Pastoral Care Overview
The Perse is committed to providing the highest quality pastoral care and recognises that pupil happiness is a prerequisite to academic and extra-curricular success.
Our pastoral care begins in the term prior to entry, when new First and Third year pupils and their parents are invited into school for an Induction Programme. This provides an introduction to Perse life, an opportunity to get to know people (pupils, prefects, other parents, teachers, etc) and a chance to ask questions.
Once at the Perse, Lower and Middle School pupils join a form of around 24 which is subdivided into two tutor groups. Each tutor group is allocated a member of staff to act as 'pastoral tutor', and this ratio of 1 : 12 allows teachers to know their tutees well and provide meaningful one to one support. The tutor is the first point of call for all pastoral issues, and parents are encouraged to contact tutors if they have any concerns, no matter how trivial they may seem. Parents are invited to an annual tutorial meeting where they will meet with their son or daughter's tutor.
The work of tutors is overseen by a Year Head who in turn reports to a Section Head. There are three sections:
- Lower School (Years 7 and 8) First and Second Years
- Middle School (Years 9 – 11) Third, Fourth and Fifth Years, and
- Sixth Form (Year 12 and 13) Lower and Upper Sixth.
Louise Playfair is the Deputy Head with ultimate responsibility for pupils and the pastoral system. She is assisted in her pastoral work by the Chaplain and School Nurses.
Each Lower and Middle School form group is allocated a Form Prefect. We believe that the inclusion of Sixth Form students in supporting younger pupils is a very important feature of our pastoral system, helping to promote a family atmosphere, while encouraging older pupils to demonstrate qualities of leadership and responsibility.
Beyond the tutorial system, we use assemblies and personal, social, and health education lessons (PSHE) as an opportunity to promote positive behaviour and to focus on student well being.