Pastoral Care & Education Overview

Our House events are as joyous as they are competitive and on the day of the School’s birthday the House trophy is hotly contested through a variety of games, puzzles and creative problem-solving activities.

Each year group works to raise funds for the nominated school charities and takes part in other active citizenship events such as the elderly citizens’ tea party; the charity fair for our global charity “Friends of Kipkelion” or the National Citizenship Service for which the school won an award for the high uptake amongst our students.

Other areas in which our student participation excels are:

• The Duke of Edinburgh's Award
  For the academic year of 2024-2025, 146 Bronze, 72 Silver and 21 Gold Awards were completed. This is a superb achievement and students should be incredibly proud of their resilience and perseverance.

• Combined Cadets Force
  Currently, we have around 100 students taking part.

• Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme
  Nine students each year are selected to receive the Jack Petchey Achievement Award for their contribution to their community.   This could be in school or within their wider community.   A student-run Jack Petchey committee meets half-termly to discuss people who have been nominated to receive their awards.

• Clubs
  128 different clubs and societies took place across the 2024-2025 academic year with over 1,000 students taking part in an extracurricular club.

There are also leadership roles throughout the school and for all ages: school council, environmental, charity, house and sports representatives, amongst others.  The student leadership video here expands on this theme.

We pride ourselves on our outstanding pastoral care and wellbeing support. We believe that promoting emotional wellbeing and mental health, alongside providing tailored support, empowers students to feel confident, motivated and able to reach their full potential.

Our well-developed pastoral system ensures every student’s progress and wellbeing are closely supported. Students can seek support from dedicated staff, with their Form Tutor a key point of contact. Through weekly PSHE lessons, assemblies and school events, students build strong relationships with their Form Tutor and Head of Year.

We value respect and pride in our school community. Students are expected to treat everyone - staff and one another - with courtesy and to follow clear, well-understood boundaries.
 

Our student support services team include:

• The Form Tutor is the central point of contact for every student and provides the crucial link between home and school.  All tutor groups in the lower school are also allocated Sixth Form “Form Leaders” who help with the care and development of our students.  Tutors are supported by the Head of Year who also works within a broader team responsible for taking charge of pastoral care within school.
   
• The Head of Year is responsible for the progress of the year group and monitoring the progress of the child and liaising with key staff regarding the students’ achievement, behaviour and social and emotional needs.
   
• The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCO) works with students who have special educational needs and disabilities to ensure that provision is made to enable access to all aspects of the curriculum.  We have a Neurodiversity Mentor that supports our SEN students on a daily basis.
   
• Our Pastoral Support Officers (PSO) respond to students' emotional needs each day and provide reactive expert support.  Our lower school PSO team are based in the pastoral office, which provides a safe and calm environment where students can self-regulate and feel listened to.  We also have wellbeing rooms in both lower school and the Sixth Form.  Our PSOs are highly trained and well qualified to support young people, with regular professional development that strengthens their understanding of mental health and wellbeing and enables them to provide informed, compassionate support. Our Lead PSO is a qualified Youth Mental Health First Aider with the skills to spot the signs of a young person experiencing poor mental health, have sensitive conversations about mental health concerns, and can safeguard and signpost to appropriate support.
   
• We also have options for tailored longer-term support. Our Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) supports our students with learning about emotional awareness, improving social skills, building and maintaining healthy friendships, improving self-esteem, coping with loss and bereavement and managing anxiety.
   
• Our School Counsellors offer confidential and sensitive support to students who require it. Students can also access the school counsellors during lunchtime drop-in, twice a week if they need a safe space to talk.
   
• Our students can also benefit from the support of the Sutton Education Wellbeing Team, an early intervention service which aims to work closely with schools to help young people who are struggling with anxiety or low mood to access the right support quickly.  Students can be referred to a Child Wellbeing Practitioner (CWP) and take part in a Guided Self Help support programme for anxiety and low mood.  The CWP provides 6-8 sessions to students on a 1:1 basis teaching them about emotional wellbeing and how to practise strategies to manage.

• The School Nurse comes into school weekly. The school nurse offers a drop-in that our students can access to seek advice about sleep issues, healthy lifestyles, eating concerns, emotional and mental health issues and healthy relationships. Students can also book sessions in advance.

PEER SUPPORT

• Peer Mentoring
  Our Year 12 Peer Mentors are trained by the Sutton Education Wellbeing Team to provide our lower school students with support around transition to different aspects of secondary school life, dealing with friendship issues, building self-esteem, improving organisation and managing workload.
  
  Our students are also supported by our well-established LGBTQ+ support group, A Young Carers group and Year 13 student members of the CARE council (Champions of Anti-Racism and Equality).   
   
• Voluntary and External Services
  We engage with services outside of school and facilitate sessions in school to support our students' emotional wellbeing when requested.