Pastoral Support

Sir Thomas Rich’s helps students develop a strong and clear sense of who they are and what they can achieve. In nurturing and encouraging intellectual curiosity, tolerance and leadership, we prepare young people not only for success at university and in the workplace, but also to lead happy and fulfilled lives. We build a sense of community and what it means to be a Richian right from a student’s very first visit to the School. Above all, we put the highest level of pastoral care at the heart of everything we do; we pride ourselves on our small school ethos, and we work hard to get to know our students as individuals.

We believe that the welfare of each individual is important; when a pupil feels safe and secure in their environment, they can develop all their gifts and talents to the full. We make it a priority through our pastoral system that every pupil feels known and cared for.

Form Tutor

All pupils are in form groups with a form tutor who looks after their welfare. Form tutors take particular interest in the day-to-day matters that affect students, register their attendance and listen to their problems.

Head of Year

Each year group has a Head of Year who is also a teacher in the school, and they support their team of form tutors as well as lead and manage the year group. The Head of Year helps with issues of overall academic performance, as well as issues of behaviour, and they liaise with parents on a regular basis.

Pastoral Support Assistants

We also have two dedicated Pastoral Support Assistants: Mrs G Filipkova and Mrs C Roberts.

Student pastoral support and well-being is overseen by Miss S Tapscott, Deputy Head, Safeguarding and Behaviour [email protected].

SENDCo

Additional support for the pupils comes from the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo), Mrs J Loveridge, as we seek to support those on the SEND Register. Outside agencies are used as necessary to help in specific areas.

We pride ourselves on safeguarding and supporting students’ well-being, including through difficult personal circumstances and any potential barriers to their learning and attendance.

Reporting

If you wish to raise a safeguarding concern, please email the safeguarding team at [email protected].

It is also possible to report abuse directly to the police and the Safeguarding Team at the Local Authority. More information can be found on the Gloucestershire County Council (GCC) website, see link below.

Operation Encompass

As part of the multi-agency approach to safeguarding children, there is a system in place known as Operation Encompass. The system ensures that when police are called to an incident of domestic abuse, where there are children in the household, the police will inform the Designated Safeguarding Lead before the child or children arrive at school the following day. This ensures that the School has up to date, relevant information about the child’s circumstances and can enable support to be given to the child according to their needs. See the link to the Operation Encompass website below.

Pastoral Support

Our Pastoral Support Assistants - Mrs Filipkova and Mrs Roberts - support, with great sensitivity, students' personal development and welfare, and their emotional and mental well-being. Working closely with the Heads of Year, they are part of the School’s safeguarding team, to ensure the well-being and safety of students is fully and appropriately supported. They provide a safe space to support students with a range of difficulties, including low mood, anxiety, stress management, positive coping strategies and general well-being.

We have produced an information booklet on the Pastoral Support students can access at STRS, see the link below.

We have direct access to the Children and Young People’s Multi-Agency Navigation Hub, which triages referrals to a choice of appropriate external agencies, including Young Minds Matter, TIC+, School Nursing and Young Gloucestershire. More details can be found on the GlosFamilies website, see link below.

If you are concerned about your child and would like some support, please contact your child’s Head of Year, see the link to STRS staff contact details, below.