Pastoral Care

We know there is no one single route to positive wellbeing, so we offer a variety of different opportunities and approaches encouraging each individual to find the strategies that work best for them.

Led by our Head of Wellbeing, this covers our Personal Development Education programme (which includes PSHCE and RSE), and includes talks and initiatives on mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, sleep hygiene and stress management.

There is an ongoing programme to ensure each member of staff has undergone the Youth Mental Health First Aid course so that we can all support each other in living a healthy lifestyle.

Being a teenager has always been complicated, but now there is even more pressure on teenagers academically, socially and digitally. Whilst most matters can be effectively handled by key pastoral figures, there are occasions when it may be preferable for a student to speak to a counselling specialist.

Our professional counsellors are very experienced in their field and can be contacted via [email protected].

All Abingdon staff have a responsibility to safeguard and promote the physical and emotional welfare of students, both within and outside school. This involves protection from significant physical or emotional harm and ensuring the satisfactory development and growth of each individual.

Staff follow the school’s Child Protection Guidelines, which are in line with the Department for Education’s (DfE) and Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board’s (OSCB) practice and procedures.

The School’s Child Protection policy can be downloaded from the School’s policy page.

Online Safety and Digital Citizenship are an important part of keeping children safe. At Abingdon, we have extensive security measures in place in school, which are monitored to help safeguard our students from potential dangers or unsuitable material. Any online incidents are recorded and managed. Online Safety and Digital Citizenship are taught to all students, explaining and demonstrating how to stay safe and behave appropriately online. It is made very clear to all students how online activity can have offline consequences and can affect their wellbeing and future employability.

The School’s anti-bullying, safeguarding, ICT and social media policies offer procedures and advice on all aspects of eSafety.

We acknowledge that we can only be successful in keeping children safe online if we work with parents to ensure the Online Safety and Digital Citizenship message is consistent. It is important that parents speak to their children about how they can keep safe and behave appropriately online.

Additional guidance and resources are available to parents via:

• NSPCC advice
• DfE Advice
• CEOPS

Within Abingdon:

• Designated Safeguarding team at [email protected]
• Tutors
• Heads of Year
• The Chaplain, or another member of the Chaplaincy team
• Health Centre staff
• School Counsellors, available at [email protected]
• Whisper

Wider Community:

• Childline 0800 1111 or childline.org.uk
• Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH) 0345 050 7666
• Ofsted 0300 123 1231 or [email protected]
• Office of the Children’s Commissioner 0800 528 0731 or [email protected]
• NSPCC Helpline to support potential victims of sexual harassment or abuse in education: 0800 136 663 or [email protected]
• Primary Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services 01235 547170
• Oxfordshire Social Services Dept. 01865 79534
• CEOP Report Centre

PSHCE is an important part of life at Abingdon, and aims to foster emotional growth through personal and social education within a programme that engages emotional intelligence as much as intellect.

In Lower School, PSHCE is delivered as part of the “Be More Griffen” scheme. Pupils explore subjects such as emotional intelligence, coaching, target-setting and reflective practice in fortnightly 55 minute sessions. Each year, they are also treated to several inspirational speeches from external speakers. In addition, they are also given assemblies and seminars on topics such as safe use of technology, healthy eating, anti-bullying and mental health awareness.

The importance of PSHCE at Abingdon is such that in the Third and Fourth Year, it is taught by specialist teachers in fortnightly 55 minute lessons, covering the following topics:

Third Year

• Wellbeing and our Values
• Decision making
• British Values
• Challenging Discrimination
• Equality Act 2010 including homophobia
• Minority Visibility
• Friendship, sexism and anti-bullying
• Alcohol & Drugs
• Healthy Eating
• Love and commitment, marriage and relationships
• Parenting, pregnancy, miscarriage, menstrual wellbeing, the menopause and feminism
• Mental health awareness workshops and interactive seminars
• Health centre presentations on wellness and personal hygiene

We also run an RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) morning every May for Third Years, which in the past has included performances about sexual health from professional Theatre-in-Education companies, as well as talks about men’s health issues from the School Doctor and presentations on STI’s from visiting healthcare practitioners.

Fourth Year

• Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health
• Stress Management
• Masculinity; what it means to be a man today
• Human Rights and Responsibilities
• The workings of the UK Government; from polling to the Prime Minister
• What is radicalization and extremism and what can be done to prevent it
• Navigating the online world: digital footprints, where to get support, game addiction, being aware of fraud online, online streaming, vlogging, webcamming, social media and positive mental health
• Sexual consent, grooming, coercion and sexual exploitation. FGM, forced marriage and honour based violence
• Sexual harassment and the law
• Sex and Relationships
• Pornography and digital wellbeing

In addition to these lessons, all pupils are under the guidance of a form tutor. In tutor time they will cover various topics centred around national focus weeks such as anti-bullying, mental health awareness, e-safety, international women’s and men’s day. Tutors work on a number of life skills topics with their tutees, including study skills.

In the Fifth Year, PSHCE is delivered in weekly tutor time by tutors, focussing on the following topics that are explored via a number of learning methods:

• Ways to wellbeing
• Body image
• Gambling
• Harmful behaviours online
• Healthy lifestyles
• Blood, organ and stem cell donation
• Smoking and vaping

Sixth form PSHCE is also delivered via tutors, and also manifests itself as part of the Sixth Form Enrichment Programme. Topics which are covered by tutors include:

Wellbeing, time management, revision strategies, growth mindsets, anxiety, stress and sleep hygiene, love and relationships, everyday sexism, LGBTQIA+.

In addition, these topics are underpinned by our Sixth Form lecture program. The following topics have been covered by subject experts: teenagers and the law, teenage wellbeing and resilience, healthy relationships, pleasure traps and addictive behaviours, preparing for university as well as drawing upon popular speakers with compelling life stories.

