It was great to walk around the Year 5 & 6 Pastoral Groups at the end of last term to get a glimpse of the children engaging brilliantly with their fellow tutees and Pastoral Tutor. The Pastoral Tutor Group system is now in its third year at BCS, and it was established to enhance the quality of pastoral care for BCS children in their crucial final two years at the school. As well as Year 5 and Year 6 Form Tutors, it has enabled specialist teachers and other skilled staff across the school to become pastoral leads for the children in these year groups. This has also resulted in small sized tutor groups to ensure that more time can be dedicated to individuals where needed. The children meet with their Pastoral Tutors each Friday afternoon and our pupil voice surveys across Year 5 and Year 6 have shown that ‘Pastoral’ time is the highlight of the week for many! Hot Chocolate is served across many groups, creative activities are organised for times of relaxation, and a series of games and activities allow the children to bond and build in confidence – Mrs Redfern even produced a short play with her group of boys in Year 6!
As we move into this period of lockdown, these pastoral sessions will continue to take place via Google Meet on a Friday afternoon. I am sure that they will continue to be one of the highlights of the week!
Mr Newman
