At St John’s we are committed to providing outstanding pastoral care to ensure that all students are fully supported to fulfil their potential. Our pastoral system is designed to offer comprehensive support, ensuring each student feels valued, respected and empowered to become the best version of themselves.
Our learning community is fully inclusive and we recognise that each and every student has unique God-given gifts and talents to share with the world around them. We are committed to the wellbeing of our students, and we endeavour to nurture every individual. We aim to provide a supportive and inclusive environment where every individual can develop their spiritual, personal, social and academic skills and qualities so that they have a strong sense of social responsibility and can make a positive contribution to society.
Our pastoral system is based on year groups which are divided into tutor groups. Each tutor group has a Pastoral Tutor who stays with the group from Years 7-11 and from Year 12-13. Year groups are led by Heads and Assistant Heads of Year who are concerned for the welfare of all students in their group. Tutors are responsible for the academic, social and personal development of students within their tutor group and are supported by the Assistant and Head of Year. Members of the Senior Leadership Team link to specific year groups to provide further support, advice and guidance.
Students are encouraged to fully participate in the wider life of school , taking on key roles as members of our Student Leadership Team, CAFOD Leadership Team, Heads of House, Literacy and Numeracy Leaders, Sports and Duty Leaders.
Regular meetings are held between the Pastoral Tutors, Heads and Assistant Heads of Year to ensure we continue to provide outstanding pastoral care, nurturing and supporting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all of our students.
At St John’s we understand it is vital to nurture a strong partnership between school and home. We understand that there may be times when you need to contact your child’s pastoral tutor, subject teacher, Head of Department or Head of Year. Should you wish to contact these members of staff, please telephone our school reception on 01388 603246 or email admin@stjohns.bhcet.org.uk. Our teams are available to receive your emails from 8.00am to 6.00pm. Upon contact, a message will be forwarded to the appropriate tutor, teacher, Head of Department or Head of Year. It is particularly helpful to give some information with regards to your query so we can ensure that the relevant staff can resolve the issue in a timely manner.
To ensure that your queries are dealt with by the appropriate staff, please be aware of the following:
- Pastoral tutors are the first point of contact for any general queries as they see your child on a daily basis. Social issues or concerns regarding friendship groups or uniform should be directed to the tutor
- Concerns regarding subject lessons, homeworks, classroom issues and progress should be directed to the subject teacher
- Persistent concerns regarding ongoing subject issues should be directed to the Head of Department
- Serious concerns regarding ongoing pastoral issues should be directed to the Assistant Head of Year or Head of Year. In most instances, this will follow previous communication with your child’s pastoral tutor
Here are the ways you can stay connected and informed about your child's academic journey and pastoral care:
- My Child At School app
- Classcharts
- Emails and telephone calls
- Face to face meetings
We believe that successful partnerships are based on strong relationships. We very much welcome regular communication with parents/carers and we thank you for:
- helping to establish positive, respectful and supportive working relationships between home and school
- discussing matters calmly with us so that we can agree positive outcomes
- appreciating that we all have our parts to play in helping our young people to make the most of their education and time at St John’s
- supporting us by upholding our standards and expectations so that our children feel safe and happy in order to flourish within our caring and aspirational community
St John’s continues to be a special place to grow and learn and, by working together, we can ensure that all children in our care will live life to the full, becoming the best version of themselves.