Pastoral Care
In our friendly, warm community, each girl is known, valued and cared for as an individual. As a relatively small school, with a staff dedicated to meeting the needs of each and every pupil, we are able to focus on ensuring that girls at St Mary’s have a happy school experience and leave with the confidence and skills to make the most of the life ahead.
Mrs Adamson is the Assistant Head of Lower School (Pastoral). She supports pupils who need a little more ‘tender, loving care’, either academically or pastorally. Please speak to her if you have any concerns about your daughter. If you need to contact Mrs Adamson, please message her through the St Mary’s app to Lower School Pastoral – St Mary’s.
In our supportive environment, girls receive the individual attention they need to make the most of their lessons and to be happy and engaged throughout the school day. They are able to build good relationships with their class teachers, so that if any concerns are raised they can be dealt with at an early stage.
Class teachers support pupils in managing their friendships, helping them to understand the importance of valuing each other as individuals and developing the skills to work harmoniously together.
The wellbeing of every individual, pupil and staff member is of paramount importance at St Mary’s and informs all that goes on at the school. In such a supportive, caring atmosphere, girls learn to be successful, while at the same time developing a sense of integrity and a strong empathy for those around them.
At St Mary’s mental health and wellbeing is at the forefront of our agenda and we are always looking for new ways to support our students and parents. As a result of this we have recently invested access to the Teen Tips Wellbeing Hub, a website for students, parents and teachers that provides a wealth of resources and information, including webinars and podcasts.
If parents would like further information and/or to register for the site, then please see the Teen Tips website or contact Mrs Adamson at PastoralLS@stmaryscolchester.org.uk
St Mary’s is also proud to be a ‘Girls on Board’ school. That means that when our girls experience some turbulence in their friendships – which is inevitable from time to time – we take an empathy-based approach to supporting them. The approach is described in more detail on the GirlsonBoard.co.uk website and key members of the St Mary’s staff are fully trained. Girls on Board has won many national prizes since its creation in 2017 and has been adopted by over a thousand schools world wide. It has proved to be a very effective way of creating lasting harmony amongst girls in school and St Mary’s is committed to its use.
The Year 6 girls complete the peer-led Head Smart Wellbeing Ambassador programme. This initiative highlights to the girls how to help others think about their own mental health and the practical things they can do to promote positive wellbeing.
Pupils’ Code of Conduct
We pride ourselves at St Mary’s on manners, tidiness and the warm welcome we extend to visitors. Pupils are encouraged to take responsibility for themselves and for those around them. On rare occasions where behaviour is not quite as we would wish – a quiet word is normally all that is required.
The class teacher, Assistant Head of Lower School (Pastoral), Assistant Head of Lower School (Academic) or the Head of Lower School may contact parents directly, depending on the nature of the concern. We regard our partnership with parents to be of paramount importance.
Behaviour Policy
Our school Behaviour Policy has very clear steps for pupils. This can be found on the school website, or please contact the Lower School Office if you require a paper copy. Its aims are:
- For every member of our school community to be happy, valued and respected, and to be treated fairly
- To have high expectations, appropriate to their developmental years, of girls’ behaviour and to ensure that all pupils work to the best of their ability
- To foster self-discipline through positive encouragement and reward
Pupils are expected to conduct themselves in line with the few ‘school rules’ that we have in place. These are regularly reinforced in class and in whole school assemblies. They are:
- Treat people as you want to be treated
- Make school a safe and happy place
- Be polite, show respect and be helpful at all times
- Wear the correct school uniform
- Walk quietly and sensibly around the school
We aim to provide a caring, friendly and safe environment, ensuring the wellbeing of all members of the community. Pupils have the right to feel safe at school.
Bullying at St Mary’s will not be tolerated and any incidents that are reported to us are dealt with in line with the school policy (this can be found on the school website). Incidents of bullying are extremely rare in this school, but we must never be complacent and think it would never happen here.
Bullying is defined as an action that is repeated over time and that intentionally hurts another pupil or group physically or emotionally. The term bullying is sometimes used inappropriately; it is important that pupils, staff and parents understand the correct meaning, so that we can all work together in the interests of all pupils.
Further information can be found in the Parents Portal on the school website.
