Girls’ Pastoral Care

Form teachers are the first point of contact for both pupil and parent. They will take the time to get to know each girl from the week she joins, so that they are in the best possible position to help with the personal and social development of every girl.

One of the form teacher’s main roles is to ensure that all the girls are fulfilling their true potential in all areas of the curriculum.

A girl’s form teacher is there to help oversee the girl’s progress, encourage success and recognise her individual achievements. She or he is also there to guide the children into making the correct choices and help them to learn from their mistakes.

If for whatever reason a girl is struggling at any point with academic or pastoral matters, it is the form teacher’s role to put a plan in place involving both the child and her parents, to overcome the problem as effectively as possible. The open-door policy we have at the Girls’ School is a key factor in ensuring that communication between parents and teachers is tight. As a result any concerns about your child can be resolved quickly and efficiently.

At Eaton House The Manor Girls’ School, the housemistress plays a pivotal role in the life of each girl at school. She champions each girl and encourages her to be part of the wider team.

As the house system spans the seven years from KG to Year 6, the girls gain a real sense of belonging and make many special friendships.

The housemistress praises the girls in her house, rewarding their many successes and offering a helping hand or a steer in the right direction when it is needed.

From the beginning the KG girls are allocated their big sisters via the house system and overseen by the head of house, who plays an important role in ensuring that every girl is on track and supporting her house with passion and pride.

There are many house competitions from poetry to netball, general knowledge to Easter bonnets! The housemistress is the constant, always there to help organise them and cheer from the sidelines!

Teachers and housemistresses support each other’s work in and out of the classroom through the house point system – ensuring there is close communication between them at all times, and this just adds another layer to our excellent wrap-around pastoral care.

Pastoral care plays an essential role in ensuring that your daughter settles into life in the Girls’ School from the moment she joins us in Kindergarten.

We first meet the girls in the summer term before they are due to start with us, at our new girls’ tea party. The new girls’ tea provides a fun-filled afternoon where the girls meet one another as well as meeting their class teacher and teacher assistant. The afternoon allows the girls to familiarise themselves with the school and their new classrooms, to aid the coming transition and excite them about the adventure ahead. It also provides an opportunity for parents to meet before the start of term.

To ensure a smooth transition once term starts, we allocate each of our Kindergarten (KG) girls a ‘big sister’. The big sister is always a girl in our most senior year, Form 6, and is often in the same house as her younger ‘sibling’. During the summer holidays prior to the KG girls’ arrival at Eaton House, each KG girl receives a welcoming letter or postcard from her big sister. This is a wonderful way of easing any nerves that the KG girls may have and immediately gives them a friendly face to look out for on their very first day.

Bonding

When the academic year begins in September, the bond between the KG girls and their big sisters forms almost instantly. The Year 6 girls very much enjoy the sense of responsibility of having a KG to play with at break time, sit with at lunchtime, and introduce to aspects of school life. For the KGs, their big sisters are role models who provide the type of friendship and reassurance that enables the new girls to feel both fully integrated into the school and also highly valued.

The strong relationship between the oldest and youngest girls is crucial in establishing the notion of respect for all. As the years pass, and the big sisters leave Eaton House for their senior schools, it is lovely to hear how many remain in contact with their younger buddy. Cards and presents are often exchanged but, more importantly, the mutual respect that has been established from the outset often leads to both girls following the progress of the other with genuine interest.

At a time when societal pressures are impacting negatively on the mental and physical health of children across the country, we take the issue of well-being seriously.

Our aim is not only to encourage the girls, but also enable them to include various elements in their lives that will ultimately provide the bedrock for a healthy body and mind.

Thus, whether it be in form time, assemblies, PSHEE lessons or on the sports field, we discuss the importance of regular exercise, sleep, hydration and a balanced diet. With technology, and particularly screen time, becoming an increasingly common feature in girls’ lives, we are very proactive in our delivery of e-safety guidance to girls and parents alike. Forming positive, healthy habits at a young age is vital, and as many of these habits will be carried out at home as much as at school, our ethos is very much to share information and suggestions with parents whenever possible.

Nurturing Self-esteem

By celebrating each girl’s individual triumphs we nurture self-esteem, for example by awarding house points or by displaying work on classroom walls. The confidence boost that comes from being recognised in public is something we never underestimate. Courtesy, kindness and effort are also very much rewarded, thereby enabling all girls to feel the benefits of success rather than simply those who are the best in any given discipline.

Through our school rules, our global awareness and our contact with the local community, we teach the girls to conduct themselves in a way which fills their lives with purpose. We believe that it is by giving time to others that the girls form a sense of contentment in themselves – a contentment which which provides emotional resilience when challenges are faced.

The quality of the relationship between each girl and both her peers and her teachers is at the very heart of the well-being process. Developing these relationships requires commitment, patience, empathy and humour, elements that are modelled by the staff and emulated by the pupils. Visitors to the school frequently comment on the vibrant, warm atmosphere, and we are extremely proud of our community spirit. When difficulties do arise, our desire is to resolve any issues in a speedy and effective manner. The pastoral care demonstrated by all our staff means that the girls can feel secure in the knowledge they will be listened to, supported and treated fairly.

The final aspect of promoting positive mental health comes from assisting each girl to find her own personal area of interest. Being deeply engaged by an academic subject, an extracurricular club or a particular school-based event allows the girls to lose themselves in their favoured activity, and these feelings of excitement and enthusiasm can very much strengthen an individual’s sense of well-being.