NAPCE News – April 2023

Making a positive difference to young people through pastoral care

LEAD ARTICLE: “The Role of Pastoral Care in a Modern Curriculum“ by NAPCE Chair Phil Jones

The Role of Pastoral Care in a Modern Curriculum by Phil Jones

The start of a new term is a good time to reflect on the importance of the actions by adults working in schools, to enable children and young people to achieve their full potential from their education.

This is a good opportunity for adults in pastoral roles to explore whether their energy and expertise is being used effectively to enable all learners to achieve their full potential.

The start of the summer term is a good time for this reflection for planning and preparing for the new academic year.

What care and support do learners need to succeed and what implications does this have for the pastoral roles of adults and the pastoral systems and practice in schools and colleges?

In my view some of the factors that can contribute to learners having a positive learning experience include:

• Inspiration and motivation from the adults in their lives and an appropriate balance between challenge and support.
• Clear awareness of the purpose of the activities they engage in as part their education.
• An opportunity to develop skills, understanding and positive attitudes that are relevant for their lives and future roles in society.
• A stimulating learning environment
• The ability to form positive relationships and collaborate with other people.
• An awareness of how to use available resources and technology to support learning and their ability to live fulfilled lives.
• Social skills to enable learners to become responsible global citizens.
• The ability to clearly communicate and share their thoughts, ideas and concerns with other human beings.

This is not a complete list and I encourage readers to join the discussion by sending your thoughts and suggestions to NAPCE at admin@napce.org.uk

Reflecting on the factors that contribute to a positive learning experience has implications for pastoral leaders and their planning of effective pastoral care and support for the learners in their care.

Educationalists have been encouraged to reflect on whether the current education system is meeting the needs of all learners by the recent publication in the Times newspaper reporting on the rise in home educated children. (Woolcock 2023).

Data from 94 councils in England found that 125,000 children were being taught at home at some point in the academic year 2021-22 which was up from 118,000 in the previous year.

The data showed that the number of children being educated at home at increased from 78,000 in the academic year 2018-19. It had been expected that with the return to ‘normal’ after the pandemic, the number of children educated at home would fall, but they have continued to rise.

One possible explanation is that the rise in home educated children is an outcome of the pandemic with parents preferring to educate their children at home because of physical or mental health issues or because they found home learning a positive experience for their children during lockdowns.

However, a report following an investigation by  ‘Schools Week’ presented evidence from the Association of Directors of Children’s Services that the number of children in elective home education was gradually rising before the Covid-19 pandemic, so this explanation is not the full story. (Whittaker et al 2023).

The Times reported that parents were taking children out of schools because of health concerns and because their educational needs were not being met. (Woolcock 2023a)

This has implications for school pastoral systems that are on the front line in supporting children to meet their social, emotional and health needs and to enable them to have a positive learning experience.

This highlights the importance of the support schools provide for the socialisation process, which is delivered by the wider curriculum, that includes all the experiences that support learning in schools. It was reported that there could be links with behaviour issues and parents’ decisions to educate their children at home.

“The number of home-educated children has soared since the pandemic as parents react to their child being challenged about behaviour”. (Woolcock 2023a)

Some schools reported that where parents are challenged about behaviour or safeguarding, they threatened home education as a way to get the school to back off.

Concerns about attendance were also seen as a motive for parents to home educate with reports that some parents claiming they had been ‘quietly encouraged’, or felt they had no option, but to take their children out of school. (Woolcock 2023a).

There is clearly a complex combination of factors that can lead to parents making the decision to home-educate but it is important that the SEND provision and the support of the pastoral system is effective to ensure that the needs of individual learners can be met in schools.

The challenges of meeting the needs of all learners are explored in a new book edited by Fran Morgan and Ellie Costello with the title ‘Square pegs. Inclusivity, compassion, and fitting in’. (Morgan and Costello 2023).

The book is informed by the experience of the editors as parents and the challenges for their children to access and have their needs met in the education system. The concept of square pegs is useful to understand the need for an increasing number of children to cope with the current education system that places schools under top-down pressure to achieve outcomes for accountability.

“A one size fits all education system is creating a growing number of ‘square pegs’, – children and their families who don’t fit in and who are suffering in many ways as a result” (Morgan and Costello 2023).

This concept can be applied to the response of pastoral systems in schools to attendance concerns.

Schools under pressure to achieve targets adopt strategies that often seem to ‘blame’ parents and children for poor attendance and can have a negative impact because they do not address the complex reasons in some cases for why children are not attending school.

The argument in the book is supported by a recent article in The Times newspaper calling for bright pupils to be given targeted support to achieve their full potential from their education.

The article points out that the Governments ‘Young, Gifted, and Talented’, programme was scrapped in 2010 and its funding redirected to disadvantaged children. (Woolcock 2023b).

