Pastoral Care

Your child's happiness and progress is paramount to us here at St Hugh's School. All our staff are committed to safe-guarding your child and promoting their mental and physical well-being. Throughout the school, staff treat pupils with respect, and encourage them to feel that they are important. The children know that they matter!

There are many facets to our pastoral care programme, which is managed by our Head of Pastoral Care, Mr Goodhand.  

Key staff members

The Form Tutor plays an important role in our pastoral care programme.  In addition to their day-to-day contact during registration and form periods they are also the first port of call for parental communication.  This liaison with parents provides a working partnership with parents to help each child progress academically and socially.

The needs of our boarding pupils, whether they are weekly or flexi, are taken care of by the House Parent and Matron in the first instance.  In the boarding house environment, the relationship between these staff members and pupil is a close one.  We take great pride in maintaining a happy, home-like atmosphere, whilst helping pupils to cooperate with one another and consider each other's feelings.

Peer Mentor system

The pupils learn how to support one another through our Peer Mentor System. Peer Mentors are there for those occasions where pupils might prefer to approach a fellow pupil, rather than going directly to an adult. Year 7 pupils are taught the skills to be successful Peer Mentors and are available during break times, should any child wish to talk to them. Year 8 pupils then have opportunities to build on these skills and take on further responsibilities and positions of leadership.

Anti-Bullying

We particularly emphasise the importance of taking a stand against bullying, should this occur in any of its forms.  Pupils in Year 3 and above fill in a termly questionnaire, which provides an opportunity for them to assess their term and report any problems, anonymously if they so choose, that they feel they have witnessed. Pupils are reminded at the start of each term of all the avenues available to them for expressing any concerns.

PSHEE Programme

Pastoral issues form an important element of the weekly PSHEE (Personal, Social and Health and Economic Education) lessons. These provide a valuable opportunity to talk through how pupils approach challenging situations and how they interact with others. The PSHEE programme helps the pupils to appreciate differences and alternative opinions, as well as assisting them in thinking through their own attitudes and developing positive self-esteem.

Awards

All pupils are encouraged to be well-mannered, kind and considerate.  Acts of good citizenship are recognised with the award of a Citizenship Gold and acknowledged publicly in our weekly Achievers' Assemblies.

PGF

The Play Ground Friends scheme is run by Year 7 pupils at breaks and lunchtime; it allows pupils to borrow equipment from a central store in order to help them foster positive relationships.