Every year, the International School Awards recognise excellence in teaching and learning at schools around the world.
This awards ceremony was established by ISC Research, the world's leading provider in international school data. A school that receives such awards sets the benchmark for others to reach, setting them apart as high quality institutions in the community.
One of the awards is the Pastoral Care Award which awards schools that incorporate a curriculum that doesn’t limit their contributions to academics. The Pastoral Initiative acknowledges educational measures designed to support student wellbeing as a whole and not just one aspect of it.
To ensure your children are receiving a Quality British Education, you need to choose a school which has the appropriate tools and resources to do so. Click here to learn more about how Alice Smith guarantees a Quality British Education.
Primary Campus Wins Pastoral Care Award
In 2019, our Primary Campus won the Pastoral Care Award, but this honour did not come without hard work. Through a collaborative effort with our students and staff, we were able to attain this remarkable accomplishment.
Two major achievements of our award-winning Pastoral Care initiative in our Primary School that earned us this award was the revitalisation of our playground initiative and the development of a leadership programme for our Year 6 students.
What Does Pastoral Care Mean?
In an educational setting, Pastoral Care is when a school plays an active role in the development of personal, emotional, spiritual and social needs of your children.
This type of care can include:
- Respect
- Empathy
- Tolerance
- Leadership
- Beneficial stress-relieving habits
- The cultivation of interpersonal skills
According to the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE), schools that implement Pastoral Care in their curriculum see many benefits, including higher student engagement, better exam results and overall happier and more well-adjusted students.
When a school focuses on more than just imparting knowledge and focuses on the whole well-being of the child, your children will be better prepared for their future. Another way Alice Smith will help your children find their right fit university and succeed in their career path is through our Higher Education Programme. Click here to find out more.
Inspiring Changes to Pastoral Care at the Primary Campus
As part of the development process of our Pastoral Care initiatives, we collaborated with students to better understand their needs. These discussions resulted in a number of changes to our programmes.
One aspect of our programme was to create leadership opportunities for our Year 6 students to engage our older students with the younger. Some of these leadership roles include referees, play mentors, monitors and helpers. To ensure this initiative was a success, students went through a comprehensive training programme.
During this initiative, our staff observed students dealing with interpersonal conflicts in the play yard between themselves or with the help of a Year 6 leader rather than consulting an adult. Having these issues resolved during designated playtime resulted in more time in the classroom dedicated to learning.
Additionally, playtime was regularly monitored to ensure quality measures were met.
We also radically redesigned our positive playtime.
Not only did we provide training for our Year 6 students, we also retrained teaching assistants and other playground staff as well.
In order to create separate spaces to meet the playtime needs of all our students, we listened to their suggestions and created specific playtime zones, including:
- Formal game zones
- Organized game zone
- Free play
- Quiet play
- Art and dance zones
- Chill-out zone
- Zen room
- Inside space with soft play and multisensory equipment
After quickly noticing the success of our changes, we soon integrated mixed-age play, resulting in more creative playtime experiences for all our students.
How can your Children Benefit from Pastoral Care?
At Alice Smith, we put actions behind our words and work diligently to ensure your children receive the best education possible.
Through our leadership initiative and playtime revitalization, your children will be in an environment where they are learning in and out of the classroom.
By empowering our students in and out of the classroom, our excellent staff can offer your children everything they need to become successful young adults.
The Pastoral Care Award is just one of the many awards won by our school. In addition to our institution receiving acknowledgement for the work we do, our students are also consistently recognised globally for their educational prowess and examination results.
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