This encourages pastoral leaders to reflect on what learning experiences should be provided in the wider curriculum to meet the needs of all learners.

The Ofsted framework implemented in 2019 with its focus on the learning experience can be seen as a step in the right direction for ensuring that the education system can meet the needs of all learners.

Recent concerns about the pressures inspections place on staff working in schools have questioned the positive impact the process has on developing the education system.

Are inspections simply a tool for accountability or do they have a role in ensuring that the education system meets the needs of all learners?

Is the role of inspections to provide evidence to inform discussions about what a learning experience that is relevant for children and young people in the 21^stcentury looks like?

In recent years it seems that the debate in education has been about what structure will provide learners with a good learning experience and not about the purpose of the learning experience.

Discussion has focused on an appropriate structure with local authorities controlling schools, schools being controlled by central government or controlled by families of trusts. There has been little debate about the learning experience that children and young people need in the 21st century.

This argument is supported by the rationale for the new Curriculum for Wales to enthuse learners from 3 to 16 and give them the foundations they need to succeed in a changing world.

In 2015 NAPCE was invited to contribute to discussions about a new curriculum for Wales, focused on meeting the needs of children and young people in a rapidly changing technological world.

I attended the meeting along with Professor Stan Tucker and Professor Dave Trotman, in Cardiff to represent NAPCE.

What emerged from the discussions is a curriculum with four core purposes.

• Ambitious capable learners ready to learn throughout their lives.
• Enterprising, creative contributors ready to play a full part in life and work.
• Ethical informed citizens of Wales and the world.
• Healthy confident individuals ready to lead fulfilling lives as valued members of society.

(A guide to the new curriculum for Wales)

Readers and NAPCE members in Wales may have views about how the new curriculum is being implemented, but the process of discussing what children and young people need to learn from their educational experience seems to be a positive step.

Now that education is emerging from the experience of a global pandemic it would seem to be a good time to involve professionals, parents and young people in a discussion about what would be an appropriate learning experience in schools and this should include how pastoral systems can support learning through the wider curriculum. This argument is supported by the introduction to the new curriculum in Wales which points out that.

“The national curriculum was first introduced in 1988, before on-line shopping, Google and the cloud. The world of work is different, technology is different, and society is constantly changing”.  (A guide to the new curriculum for Wales)

The education system for financial, organisational and accountability reasons needs to have a core curriculum that all learners experience.

It is the role of pastoral systems and SEND provision to meet the individual needs of learners. Staff in pastoral roles, through the planning and delivery of a wider curriculum adapt, extend, and enhance the learning experiences provided to enable the curriculum to be inclusive in supporting all learners to achieve their full potential.

This requires great skill and expertise by pastoral staff to be effective in adapting the provision in response to different needs.

There is little reference to pastoral care by OFSTED and it focuses more on the importance of supporting personal development and the need for a safe and stimulating learning environment.

I would argue that there is a need as part of a wider debate to consider the contribution effective pastoral care makes to the learning experiences of all children and young people in schools.

This needs to recognise that effective pastoral care is not just simply about overcoming barriers to learning or solving difficulties that prevent good progress, but it is also valued for the contribution it makes to ensuring learning is inclusive and effective in supporting all learners to achieve their full potential from their education.

Phil Jones
National Chair
The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE)

Resources

Morgan F and Costello, E (2023). Square pegs. Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in. A guide for schools. Independent Thinking Press. Carmarthen.

Welsh Government (2022) ‘A guide to the new curriculum for Wales’, available at  https://hwb.gov.wales/cpi/storage/4e66c555-73aa-44ee-93e5-ie612906fid2/220208-parents-carers.pdf

Whittaker, F. Ferguson D and Booth, S. (2023) ‘Home education soars in the wake of the pandemic’, schools week.co.uk. available at https://schools.week.co.uk/home-education-soars-in-the-wake-of-the-pandemic/

Woolcock, N. (2023a) ‘Rise in home schooling since covid’. In Times Newspaper, April 1^st, 2023.

Woolcock, N. (2023b) ‘Bright pupils need help too’. In Times Newspaper, April 1^st, 2023.

Please send any comments or thoughts to admin@napce.org.uk for future newsletters. Follow NAPCE on twitter at NAPCE@NAPCE1

EVENT: FREE Online Pastoral Care Conference on April 22nd, 2023 – BOOK LAST MINUTE TICKETS NOW

NAPCE SPRING ONLINE CONFERENCE 2023

Pastoral Care that Makes a Difference

The spring online conference organised by NAPCE takes place on Saturday 22^nd April and there is still time to book your slot.

FREE TICKETS: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pastoral-care-that-makes-a-difference-tickets-587975198647

This event, which  is free for delegates to attend, will be a combination of presentations by speakers on current issues in pastoral care in education and interviews and discussions with guests who have expertise in different areas of pastoral care.

