Exceptional Pastoral Care

Ensuring that our pupils remain fit and well while they are at School is of prime importance to us. If, however, a pupil becomes unwell, we provide round-the-clock medical care to ensure he or she receives the treatment and advice they need to feel better and ready to return to School life.

We have a Medical Centre on site, which is staffed by a team of senior nurses with the support of a local doctor’s surgery. There is someone either in the Medical Centre, or if there are no ‘in-patients’ overnight, the team are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We keep parents informed of any treatment needed by their child at any time.

For boarders Matron is often the first port of call in case of illness. She can also organise any dental or optician’s appointments, and arrange physiotherapy with a local physiotherapist, as needed.

Our Pastoral Centre, which adjoins the Medical Centre, is a place for quietness and the base for the School’s Mental Health Team (this includes two experienced Mental Health Workers and a School Counsellor who is a Clinical Psychologist by profession) and our Head of PSHE. Our pastoral curriculum and support systems integrate and flow seamlessly to promote mental wellbeing amongst our pupils. In our Tutorial Programme we revisit the concepts of physical and mental health regularly to deepen pupils’ understanding. For additional support, pupils who are in Form 3 and above can book an appointment themselves through the Oakham Start Page, whilst younger students can go through their House team.

Tutors play a vital role in providing individual attention for our pupils and delivering our excellent Tutorial Programme, which is delivered through timetabled sessions within the weekly timetable and supported by a wealth of materials provided by the Head of PSHE, which are tailored to the year group.

Each pupil has his or her own Tutor, who works closely with Housemasters/Housemistresses and parents to help their tutees fulfil personal goals, develop strategies to manage their busy lives and feel both academically and socially stimulated. Our small tutorial groups and regular tutorial meetings enable Tutors to get to know their tutees very well. Tutors often organise informal activities with their tutor groups, such as a meal out in a restaurant, a cinema visit or even paintballing, which prove very popular with pupils and help to strengthen the Tutor-tutee relationship further.

Our full-time Chaplain provides a variety of formal and informal support for the School community, whatever their faith, to ensure pupils and staff receive the spiritual support they need.

Our experienced team of catering staff care about giving pupils a balanced, nutritious diet. They understand children’s palates and enjoy finding new recipes to fit into their seasonal menus.

Pupils can choose from a wide selection of food at every mealtime, most of which is sourced locally. From breakfast, through to lunch, match teas, House snacks and then dinner, there’s always lots of choice. There is a sandwich bar, a pasta bar, a daily choice of different hot dishes, a salad bar, a daily hot vegetarian dish – the list goes on and on. Every effort is made to provide something for everyone.

We are mindful of pupils with different dietary requirements and are happy to accommodate their needs. The team know all of the students who have dietary requirements and personally look after them, just as they would be at home.