Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care and Safeguarding

First and foremost, we set out to ensure that our pupils are happy, healthy and well supported to meet the numerous and varied challenges that their childhood will throw at them.

Whilst we cannot predict the future, we support each child according to their individual need. Ultimately, numerous studies have proven what you instinctively know as a parent; that happy children are more likely to succeed and will be better prepared for lifelong learning.

How do we do this?

By working on a human level. Developing warm and trusting relationships are key to happiness. Right from the start of a child’s experience with us we seek to ensure that they feel valued and secure at All Hallows. We have well established and carefully structured systems of care that ensure our pupils are scaffolded throughout their school experience. Whether tutor, class teacher, houseparent or lunchtime supervisor; all of our staff are in tune with the belief that every child’s happiness really does matter.

Does this mean that children are always happy?

No matter how much we may want it to be, life isn’t always a bed of roses. That is certainly true for school-aged children who encounter their fair shares of ups and downs as they learn about how they should live their life. Do children sometimes struggle? Of course they do and it is right that this should be the case. Importantly when this occurs we are there to support them through their challenges and help them take steps to becoming increasingly resilient individuals. After all, we do not develop our resilience when things are going well all the time.

How do we know that we are successful?

We are renowned as a caring school and this message is fed back to us time and time again by parents, pupils and visitors to the school. However, don’t take our word for it, feel free to check out our previous inspection reports.

However, inspection reports are one thing and tell part of the story. Even better than that, come and experience the unique atmosphere that stands us apart from other schools. The smiling faces and warm welcome that you will receive from our pupils tell their own story which is impossible to do justice with words.

Safeguarding

A great deal of work takes place behind the scenes at All Hallows to keep our children safe in school. Safeguarding is our number one priority and we are constantly identifying ways to build on our whole school culture in this regard. From time-to-time we engage the services of a specialist safeguarding consultant to work alongside us on areas as diverse as staff training, web filtering and the children's physical safety around school. Our aim is to go beyond the 'tick-box' compliance requirements of school inspections and to be as forward-thinking and pro-active as possible in this key area of the school's life, whilst maintaining the very special feel of the school.

Keeping our children safe on-line is an area of safeguarding which requires constant vigilance to keep pace with new technology. As well as the work we do with our children in this area, which includes Digital Citizenship lessons in IT and discussions within PSHEE, it is vital that we have the support of our parents. To this end, we strongly encourage parents to attend our regular E-safety sessions. We also provide copies of the useful Digital Parenting Magazine to help everyone up-to-date with all we can do together to keep our children safe online.

For more information about safeguarding at All Hallows, please refer to our child protection policy or get in touch with our Designated Safeguarding Lead.