The Quality of Care and Relationships

“The School provides pastoral care and guidance of exceptional quality” Independent Schools Inspectorate Report 2007

"The excellent pastoral care system functions throughout the School, based on the key principles of support and ‘accompaniment’ as in our Mission Statement. The Form staff are well managed and led by a team of Year Heads and the Assistant Deputy Head. They meet regularly and communicate daily with each other. The entire pastoral team works as a closely integrated unit to provide total care for the whole community. Pupils have commented they feel secure, well known and cared for by all pastoral staff.

Mrs Valerie Cochrane
Pastoral Deputy

"The school radiates a caring attitude. Relationships are excellent between pupils, staff and pupils, and staff and parents. Older pupils happily mix with younger ones, a characteristic fostered by the school’s ‘Big Sister’ scheme for Year 7 pupils, many of whom feel proud to have a 6th former as a mentor and friend. Peer Mentors, drawn from our Year 10 and Year 12 pupils, work with the ‘Big Sisters’. These Mentors are trained off-site with an introduction to counselling skills. Peer Mentors are themselves supported by the pastoral staff, who assist them to perform their roles with confidence. Many pupils commented that they liked having Peer Mentors in the School. Within this caring environment pupils come to realise that they should take responsibility for regulating their own lives and behaviour.

"The School has a clear Anti-bullying Policy on display throughout the school, and pupils are confident that bullying is not tolerated by staff, while victims will be treated with respect.

"The school goes to great length to ensure the safety, health and welfare of its pupils. Levels of supervision are high at breaks, lunchtime and at the start and end of each day, with caretaking staff joining teaching staff to ensure everybody’s safety." Independent Schools Inspectorate Report 2007

The School Mission Statement states that fulfilment comes through the recognition and nurturing of the individual by:
•   Emphasising personal, moral and spiritual development, based on Gospel values
•   Striving for personal academic excellence
•   Providing wide-ranging opportunities
•   Fostering a strong relationship between family and school

The Pastoral Care System within Notre Dame Senior School is the building block upon which the learning and growth of the individual takes place.

“From the first moment that a student sets foot in a Catholic school, he or she ought to have the impression of entering a new environment, one illumined by the light of faith, and having its own unique characteristics ..."

Fr. Christopher Jamison

“Teachers know their pupils well and care is taken to ensure that they build on what they have already learnt. The pupils’ successes are due, in large part, to the excellent teaching”.

2011 ISI Inspection Report

"We are all educators... accompanying young people in their efforts to build their lives for today and tomorrow."
St Jeanne de Lestonnac Founder of The Company of Mary Our Lady

"The transition of pupils from one year to the next is carefully managed and leavers are well prepared for life after school. Leavers' self-reliance, sense of responsibility and ability to manage their own independent learning are well developed as a matter of policy."
2007 Independent Schools Inspectorate Report

"Excellent pastoral care in the quiet and positive atmosphere of the school supports pupils very well"
"Excellent planning, open-ended questioning and dynamic pace challenged pupils to use their knowledge, test their understanding, develop their thinking and maximise their potential"
"Considerable creative skills"