The draft programme for the free online event is:-

Saturday 22^nd April 2023

9-45am – Welcome and Introduction.
Phil Jones, National Chair, The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE).

10-00am – Pastoral Care that Supports SEND.
Dr Matt Silver, National Vice Chair, The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education,

10-20am – Interview and Discussion. Current Challenges for Staff in Pastoral Roles
with Maria O Neill, author, and educationalist,

10-50am – Supporting parents with Attendance
Ellie Costello, Director Square Peg

11-20am – Interview and Discussion Lessons from Pastoral Care in Northern Ireland
with Professor Noel Purdy, Stranmillis University College, Belfast

11-40pm What do Young People Want from Pastoral Care and Support.
Charlie Walker, the National Association for Pastoral Care NEC.

12-00pm Interview and Discussion. How does PSHE support personal development?
with Jill Robson NAPCE National Secretary

12-20 pm Social and Emotional Learning. How does it support personal development?
Jimi Slattery, Compassion Matters.

12-50pm  Close Phil Jones National Chair, The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE).

Followed by
1-30pm  The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education AGM

Some speakers and guests to be confirmed and the programme may need to be amended because of circumstances beyond the control of NAPCE.

This event is a brilliant opportunity for researchers, students, teachers, school leaders, staff in pastoral roles and school governors to find out about the current challenges in delivering effective pastoral care in school and how it can support school improvement. Issues explored will include.

• Supporting special educational needs learners (SEND).
• Improving attendance
• Working with parents,
• Planning and delivering effective pastoral care.
• Social and emotional learning
• supporting the personal development of learners
• Promoting wellbeing and good mental health
• What support do children and young people need.

There are a limited number of links available to attend this event so please register to attend the event by following the link ASAP.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pastoral-care-that-makes-a-difference-tickets-587975198647

AGM: You’re Invited to Attend the NAPCE Annual General Meeting Online on 22/04/2023 – UPDATE

NAPCE Annual General Meeting 2023

The 2023 Annual General Meeting of NAPCE will take place online on Saturday 22^nd April starting from 1-30pm until 2-30pm.

This is the opportunity for Members of NAPCE to listen to reports on the Association’s activities in the last year from the officers and to ask questions and make any comments.

Members of NAPCE can register to attend the AGM via this link.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/napce-agm-23-tickets-588207563657

Non-members interested in the work of NAPCE are also welcome to attend the AGM online (via the link above) but, of course, as guests they will not have any voting rights and are unable to participate in decision making.

Members and non-members who register to attend the AGM will be sent the link for the meeting and joining instructions before the event.

If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact admin@napce.org.uk

The draft Agenda for the AGM is.

Annual General Meeting 2023
Saturday 22^nd April
1.30-2-30pm

Online

DRAFT AGENDA

1. Welcome to members – Phil Jones National Chair
2. Apologies for absence
3. Minutes of 2022 AGM
4. Matters arising.
5. Resolutions from the 2022 AGM
6. Reports: Chair/Secretary – Phil Jones/Jill Robson –  Treasurer – Jill Robson, Journal Editor – Noel Purdy
7. Report on NEC elections – Jill Robson
8. New resolutions from the 2023 AGM – Phil Jones
9. Amendments to the constitution – Phil Jones
10. Any Other Business please notify chair in advance of the meeting by contacting admin@napce.org.uk

Ahead of the meeting, we are very pleased to share the Chair and Secretary’s Joint Report.

Chair/Secretary Report 2022/23 – NAPCE

For The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE)

The Association through the National Executive Committee (NEC) continues to maintain
strong financial management and governance.

The NEC at its meetings and through the work of its members ensures sound strategic planning and internal accountability for the
activities of the Association. The NEC ensures, (that as a non – profit making charity which aims to support pastoral care in education), the work of its members, NEC and sub committees including the Editorial Board (EB) has the support needed to achieve its aims including administrative, financial, and appropriate insurance.

The National Executive has the responsibility for ensuring that the Association meets the governance expectations of the Charities Commission. The strategic priorities for the NEC this year have been.

1) Planning events and conferences, where appropriate in partnership with other organisations to ensure that NAPCE is active in the educational world.
2) To expand the activities of the NAPCE to enable the Association to interact with an increasing number of people with an interest in pastoral care in education.
3) To develop the role of NAPCE as a provider of training and professional
development, to share theory and good practice in pastoral care.
4) To continue to develop the structure and organisation of the Association to meet the current and future needs of its members.
5) To raise the profile of NAPCE and the Journal in the educational world

The Association like many organisations has faced many challenges in recent years because of the global pandemic and cost of living crisis. The strategic aims during this period have been.

