pastoral care

Pastoral Care refers to the care the school exercises for a student's well being as a growing person. It includes caring about his academic success, but it is a lot broader than that, too.

Pastoral Care begins with welcoming a new boy to the school; it means such simple things as checking his attendance or praising a particular achievement, and more difficult tasks, such as teaching him responsibility or imposing a disciplinary sanction. Really, it doesn't end with school: old scholars return to the school for a reference, some advice, or just to renew friendships with teachers. All that is a part of Pastoral Care.

Pastoral Care happens from student to student, too. Other students may sometimes realise before anyone else when a fellow student is in need, and an older student may often alert a teacher to a younger boy's needs.

Pastoral Care generally happens informally, in the classroom and in the school grounds, but we are firmly convinced that some structures can better help students to flourish in a school. Without these structures, a school our size could become an impersonal institution.

junior Primary (reception - year 2)

Investigation into early childhood education has confirmed the importance of a safe, caring and supportive environment in which boys grow and learn.  Blackfriars cares to create such an environment by providing students with the opportunities for social interaction and integration, as well as, encouraging personal development that will allow individual students scale for expression, particularly with student leadership.

Primary (year 3 - 6)

In the primary school our aim is to build a strong sense of community. This is nurtured with a strong emphasis on Pastoral Care, and the three-way partnership between the student, parent and teacher. Students develop a strong bond with their home class teacher/s who have responsibility for the overall Pastoral Care of the student.

New students to the primary school are assigned a 'buddy' for the first few weeks at school. For any Pastoral Care concerns, parents can approach the home class teacher, Head of Primary, or the Primary Religious Education Coordinator.

Secondary (year 7 - 12)

Secondary students are members of a Home Group, which is a vertically structured group of approximately twenty-two boys of various ages. The Home Group belongs to a House. The group meets at the beginning of the day with their Home Group teacher. This teacher is able to monitor the student's progress across the years and is the first point of contact for a parent for anything involving a boy's welfare.

An important line of communication between parent and home group teacher is the school diary, which should be signed by both parties at least every week.