Meet staff member Sophie Rose and our beloved school dog Doris 

Sophie arrived at TWGSB in September 2012 as Head of Drama and became part of the leadership team in 2013. Her work prior to joining the school had been in comprehensive schools with a focus on improving teaching and learning, so that was very much her initial focus, gradually moving more towards supporting newly qualified teachers and staff induction. Now part of her responsibilities are to co-ordinate training and mentoring for Trainee Teachers and Early Career Teachers as well as PSHE (Personal, Social, Health & Economic) and Wellbeing. We shared these few questions with her recently: 

Can you tell us more about Wellbeing at TWGSB: 

Just prior to 2020 we set a goal to achieve a Wellbeing Award which meant really exploring what we do in school to support the Mental Health and Wellbeing of all the stakeholders. The achievement of this award became my focus and as a part of this I completed training to become the school Wellbeing Lead. During Covid part of my role was student voice and I created weekly newsletters to keep people communicating and informed, including how to look after their mental health at that time. We achieved the Wellbeing Award for Schools in November 2022. 

Would you regard this as a distinctive plus at our school  

As a school the wellbeing of all our stakeholders is embedded in all that we do.  Not many schools offer the support we do as a school in terms of our counselling and emotional wellbeing coaching which supports staff, students and parents. Communication is key and we aim to ensure that everyone is kept informed through weekly staff bulletins, parent / carer communications and termly newsletters.  

How does this support our students 

The opportunity for students to talk and to know that there is someone in school they can go to at any time is vital for us as an organisation. Through our PHSE programme we offer students a voice to discuss issues that they may have as individuals as well as making them aware about their place within the wider community. 

Can you tell us about our much-loved school dog Doris and her impact here on the campus 

Doris joined us in 2019 and has been an amazing asset to both students and staff. She is incredibly calm and gentle with the students even when swamped at the end of the school day while on duty at the gate by a hundred hands that just want to give her a pet and say hello. She has visited students in their homes, accompanied them on walks when they need some time out, regularly visits Southborough primary school to support younger people and generally is available for a belly rub whenever someone wants to give her one. it always makes me laugh when I am approached by complete strangers out and about in Tunbridge Wells and they ask "is this Doris the school dog"  followed by “and who are you?"  

Doris has a real ability to help staff and students overcome any fear of dogs they may have. In fact quite a few staff members have become dog owners since Doris joined us. We couldn't imagine school without her.