NAPCE recently re-tweeted a post questioning ‘where does pastoral Care begin?’ The comments debate boiled down to… parents. It stirred a lot of reaction and some useful reflection. Schools are taking on a far more central role in parent support- and the focus is not always child-centered.

As a deputy head I see a range in staffs’ commitment and boundaries in supporting parents as individuals. This ranges in how and to what depths this goes; from a five-minute chat at the school gate, to a three-hour child protection case review. Sue Cowley recently said ‘Speaking as a parent, the close relationship with a class teacher has been one of the most important things in my kids’ primary education’.  And I don’t disagree. Yet, conflicting the goodwill, I see parents’ throw away (or at times very pointedly direct) comments to staff, strain their pupil time as their child’s teacher to attend a meeting for their input, and demand of parents adhered to for fear of what they may do if not (the list of consequences are expansive!). This is a real balancing act.

Morally, of course, there are situations which are challenging to stop yourself attempting to be a fixer. How can you not support the father who doesn’t have a strategy left to manage their child’s behaviour? Or the mother who is going through a divorce and tells you because there is no one else to talk to? But with cuts to social care contributing, where do we draw the line? What should a school offer? How do you pull it back in when a parent over steps the boundary without burning the bridges?

I think it is important to reiterate that it is an institution’s choice as to how they answer these questions- and to do it consistently, but as the re-tweet summarised- pastoral care does begin with the parent…

So instead of letting the school chase its metaphorical tail, I felt it was by addressing the issues that consistently arise by instigating a number of interventions.

Firstly, we spent the last term designing and running a three school collaboration parent training SEN program. Their children’s additional needs, patterns in behaviour and hormonal changes were, without a doubt, the largest area to address, but also the area that we as teachers have the specialist knowledge and strategies. The mantra was ‘we are the specialists, but you are the experts of your children’. This passed some of the responsibility back on to the parents from the outset, with the training aiming to be more of a facilitator role as opposed to a one size fits all transmission. The feedback and impact with those who chose (a separate issue) to attend have been very positive. Parents left with a clearer understanding of what sits behind certain behaviours, how communication and sensory provisions can reduce this, how these behaviours change during puberty and importantly- try to remain consistent with the schools’ strategies.

The second intervention was through staff training. The reiterated point of this was ‘Don’t be too hard on yourself’. Realising that you have a strong moral compass but don’t you have exhaustible energy. A set of black and white boundaries were laid out- including NO PERSONAL PHONE NUMBERS! We also updated the annual home-school agreement. That it was drawn up as a team, keeps a consistent and non-comparable approach moving forward.

As I sat in a meeting this morning I saw the discussions in action, a member of staff turning to the separated parent and stating ‘I don’t take sides, I am here for your son’, promptly followed by directing them to a number of external support resources. And I think that summarised where I stand. Does that make me less empathetic, narrow visioned or closed to parent input or budget spending on a vital intervention? I hope not because my moral compass is set to remain considerate of the whole learning journey. So I have decided that next term I will start a prevention- a parenting curriculum for older pupils, ensuring that parents are involved in the input…

A New Field of Pastoral Care

Pastoral care has traditionally focused on the physical and psychological environment that we create for our young people, but as ‘screen time’ increases, we question how aware are we of the potential, influence, strategies and consequences of the digital world?

Potential:
Firstly, the learning potential for students able to critically analyse and use a resourcefulness has been increased by an incalculable amount with the vast tool of the internet. If we can embed the skills to seek a solid source and then separate the wheat from the chaff, our students have a life-long learning textbook with an ‘easy to use’ index. From cooking a new dish to extending our numeracy with the likes of the free online tuition from the Khan Academy, it is about an individual seeking the challenge, because the answer is usually there.

Many schools have also used social media as an effective tool for parental engagement, e.g. to forward information through Facebook and Twitter, and all parents are now encouraged to comment regularly through Parent View.

Influence:
As screen time increases, the blur between reality and the digital world gets fuzzier. Are your standards in quality of life set against the celebrities on Instagram or music videos? Is your digital profile how the world sees you and does that stop when you get home and close the door? There is no set quantity of influence on each child, as each is an individual, but it is difficult to challenge that the influence is growing and physical social interaction is shrinking.

