Pastoral Support at St John Bosco College

At St John Bosco College we are proud of the strong pastoral support systems that we have in place to ensure that all the young people in our care get the best opportunities to flourish and do well in their education and preparation for adult life.

The Salesian ethos of our school, inspired by the teachings of Saint John Bosco,  affects every aspect of our work together with young people and their families and ensures that we are always focused on the individual child and their importance and value as a child of God.

At its centre are the Salesian principles of Saint John Bosco’s educational philosophy: reason, religion, and kindness. The basic principle of his system was a deep understanding and love for young people and their experiences and a pro-active preventative approach to pastoral support. We ensure that all children in school are strongly supported in their everyday school life so that if any difficulties arise we can respond to them more effectively.

All students are supported through a Form Tutor whom they meet with every day. This is the first person a child or parent should contact in case of concerns or for further information. All students attend form time every day; it is an opportunity to check in with all students, monitor attendance and homework, pray together, and learn about important well-being and personal development issues. Each week every class meets at least once in a circle-time activity where all members of the form are encouraged to talk about their experiences that week and build a strong class community in which they can support each other.

The work of form tutors is monitored and supported by Heads of Year and a pastoral team made up of a School Chaplain, two Pastoral Leads, a Learning Mentor, School Counsellors, an Educational Welfare Officer and a  School Nurse. The school also has a broad range of professionals and outside organisations with whom we work closely to offer specialist or targeted support when needed.