Pastoral Care
At The Holy Cross School we provide outstanding pastoral care and support to all of our students, allowing each one to flourish from Year 7 right through to Year 13.
We are proud of the fact that our students and staff feel a sense of belonging and strong connection to The Holy Cross School community, and that everyone feels safe and valued. Our students become confident, compassionate and courageous young women, and in addition to our curriculum offer, we achieve this through our experienced pastoral team, our House System, leadership opportunities, a whole-school approach to mental health and wellbeing, and through a strong emphasis on Catholic Social Teaching.
Tutor Time and Registration
Students are provided with excellent pastoral care throughout their educational journey. Each tutor group is led by a Form Tutor who is a teacher at the school and who will be your and your daughter’s main point of contact at the school. We endeavour to ensure that your daughter will have the same Form Tutor during her first five years at the school (Years 7 to 11), thereby allowing both the Form Tutor and tutees to form strong and positive relationships.
The Form Tutor welcomes and registers the girls every morning and delivers our Active Tutorial programme. Each tutor group session starts with prayer and the students then participate in either numeracy, literacy, wellbeing or diversity activities. Tutor time is also an opportunity for the Form Tutor to check in with individual students, to plan assemblies together as a group and to prepare for school events such as Sports Day or a House activity. Tutor time at The Holy Cross School is truly an enriching and enjoyable experience.
Form Tutors are supported by a Director of Year, who is in turn supported by an Assistant Headteacher. Together, we work to safeguard each student, to promote their wellbeing, to monitor and support their academic progress and to foster positive behaviour and attitudes.
Student Testimonials
“Tutor time at Holy Cross allows us to start each day of the week differently. Ranging from meditation, to public affairs, to ‘Diversity Day’, we begin our day positively by learning a sentence in a new language, educating ourselves on the news around the world, or even having 5 minutes of peace before a day of learning. It sets the mood of the day correctly and lets us prepare for the interactions, lessons and homework to come.”
Year 13 student
“I really like tutor time because it helps me easily make friends. Being together every morning makes the school feel like a close and friendly community, and we get told important updates every day during this time. I also enjoy starting the day with a prayer. In a Catholic school, praying during tutor time is good because it makes us feel closer to God and shows that our faith is a part of everything we learn. For example, learning about the Catholic Social Teaching principle which represents the church’s beliefs on social justice really means a lot to me.”
Year 9 student
Mental Health and Wellbeing
At The Holy Cross School we are fortunate to have many members of staff who are trained as Mental Health First Aiders. This valuable training enables staff to be active listeners to your daughters, to provide the necessary support or signposting and to make referrals where appropriate to the mental health services that are available at school. These services are provided by the School Health Practitioner, the Mental Health Support Team (delivered by Achieving for Children as part of their Emotional Health Service), Grow Therapeutic Coaching (outsourced professional therapeutic services), and Walk and Talk therapy.
Students in need of some extra support can also benefit from mentoring through our Big Sister programme as well as through the work done by our student mental health ambassadors ‘Team Empower’.
House System
When they join the school, every student is placed in one of five Houses, which are named after Christian values. Girls will remain in the same House throughout her time at the school. She will also be part of a tutor group named after a House, for example, a student placed in ‘Faith’ House when she joins in Year 7 will be part of the tutor group 7 Faith. Each form takes the name of their House.
Every student can earn House Points in any of the following six categories:
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Dedicated learning
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Committed to achieving the best
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Demonstrate workplace skills
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Exceptional leader/organiser
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Active participant in the Holy Cross community
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Acquired deep knowledge and understanding
The five Houses are:
House Activities
As well as gaining points for their House individually, there are events throughout the school year in which students can participate:
House Debates: The tutor group picks three students to debate a topic in front of their year group
Christmas Hits: The whole tutor group performs a Christmas Hit in front of their year group
Music Festival: The tutor group picks an individual and an ensemble to perform for their year group
Inter House Sports: Football, netball, and volleyball competitions take place during Thursday lunchtimes
Science Fair: House points are awarded for best experiments
All of these activities are designed to be fun and informative as well as a way to foster a sense of community, belonging and healthy competition.
Girls On Board
We are a ‘Girls On Board’ school. We use the Girls On Board approach to help our girls navigate the choppy waters of friendship problems. All Form Tutors, Directors of Year and Assistant Headteachers have been trained in the Girls On Board approach.