The ‘Schools within Schools’ System
Our ‘Schools within Schools’ system is an innovative way of combining the pastoral and academic sides of academy life.
Students belong to a tutor group with peers of their own year group. Each tutor group is then assigned to one of our 4 schools: Attenborough, Hawking, Shelley and Turing. The school is led by a Head of School who, as Assistant Principal, is a member of the Senior Leadership Team. On this pastoral side of side of the system, the Head of School leads their team of Tutors to support students’ academic and social progress.
The Schools provide a platform for students to work with peers from different year groups. In this respect it is very much like a traditional ‘House System’. Students compete against each other in ‘inter-School’ competitions, raise money for their designated charity, operate a separate School Council and appoint Student Leadership Teams who help support the running of their School. The system offers more opportunities for students to become engaged and support the Aspirations Framework including the ‘3 Guiding Principles’ and the ‘8 Conditions That Make a Difference’.
In supporting the academic side of Academy life, the Head of School also acts as Line Manager to the Subject Co-ordinators that are within their School. The teachers from these subjects act as the Form Tutors within that School. This system makes communication easier in a large Academy. The names of the four Schools were chosen by students and named after an influential person, linked to one or more of the subjects associated with that School:
Attenborough: Humanities and Performing Arts.
Hawking: Science and Technology.
Shelley: English and Modern Foreign Languages.
Turing: Maths and Sport
Pastoral Support System
How a child settles into the Academy, feels happy and secure and is encouraged to do well will determine his or her success. With this in mind, we try to provide a holistic approach to student care which supports every student throughout their secondary career. We seek to empower students to be able to make a life for themselves that is fulfilling, enjoyable and responsible. There are number of very important people in our pastoral system:
- Form Tutor: Every student will meet with their tutor before they join Budmouth. This relationship is vital as it allows the tutor to get to know the student and their family to establish a continuity of care. Each tutor group belongs to one of our 4 ‘Schools within Schools’.
- Heads of School: The Head of School is a designated Assistant Principal that leads a team of tutors who, in turn, belong to the subject areas’ associated within that ‘school’. Every student belongs to one of the four ‘Schools within Schools’. These provide a basis for students to work together in a number of ways including: School Council, competitions, events, charity fundraising, the Budmouth Games and to take on important student leadership roles associated with this.
- Pastoral Support Leaders (PSLs): Our PSLs are support staff who have a dedicated role to help support our students’ social and emotional well-being. They work closely with students who need additional support and will liaise with Heads of School, Teachers, Senior Leadership Team, outside agencies and, of course, parents and carers.
- School Counsellor: We are fortunate to employ a full time counsellor. Our confidential counselling service can be accessed via self-referral (students over the age of 13 and deemed Gillick Competent) or via referral from members of our pastoral support team.
- Student Support Centre: Our Student Support Centre provides a safe, calm and nurturing environment for all students. We offer a range of interventions including Emotional Literacy (ELSA), resilience, anxiety and self-esteem support, social skills and transition groups. Personalised sessions are guided by Boxall Profiling to help remove barriers to learning and enable every student to reach their full potential. The centre includes confidential spaces for individual support, rooms for group activities and study, plus a welcoming lounge and kitchen area. A daily Breakfast Club offers a calm, sociable start to the school day. We are a fully inclusive centre and operate with an open-door policy.