Pastoral Care and Children's Well-Being

Our 2007 Independent Schools Inspectorate stated that "the standard of pastoral care is outstanding" and we regard pastoral care as at the heart of a St Aubyns education. Pastoral care is seen as far more than looking after children; we seek to cultivate an ethos of tolerance and concern for others alongside the development of personal confidence and a strong sense of personal responsibility.

Morning chapel has a central place in the life of the school community

St Aubyns is a family-centred school. The Headmaster and his wife are readily available to children and to parents who need to talk. Year 8s are invited to supper with the Headmaster at the start of the year in small groups. This is a much-valued privilege as well as an opportunity to build relationships at the start of the very important final year at Prep School. Headmaster's Dinners with year groups of parents and the work of the school parents' association, the St Aubyns Society, are important in fostering the relationship between parents and the school.

Morning Chapels reinforce and make concrete the ethos of the school as the Headmaster and other teachers present to the school clear and practical lessons.  The chapel is the place where all the children in the Prep and Pre-Prep come together, though on separate occasions, and where the sense of community within the school is most clearly expressed. Each form in the Prep Department leads a morning Chapel at some point in the year and each year group from Years 5 to 8 will lead a chapel in French. On alternate Fridays a more formal service for the Prep pupils with a visiting preacher is both a beautiful act of worship and an important gathering of the school community which is always well-attended by parents.

The pupils have significant time in small groups with their Form Tutors to ensure that children's  well-being as well as their academic progress is monitored. Form Tutors are usually the first point of call for the passing on of information and the raising of concerns. Form Tutors will share concerns with other teachers, often through the weekly Care Diary meeting of all the Prep teaching staff and the weekly Pre-Prep staff meeting, so that we ensure that there is a shared approach from all to any particular situation. Within the Boarding House the House Master, Mr Ndau, and the School Matron, Miss Jackie, are always available in the evening to talk privately with the boarders.

Through the curriculum Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) and the Global Eye course developed at St Aubyns enable teachers to address important issues in regard to personal development. Please click on the links to read more about the PSHE and Global Eye courses at St Aubyns.

Drama and the creative arts are seen as a very important part of the development of the pupils' personal confidence. In the Pre-Prep the Massage in Schools Programme (MISP) is taught in drama lessons and then practised in the classroom setting. This is continued in drama lessons on an occasional basis in later years in the school. This programme helps to build relationships between children and has been found to diffuse tensions in individuals and groups. Year 7 follow a well-being programme in their drama curriculum lessons as they think about isses that relate to the PSHE course in an interactive way.

The Arts Express programme at St Aubyns through which all children are encouraged to express themselves in the creative arts further assists the development of the confidence to perform and display creative work in front of peers and parents.

From Year 4 children are given the opportunity to take positions of responsibility within the school. Children in Years 4 to 8 elect year group representatives to a School Council which meets twice each term with the Headmaster and another senior member of staff. Members of the School Council help to plan for new ideas and changes within the school that they and their year groups have suggested. In Year 7 pupils are given tasks monitoring in such areas as the Library and the Chapel. In Year 8 these roles are formalised as pupils are promoted to roles such as Sub Section Leader and Section Leader (Section is the St Aubyns word for houses). Each year the Headmaster appoints a Head Girl and Head Boy. Section Leaders meet with the Headmaster each week to discuss their role and the life of the school.