Pastoral Care
“Together we are QVS”
For many pupils, it will be their first experience of living away from home and it is therefore essential that we make it their priority to help the pupils settle into boarding school life with confidence, independence and enthusiasm. We aim to help facilitate a smooth transition from a junior day school to a boarding school life at Queen Victoria School. The school endeavours to support students in an open and transparent approach with parents, allowing students to thrive at QVS and beyond.
“Knowing a student’s story”
The essence of our pastoral care lies in the Boarding House system – The pastoral team works in close liaison with the Pupil Support Department and parents in seeking to provide individual support for every pupil. We have a simple philosophy at QVS, in order to tailor our support to meet every student’s needs, we must first know every pupil’s story. To know their story means getting to know every student, and it is that that our school excels in – we are extremely proud of the pastoral care we provide our Victorians. During their time at QVS, the pupils come to rely very heavily upon the support, guidance and direction they find in their boarding house.
However, the pastoral care net spreads wider than the Houses alone.
Our Tutor System
A Tutor is central to the holistic education and experience we offer. Tutors are an integral part of the pupils’ lives and make a vital contribution to the school’s pastoral provision, ensuring every pupil has an adult, in addition to the Housemaster/mistress and Matron, to provide additional support and guidance.
Although a Housemaster/mistress has ultimate responsibility for the pupils in his/her House, a pupil’s Tutor assists the Housemaster/mistress in overseeing their academic progress and wellbeing development and is readily available to advise, support and encourage.
Every pupil is allocated an individual Tutor (assigned to him/her when they join a boarding house). A Tutor meets their pupils for 30 minutes each week in small groups, normally between five and twelve pupils. During this time the Tutor plays an important part in helping pupils to settle into boarding school life and to guide them through their journey at QVS. During weekly Tutor sessions, pupils are encouraged to discuss social and health issues to help enrich what is covered during PSHE lessons. Pupils also get to see their Tutor when he/she is on duty in the boarding house during weekday evenings and at weekends. In all of their academic and pastoral relationships, pupils learn to talk comfortably and openly with adults. These adults offer support and encouragement in every aspect of a pupil’s life but without unnecessary intrusion. It is a delicate and important balance: pupils are encouraged to share problems with those that can help but are steered towards mature resolution of them through their own thought and effort. All pupils have full access to the school’s Designated Child Protection Coordinator and to other members of the school safeguarding team, who can intervene if there are any concerns about student welfare.
Our Safeguarding and child protection policy is available here to view and download.