Supportive School Environments

Students at a boarding school located in a rural area in the UK would be supported in a variety of different ways, whereas for a student at Sixth Form College located in London the support they receive may be very different. 

A school’s main aim is to support the needs of their students both academically and pastorally. The support systems should be tailored to the context but more importantly the support that each student receives should be personalised to meet their needs. As every individual student is wonderfully unique a school must be both adaptable and innovative when working with young people.

A school’s focus is always primarily on the young people that make up their community, however it is the role of the school to support all members of their community. Parents, teachers, support staff and the people of the local area should all be considered when creating a supportive school environment.

As outlined above the school must take a holistic approach when creating a supportive school environment but to complicate the area further The British School Warsaw is a school that cares for and nurtures children from pre-nursery to their IB Diploma completion. In order to meet the needs of all TBS’s students we must differentiate our support provision across the different phases of the school. 

This introduction on Supportive School Environments will focus on the success of existing support structures and the recent changes in the Secondary School. 

A pillar of the support structures in place within the Secondary School is the relationships that students have with the staff community.

The tutor is the first layer of support within a multi-layered system that we refer to as a pathway. The TBS Student Support Pathway (SSP) aims to provide a personalised, safe and secure environment that promotes the personal development for our young people from the point at which they join TBS until they leave.

Beyond the tutor, the primary layer of support for all students is their individual subject teachers. Students often will form special bonds with their favourite teachers. In some cases, when a student needs individual support or guidance a subject teacher can be that key person who connects with the young person.

The layer of support provided to our students above that of tutors and teachers is the members of the Pastoral Team. This is including our Heads of Year, Head of IB and the school’s support staff. These team members can provide additional support and guidance to students facing a variety of challenges. Any support plan that is put in place should include three key stakeholders: the student, parents or guardians and the school.

All organisations strive for improvement and as a school we have an internal self-evaluation process where we ask the obvious questions. How can we improve? What more can we do? Is there a better way?  It is by asking these questions and truly understanding the needs of our students that we have been able to change the way that TBS supports young people. 

It is this combination of asking the right questions and being able to build meaningful relationships with all key stakeholders at TBS that has enabled us to earn the community’s trust. This trust that is built on meaningful relationships has enabled innovation and change to take place. A big change in the Secondary school is moving the registration back to the start of the day and giving tutors the opportunity to work with their tutees for one hour a week in the TBS Diploma period (previously called PHSE). This allows tutors more time to get to know the individual students. The time provides the opportunity that key relationship of support and guidance to flourish.

Throughout the academic year, we will be inviting parents and students to a number of showcase events that will allow parents and guardians to become involved in the TBS Diploma projects that are taking place.

STEVEN ASHFORD

DEPUTY HEAD OF SECONDARY - PASTORAL