Pastoral Care and Wellbeing

Pastoral Care

Pastoral care at the College is centred on knowing our students well, working closely with them and their parents throughout their time in their College to ensure we can provide the highest levels of personalised support whenever it is needed.

Support is founded on our House system with students allocated to a tutor group within their House. Tutors work alongside the Housemaster or Housemistress to oversee the personal and academic development of the student and to ensure this is an ongoing conversation with both the student and their parents. In Bounds (Year 7 & 8) and in the Sixth form (Year 12 & 13), Heads of Year provide an extra layer of support with Housemasters and Housemistresses providing continuity so that students can be supported effectively as they move through the school.

Pastoral care extends beyond any one individual, from the teaching staff and student leaders to our counselling service and our chaplaincy, there is a wide network and circle of care around the student, ensuring there is always someone they can turn to if they are having difficulties or simply want to talk something through.

Wellbeing

Young people face a multitude of challenges growing up and their mental health can impact on all aspects of their life, including their educational attainment, relationships and physical wellbeing.  At the College, we believe a child’s wellbeing is a product of their physical and mental health, they are inter-linked and of equal importance to their development. 

Our approach to Mental Health and Wellbeing is based on the PERMA+ model and is designed to ensure we have the best possible provision to support every pupil on whatever issue they are facing at a given moment so that we can help them build the skills and strategies they need for the future.  

In particular, we focus on;  

• Dialogue and early intervention – Through the pastoral support structures we encourage an open dialogue between pupils, parents and teachers to identify and address a pupils’ wellbeing needs, as well as allowing pupils knowing who they can turn to for the support they may need. We are proactive and believe in early intervention, which in many cases can stop the problems escalating and leading to more extreme issues. This may be through our student mentors and wellbeing ambassadors or pastoral care team.  Our Mental Health Lead and School Counsellor service are also available for those who may need more ongoing, targeted support.   

• Developing self-awareness and understanding – We want to equip our young people with the necessary skills to take charge of their own mental health and wellbeing, developing their knowledge of how to deal and cope with setbacks now and in the future.  Mental Health and Wellbeing form a key part of our PSHE & RSE programme and our partnership with Teen Tips provides a virtual Wellbeing Hub and an invaluable source of information to students, teachers and staff with a wide range of resources and topical workshops with child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing experts.    

Each term we conduct a Pupil Wellbeing Survey to monitor wellbeing trends and patterns of amongst our student body and student Wellbeing Ambassadors are very much involved in wider discussions within the College on topical wellbeing matters and collating feedback from their peers.  

PERMA+  

Our approach to Wellbeing is based on PERMA+ model, which focuses on 5 key areas of strength to thrive. The model allows us to understand what makes us happy and feel good.  

• Positive emotion – positive experiences can help with self-esteem and happiness  

• Engagement – becoming immersed in a task and applying strengths  

• Relationships – positive connections with others  

• Meaning – focusing on what matters to you as an individual  

• Achievement – experiencing a sense of accomplishment, however small the goal  

The ‘+’ in PERMA+ refers to lifestyle and environmental factors which impact wellbeing. Ensuring factors such as sleep, food and exercise are all taken seriously in order to remain positive.