Pastoral care is the provision a school makes to ensure the physical and emotional welfare of pupils. It is the essential foundation upon which learning can take place.
Why is pastoral care important?
All parents want their children to be safe and happy at school. The importance of pastoral care goes well beyond this, however. Education and health are closely linked, and recent studies have shown that pupils with better health and wellbeing are likely to achieve better academically. What is more, life skills, such as those taught in a successful PDMU (Personal Development and Mutual Undersating) programme, are associated with greater wellbeing and higher achievement. Good pastoral care in school is also fundamental to the development of character and social skills, which will be of critical importance to pupils in later life.
What do we do at Nettlefield?
The health, safety and well-being of all our children are of paramount importance to all the adults who work in our school. In Nettlefield Primary School, we recognise our responsibility for the care, welfare and safety of the pupils in our charge. We aim to provide a caring, supportive and safe environment in which all our pupils can learn and develop to their full potential. We also aim to strengthen children’s resilience by teaching them about welcome and unwelcome behaviours.
Safeguarding and Child Protection
All schools must have safeguarding policies and procedures in place to ensure that every child, regardless of their age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, or sexual orientation, are protected from harm.
Following good safeguarding policies and procedures means children are safe from adults and other children who might pose a risk.
What is Safeguarding?
Safeguarding is the action that is taken to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.
Safeguarding means:
protecting children from abuse and maltreatment
preventing harm to children’s health or development
ensuring children grow up with the provision of safe and effective care
taking action to enable all children and young people to have the best outcomes.
What is Child Protection?
Child protection is part of the safeguarding process. It focuses on protecting individual children identified as suffering or likely to suffer significant harm. This includes child protection procedures which detail how to respond to concerns about a child.
What to do if you are worried or want to talk.
If you want to talk about your own child's well-being we encourage parents and carers to talk to their child's teacher in the first instance but members of the safeguarding team are available too.
If you are worried about another child, please follow the flow chart below.
