About
The Pastoral System

“The college’s work to keep students safe and secure is outstanding”. Ofsted, June 2014.

We are proud of the quality of care, guidance an support that we offer at Unity College. A huge part of this occurs through the Pastoral System that we operate. Every student belongs to a Personal Development (PD) Group, which in turn, is part of a House. The PD Tutor meets with their students every day and is the first port of call for students to discuss things of importance or issues that concern them. As well as the informal dialogue that PD Tutors have with their tutees, students also follow a structured programme during PD sessions as the year progresses.

PD Tutors work closely with their tutor group after each assessment point in the year to review effort, behaviour and academic progress.

Students in all years are placed in vertical tutor groups so that they get to work alongside students from other years. This really helps to build a sense of family within college and forms a strong identity both within PD groups and Houses.

Students in the younger year groups get to see what older students experience as they move through the college and this helps prepare them for their next steps. Students also get to see positive older role models and can aspire to work towards student leadership opportunities as they progress through college.

Beyond the child’s PD Tutor, there are a vast array of other places that students can go to for help, guidance or support. The pastoral system is led by the House Leaders and Behaviour Leaders, who each look after a House. Students can always approach their House Leader for help or advice at any time. Each House also has a team of Prefects and Senior Prefects attached to it, and these senior students provide an alternative avenue for students to seek support.

The pastoral wellbeing of every student is ensured by a multi-faceted approach from teachers, the Signpost team, House Leaders, Behaviour Leaders, the Attendance team and members of the Senior Leadership team.