The Route
Students / Tutors / Key Stage Leaders / Key Stage Heads
Holmer Green Senior School has a highly effective pastoral care system. It consists of three Key Stage Heads supported by a Head of Year 7 and two Key Stage Leaders. The Key Stage Heads have an academic and pastoral overview of all the students under their care. They support students with target setting, academic progress and achievement.
The importance of caring for the welfare of our students
It is well understood by all who work here, that a student cannot achieve highly, unless his or her student pastoral needs are also considered. Issues such as peer pressure, bullying, self-harm and low self-esteem are rightly the concerns of all members of staff, and particularly of a student’s tutor, but the Key Stage Heads are able to pool all information and impressions and provide the necessary advice and support to students.
The importance of Key Stage Leaders
Key Stage Heads are also teaching staff and have a large teaching commitment; this is why the presence of the Key Stage Leaders is so vital to the ongoing success of pastoral care in the school. The Key Stage office is manned all day every day by one or more members of the Key Stage Leadership team: this means that students are able to have their concerns listened to very swiftly, usually on the same day that they present themselves to the office, instead of having to wait until the Key Stage Head has a period free from teaching.
Communication
Communication with students, staff and parents is of paramount importance for a student to thrive in school. The Key Stage staff take great care to document incidents and concerns and inform all relevant parties, whilst maintaining confidentiality. The Key Stage staff are also kept informed about attendance and punctuality problems which may affect a student’s ability to perform in school.
Outside Agencies
Students sometimes present with concerns which need expert input from outside staff. We have excellent connections with ‘Connexions’, ‘Way In’, the Youth Enquiry Service, ‘Mind’ and Child Mental Health, the School Medical Service, Wycombe and Chess Valley Grange, the Youth Offending Service and the Education Welfare Service. All of these bodies have worked closely with students to ensure that their pastoral needs are met.