E-safety:
An example of risks to those under 11 years of age is musically. A lip-synching video app with the intention of gaining followers. If you do not set privacy settings, the video can be watched by anybody. Anybody who watches the video can send a message to the child, share the video on other platforms (eg Instagram) and even download it to a PC.

Pokemon Go! is quite safe. But, it takes young people into the physical environment – so stranger danger rules apply. Adults can play too. They’re all looking in the same places.

Twitch on the iPad, Xbox, Playstation (growing in use Years 5-9) is a live streaming app. It livestreams and strangers can interact as you play. There are facilities to “gift” people as they play.

For those a little older, Snapchat. You need to turn off geolocation services within the app.
If you take a selfie and somebody transfers the image to Instagram, all the details of the photo are sent with it. If geolocation is on it is easy to find out where the photo was taken.

A reminder that posting on Twitter – and, by association, Facebook and other social media platforms – is not conversation or ‘bantz’, but a form of publication for which you can be held to account. Freedom of speech gives you the right to express your opinion and your right must be respected. But if you can’t do that without being abusive, you have to accept responsibility for your actions should you get admonished, blocked or sued.

Strategies

There is also a Government website www.thinkuknow.com that has resources and information for parents other stakeholders as well as a link to report any worrying activity that has involved your children.

In the case where parents and carers are complaining on social media, Kent County Council (1^st Edition, August 2016) have created some clear guidelines for schools.

Be aware that being allowed to watch inappropriate online activity may be a safeguarding issue.

It is for us to become more aware of internet safety, the safety settings (and how some can get round them!) and discuss it with children. If they see you as a threat, then lies are far more likely. Establish expectations with your child about what they play, and what to do if they come across inappropriate activity. Praise children for sharing concerns and involve them in decision-making about what to do next (Don’t just ban them from the app. They won’t tell you next time). Use settings on device and in app to block inappropriate activity. Be prepared to change these further. For advice or to report serious abuse, use www.ceop.police.uk (or through www.thinkuknow.com ) and make sure all children are aware of this option too.

NAPCE recognises that this barely scratches the surface of where to begin and is questionning how deep an impact techonology is having on learning and the development of students, we look to find the strengths and highlight the risks.

Don’t forget about the recent call for papers for a ‘Special Issue-Journal of Pastoral Care in Education Mental Health and Well-Being of Children and Young People’.

Schools and the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Their Pupils

April 2017

Reflections on the Conference
NAPCE’s major annual conference on Schools and the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Their Pupils was held at the end of last month at Newman University, Birmingham. With over 150 educationalists coming together to access the highly engaging and relevant presentations and workshops.

The conference provided great insight into supporting young people to access appropriate help early impacting on improving attendance and closing the academic gap for the most disadvantaged young people, including those with additional needs.

With the likes of Mary Hinton from YoungMinds as a key speaker, the conference presented theory and evidence on current approaches in practice to preventing mental health problems escalating, all of which tied to improving institutions wellbeing as a preventative as well as a cure. The workshops focussed on different strategies, from engagement in SEN, attachment, and self-esteem, to the role of the school counselor.

What really stood out, particularly as the topic remains central to current media coverage, was just how much is already going on in the schools that presented to consciously prevent mental health issues and increase the long-term wellbeing of their students. Not only that but how it is being done largely without additional funding or specific external agency support (which in no way is belittling the need for it).

Following the conference, the NAPCE executive board reflected that with so much outstanding practice going on, the key to moving the system on as a whole is how best we go about sharing this so practitioners and schools can collaboratively learn from each other. The conference was one example of this medium, but with modern technology providing a global platform, NAPCE has decided to redesign its website so that it is an active bank of current resources. We hope that you can not just learn from it, but add to it over the coming months.

Internet Safety Day from the Interner

February 2017

It is internet safety day today and schools across the country will be delivering input to students to promoting safe use of our relatively new information source.

