Our staff provide excellent pastoral support to the children in their care through kindness, empathy and compassion. Teachers are approachable and supportive. The Royal School’s affirmative culture results in secure and confident children who are well-placed to achieve highly.
Class teachers are primarily responsible for the pastoral care of their pupils, although all Lower School staff know all the children well and are ready to help with any problems which may arise. Our pupils know that staff members are available to support them in times of challenge or difficulty and the Pastoral Care Team is on hand to support further, along with the School Nurse. The School's Counsellor is a further support if appropriate. Children regularly have the opportunity to discuss any matters of concern. New joiners are assigned a ‘buddy’ to help them settle in and our small class sizes ensure they are quick to feel at home.
PSHE is an enormously valuable part of our school curriculum. Addressing topics linked to health, wellbeing, relationships, safety and finance for example, it plays a key role in promoting pupils' personal and social development. Lower School pupils have a dedicated lesson of PSHE per week, but it permeates through the whole of school life, both in and out of the classroom.
The School Nurse
We have a school nurse on-site and they are on hand to provide both first aid and pastoral care.
Responsibility and Recognition
At the beginning of the year, pupils work closely with their class teachers to agree their Class Charters. Each form has its own Charter which expresses the attitudes and behaviours that the children feel are essential to a positive learning environment. Good, polite and positive behaviour is rewarded through house points and class points.
Each week, one child from each class is also rewarded with the class ‘star’ badge award. This is based on the school’s values which are at the heart of what we do: curiosity, courage, creativity, collaboration, commitment, compassion and confidence.
All our pupils in Lower School enjoy positions of responsibility. Posts such as Prefect, Sports Captain, House Captain, Librarian, Head Boy or Head Girl allow confidence to grow, as well as develop their communication and organisation skills.
The School Council meets every half term and the pupils elect a representative each term. The Council is a valuable opportunity for the children to share what they feel is working well at school, as well as to share suggestions.
Every morning, children and teachers start their day with Feel Good 15 - a wonderful opportunity to waken the body and mind in fifteen minutes, ready for learning! This may involve a walk through the woods, a run around the site, various ball skills, dance, yoga or a mindfulness session.
The House System
The Royal School’s House system is designed to provide pupils with a group identity, distinct from their form identity, and to encourage pupils to mix will all pupils across the school, right up to Year 13. We actively encourage pupils to use their own initiatives in devising new and interesting activities in order to enable pupils to contribute positively to the lives of others within school, the local community and wider society. There are numerous opportunities to develop leadership and teamwork skills, from leading sports teams to arranging and managing Inter-House events and competitions including music, drama, fundraising, debating and outdoor pursuits. The four Houses are named after the Royal households:
Balmoral (red) , Buckingham (blue), Sandringham (yellow) and Windsor (green).
New pupils are allocated to one of the four Houses and remain in their Houses for the duration of their time at School. Siblings are normally allocated to the same House. All staff are also allocated to a House.
Special Educational Needs Provision
All our lessons are differentiated so that pupils of all abilities can access the curriculum but, for those requiring additional support, pupils may work with a learning support assistant in class or have one-to-one lessons with our dedicated SENDCo.