PASTORAL MANAGERS
At Lyndon
School, the role
of pastoral staff
has transformed
over recent years. Learning
mentor Caroline Gibbs
charts this development
and looks at the impact and
influence they now have in
a range of key areas
AM SURE that SecEd readers are more
I
familiar than me with the history of the
pastoral care structure. Suffice it to say that
Lyndon School, like many secondary schools,
originally had teaching heads of year in place
with full timetables.
Several years ago, our heads of year were
allocated two years each (years 8 and 9, 10 and 11,
with year 7 separate). At this point, a pastoral assistant
The changing role
was appointed to deal with administrative duties,
such as first day calls, organising detentions, and
minuting meetings. This addition proved very helpful;
the assistant was managing a lot of the workload as it
became more and more of a struggle for teachers torn
between pastoral and teaching duties.
At a time when schools were being asked to
of pastoral staff
reformulate the staffing system, our headteacher Selina
Westwood and governors saw a need and a real
opportunity for creating smaller schools within the
school. data and co-ordination between college staff, pastoral This structuring of pastoral support effectively It is now part of the pastoral managers’ role to share
Following consultation with students, staff and managers, learning mentor, and tutors responsible for serves to meet the criteria of Every Child Matters, responsibility for 14 to 19 provision and between them,
parents, the school was divided into colleges, each tutor groups divided vertically across years 8 to 11. drawing together the strands of intervention, tracking the three managers run successful trips for year 10s to
with its own individual leadership team, creating an Our year 7 students come in from more than 30 feeder and pastoral care with a far more personalised style. local colleges and 6th forms for taster days. Liaising
effective method of tracking each student in a more schools across Coventry, Solihull and Birmingham and Parents are pleased, children feel they get a better with Connexions, they are involved in interviewing
holistic way. Lyndon has invested heavily in Transition Liaison. deal, and only recently the education welfare officer all year 11s about their aspirations post-16, along
As retirements came, assistant headteachers came in Therefore, year 7 is currently a school in its own right praised our current system, claiming it to be a far more with offering practical help and advice over college
to replace heads of year. Under them were college co- allowing our students to develop a sense of belonging accountable, practical way to monitor attendance and applications and interviews. This does not end with
ordinators, with responsibility for monitoring academic and cohesion prior to being “promoted” into year 8. the underlying issues. further education though.
So, if our pastoral staff used to deal with those first Through their involvement with Aim Higher,
day calls, organise detentions and take minutes, what pastoral mangers organise and host trips to Birmingham
Union address: ASCL
are our they up to now? Universities. Year 10s who may be the first in their
Duties and responsibilities are all-encompassing, families to consider higher education are targeted and
although the personal and social development of each invited to attend. One pastoral manager has forged
Breaking down the policies
individual student within the college is their priority. Their links with Land Rover Solihull as some of our students
remit is to support students, staff and families with regular are engaged on a two-year Apprenticeship with the
contact being maintained with parents and carers. company.
Working with them and the wider school
John Morgan
Conservatives talk of cuts, but are likely to incur community is a vital part of the pastoral role, ensuring
Developing their roles
high expenditure per pupil on opening small new the implementation of the Children’s Act 2004 and in A network is being set up with other pastoral managers
analyses the
schools, run by parents and other groups, seemingly particular the five outcomes of Every Child Matters. in the region and the first meeting was in early 2010.
irrespective of the number of places required in One manager has attended Parent Support Group
the locality. That is surely an inefficient use of
Additional responsibilities
meetings, finding that listening and sharing views and
educational vision
increasingly scarce resources. Each college pastoral manager has taken on additional experiences with parents has been a rewarding bonus.
The pressure to improve results even more responsibilities. All pastoral mangers, their prefects Working with the fundraising LSA, (similar to
and policies of the three
and to extend opportunities will increase. Parents’ and colleges are very active in the area of charity a PTA) has proved equally rewarding. Never have
aspirations have been raised without the means fundraising. Some choose to support a different local so few been responsible for assisting with so much,
main political parties
to meet them. The so-called “parent guarantees” charity each half-term – such as Hearing Dogs for so diversely! It seems, however, that the drive for
include no guarantee of adequate funding. the Deaf and Help for Heroes, while others provide embellishing and furthering their roles and careers
Yet it is at times of economic difficulty that continuing support to local charities like St Basil’s moves on apace.