But to maintain these lessons, we as staff need to have some awareness of the biological and social impact technology is having, as well as the huge potential to take our classrooms around the world and learning into fields far beyond the curriculum.

We have highlighted three key podcasts that are well worth a listen on lunch or the journey home.

The impact of ‘screen time’ TED Talk

Are our devices turning us into a new kind of human?

The effect of violent video games

NAPCE knows the power of technology and how they can host valuable resources. That is why napce.org is having a revamp and launching our new resources. On the same line, our National Conference is coming up at Newman University in March.

And last but in no way least, our Post Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Care is set to begin in September, working alongside Newman University’s Dr. Dave Trotman and Professor Stan Tucker.

Following a year that certainly raised them, over the next twelve months we are going to be tackling some of the biggest issues in pastoral care and how they are being addressed in schools.

I am sure that a week in to the new year and a week back at work may be making things seem a little less than joyful or back in your element, but this months NAPCE is all about looking ahead to the future.
What is pastoral care looking like in the 21st century? Without doubt it is still about building a supportive community around everyone we work with. There are new approaches to education not just cropping up, but being expanded on. NAPCE will be investigating a range of philosophies, from the autonomous need satisfaction to the anti-technology, and all that goes in-between. This including what and how the government is supporting and neglecting our schools.
But what format does this community take? Our digital society seems to be growing ever larger, stronger and influential, but what are we doing to embrace it so its best features can be used? NAPCE will address this next month following its coverage of CAPITA’s 15th Protecting Children and Young People in the Digital Environment Conference.

NAPCE knows the power of technology and how they can host valuable resources. That is why napce.org is having a revamp and launching our new resources. On the same line, our National Conference is coming up at Newman University in March.

And last but in no way least, our Post Graduate Certificate in Pastoral Care is set to begin in September, working alongside Newman University’s Dr. Dave Trotman and Professor Stan Tucker.
So, the 2017 new years resolution at NAPCE is to increase just how much we can do to support you… the one’s who are there to support everyone else!

The Rochford Review

November 2016

The Rochford Review was released this October and NAPCE believes that its recommendations have the potential to support great steps forward across all forms of education in the UK.

The report’s headline suggests the removal of the statutory requirement of assessing pupils using P scales, building upon the removal of levelling. NAPCE sees this as an ideal opportunity for all schools to consider valuing progress in learning outside and alongside academic subjects their data, potentially assisting other outcomes related to pastoral care.

The report comes across as more clear cut for those students who are not engaged in subject-specific learning, suggesting limits on the statutory assessment for pupils. Special needs provisions NAPCE currently work with are already leading the way in assessing pupils’ development in all 4 areas of need outlined in the SEND Code of Practice and in the areas of cognition and learning. The use of models such as SCERTS and the Life Skills frameworksupport an educational practitioner in their own delivery. They are able to address key aspects of whole child development in the present and evidence it as beneficial to the individual’s long-term goals.

For those within mainstream looking to differentiate not just learning but now assessment this could pose an additional burden. Responsiveness, curiosity, discovery, anticipation, persistence, initiation, investigation; the 7 aspects of cognition and learning put forward by Rochford, are worth assessing throughout all of education and therefore bypassing the bias of those with additional needs in NAPCE’s opinion. With the report seeking for ITT and CPD for staff to have a greater understanding of assessing pupils working below the standard of national curriculum tests, now appears an ideal opportunity to link in with developing assessment (and delivery) across all learning environments. Perhaps this is something that will grow if stable systems of assessment are first put in place for the early stages of development. Those who doubt such skill sets as being applicable beyond focus areas of study need to be considering the knowledge based economy all students will be entering. One that perhaps requires a skill set flexible and resilient enough to be applied outside of a mastered field, let alone complex relationships.

Without P-levels the report suggests schools need to be able to evidence not to the DfE but to parents and carers, inspectors, regional schools commissioners, local authorities, school governors and those engaged in peer review to ensure robust and effective accountability. How this will be done is not included, but if you are a school that is searching for support in assessment post levels and now beyond p-scales, contact NAPCE for support and/or to be pointed in the direction of schools that can. We see the report as an opportunity to grow our students and our education system.