Care, Guidance and Support
The Pastoral System
Students mostly come into contact with their form tutors and subject teachers. A form tutor has the responsibility of monitoring each tutee’s academic progress and overall well-being, and initiating appropriate intervention as and when necessary. A student’s Form Tutor is normally the first point of contact for:
- routine matters, including ordinary absence
- private issues including family matters
- progress or discipline
They will be the teacher who knows the student best and will be best placed to help in a wide range of areas of concern. We hope that all parents will quickly get to know their child’s Tutor. Routine letters such as absence notes, general information, requests for information, etc. can be addressed to the Form Tutor.
Tutors are monitored and supported by Heads of Year. A student's Head of Year will automatically become involved by the Form Tutor in any matters that are not routine. If we have serious concerns about a student then it is likely to be the Head of Year who contacts parents. Parents should contact the Head of Year if they have already raised a matter of concern with the Form Tutor but are unhappy with the outcome.
The Head of Year Team
| Head of Year | |
|---|---|
| Year 7 | Mr L Hedges |
| Year 8 | Mr P Watson |
| Year 9 | Mr S Jones |
| Year 10 | Mr I McLennan |
| Year 11 | Mr D Robjohns |
| Years 12 & 13 | Mr R Cook |
Should parents have any questions or concerns about any of their child's lessons it is best if they up these concerns with the relevant subject teacher. They will always be grateful if potential difficulties are raised with them at the earliest opportunity, so that they have time to address any issues before they become serious. Subject teachers are also best-placed to suggest ways in which parents can help and support their child in their academic studies. The School's senior staff are always happy to speak with parents if there are any concerns.
The House System
The School is organised into six Houses, each with a house colour, prefect team and House Leader:
| House | House Lead | House Colour |
|---|---|---|
| Darwin | Ms K Thorne | Yellow |
| Elgar | Mr R Thomas | Light Blue |
| Moore | Ms N Fengler | Purple |
| Newton | Ms M Gosling | Dark Blue |
| Scott | Mr S Perry | Red |
| Turner | Mrs A Monzón | Green |
Years 7-11 have one tutor group per house, each of about 30 students. In the Sixth Form there are two tutor groups in each House; each Sixth Form tutor group consists of students from both Years 12 and 13. House Captains and House Prefects are selected on an annual basis and represent their House in a number of ways as well as being role models for their House members.
During the year the Houses compete against each other in a number of activities throughout the year. The annual House Competition culminates in the school’s Sports’ Day, which normally takes place in July. The students take great pride in their House, and all competitions are fiercely (and fairly) contested! Each year, students in each House choose a charity to support. Each House is assigned a week in the school calendar for fundraising, with the prefects taking the lead in organising events such as cake sales, sports tournaments, talents shows and discos. It is not unusual for a House to raise over £2,000 for their chosen charity.
Through the House system older students are encouraged to mentor and support younger ones. The support offered ranges from that which is very subject specific to simply being someone to talk to and share a concern.
Allocation to Tutor Group
We take great care in allocating students to their tutor groups. Many pieces of information are taken into account, including the advice of primary schools. We aim to keep students with others from their primary school; we normally allocated students to the same house as any older siblings.
These allocations are made after careful consideration, and the final decision is made by the school. We are unable to accept parental requests regarding tutor group allocations. Once allocations have been made, we are not able to make any changes.
Individual Learning Needs
The school has a highly effective Individual Learning Needs (ILN) department, which includes our Special Educational Needs section and which is overseen by the school’s SENDCo, (Special Educational Disability Needs Co-ordinator) Mrs R Issott, with the support of the lead teaching assistant, Mrs S Coveney. If you have specific enquiries regarding our provision, please contact Mrs Coveney directly.
Additional Sources of Support: The Student Hub
The Pastoral Support team (in the Student Hub) ensures that there is additional support for students with concerns or problems. Students who are feeling unwell or require First Aid are supported by the same colleagues. The team work closely with Social Services and other agencies to access the appropriate support for both students and parents. The Pastoral Support Team is led by Mrs S Spears, who has direct responsibility for Year 7. She can be contacted via email: sspears@bournemouth-school.org.
Young Carers
A young carer is someone under 18 who helps look after some in their family, or a friend, who is ill, disabled or struggles with addiction. There about 700,000 young carers in the UK, which is about 1 in 12 secondary-aged pupils. We do everything possible to support the young carers in our community, and ask you to contact us if your child is a young carer.
Careers Advice
As a school we buy in the services of an accredited careers advisor. This ensures that our students have access to impartial and independent careers advice and guidance from a professional and up to date source. Our Careers Advisor also undertakes tracking and monitoring of students who have left Bournemouth School, either post 16 or post 18, and can help to ensure that they are being properly supported through their next phase in their career. Appointments to see a Careers Advisor can be booked through our Work Related Learning Coordinator, Mrs Barnard-Dyson.