Pastoral Care
We are aware that young people face many challenges as they grow up and we aim to support their academic, social and emotional development throughout their time at Grove Academy. We understand that children learn most effectively when they feel happy and supported so we have integrated layers of pastoral care throughout the structure of the school to provide comprehensive support in line with our strategy for ‘Keeping Children Safe at Grove Academy’.
See here to find out more about our ‘Keeping Children Safe at Grove Academy’ strategy.
Designated Class/Form Tutors – Every child has a designated Class or Form Tutor with whom they start the day. This is a half hour soft start to the day giving children the opportunity to settle in, greet their peers, mentally prepare for the day ahead and raise any concerns or support requests. In addition to ensuring correct uniform, encouraging attendance and performance, From Tutors will measure how the child presents each day and where necessary, liaise with staff and parents as required to ensure the child is supported.
Heads of Year – Each year group is overseen by the Head of Year who supports interventions and communicates with parents/carers and monitors children in need of support.
Attendance Monitoring – Regular attendance is directly linked to successful outcomes for children. Attendance records are diligently monitored on a daily basis, following up absences or concerns and sharing information with staff and parents. Interventions are supported by Deputy Headteacher, Mrs Wheeler.
Learning Mentors – We have a number of learning mentors working within our secondary year groups to support children experiencing challenges in school or barriers to learning. Mentors may be assigned to a child for many reasons such as to provide guidance, motivation, emotional support, and role modelling. Learning mentors work with children on a one-to-one basis or in small group settings to support with a variety of challenges such as behaviour management, self-regulation, improving attendance or building better relationships with peers and teachers and rewarding positive behaviours. See here to find out more about mentoring at Grove Academy and learn about one students mentoring journey.
Year Engagement Officers – Our Year Engagement Officers fulfill a similar role as learning mentors andn oversee student attendance and engagement in learning for each year group. They ensure that children are able to settle in well and work proactively with students who fall below the minimum requirements of engagement to support attendance and active learning.
Safeguarding – We have a comprehensive structure of safeguarding in place to support all students throughout their time at Grove Academy. Students and parents/carers have access to the safeguarding team and know how to raise a concern or request support.
Rewards – Progress, success and achievements, no matter how small, are continually rewarded throughout the year and every student has ample opportunities to gain achievement points in line with The Grove 5 Teaching & Learning Charter. Children are awarded with certificates in assemblies and celebration events.
Working with Parents/Carers - We recognise the importance of parental involvement throughout a childs education and encourage communication between home and school throughout the academic year. Parent Information Evenings are held each year to share information about key dates, curriculum overview and guidance on how to support home learning. Parents have access to Classcharts to facilitate the sharing of information between home and school and support for students. Parents are encouraged to contact the school to share information, discuss issues and request meetings by email, addressed to the relevant member of staff to office@groveacademy.co.uk.
In addition to the integrated layers of pastoral care throughout the school structure, we also encourage and facilitate peer support amongst students.
Behaviour and Bullying - We understand that school is an important place for children to develop emotional and socially. This doesn’t happen without mistakes and incidents, and these are all part of the children’s learning and development.
Unfortunately, in all schools, bullying sometimes occurs and it is important it is addressed and that our students know what to do if it happens to them. Unkindness is different to bullying, however repeated incidents of unkind behaviour can become bullying.
For information about how we deal with bullying and unkind behaviour and how you can support your children, read this document.