1) To be financially secure.
2) To continue to engage and interact with people with an interest in pastoral care in education.
3) To sustain interest in the work of NAPCE, to maintain and increase membership.
4) To support professionals with an interest in pastoral care and explore new ways to support professionals, to ensure that the Association continues to have positive role in a changing educational world.

We are pleased that these aims have been achieved because of the hard work and contributions made by the National Executive (NEC), Editorial Board (EB), NAPCE Admin support, NAPCE members and people who support the work of the Association. The Association has adapted to the changing situation and been successful in responding to
these challenges. The NEC and EB have developed new skills and ways of working, to support NAPCE in raising awareness about the importance of pastoral care in education. In the future the new skills and ways of working that we have developed during the pandemic
will provide more options for how NAPCE engages with people who share our interest in pastoral care in the future. This year has seen NAPCE being able to return to organising in person events and face to face meetings.

The NEC continues to work closely with the EB to support their work in developing the journal and to maintain its excellent reputation. The Association has a positive relationship with the publishers of the journal, Taylor Francis. They continue to be an important partner in the future development of NAPCE and by providing a regular income to provide financial stability. Professor Noel Purdy has been confirmed as the editor of the journal and is assisted by Associated Editors, Caron Carter and Amanda Hatton. It was a pleasure to meet James Coggins at the recent meetings in Worcester who is the Associations contact at Taylor and Francis. The journal included a special edition in September 2022 to celebrate the 40-year anniversary of the Association and to reflect on the changes in pastoral care and possible changes in the future.

The Association organised the ‘National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education’ for the third year. This has become an important initiative to raise awareness about NAPCE and to engage with more people who share an interest in pastoral care in education. We continue to see a connection between people who make nominations for the awards and then become more actively involved in NAPCE and interested in becoming members. The number of nominations increased from previous years and they came from different regions in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world. Awards were presented to the winners selected by the judging panel, in eight categories to recognise the achievements of people working in different areas of pastoral care in education. The sponsors of the awards included, Taylor and Francis, Association of School, and College Leaders. NAPCE was delighted for the first time to be able to organise a live event to announce the winners and congratulate the finalists. This took place in the Graeme Hick Pavilion at Worcestershire County Cricket Club on 7th October. It was attended by 70 guests from different parts of the UK, despite the challenges presented by a national rail strike to travel to the venue. The guest speaker was author and educationalist Maria O’Neill who spoke about her book ‘Proactive Pastoral Care’ and helped to present the awards to the winners. A huge thank you to Susana Cervera, Anne Jones and Iain Johnson for their work to make the awards and the presentation event a huge success. Thank you to Noel Purdy, Anne Emerson, Julianne Brown and Richard Pring, for being part of the judging team.

The Association organised a very well attended online conference in June with the title ‘Pastoral care that prepares learners for their future role in society’. There were many positive comments in the chat during the conference thanking NAPCE for organising the conference and how useful and inspiring it had been.

“Thank you for 3 days of great conversations and learning”. (Delegate at the conference).

212 people registered to be a delegate for the three days of the conference. The NAPCE page on EVENTBRITE had 304 visits for information about the conference. The majority of delegates who attended were from the UK, but the conference also had delegates from USA, Nigeria, Spain, Indonesia, Guernsey and France which demonstrates how NAPCE is developing its international links.
The first day of the conference saw three relevant and interesting presentations. The first speakers were Dr Kaitlyn Mendes and Dr Tanya Horeck. Their presentation focused on the crisis in schools around sexual violence, stemming from the Instagram site and website ‘Everyone’s Invited’, and the ways schools and teachers have struggled to respond. The second presentation on the opening day of the conference was from Carl Elder.  In the presentation Carl talked about the experiences of supporting schools, colleges and trusts involved in the ‘Leadership Edge – Coaching in Schools’ Safeguarding Supervision Programme.

The first day of the conference was ended with an entertaining and inspiring presentation by Les Walton CBE, FRSA.

The presentation took delegates through a journey in time where Les shares his experiences and thoughts on key issues and events in recent educational history.

On the second day of the conference, it was time for Pastoral Question Time. The chair was Phil Jones the National Chair of NAPCE, and the questions had been sent in by delegates attending the conference.

The members of the panel were
Dr Noel Purdy, Maria O Neil,Charlie Walker, Dr Helen O Connor, Luke Ramsden, Dr Mark Diacopoulos.

On the final day of the conference on Friday 17th June there were three more presentations for delegates on current and important issues for Pastoral Care.

The first presentation was from NAPCE national executive member Luke Ramsden. Luke’s presentation shared some interesting and inspiring ideas about how data could be used effectively to support the work of staff in pastoral roles and for the benefit of learners in their care.

The second presentation of the Friday morning was from another member of the NAPCE National Executive Nadine Huseyin. In a very interesting presentation Nadine shared her experiences of pastoral care in a specialist school.

