Pastoral care is central to our provision for students’ welfare
and was seen as a distinctive feature of the School
by the last School Inspection Team and a recent parental questionnaire.
Each student is attached to a House named for five Plymouth Bishops- Bishop Barrett, Bishop Errington, Bishop Grimshaw, Bishop Kiely and Bishop Vaughan. The Form Tutor is primarily responsible for each student’s daily well-being and progress, and is the first point of contact for parents.
Form Tutors meet their tutorial groups each morning and afternoon for Roll Call, and weekly during Futures lessons, where the purpose is to offer guidance and advice, and monitor each individual’s academic and pastoral development.
The Form Tutor acts in the role of a consultant, offering encouragement and counselling, as occasion requires. Some students make a great deal of ‘use’ of their Form Tutor, and others very little; the point is that the Tutor is there for consultation whenever needed.
When references are written for students, for example for
University applications, there is an input from the Pastoral Leaders,
the Form Tutor and the student’s teachers.
Big Brothers, School Prefects, other senior students, and indeed all members of the
School are actively invited to give priority to looking out for other students.
Our College Chapel and Lay-Chaplain personally aim to promote, on a daily basis, a sensitivity to the needs of others. The Lay-Chaplain provides each Form Tutor with the means to deliver a focus based on a theme to all members of the College community. He teaches a reduced timetable to provide space for his wider pastoral role. While the Christian ethos of the School is one of the essential components of our community life, the Chaplain will also honour the spiritual needs of those belonging to other faiths. His priority is to offer a sensitive response to the deeper feelings and questions of all young people.
All members of staff as a matter of professional obligation would wish to make themselves available at all times to students and parents to discuss pastoral matters and to offer help.
Special arrangements are made when students join the College to provide for the first few days either a Form Tutor or a student ‘companion’ or both, so that there is a friendly and reassuring point of reference on hand. Year 7 students benefit from being assigned to a Sixth Form 'Big Brother or Sister'.
The College operates an equal opportunities policy for boys and girls,
and respects and welcomes a diversity of backgrounds and cultures,
nationalities and religious beliefs. Each student is given a handbook guiding them how
to handle worries, and how to obtain advice if needed.
The current Pastoral Leader for Post-16 is:
Director of Sixth Form- Mr Stewart O'Donnell (so'donnell@stbonifaces.com)
Assistant to Director- Mrs Jackie Cox (jcox@stbonifaces.com)