Pastoral Care in Schools:

1. PastoralCare in Schools: The roles and responsibilities of a tutor Carol Gair, Assistant Headteacher Zoe Bell, Head of House Backwell School, Bristol

2. By the end of the session you will have • A clearer understanding of the role of the tutor • Developed skills, knowledge and understanding of ways of working with individuals and groups • Greater understanding of the scope and range of pastoral responsibilities

3. What do we mean by pastoral care? • “managing their personal and academic development” Griffiths and Sherman (1991) • So caring becomes support for learning – arguably a school’s central task, both by improving pupils’ ability to learn and by monitoring and supporting learning for tutoring. O’Sullivan (1995)

4. Kottler and Kottler (1993) argue that teachers have a ‘duty of care’ to • Respond to children’s emotional needs • Resolve interpersonal conflicts • Identify children suffering from abuse, neglect, emotional problems and make appropriate referrals as necessary • Function as a problem solver for those pupils in the throes of crisis.

5. What is the purpose of the pastoral system?

6. Provision Student welfare Opportunities for life-long/life- wide learning School ethos: spiritual, moral, social, cultural Tutorial time/circle time Outcomes Behaviour Attitudes to learning Relationships Personal development Motivation Interdependence Skills for learning The Pastoral CurriculumAre we producing the kind of people we want to live next door to when we are old?!What makes up the pastoral curriculum?

7. Get to know individuals in the widest context Monitor their self esteem Monitor individual progress Support individual needs Create a place of safety Promote a group identity Promote the group to the school Explore the group identity Provide a positive role model Provide information at key stages Catch problems early Behave with consistency and continuity Teach social skills Teach study skills Optimise opportunities for students Mediate between the student and the school Mediate between the school and home Develop the student’s personality Notice change Validate experiences Scaffold ambitions Tackle issues relating to the group It allows tutors to:

8. What makes a good tutor?

9. What’s a tutor for? “someone who tells kids off and gives them stuff” “someone who helps them learn” The two most significant aspects of the role are: The relationship you build with the group and individuals The focus on students’ learning

10. Being a tutor • You support pupils in their learning and model behaviour • You help to make them feel special / individual and safe • You mediate between your tutees the school and often parents • You are the point of contact for parents, who will expect you to know their child and their place in the school • You will have the ‘big picture’ of the tutees’ involvement in school and out of school, you keep records • You provide opportunities to open up and reveal what matters most, sometimes in private, sometimes with the group • You have a programme of activities to organise and facilitate

11. Tutoring is not something done only by tutors – it is an interaction between teacher and pupils aimed at helping young people take responsibility for themselves.

12. Student is frequently late, not arriving until just before of just after the bell. Student frequently not feeling well; stomach pains and headaches. Needs to see the nurse often Student’s parents are splitting up. Dad is about to leave home. Mum in a state. Rows every morning and evening. Student worried about work. Falling behind. Not understanding tasks, not able to ask for help. Feels lost and over stretched. Little support at home. Examples of some Tutoring situations.Presenting problem – Actual problem How do you deal with this? What skills are required?

13. Useful Skills!..

14. Helpful questioning Open questions Elaboration Questions Specification Questions Questions which focus on the feelings generated by the issue Exploring questions Unhelpful questioning Closed questions Leading questions Why? questions Too probing questions The use of Questions

15. Listening Skills • Attention giving – give them your full attention • Active listening – a good listener: • Looks at you without staring • Doesn’t interrupt • Doesn’t fidget • Gives you time to say what you want to say • Is comfortable with silence and emotion • Is aware that you may need somewhere private to talk. • Reflecting – this is a simple way of showing you have been listening. • Paraphrasing – this is reflecting the feelings and the content together. • Summarising – this is the skill of drawing the threads together.

16. Some tips…

17. Make Tutor Time • Safe • Sane • Secure Dr.W.A Rogers Behaviour Conference (2004)

18. Rights • The right to safety • The right to teach and learn • The right to be treated with dignity • The right to be heard

19. Responsibilities • Responsibilities are linked to rights • Students learn that actions lead to consequences and that they have choices about how they behave • Students cannot be absolved of their responsibilities. They need to understand the reward and sanction system that you operate; how they are supported and challenged.

20. Routines • Establish a workable entry and exit procedure • Positively greet the group each registration and end on a positive note • Establish a seating plan • In the first minute establish the tutor group’s attention • Avoid talking over significant noise • Deal with early disruptions during instructional time • Have a consequences framework Dr W.A Rogers (2004) Education Consultant

21. Rules • Keep rules simple, few in number with a positive/negative balance • When establishing rules make sure there is ample discussion • Try using inclusive language; - “to learn well in tutor time we…” - “to show respect in tutor time we…” - “to feel safe in tutor time we…” • Always encourage and enforce rules from day one Dr.W.A.Rogers (2004)

22. Assertiveness • Take a deep breath • Think first for a fraction of a second • Speak in the ‘I’ as this demands ownership • Keep tone of voice calm, clear and certain • Reframe statements

23. An effective tutor will really get to know their tutees. This is important because all pupils need to feel that they are of worth, of value.

24. Just a thought:As a tutor you are probably the one person that will see the students twice a day for 5 years.

25. Being an effective form tutor can be one of the most rewarding aspects of being a teacher. At the same time however, this area of our work can be problematic, demanding and exhausting. Sometimes teachers do not know where to start and indeed where to finish!

26. “All meaningful relationships are built on trust and respect” K.D.Gardner

27. 5 P’s of Pastoral work • Personal Responsibility • Passing it on • Policy • People • Place

28. Questions!