Introduction
A high quality of Pastoral Care is central to our ethos at St Christopher’s; it underpins everything that we do and along with a high quality of teaching and learning, it is what our community is all about. We work closely with families to unravel any difficulties, which allows us to work together in the best interest of the child.
Pupils demonstrate an excellent appreciation of spiritual and non-material aspects of their lives. Pupils have a good understanding that the decisions they make are important determinants of their success and wellbeing. Pupils have an excellent understanding of how to stay safe, both physically and mentally, supported by an effective curriculum.” Independent Schools Inspectorate Inspection report 2023
“St Christopher’s School and Nursery ethos is ‘bridging the gap between home and the wider world’ and from our experience this is exactly what St Christopher’s School and Nursery delivers and more. Every single member of the St Christopher’s School and Nursery team is very kind, understanding and empathetic.” Reception parent 2021
Houses
St Christopher’s is enhanced by a traditional House system. This provides four smaller units for pupils to enjoy a sense of belonging and support in addition to experiencing the thrill of competition. We have chosen children’s authors as our Houses and at the beginning of every term the whole school head into their House to hear a chapter by their House author and hear about a range of exciting ways to earn Housepoints.
| AHLBERG | Green |
| DAHL | Yellow |
| DONALDSON | Blue |
| KEMP | Red |
We have received a visit from Anna Kemp who enjoyed reading her book ‘Dogs don’t do ballet’ to the children and we receive cards and letters from Allan Ahlberg and Julia Donaldson. Occasionally we have a House Day to coincide with our annual celebrations of World Book Day.
Read more about our House system
We place great emphasis on pastoral care, understanding that children learn best when their emotional needs are met. Pupils are encouraged to mentor children within their respective houses, and once a pupil is assigned to a house, younger siblings automatically become members of that house. A structured reward system motivates children, they enjoy receiving house points for their behaviour, academic endeavours and sporting achievements. These points are totalled up for weekly and celebrated at our weekly merits assemblies.
Inter-house competitions are a popular way to encourage collaboration and celebrate team achievements. Our annual inter-house sports day in July is a highlight of the year, along with other example such as our inter-house thinking skills day and House Charity Day.
The appointment of House Captains rewards talent or good behaviour, and these pupils take their positions of responsibility seriously. House Captains collect the Housepoints from each classroom on a weekly basis.
Blue Bench
Play times are only enjoyable when everyone is having a good time. ‘When I’m feeling blue, all I have to do…’ is a line from a well-known song and we use it at St Christopher’s to discuss the meaning and value of our bright blue bench situated in the playground. If a child is feeling lonely or ‘blue’ all the children have to do is to go and sit on the bench and they are promptly swept up and involved in a game by the Blue Bench Monitors, two children especially chosen from Year 2 for their caring, friendly qualities. This is a very successful initiative even though some children just pausing to catch their breath during playtime are lovingly swept along and invited to join a game.
Parent Workshops
We hold workshop evenings and discussion evenings for different year groups each year during which we communicate more about our approach to a range of issues so that we can all work together to ensure that the home, school, child triangle is working well.