The final presentation for the conference was from NAPCE National Chair, Phil Jones. Phil shared his thoughts on what might be the challenges for pastoral leaders in managing behaviour in the future.

The conference was a huge success and delegates clearly found it to be a stimulating and inspiring professional development opportunity. Some of the comments in the chat over the three days included.

 Thanks everyone, very interesting discussion.
 Brilliant and most instructive, Thank you.
 Very interesting presentation. I loved the ideas you shared.
 Thank you very much for some excellent talks over the last three days.
 The presentations were helpful and informative.

NAPCE is planning another online conference for 2023 with the title, ‘Pastoral care that makes a difference’

Details can be found here.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/pastoral-care-that-makes-a-difference-tickets-
587975198647

Links for this conference are limited so please encourage colleagues and contacts to book tickets early to avoid being disappointed as this event like in previous years is likely to be
sold out.

The Associations plans for a weekend of events in October to celebrate the 40th Anniversary had to be changed because of the national rail strikes. It was possible to rearrange the events for March and despite the threat of further strikes and severe weather they went
ahead in the Graeme Hick Pavilion at Worcestershire Cricket Club on Saturday 11th March.

The programme during the day included presentations, discussions and sharing ideas.

NAPCE was very pleased to welcome Catherine Crooks HMI as one of the speakers. Her presentation explained how pastoral care features in the work of Ofsted and what inspectors are looking for during inspections or schools. Another speaker was Dr Helen O’Connor who travelled up from Portsmouth for the day to talk to NAPCE members and guests. Helen is a clinical psychologist for St Swithun’s School in Winchester. She provided an explanation of the positive education programme that has been implemented at the school and explained how it is supporting the personal development of the young people in the care of the school.

The presentations stimulated plenty of discussion and sharing of ideas.

In the evening there was a promotion event for the new pastoral book, edited by NAPCE and to be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing later this year.

Pastoral Care in Education
New Thinking for New Times [?]

Edited by

Dave Trotman, Phil Jones, Noel Purdy, and Stan Tucker

Several of the authors were present to provide the audience with a taste of what to expect in the book when it is published. Some of the chapters included are:-

 Digital safeguarding
 The Arts and the pastoral curriculum
 Pastoral leadership
 Pastoral support for children with SEND
 Pastoral education in an international setting.
 The idea of the pastoral curriculum
 Pastoral education in further education

More details will be shared in future copies of the Free Monthly NAPCE newsletter. To register to be included in the circulation list for the newsletter email admin@napce.org.uk

In the evening past and present members of NAPCE gathered in the Graeme Hick Pavilion to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the Association. There were representatives from all the four decades that NAPCE has been supporting pastoral care in education. It was an
opportunity to meet up with old friends and make new friends and to remember the many events and activities in the Associations history.

The guests included presidents of NAPCE, editors of NAPCE’s journal ‘Pastoral Care in Education’, Chairs of committees and officers who have all made a significant contribution to
the Association during its history.

Future events that are being planned by the NEC include a conference in Belfast in June and the Presentation Event for the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education in Worcester in September.

The Association continues to form partnerships with organisations with similar interest and values. On Tuesday 27th September NAPCE attended the National Child Protection in Education, conference organised by Optimus Education in London. National Executive members Luke Ramsden and Phil Jones represented NAPCE as speakers at the event and Anne Jones was meeting delegates on the NAPCE display. The Association was once again actively involved in the planning and delivery of the Association of School and College Leaders, (ASCL) annual conference for Pastoral Leaders in January. The conference which took place in Manchester was sold out and NAPCE contributed with Chair Phil Jones being invited onto the panel to answer questions from delegates. Jill Robson and Anne Jones were available on the NAPCE display to talk to delegates and tell them about the work of NAPCE.

This was an excellent opportunity to raise the profile of NAPCE, with delegates in leadership roles in primary and secondary schools, attending the conference, from all around the country. NAPCE was once again invited to contribute to the planning of Safer Internet Day
and was a registered supporter of the event. This is an annual event involving schools and organisations from across the country. As Chair of NAPCE, Phil was invited to attend the online event in February, that was streamed live from the top of the BT tower in London. It is good to see NAPCE taking an active role in educational events and activities and that other educational organisation are now approaching NAPCE to ask for our support and contributions to important educational events.

