Pastoral Care

The George Abbot Journey is a holistic education, focusing on combining academic excellence with the explicit development of good character in our students. The purpose of this holistic approach is to help students develop into well rounded individuals, so that they can thrive in their adult endeavours, both personal and professional, and make a positive contribution to their society and community. This is driven by the school’s ethos, stemming from our motto “not for one’s self, but for all”. At George Abbot School, we insist on high standards of conduct, behaviour and appearance and strive to achieve this through strong partnership with parents/carers and highly positive relationships between staff and students.

As a school we are guided by our three core values, Aspiration, Community and Respect:

Aspiration:

• Having high aspirations in their learning and character development
• Being resilient in learning, never giving up and taking on new opportunities
• Taking on leadership roles
• Showing intellectual curiosity by using new ideas and concepts, challenging our way of thinking
• Being a responsive learner

Community:

• Fully engaged in the George Abbot curriculum and co-curricular activities
• Being thoughtful and giving their time for others
• Taking an active role in contributing to the school community

Respect:

• Showing tolerance, understanding and empathy for all within our community
• Demonstrating respect by displaying high standards across all aspects of school
• Respecting learning by being ready to learn and ensuring learning is not disrupted through personal actions
• Respecting the environment, the school site and others’ possessions

Teachers and support staff develop a personal care for, and interest in, individual students; to draw out their passions and interests, to ensure their time at George Abbot is rewarding.

Challenged and Supported

We pride ourselves on the strength of our pastoral care in support of every young person. Students join mixed tutor groups, each with a broad range of ability, on arrival in Year 7. The primary role of the form tutor is to build positive relationships and a sense of belonging and they are the first point of contact for students’ welfare and progress. This ensures there will always be at least one member of staff that really knows and understands each child. They promote leadership and enrichment opportunities and focus on developing responsibility, respect and resilience in students.

The school’s team of Pastoral Leads oversee the academic and pastoral progress of every student and offer additional leadership and advice to Form Tutors. To support our youngest students, there is a dedicated Transition Manager who leads the Year 7 pastoral team. Each year group also has their own non-teaching Head of Year who has responsibility for the pastoral care, welfare and safety, of the whole year group. Students with more complex pastoral needs are additionally supported by our Youth Workers, Counsellor or Home School Link Worker, through a range of 1:1 or group sessions.

Students are rigorously supported by a layered pastoral system whereby their Tutor, Head of Year and Inclusion Manager will offer differing levels of support depending on need and situation.

Our team of pastoral leads are extremely passionate, caring and experienced, while working under our pastoral core values:

• Every child matters, know our students
• High expectations and standards
• Be positive in all we do
• Be consistent in dealing with all students
• Use data wisely to promote progress
• Lead by example

Wellbeing

It is of fundamental importance to us that our school is happy, safe, courteous and cohesive. We support our students to become self-regulated, self-motivated and quietly confident in who they are. Wellbeing is a vital base for successful learning.

Each year group has a non-teaching Head of Year, a teaching staff member as their Inclusion Manager and a team of ten Form Tutors. We have three Home-School Link Workers, two Medical and Wellbeing Officers, a school counsellor and offer a range of interventions to support emotional development and resilience. Our SEN team is expert and offers high quality support for our students with additional learning needs. They are based in our Moloney building and offer a welcoming space where children access personalised provision to ensure they gain the confidence and skill to achieve and be their best.

First Aid

George Abbot School does not have a Medical Practitioner or nurse on site. We have a dedicated First Aid & Secretarial Administrator, Mrs Hutson, located in the Medical Room in Raynham Office, who is First Aid trained. In addition to this, there are also a number of First Aid trained staff across the site, particularly in Faculties with practical subjects.

Home School Link Worker (HSLW)

At George Abbot, the role of the HSLW is to:

• Support parents/carers, families and students on a wide range of issues;
• Help children and families increase school attendance and punctuality;
• Develop and maintain positive relationships and act as a link between the home and school.

The HSLW role is tailored to support the needs of your family and circumstances. We can help in many ways including:

• Enabling parents/carers and children to discuss concerns or worries in a secure and safe environment, with a flexible and open-minded approach;
• Support and guidance to students in times of change and stress, such as parental separation or bereavement;
• Help students struggling with lack of confidence or low self esteem, are withdrawn or anxious;
• Assisting parents/carers whose children are reluctant to attend school or have been excluded;
• Offering parent/carer guidance and support on a wide range of issues or difficulties impacting on their family life e.g. illness, domestic violence, disability, financial difficulties, experiencing difficulties with child’s behaviour;
• Undertake home visits to support families/children;
• Work closely with other agencies and help families to access other services, resources and local community information to meet their needs;
• Offering support in school meetings and appointments;
• Help to fill out forms such as Free School Meals (FSM), Early Help Support.

Contact details:

Our George Abbot HSLWs are Rachel Neu, Emily Young and Karen Rhodes. Please contact reception on 01483 888000 and ask to speak with a Home School Link Worker.

Alternatively, please email:

• [email protected] (HSLW Team Leader) – Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays – Year 11 and Sixth Form
• [email protected] – Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays – Year 8 and Year 10
• [email protected] – Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday – Year 7 and Year 9