In the Upper Sixth, students also complete a roundabout of nine topics which includes topics such as: pleasure traps, existential intelligence, staying mentally healthy beyond school, the body language workshop, meeting and persuading, food talk, shaping your leadership style and critical thinking beyond the classroom.

Our aim is that by the time Abingdonians leave school they have examined a broad range of topics and are equipped for life beyond school and have the capacity to think through problems whilst confident in the knowledge of who they are and the direction in which they want to go. In addition, the concept of wellbeing runs throughout the PDE program as we want to encourage pupils to have a good understanding of what positive wellbeing is and how they can look after their own mental fitness throughout life.

Finally, a number of aspects of PSHCE are also taught cross-curricularly throughout the school via weekly chapel services, both house and section assemblies, Biology lessons and Religious Studies. This is also underpinned in the School’s philosophy of the Other Half. Further information can be obtained by contacting the Reverend Paul Gooding, Head of Wellbeing [email protected].

Topics covered within the Personal Development Education Programme at Abingdon School

At Abingdon we want to encourage students to grow up to be respectful, kind and compassionate members of society.

In the Middle School the RSE topics are delivered by a broad range of teachers so that we can tackle topics in small groups of approximately 12 students. This makes for a really great group dynamic as issues can be explored sensitively in small groups. We aim to establish a safe learning environment.

In the Sixth Form we have a comprehensive lecture programme, with expert visiting speakers, together with a Personal Development Education programme with covers a range of topics from mental health and wellbeing to relationships and sex education. We are also very conscious that we are working in partnership with parents and carers on these topics and so we hold regular evening webinars for parents on topics such as:

“RSE with Dr Eleanor Draeger” an NHS Sexual Health Consultant
“Managing the teenager years” with senior member of our pastoral team

We actively encourage pupil voice and have an Equality Diversity and Inclusivity Committee which works on issues across the school. We carry out two in depth wellbeing surveys each year and we examine the results carefully and make adjustments to our pastoral programme as necessary.

The School is also currently rolling out Youth Mental Health First Aid 2 day training (Accredited by MHFA England) to all teaching and pastoral staff which will significantly help in delivering the overall personal development education offering to our student body.

Third year

In the Third Year we cover a range of topics in the RSE programme including: wellbeing, values and decision making, making positive friendships, the teenage brain, the importance of kindness, British Values, the Equality Act 2010, challenging discrimination, ageism, racism, mental health and disability discrimination.

We also focus on anti-bullying, including homophobia and transphobia and the importance of being an upstander not a bystander. We go on to explore love and commitment, marriage and relationships including civil partnerships together with parenting, menstrual wellbeing, the menopause and feminism. Finally, we look at pregnancy, choices, miscarriage and the law, together with reasons why people might wish to delay sex.

We supplement this programme with a series of lectures which typically include a talk based on a personal lived experience of the effect of alcohol and drugs as well as the risks of engaging with pornography. Our nurse team also delivers a talk covering personal hygiene, infection, dental care and oral hygiene.

In the Summer term we hold an RSE morning event, off timetable, which includes a powerful Loudmouth Theatre company production covering Child Drug Exploitation, Child Sexual Exploitation, sexual harassment and county lines. The school doctor also runs sessions on men’s health issues as well as sexual health. External registered nurses lead sessions on STIs, practical application of condoms and sexual consent.

Fourth Year

In the Fourth Year we cover various topics including: emotional wellbeing, managing stress and the mental health continuum. We look at depression and anxiety and how to help others. We examine modern masculinity through the lens of Grayson Perry’s work. We go on to look at radicalization, human rights and responsibilities as well as a large topic on how we navigate the online world including: digital footprints, online risks, gaming, security online and fraud, online streaming and vlogging. In the Summer term we look at sexual consent, sexual exploitation, abuse, grooming, rape, forced marriage, honour based violence, FGM, domestic abuse and sexual harassment. We also cover pornography, sexting and the law, body image and gambling.

Fifth Year

In the Fifth Year we have a health centre talk on chlamydia screening. We also look at healthy living and the impact of a poor diet and inactive lifestyle together with the dangers of drugs and substances.

Sixth Form

In the Sixth Form we cover many topics within our Mindsets programme, delivered in small groups of typically 9-10 students, and facilitated by tutors. These include RSE topics such as: wellbeing, love and relationships, LGBTQIA+, everyday sexism and sexual harassment.

This programme is reinforced by a comprehensive lecture programme. Recent talks include:

“Pornography” by Isla von Trich
“LGBTQIA+” by the actress Rebecca Root
“My life with HIV” by Emma Cole
“Wellbeing and university” by Dr Dominique Thompson
“Teenagers and the Law” given by a solicitor advocate
“Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing” by Natasha Devon MBE
“Pleasure traps and addictive behaviours” by Henry Barnes
“Wellbeing and Resilience” by James Shone

In addition the school runs annual themed events which pick up on various RSE themes such as:
Anti-bullying week, LGBTQIA+ History month, Mental Health awareness week, Safer Internet Week, International Men’s day and International Women’s day.

Telephone: 01235 849059
Duty mobile: 07748591057
[email protected]

Opening hours, term time:

• Monday to Friday 08:00 – 18:00
• Saturday 09:00 – 17:00

Our Health Centre is staffed by an experienced and caring team of health care professionals. Situated in Whitefield, they look after unwell or injured day students until their parents/carers are able to collect them; and our boarding community.

Health Centre
Whitefield
18 Park Crescent
Abingdon
OX14 1DD

Forms and guidelines:

• RFU guidelines for return to play following a concussion
• MenACWY vaccination