The NEC have continued to take positive action to enable the Association to interact more effectively with other people who share an interest in education and the contribution that
pastoral care can make to the learning experience of children and young people. The Association is pleased to continue working with Iain Johnson from Noise PR. Iain is managing our social media and supporting the Association with its publicity and marketing.
Iain has made a huge contribution to raising awareness about the work of NAPCE and is making a real impact in helping us to achieve our aim of interacting with more people who share our interest in pastoral care. The impact of his support can be seen in increased followers on social media and people contacting NAPCE. Iain produces the monthly
newsletter for the Association, which has seen a growing number of people requesting a copy and an increase in the number of people opening and reading the newsletter each month. The Newsletter has published a wide range of articles on pastoral care, written by
guest educationalists from other educational organisations as well as contributions from members of the NEC and EB. The newsletter has become a valuable resource for the latest thinking and sharing of ideas about pastoral care in education and ensures that members
and supporters of NAPCE are kept up to date with current information about pastoral care and news about NAPCE events and activities. This increased interaction has seen more interest, in membership of the Association and there has been an increase in the number of
members and subscribers to the journal. This demonstrates that the work to increase awareness about the work of NAPCE is having an impact. The Association continues to work with Taylor and Francis to develop the Association’s website. The Association’s Twitter
feed on the website provides the latest news and information and there are links to planned events and activities. This ensures that the Association is providing its members with current news from the world of education and information to support them in their pastoral roles.

The increase in contact with NAPCE administration by email and telephone has continued this year and demonstrates how NAPCE has raised its profile. There have been requests for advice and guidance on a wide range of pastoral issues that members of the NEC have responded to. Contacts have been about advice on good practice in pastoral care and guidance about the roles of pastoral leaders, pastoral staff, and designated safeguarding leads. NAPCE through its Twitter page encourages the sharing of good practice in pastoral care and discussion and debate about current pastoral issues.

Members of NEC this year have contributed their energy, skills, and expertise to the Association to enable it to continue to expand its activities for its members and raise its profile in the educational world. The NEC welcomes suggestions about how to raise awareness, of the work of NAPCE, and any views or opinions from our members about
future developments in policy and practice in pastoral care in education. NAPCE as a charity follows the guidance and advice of the Charities Commission to ensure that it has good governance and that decisions are made in the best interest of achieving the aims of
the Association. Thank you to all members of the National Executive Committee, Editorial Board, Anne Jones, Communication Administrator, Susana Cervera, Meetings and Events Administrator, Iain Johnson at Noise PR, Lyndsey Upex, for administrative support for the journal and James Coggins and his colleagues at Taylor and Francis, for your support, contributions, energy, and ideas this year. NAPCE continues to raise its profile in the educational world and to make a positive contribution to the sharing of good practice and
developing effective policy and practice, in pastoral care in education.

Phil Jones  – National Chair
Jill Robson – National Secretary
NAPCE

GOOD PRACTICE: Sharing Good Practice from the 2022 National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education

Sharing Good Practice from the 2022 National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education

The judges were extremely impressed with the excellent practice in pastoral care and brilliant support that is being provided for learners that was highlighted in the nominations for the 2022 Awards.

In this edition of NAPCE News we are sharing some more of the good practice that was highlighted, this time, in the Pastoral Team of of the Year Award at the 2022 event.

The 2022 Award Winner was:-

Cathal Meegan and the Mentoring Programme team, St Patricks College, Dungannon

The 2022 Finalists were:-

Strangford College Pastoral Team

Andrew McCartney and Julie Grantham, Hull College

Pastoral Forum, St Cecilia’s College

Staffordshire University’s Institute of Policing (Work Based Education Officers)

Cathal Meegan, St. Patrick’s College, Dungannon

Cathal leads a strong Mentoring Programme, which involves a team of 8 members from our school support staff. He introduced the concept of the Mentoring Team in 2019 and it has grown stronger each year. The Mentoring team show a determination to support our young people to achieve their full potential and have a very positive impact on the young people they work with. They share advice, offer guidance and be a sounding board for worries, thoughts and dreams as well as building confidence and relationships, developing resilience and character, and/or raising students’ own aspirations.

The Mentoring interventions are used to promote achievement and a sense of belonging in the student’s journey. These interventions take many forms, including one-to-one sessions, small group work, online/blended programmes if a student is unable to attend school, homework, revision, and extended school programmes such as the social club for students with a specific special educational need.     There is currently a waiting list of referrals from students themselves, staff and parents for identified students to join the Mentoring Programme.
This year the team have worked with over 40 students from year 8- Year 14 supporting their mental health & well being, encouraging their attendance and punctuality to school, helping with organisational skills and in turn developing each students’ self-reliance so they can reach their target goals and set new goals for the future. The Mentoring Programme is based on Mentees meeting with their Mentor once/twice per week and following an agreed plan of action, which is monitored and reviewed after a 12-week period. To date the benefits noticed are increased attendance and punctuality, healthier relationships and lifestyle choices, better attitudes about school, lower risk-taking behaviours and mostly enhanced self-esteem and self-confidence.

