Outstanding Pastoral Care in Secondary Schools – Mind the Gap

Secondary
schools structures are often dictated by curriculum or subject areas, where
curriculum leaders, or heads of departments, are seen as the pivotal middle
leaders in the school’s development cycle or the ‘engine’ for driving forward
improvement.  In
a climate where there is significant pressure on schools to improve academic
outcomes, where academic league tables are public and the pressures of a
demanding and hefty curriculum, the pastoral aspect can seem as a bolt-on or,
at
best, the links
and communication between
the pastoral and academic elements can be incoherent and disjointed.

Minding
the gap between the pastoral and academic aspects of any school is a common priority for
many school leaders. And raising the profile of pastoral leadership is an
essential step in closing this gap.