The Importance of Pastoral Care in Schools

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Pastoral care is the right of every child. In schools, it has become important to provide children with security and freedom to express their feelings. Now different schools provide this facility to children so they feel secure within the school environment.

It is the duty of the staff and visitors to fulfill the child protection and safeguarding policies and procedures. The schools have been practicing pastoral care for many years. The main purpose, scope, and roles of school for child care is to provide children facilities to lead a comfortable life.

What policies schools follow?

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The schools are following all rules and regulations defined in the policy. The institutes design the scope of the policy according to the Children Acts 1989 and 2004. According to the act, the child is one who has not reached the age of 18 years.  According to the act, the child that comes under pastoral care will get facilities from school. These include

  • Protection from maltreatment
  • Preventing the impairment of child development and health
  • To ensure the children are growing according to their age and they are getting all facilities they need to keep themselves healthy
  • They are getting effective and safe care
  • Ensuring that they have effective life chances and they will enter adulthood successfully.

The policy is for the children studying in the school who don’t have a link with the institute in any terms. It means they are not children or the guest, visitors, staff, and students, or anyone working on behalf of that particular school.

The Main Objective Of Pastoral Care Policy

The schools show their complete responsibilities regarding child care and safeguarding. The main purpose of the policy is to prevent all children and youngsters from misbehaving and one example is Harrow international school, where the safety and well-being of children is a top priority, as you can find out more here. Moreover, the policy defines how schools protect the students and how students can use the services.

Meanwhile, the schools define the visitors and staff about overarching principles. Perhaps, the policy guides the approach to safeguarding the young generation.

The purpose of pastoral care policy is that no child face or experiences any kind of abuse. The school has the responsibility to promote the welfare of young people and children. Thus, the aim is to keep them safe from any happening. Furthermore, school is devising the ways to protect children from any wrong aspects and provide them good conditions to flourish and get success in future.

What Roles And Responsibilities Staff Is Playing?

Schools that are following the pastoral care program have diligent staff who knows about their responsibilities. They are safeguarding children according to rules provided in the policy. The key roles and responsibilities they are performing include

Designated Safeguarding Lead

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DSL is the system and compliance related to oversight ad safeguarding of children. It is basically the training of the staff. It includes the coordination of the safeguarding audits, maintenance of the momentum of the safeguarding action plan, conduction of the internal audits or safeguarding, leading the safeguarding taskforce, ensuring that safeguarding remains, acting upon, reviewing, serious case reviews, any other duties, conducting internal audits of safeguarding, ensuring that safeguarding remains at the forefront of corporate consciousness, improving the schools’ safeguarding and improving the procedures and policy.

Child Protection Officers

Child protection officers show responsibility for the day to day safeguarding issues in the school area. Duties include the maintenance of integrity, confidentially safeguarding records, keeping  DSL informed of safeguarding issues that may arise during the procedures. Moreover, it includes liaising with parents, agencies, and caretakers, leading the safeguarding taskforce, maintenance of the integrity of the record of safeguarding, and improving policies to provide the proper care to children. Furthermore, they have to devise and implement the welfare plans for the students where they are required.

Designated governors oversee the policy and procedures to report back to the board on all issues regarding safeguarding. The main purpose is to ensure that safeguarding sites properly. Furthermore, it includes the sampling of first-hand procedures in place at the school.

Safeguarding Taskforce

The school is also responsible for the development of the plan and report about safeguarding, the school has to review policy and procedure to training the staff and workers. By this, they will confidently manage the program and prevent a child from any kind of abuse as well as maltreatment.

Core Beliefs About Pastoral Care

The schools are now conscious about child care and development. The core beliefs include the welfare of children trumps all other considerations. All children regardless of gender, age, disability, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, identity, and sexual orientation have a right to equal protection from all types of abuse and harm. Some children are vulnerable because of impact or previous experiences, because of the need for special education. This is because they have a high level of communication difficulties, dependency, and other issues.

Moreover, the schools aim to work in partnership with you people, children, parents, other agencies and carers for the promotion of Young’s people welfare.

House System In Pastoral Care

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For better development of students and to increase confidence in the students the schools are also managing the House system. The main aim of making houses is to develop the students to become the leaders for a better world.  It encourages cooperation and creates friendly competition so students can resolve matters, become creative, collaborates, determine the problem and learn about the importance of community.

Pastoral care is one of the main objectives of schools these days. Through this program students are getting their rights, they are getting complete facilities, and learning in the way they should do get to achieve success in the future. Schools are offering the training to be confident and complete their studies and achieve their career goals.