Strangford College, Strangford College Pastoral team

The pastoral team in Strangford College is committed to supporting and encouraging each child in their care to achieve their full potential. Throughout the recent Covid lockdowns, the pastoral team worked tirelessly to ensure that the students continued to receive the best pastoral care and that excellent home-school communication was maintained.  On the return to school the entire pastoral care programme was adapted to ensure that it would meet the changing needs of the students, with an increased focus on resilience, hope and mental health and well-being.  The pastoral care team continually research workshops, resources, and outside speakers in order to ensure that the students are informed and educated with up-to-date information on topics such as homophobic bullying, sexting etc.

The team’s dedication to pastoral care encompasses all areas of school life including the extra-curricular schedule with a weekly lunchtime and after school meeting of our GSA and weekly drop-in sessions of the Anti-bullying Ambassador team.  The Anti-bullying Ambassador team have recently been awarded their well-being badge and are on their way to achieving their respect badge.  The Strangford College pastoral care team believes communication is key and hold weekly meetings of the Head of Year team, the Safeguarding team, and the College Intervention Support group, in order to ensure the relevant staff are abreast of any issues or concerns in order to best support each child.   This exceptionally hardworking team was nominated for their dedication in keeping the care and welfare of each student at the centre of what they do!

Andrew McCartney/ Julie Granthem, Hull College

Andy and Julie make up a very small attendance intervention team within the Student Services department and support all the curriculum areas of the college with attendance and pastoral concerns. In particular around 2000 16-19 students who are studying a variety of vocational qualifications. Many of the students come from deprived backgrounds and often have a number of concerns or events that have impacted their life. As part of Andy’s and Julie’s support they deliver intervention to those learners who begin to struggle to attend for a variety of reasons and they work really well with these learners in college. As part of this support, the college often have a number of students who completely disengage, and letters and phone calls home are not effective. This becomes a worrying time for the college as they become concerned not only for their achievement but also their safety. As part of their support Andy and Julie have conducted over 90 home visits to students homes to offer support beyond the college environment. This has often identified a number of issues that the student may be dealing with. Andy and Julie are able to continue to support these students, which sometimes may mean referring to other agencies. Also, they are able to successfully re-engage the learners into their course to help them achieve their aspirations and full potential. Nearly 50% of these learners returned to college when they would have otherwise become withdrawn and no longer in education. These students are currently on target to achieve and the areas of concerns in their lives have become more manageable with that extra bit of support from Andy and Julie, who never give up on the learners.

Pastoral Forum, St. Cecilia’s College

Pastoral care at St. Cecilia’s College is more than just a policy or a job title, it is the rich vein of kindness that pervades every decision and interaction within the school. The Catholic ethos influences every aspect of school life; making St. Cecilia’s a focused, caring, and happy community in which all girls can flourish. The beating heart of this ethos is the pastoral forum. This consists of the Heads of Year, SENCo, Designated Teacher and senior team. This interdisciplinary team of dedicated professionals offer a holistic approach to caring for all, but in particular, the most vulnerable students. Every layer of support is identified and provided to meet as many needs as possible.  Some of the innovative approaches to pastoral care are spearheaded by this team. For example, the college have a Head of Year who is also a qualified CBT practitioner. She delivers this invaluable support alongside a full time CBT therapist in school. One of the senior team has been instrumental in the appointments of two FACT workers for our school. FACT (Family and Community Together) workers are able to support parents and guardians and signpost within the community to ensure that pupils have the very best opportunities to succeed. Referrals can be made by staff or parents to avail of this service.   Regular communication and strong professional relationships are at the core of the success of this team. Parents report high levels of satisfaction with pastoral care in the school and it is something we are rightly very proud of.

Staffordshire University’s Institute of Policing (Work Based Education Officers),

Nationally, Work Based Education Officers (WBEOs) traditionally fulfil assessor duties, tracking apprentice success through tripartite reviews and ensuring apprenticeship compliance. The 16 WBEOs of Staffordshire University’s Institute of Policing go over and above that, having evolved their role to deliver critical pastoral care and wellbeing support to 1521 police apprentices.    Police apprenticeships are still in their infancy, with the first cohort starting their policing careers by embarking on their apprenticeship just three years ago. Since Staffordshire University partnered with Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia, and West Midlands Police in 2019, our WBEO team has grown with the student officer population and adapted to the emerging complex needs and emotional experiences of apprentices who, outside of the 20% off-the-job learning time, work shifts as operational police officers.    In addition to effectively signposting student officers towards university support services, including additional learning needs, financial support, equality and diversity services, the WBEOs form a crucial connection with our partner police forces. Each WBEO knows their student officers by name, and they work with all involved to ensure each successfully passes onto the next stage of their training.    Student officer feedback on reviews includes: “Really helpful, confident I can talk to my WBEO for anything.” and “Don’t know what I would do without them!”    Senior WBEO, Rebecca Slinger, said:

 “Developing our WBEO pastoral care provision was evidence-based. We worked with police and student course representatives to identify issues and create a multi-agency plan of support that can be adapted and changed to meet the diverse needs of every student officer on programme.”
Working as a police officer throughout the pandemic was more challenging than anyone anticipated, particularly those new in service. The impact of WBEO support was pivotal in the first graduating cohorts from Staffordshire and West Midlands Police passing their probation.

