrate tootoot into your pastoral processes?

All Tootoot messages come to one individual, and the information then shared as and when necessary with other staff, Children liked the fact that they knew who would read their message. It gave them confidence and a feeling of control over their communication.

Tootoot usage has lessened slightly over the year, but face-to-face requests for support has increased. We can therefore assume that Tootoot has given children the confidence to come forward and ask for support, and has shown them that there are key individuals who they can go to for support, knowing that they will receive the help that they ask for. 

Tootoot has been a brilliant way of increasing the capacity and breadth of our pastoral support systems within school. It is an extremely effective resource.