Pastoral

Our Pastoral Care Programme is based on the belief that a child will be happier and perform better if someone takes an interest in them personally. Given that belief, the school has set up a Pastoral Care Programme whereby each first year pupil has the same Form Teacher over the course of Years 8 to 12. The role of the Form Teacher is to establish a positive relationship with each pupil, to facilitate the development of the whole person through adolescence and in preparation for adult life.

There are also six Year Tutors who have a special role in the pastoral care of pupils. They work with Form Teachers to monitor pupil progress, liaise with parents and deal with matters of discipline. The Year Tutor has overall responsibility for pupils in the year group and for the organisation of an information evening for parents.

The Pastoral Care system in St. Patrick’s is based on the principle that the key to good learning and teaching lies in good relationships. All pupils in St Patrick’s have a two PSE periods per week with their Form Teacher. This period is used to focus on the College’s Pastoral Programme and also to develop Literacy and Numeracy skills. A well-established Induction Programme is in place for Year 8 pupils and Sixth Form students act as Mentors for our Year 8 pupils.

Our Year eight pupils meet their mentors in September and enjoy some icebreaking and peer mentoring activities. They spend time getting to know each other and covering topics such as bullying, sharing problems and other difficulties that may arise in their first year in St. Patrick’s College. The mentors continue to meet with our Year 8 pupils in PSE classes in order to help, support and motivate them throughout their first year. The pupils are confident in the fact that they have a role model to help them through their transition year.