Pastoral Care
Caring and supporting our young people is implicit in every facet of school life. The aim of our Pastoral System is to ensure that all students are supported by staff, parents, governors, other students and all members of the school community so that they are able to achieve the best of which they are capable of in all areas of school life. The pastoral system will try to work with all involved, both within and beyond the school community, to ensure that this aim is met.
Tutor Programme
Pastoral Care is integral to our tutor programme. Each student is placed into a tutor group from Years 7-13. The tutor is the keyworker for every student in their form and is the first point of contact for all parents. In the Sixth Form, the tutors are responsible for UCAS references to support with destinations post Five Ways School. Tutor time starts every day at 8.35am; this is the ‘breakfast of champions’ which sets our students up well for the rest of the day. Every day the programme is different, ranging from discussions about wellbeing, following our ‘Learning for Life’ curriculum, our DEER programme (see below) and assemblies.
Drop Everything Everyone Read (DEER) Programme
Every Wednesday, students are encouraged to read for pleasure. Guided reading takes place in Year 7 led by each tutor. Miss T Savage, Head of English and Reading Culture, curated a series of class readers to entertain, engage and stretch our able Year 7 students. In Years 8 and 9, some tutors partially participate in the guided reading programme as and when required.
Learning for Life and Wellbeing
The school recognises the importance of education which is not subject specific, relating to how we should think and behave rather than to what we should know, understand and be able to do. This is value related rather than knowledge based. This personal dimension of education has always been of importance to school and staff.
Assemblies
We assemble twice a week as a School, with our programme tailored to fulfil the social, moral, spiritual and cultural (SMSC) agenda of our school community.
Parental Communication and Contact
Every year, parents are invited to meet form tutors and those who teach their child(ren) to discuss work, progress and personal development. Parents are welcome to arrange further individual appointments with Heads of Year or the Assistant Head in charge of the Key Stage.
Parents are invited to school formerly in the autumn term to attend Parent Information Evenings to learn about the academic year ahead at each stage. Parents and students are invited to prize-giving evenings to mark the end of Key Stage 5. We celebrate the achievements of the young people who took their A-Levels the previous summer, to celebrate their successes. During prize-giving ceremonies, students receive certificates and prizes for achievements in the fields of academia. Alongside this wonderful evening, we host Junior and Senior Prize Giving Mornings for Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4, celebrating academia, sport, community, performing arts and service to the school. Our assemblies are also celebratory and every Friday we award students with academic colours and host sports celebration breakfasts to praise and acknowledge our young people.
We regularly communicate with parents through weekly notices in our e-newsletters and half termly Year group newsletters. Reports on students’ progress are sent home three times a year and our Class Charts behaviour information system gives insight into the attendance, performance and rewards of each young person.
Meet the Team
Leadership Team
Mr C Walker - Deputy Head
Mr K Quinn - Assistant Head of Student Conduct and Attendance
Mr R Russell - Assistant Head: Director of Sixth Form
Mrs L Tolley - Assistant Head of Student Welfare, Wellbeing & Safety
Mrs S Tyrie - Associate Assistant Head of Inclusion & SENDCO
Pastoral Leaders: Year 7-11
Mrs S Guthrie - Pastoral Manager
Mr J Camwell - Head of Year 7 & 8
Mr M Feeney - Head of Year 9 & 10
Mrs J Hatton - Head of Year 11
Mr G Hawkins - Assistant Head of Year 8
Mr J Pritchard - Assistant Head of Year 9
Mrs L Carr - Assistant Head of Year 10
Mrs N Coen -Assistant Head of Year 11
Pastoral Leaders: Sixth Form
Ms K Handley - Pastoral Manager
Mr E Turner - Assistant Director of Sixth Form
Mr R Snelson - Assistant Director of Sixth Form
Ms C Ryan - Assistant Director of Sixth Form
Mrs J Coley-Master - Confidential Listener
Inclusion Team
Mr F Adebiyi - Academic Mentor Year 10-13
Mrs J Power - Teaching Assistant and ELSA Lead Practitioner
Personal Development Team
Mrs V McMahon - Director of Character and Student Experiences
Miss S Froggatt - Careers Leader
Miss R Ward - Internationalism and Global Citizens
Medical Team
Mrs A Scott - School Nurse and Mental Health First Aider
Student Services
We pride ourselves on the staffing and resourcing we invest into a range of supplementary services to support the holistic wellbeing of our students. Our services include a school nurse available every day. We engage the services of school counsellors who attend school on Mondays and Thursdays. A peer support service which includes academic and social mentoring, to aid our students during break, lunch and out of lesson time.
We have a very experienced Inclusion Team tailored to meet the needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds in need of additional educational resources. We also work closely with SEND students ensuring all, but especially EHCP students, have their needs met. Students who are in the care of the Local Authority also benefit from a nominated member of staff, Mrs Tolley, to ensure there is a single point of contact to provide stability in school to ensure the best outcomes for each looked after child (and post looked after children).
Our school Careers Team provide appropriate independent advice and guidance to our students in all year groups and organises events with speakers from different fields throughout the year.
All our pastoral programmes and provision is supported by an impressive Student Leadership body working alongside Student Services, all reinforcing the message that Five Ways School is a place where all are cared for and nurtured.
