Pastoral care

The single most important aspect of any school is its pastoral care provision. Whilst many schools will promote their academic excellence as front and centre, it's actually pastoral care – the wellbeing and happiness of pupils – which matters most.
For parents, it is hard to quantitatively assess pastoral care as you cannot see a set of results data, unlike exams, or scan through a list of recent sporting successes, when evaluating extracurricular provision. But what you can do is examine the school's commitment to pastoral care and evaluate how this is embedded – both in the school's ethos and its day-to-day activities.
When you visit a school, if you like the staff you meet, are impressed by the pupils and their attitude and character, and feel that it's a supportive and inclusive community, you are witnessing first-hand the results of its pastoral care provision. Pastoral care really consists of two aspects, which are intertwined and mutually...
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Finally! A guide that helps parents cut through the branding, shiny PR and glitz, and focuses unapologetically on what should be at the heart of every school choice: a child's happiness.
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I'm delighted to see this well-informed guide for parents navigating the bewildering yet crucial task of picking 'the right school'. Matthew's sensible and practical advice draws from his extensive experience with independent schools and as a parent. This is a very helpful read for parents of school age (or younger) children.