We firmly believe that in order for our boys to thrive, they need to feel valued for who they are and be encouraged to be their best.
Boys also need to feel supported and guided as they grow from young boys into teenagers, with all the changes that brings.
Kindness
We instil in our boys the qualities of kindness and consideration for each other from the moment they arrive, and we believe in openly rewarding good attitude and good work through a full and motivating rewards programme. This in turn ensures a well structured and disciplined environment in which the boys excel.
Most of all, we emphasise that all members of the school exemplify the Rokeby values, especially those of kindness, good manners, friendliness and assertiveness. The School Council of Prefects and House Captains work with the class representatives in all years to help us achieve this.
Structure
The first point of contact for pastoral care is a boy’s Form Tutor. In addition, there is a Head of Year for each year group, each of whom has overall responsibility for the pastoral care of the boys in their year groups and resolves matters along with Form Tutors.
The Deputy Head Pastoral meets with the Form Tutors and Heads of Year regularly. Our anti-bullying procedure is pursued rigorously, as we are determined to ensure that all boys feel safe and happy at school.
We are constantly reviewing and updating our policies and look to parents to support us in our aims, which are regularly reinforced to the boys during form periods, within Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education (PSHEE) and in assemblies.
ELSA
At Rokeby, we are really pleased to offer the ELSA programme to support the pastoral needs of our boys.
ELSA (Emotional, Learning Support Assistants) is an established initiative developed and supported by educational psychologists. It was designed for schools to support the emotional needs of their pupils from within their own resources. It recognises that children learn better and are happier in school if their emotional needs are addressed and therefore helps to remove barriers to learning.
‘…I am a lot happier now I have had the ELSA sessions.’