Pastoral Support

Robert Barclay Academy is caring, friendly and encouraging, and maintains a happy and peaceful learning community that enables everyone to work at their best. To achieve this, we work in partnership with students, parents, governors and the wider community. This approach underpins the school’s commitment to enabling all our students to reach their highest levels of personal achievement by:

• Encouraging positive behaviour
• Encouraging and promoting an understanding of the importance of regular attendance and good timekeeping
• Providing clear guidance to students, parents and staff
• Making it clear we value all students and appreciate diversity
• Expecting our school environment to be safe, secure, supportive, and reinforce

the moral and ethical values we encourage our students to live by

Positive behaviour and full attendance are essential components of an effective teaching and learning environment and they support our duty to promote the welfare of our students, and keep them safe. We believe that everyone has a right to learn and nobody has a right to prevent learning. We are firm, clear and consistent in our expectations, and we work hard to help our students develop and use the social, emotional and behavioural skills they need to succeed.

Ofsted recognition of our pastoral support

Ofsted visited RBA in June 2019 and they recognised the safe and caring culture created within the school:

“Pupils feel safe and are confident in the staff that look after them. Adults promote caring, secure relationships with pupils…” The school has “created a culture where pupils feel free to express worries or concerns. Pupils are taught how to stay safe, both online and in the wider world” and “they feel safe and are confident to speak to adults in the school if they are worried or have a problem.”

We are also pleased that from speaking with inspectors “Pupils say that bullying is not a problem, as people appreciate and value the things that make them different” and “staff deal with any problems quickly and effectively.” It was also recognised that “An array of services help pupils when they are facing additional problems or a crisis or have concerns. School nursing teams, the school counsellor and the school’s new well-being coordinator ensure that pupils get timely and well-coordinated support and guidance.”

Pastoral Structure

Our pastoral structure provides students with appropriate professionals in place to guide them and give advice with regards to specific needs.

On entering the school, all students become members of a tutor group comprising of students of the same age who are all experiencing the same stage of their education. This marks the beginning of a strong bond with their form tutor who will maintain an overview of each child’s academic and personal development. Indeed, they are the key point of contact for the parents.

The form tutor is supported in their role by a Head of Year, who has the responsibility of overseeing the pastoral provision for their cohort through each key stage. We also have a dedicated Pastoral Support Coordinator and Attendance Officer, who liaise with outside agencies, for example counselling services, should they be required.

Positive reinforcement and rewarding students in accordance with our school values also underpins our pastoral system. We recognise students for their Achievement, Care and Excellence, in and out of lessons with a variety of rewards. Our reward system is used regularly to promote good decisions but also to highlight excellence encompassing our core school ACE values.

We believe that our clear and consistent expectations support all of our school community to learn in a respectful environment, where they are cared for and gain justified recognition in line with our core values.