School days
He who cares wins T
he words ‘pastoral care’ are now part of the common language of schools along with acronyms like ‘OFSTED’, but I wonder whether many
parents really understand what those words mean. When you visit a school and the head
tells you, as we would at Exeter Cathedral School, that its last school inspection report stated that the school demonstrated excellent pastoral care, what might you expect to see in the classroom, on the sports field, in the relationships both between pupils themselves and between pupils and staff?
A ‘family’ environment First and foremost, a reputation for strong pastoral care will tell you that your child’s individual needs will be identified before they even begin in the school. From the outset, staff will make contact with the pupil and parent and endeavour to make those early days in a new school as easy as possible. There will be other pupils, often called ‘buddies’, who will be there to help and will be willing to answer often obvious questions such as ‘where is the loo?’. These early days are crucial, as they help
set the tone of an institution – those pupils nurtured and cared for from the outset will repeat the exercise when they themselves are ‘buddies’. This care will permeate throughout the school. Many schools will have a senior member
of staff with special responsibility for pastoral care who will support not just the children, but also support staff as they help the children. At Exeter Cathedral School, we are fortunate to have an outstanding lay-chaplain who works tirelessly with children, parents and staff. With just a small number of boarders, we aim to
Pupils with Stephen and Cathy Yeo
At Exeter Cathedral School, pastoral care is a priority
ensure the experience for these boys and girls is that of a close and supportive ‘family’. Many parents will worry about
their child being bullied in school. Strong pastoral care will create many opportunities, be it in a worship assembly, in the classroom or in the playground, to explore what being bullied might look like, and, for example, to explain to children that the teasing acceptable between siblings in one family is totally unacceptable in another. Along with this education will be a zero
tolerance of bullying and unkindness. Above, all the general culture is incredibly important here.
Good communication Strong pastoral care depends hugely on excellent and speedy communication between home and school, and systems within school to disseminate information. If your child is sad because a beloved pet has died, then the school needs to know, probably via a phone call or email, and that information needs to get out to all likely to be involved with that child’s care during the day. You will soon get a feel as to whether this actually happens. As a parent, you might ask a prospective
school how their staff meetings begin. At Exeter Cathedral School, ours always start with a discussion about any children giving cause for concern. We aim to find time, of course, to discuss, for example, our policies about data protection or the new health
and safety regulations, but we know that the happiness and well-being of our pupils is everybody’s primary responsibility. Finally, I would say that strong pastoral
care is evident when it is clear that pupils are able to be themselves, and where there is genuine respect between pupils for their achievements, of whatever nature. The sporty child is often popular and
respected, but does the same attitude prevail for the academic one, the musician and artist? In order for this to be the case, children have to have developed a strong sense of empathy, and this can only come from a regime where a high emphasis is put on children’s feelings and a real sense of care for each other. Unfortunately, pastoral care is not measurable in the same way as, for example, exam results. However, it is clear to me after many years of teaching that pupils need to feel happy, settled and secure in school in order for real learning to take place, and that when looking for a school parents should always ask searching questions about the school’s attitude to pastoral care, and exactly how high it is on the school’s list of priorities. EL
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www.mediaclash.co.uk Exeter Living 53 Exeter Cathedral School headmaster STEPHEN YEO on pastoral care
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