AWARDS: Record Nomination Numbers in for NAPCE Awards 2023 – Entry Now Closed

Entry for the Awards closed on 19th April, 2023, with more organisations taking part than ever before.

The Awards is the first and only scheme based in the UK to recognise great practice of pastoral care providers in the education sector and is now in its fourth year.

We have been delighted with the success of the NAPCE Awards since we launched in 2020 and the initiative continues to go from strength to strength.

All entries will now undergo a judging process undertaken by an independent panel of experts and the finalists of the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education will be announced later this year.

The list of deserving finalists will be announced via Twitter (follow @napce1) and on the NAPCE website.

This will be followed by a live Presentation ceremony in September this year.

Responding to the record number of entries, NAPCE Chair Phil Jones said: “We are absolutely delighted to have received so many high quality nominations from such a broad range of schools, colleges and organisations in the UK and further afield.

“The fact that the NAPCE Awards continues to grow it testament to the fact that these Awards are needed to showcase and recognise the huge amount of fantastic work that takes place in pastoral care in education.

“I wish all entrants the very best of luck.”

About the National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education

NAPCE Awards categories;

Pastoral School of the Year
Pastoral Team of the Year
Pastoral Member of Staff of the Year
Pastoral Leader of the Year
Pastoral Development of the Year
Raising Awareness about Pastoral Care
Outstanding Contribution to Pastoral Care
International Contribution to Pastoral Care

Nominations are encouraged for awards in different categories from schools and educational establishments and you DO NOT need to currently be a member of NAPCE to take part.

NAPCE Awards 2023 is an excellent opportunity to share good practice in pastoral care and through our social media, website and those of our partners, the Awards raises awareness of where pastoral support is making a real difference in the educational experience of young people.

The Awards also encourages new initiatives and ideas in pastoral care and will recognise the contributions being made to developing policy and practice in pastoral support.

This is an opportunity to recognise the impact the work of pastoral staff is having on the achievement and well being of young people.

The decisions about prize winners in each category will be made by a panel of invited professionals who work in pastoral care.

There will be a prize of £100.00 for the school or institution for the winners of each category and individuals will also be recognised for their achievements.

The criteria for the NAPCE awards are;

•Pastoral School of the Year
A school that can demonstrate a commitment to pastoral care and support for learners that makes a real difference in the progress and personal development of young people in the school

•Pastoral Team of the Year
A team that works in pastoral care and can demonstrate a determination to support young people to achieve their full potential and a positive impact on the young people they work with

•Pastoral Member of Staff of the Year
A member of staff who works in pastoral care and who always makes the extra effort to support young people to enable them to become effective learners and achieve success

•Pastoral Leader of the Year
Has a passion for pastoral care that is shared with colleagues to inspire and motivate them to make a real difference in the lives of the young people they work with

•Pastoral Development of the Year
A pastoral initiative or idea that has achieved positive outcomes and has improved the learning experience and future life chances, for young people

•Raising Awareness about Pastoral Care
An individual, group or organisation who through their actions have raised awareness about pastoral care or pastoral issues and encouraged positive improvements for the benefit of young people

•Outstanding Contribution to Pastoral Care
A person, group or organisation that has made a real difference for the benefit of young people in the area of pastoral care

•International Contribution to Pastoral CareAn international school, organisation outside of the UK or an individual working in research or in an international school outside of the UK, that has promoted or delivered high quality pastoral care.

Nominations for the NAPCE Awards are welcome from member schools and institutions and from schools and institutions that are not currently members of NAPCE.

National Awards for Pastoral Care in Education – Sponsorship Opportunity

The categories for the awards are
Pastoral School of the Year
Pastoral Team of the Year
Pastoral Member of Staff of the Year
Pastoral Leader of the Year
Pastoral Development of the Year
Raising Awareness about Pastoral Care
Outstanding Contribution to Pastoral Care
International Contribution to Pastoral Care

NAPCE is pleased to invite partner organisations to sponsor one of the categories for the 2023 awards. Sponsors contribute £150.00 to cover the costs of prizes in each category. Sponsors will be promoted in publicity and social media messages about the awards, be named on the presentation plaques and invited to the Live Presentation event in Worcester on Friday 29^th September 2023. To confirm your interest in supporting the Awards as a sponsor in 2023 or to ask for more details please contact Phil Jones, National Chair at admin@napce.org.uk