ALL THE main political parties promise greater the importance of education can most clearly be Centre for the Homeless, Birmingham Children’s One manager is embarking on the Higher Level
autonomy for individual schools. Although school seen. A poorly qualified, unskilled workforce won’t Hospital Burns Unit, and Teenage Cancer Trust. A Teaching Assistant course, and is currently team-
leaders will welcome freedom from bureaucratic transform the country’s economy. A first class Macmillan Coffee Morning has been held each October teaching in citizenship while also taking a Level 3
interference, it is to be hoped that extra freedom education service requires first class funding. So at Lyndon for several years now. management course with a view to a future leadership
for one school does not come at the expense of its we must hold politicians to their aspiration that state Pastoral managers organise and run weekly role.
neighbouring schools. school funding should rise to the level of funding in assemblies with the varied input of the assistant Another manager team-teaches in modern foreign
That is most certainly not the ASCL way and I private schools. headteacher, college co-ordinators, students, staff and languages, which she reports to be a “very rewarding”
challenge all school leaders to use freedoms wisely This is the time to remind our political masters guest speakers –an excellent example of taking pressure experience. The newest member of the team is about
and for the common good, working collaboratively most strongly that the state education service is for off the assistant headteacher, who used to do this. to complete the National Programme for Specialist
when appropriate to ensure maximum value is everyone. And to create additional opportunities Elsewhere, the year 7 pastoral manager and year 7 Leaders of Behaviour and Attendance.
gained from those freedoms. for everyone means that the education of the most senior teaching staff visit all 34 feeder schools annually The three colleges, Birmingham, Coventry and
The party spokesmen should be challenged too disadvantaged in our society must be especially well to raise the profile of Lyndon and to ensure that all Warwick, are subject-specific and managers work
on what these additional freedoms are for. If they funded. year 6s have a positive transition experience. Summer alongside subject team leaders to help promote their
are simply to enable schools to do their own thing, There are almost as many disadvantaged children schools and activity days are also organised to nurture particular subject area.
irrespective of local need or priority, then the system in areas of relative advantage as in disadvantaged a sense of belonging and camaraderie among those One pastoral manager is working alongside the
is likely to become more polarised. areas. But rarely does any extra funding ever get children who are the only ones coming from their science team leader in preparation for the next activity
National framework, local flexibility remains through to less disadvantaged local authorities particular primary. week when students will be off timetable benefiting
very much our belief in how the framework of to provide the additional support needed for Pastoral managers also organise the Celebration from trips out and diverse activities within school.
governance of education should be arranged. disadvantaged children. Trips to venues such as Drayton Manor. Since students Lyndon was recently reassessed for Investors in
Secondary schools and colleges do best without We have long campaigned for a national funding need to have “no red cards” (our sanctions system) People status. Unsurprisingly, that status has been re-
undue external interference from local authorities. entitlement for young people, so that students in against their name and a high standard of attendance awarded, the assessor acknowledging that, endorsed by
However, there are some areas – school places, Hertfordshire, Herefordshire and Haringey are to qualify, these trips have had a positive impact on responses from parents, governors, staff and students,
admissions, SEN, transport and joining up local equitably funded. Post-16 funding in recent years has behaviour and attitude generally. Lyndon had the best working pastoral system he had
support services – that sensibly require local authority shown that, contrary to the cries of local authorities, a seen in his 10-year career.
co-ordination and where too much freedom can spell national formula can be made to work.
Structure
If your school is still “limiting” the massive potential
danger and a waste of public money. Ministers now frequently talk about the need to In line with the headteacher’s original intention, pastoral of your pastoral managers (albeit unwittingly), perhaps
All political parties, we are told, will have to make make efficiencies. While it is true that schools should managers line-manage the college tutors, with support this summary of possibilities and achievements will
massive cuts in public services in order to pay for the ensure that public money is being spent as efficiently from the college co-ordinator. encourage you to release them to be “all that they are
excesses of parts of the banking system. Within the as possible, we call on government to preserve a real Tutors liaise with pastoral staff over matters relating capable of”. On the other hand, if you are already there
Labour government, there are those advocating big terms increase for the coming three-year spending to attendance, punctuality, behaviour and any other or have exceeded Lyndon, then it would be lovely to
cuts and those who still talk of investment. round if schools, colleges and universities are to concerns. hear from you. So much can be gained by the sharing
Liberal Democrats have specified areas to be continue to deliver all that is expected of them. Monthly college staff meetings are run by the of good practice. SecEd
cut in order to pay for education developments and manager and co-ordinator in order to review progress,
have promised £2.5 billion extra on the education • John Morgan is the president of the Association of set targets, and share ideas and resources, all set within • Caroline Gibbs is a learning mentor at Lyndon
budget. School and College Leaders. Visit www.ascl.org.uk the framework of Lyndon’s visions and values, code of School and Humanities College in Solihull. Email
conduct and relevant policies. s209cgibbs@lyndon.solihull.sch.uk
12 SecEd • March 18 2010
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