Pastoral
The happiness and fulfilment of each and every child at the centre of all we do.
Twyford has a clear focus on the all round wellbeing of the children. Our pastoral care underpins every aspect of School life and is a central priority throughout all phases of a child’s time here. We believe in a holistic approach to education which embraces our values whilst building confidence and resilience in our children to allow them to flourish. We continually strive to create a supportive and nurturing environment where every child can be a unique individual, with unique needs, strengths and potential.
We celebrate success in all areas but we value most the child who goes the extra mile to live up to our school values: Honesty, Kindness, Friendship, Respect and Responsibility. We embrace Christian values and teach children from the earliest ages to be gracious, considerate and respectful of others. At Twyford a child that becomes adept at ‘kindness’ is celebrated as much as the academic, artist, athlete or the musician.
Our overriding aim is that all children will flourish in our care as individuals, and that through this wrap-around approach they will acquire the tools and skills to thrive at their chosen secondary schools and successfully continue their journey to adulthood with increasingly assured confidence.
The structure of pastoral care is designed to support this aim by providing opportunities and encouragement to help a child become the best person they can be. All children in both the Prep and Pre-Prep have a class/form teacher whom they see every day, and who has responsibility for their academic and pastoral well-being. Form teachers get to know the children in their care very well, very quickly, and they are best placed to help and support them through all aspects of school life.
Pupils in Years 7 and 8 have a personal tutor with a particular responsibility to help them to flourish, both socially and academically. The tutors are specifically skilled in helping children make the transition to their Senior school. They meet together at least once a week to discuss and assess how things are going.
Form teachers and tutors develop close links with the families of children in their care, and they are the first people for parents to contact if they have any queries or concerns.
Our pupils have a voice, which they have the confidence to use. Children from every class in the School make up our School Council, an important forum in which children can put forward ideas and initiate change. It is chaired by the Heads of School who meet weekly with the Headmaster. The School Council’s opinions are sought, their ideas put forward and they intiate change about many aspects of school life, including, for example, which Charities the school will support that year.
We have our School Listener who is a trained counsellor. A special feature of the School is the way pupils in the older year groups are very supportive of the younger children and are very quick to alert staff to any child who is struggling in any way.
Mental health awareness classes are part of well-being modules in PSHEE, which is taught as a discrete subject from Reception upwards. Each week there is a pastoral topic, which is linked to the Chapel theme and covered in both assemblies and tutor time. We run a rolling programme of pastoral talks for parents and also for children and staff. We also support girl-specific issues using the “Girls on Board” philosophy.
We are a talking school, but more importantly we are a listening school: if support is required, we will provide it to the best of our ability.
All staff are trained in Mental Health First Aid, and we have robust systems in place for spotting a child who needs some extra assistance, monitoring, recording and helping as required. Well-being is a core part of the school’s PSHEE curriculum.
Matrons are at the very heart of the School, and they play an integral part in boarding as well. The Matrons’ room is warm and welcoming and is often the first port of call for both parents and children. Matrons hand out medical help as required, but most of all they offer a sympathetic listening ear for all. They are a very special group.
"Pupils are kind to one another, demonstrating excellent behaviour and a strong moral understanding." ISI 2022