If children are happy, they achieve more. Our commitment to provide outstanding pastoral support is therefore always a priority. Every student is placed into a tutor group led by a member of the teaching staff. Tutors are supported by a Head of Year and a non-teaching Assistant Head of Year. The Heads of Year are responsible for the all-round progress of the students in their year group. Tutors meet with their tutees every day, and unless they leave the school, stay with the tutor group from their first day in Year 7 to their last day in Year 11.
Assistant Heads of Year are available throughout the school day to deal with any issues or concerns as they arise. They deal with a range of issues – from supporting children finding it hard to settle to ensuring students are organised for school. Where there are difficulties, the Assistant Heads of Year will be in frequent direct contact with parents. Our Assistant Heads of Year are also trained to be able to offer specialised emotional health and well-being support.
We have a permanent Head of Year 7 and Assistant Head of Year 7 who specialise in transition from primary school. From Year 8, the Head of Year stays with the year group throughout their time in the main school.
Additional pastoral support is provided by our Emotional Health and Well-being Champion, Ms Kelly. Not only does she provide in-house bespoke programmes of support for individuals and small groups, Ms kelly is also able to access external support from specialised agencies, if required.