Pastoral Care

his policy should be read in conjunction with the school's policies on the Curriculum, Child Protection, Anti-Bullying, Sex Education, Special Educational Needs and Disability, First Aid and Medical Provision, Equal Opportunities, and the leaflet Looking After Each Other, published by the Chaplaincy.

Aims
Pastoral care at Reigate Grammar School is encapsulated within aims 2 and 5 of the school's Aims and Ethos:

• To provide a disciplined and caring environment that will encourage boys and girls to develop into morally and socially responsible young people;
• To ensure that the development of these intellectual, physical, creative and social abilities is conducted in a happy mutually respectful environment.

The school aims to promote good relationships between staff and pupils to promote a strong sense of community. Whilst the school cannot promise to meet all individual needs, it will endeavour to treat pupils as individuals and to this end will endeavour to ensure that pupil teacher ratios are not high. Since September 2003, more tutors have been added to the team to produce smaller form groups (typically 15) from Third Form and above. From September 2005, the school will restructure the pastoral system to provide three Heads of Year with Assistants (1-3) a Head of Upper School and Deputy (4-5) and a Head of Sixth Form and Deputy, to reduce the number of pupils for whom an individual is responsible.

The school recognises that pastoral care is a partnership between parents and the school and encourages parents to contact the school when there is a concern and vice versa.

The school will promote the values encapsulated in the aims above by:
• The provision of a stretching and broad curricular and extra-curricular programme which encourages pupils to contribute to the school community and the wider community;
• weekly assemblies and a weekly Church service;
• a strong, relevant PSHE curriculum delivered within the teaching timetable, with the inclusion of outside speakers where appropriate; the ICT curriculum, pastoral days and parents' forums. Pupils are given the information to avoid situations and persons, including the internet, which could lead them into harm;
• a disciplinary structure and an agreed Code of Conduct which provide clear boundaries;
• rewards for effort, contribution and achievement;
• opportunities for pupils to look after one another through mentoring and peer supporting;
• opportunities for pupils' opinions to be aired through regular year group Council meetings;
• ensuring staff are present and monitoring possible areas of danger or conflict;
• providing a robust health and safety programme;
• opportunities for staff training to develop tutoring and listening skills;
• annual review of its pastoral procedures and policies.

Pastoral structures and records
Pastoral structures will:
• provide a number of different people, both staff and pupils who will ensure the well-being of all those within school and to whom those who are troubled, either physically, emotionally or academically may turn;
• provide staff who are able to take an informed overview of a child's academic and behavioural performance and needs;
• provide staff who will be able to give sensible and informed advice;
• provide staff who will get to know individual pupils and be prepared to share important pastoral information with their colleagues to promote supportive action across the school;
• ensure good records are kept, especially on transfers between forms and providing continuing support to a pupil about whom there have been concerns who leaves the school by ensuring that appropriate information is forwarded under confidential cover to the pupil's new school and ensuring the school medical records are forwarded as a matter of priority.

Communication with parents
An appropriate member of staff will inform parents as soon as possible if there is a pastoral concern. Parents will be usually invited into school to discuss the concern. Staff are always available, with an appointment, to discuss concerns parents may raise. Parents will receive regular written reports to inform them of their child's progress.

Implementation
Day-to-day implementation of this policy is the responsibility of the Deputy Head (Pastoral), assisted by the Heads of Sections and Years. A Governor is nominated by the Board of Governors to have oversight of pastoral care and associated policies.

Revised February 2005