Pastoral Care

We believe that for a boy to learn he must be happy and we have several tiers of pastoral care to ensure that the needs of all boys in our school are fulfilled. The Assistant Head (Pastoral) has overall responsibility for the pastoral care and safeguarding in the Prep School and oversees a team of Heads of Year – one for each year group – who have responsibility for both the academic and pastoral needs of the boys in their year group. Each Head of Year also has responsibility for managing the Tutors in their year group.

For any query about a pastoral or academic concern, your son’s Tutor should be the first point of contact. Please be assured that they will work hard to ensure that your son settles in quickly and successfully. We encourage parents to contact their son’s Tutor by email if they have any concerns about their son that they may wish to share with them. Your son’s Head of Year will also be an important point of contact.

Tutor Groups

For the first two years the class teacher (referred to as a Tutor) takes the major responsibility for subject teaching and then, as the boys move up the school, greater specialisation is introduced.

As boys move into Year 5 the academic and pastoral organisation changes. Each boy is allocated to a form with a Pastoral Tutor who teaches their form for at least one subject. Boys have a form base but move around the school to specialist areas for lessons and are taught by subject specialists. This pastoral system continues until Year 8 when boys are encouraged to become increasingly independent in their learning.

The curriculum continues to be broad, with expectations increasing in terms of assessment and homework. In Year 5, boys are grouped by ability for the first time in maths. This is based on measures of underlying ability. Boys are assessed regularly through the year by means of end of unit tests in the majority of subjects. From Year 6 to Year 8 boys are also grouped by ability in other subjects based on measures of underlying ability and performance in assessments.

The Houses

On joining the Prep School, your son will be allocated to one of four houses: Bunyan, Harpur, Howard or Whitbread. Each house includes boys of all ages and seven members of staff, including the Housemaster.

A house assembly takes place weekly. Inter-house competitions are organised across the age range and in as many fields as possible, and all boys are given the opportunity to contribute points for their house.

Academic Staff

A full list of academic staff in the Prep School can be found in the parents’ section on the school website. (www.bedfordschool.org.uk/about-us/our-staff/ prep-school-staff )

School Rules

Copies of all school policies, including the school rules, can be found in the parents’ section on the school website.

We would be grateful if you could draw your son’s attention to the following policies: ‘School Rules’ and ‘Mobile Phones and Other Digital Technology’.

The Chapel

The school welcomes all faiths. Its foundation is nevertheless rooted in the Christian tradition and the Chapel plays an important part in the life of the school community, symbolising Bedfordians past and present, and providing a daily reminder of life’s spiritual dimension.

Families are always welcome to join us for Sunday Services in the Chapel. Details of services can be found on the Chapel page on the website.

The school Chaplain, Mr McCleery, is available throughout the school term and during much of the holidays, and provides pastoral counselling and support to any member of the school community.

Medical Centre

The school has a professionally staffed and equipped medical centre which offers all boys a kind, confidential and professional service. They deliver a high standard of nursing care: aiming to treat every pupil holistically, looking at their social, psychological and physical needs. The medical centre has a treatment room and a quiet seating area.

Medical Questionnaires

Medical questionnaires are completed before admission to the school. The school nurse will check these and identify any health issues. If necessary, a care plan is written in consultation with you and your son. It is essential that your son’s medical questionnaire is completed and emailed to nurse@ bedfordschool.org.uk by Monday 12 June. We may be unable to allow your son to start with us if this form has not been completed in full and returned to the school.

You will also be asked to regularly update your son’s medical information during his time at the school to ensure that his medical record remains accurate.

EU Medical Cards

Boys from within the European Union (EU) should bring their medical card with them at the start of each term.

Medicines

Short-term prescribed medication (e.g. antibiotics) prescribed to day boys by their GP that requires a school-time dose must be handed into the medical centre in the original container displaying clear instructions. In addition, a letter from a parent giving permission for school staff to give this dose is required. The nurses at the medical centre can be contacted on +44 (0)1234 362261 or email: nurse@ bedfordschool.org.uk.

Further information on the giving of medicines to day boys can be viewed at bit.ly/medical-2023. We would ask that you refer to this guide for detailed information and instructions.

Staff at the Medical Centre y Jill Turner-Webb, Lead Nurse y Trish Comerford, School Nurse (part time) y Karen Henry, School Nurse (part time) y Holly Clifton, School Nurse (part time) y Claire Collins, School Nurse (part time) y Kerry Spearing, Administrator (part time)

The nursing team are available during term time from 08:15 to 17:30, Monday to Saturday.

The school Medical Officers are local GPs from the De Parys Group. They are available in school each Tuesday and Thursday between 10:30 and 11:30.

Counselling at Bedford School

The school has a long established counselling service. All boys are free to visit and talk to a school counsellor in complete confidence for help and support during difficult times. Boys can seek help and advice on a wide range of issues.

Counsellors are available at school during term time:

Monday 12:00 - 15:00

Tuesday 15:00 - 17:00

Wednesday 12:00 - 14:00

Thursday 12:00 - 17:00

Friday 12:00 - 14:00

Appointments can be made by emailing counsellor@ bedfordschool.org.uk, by calling +44 (0)1234 362248 or through the school medical centre: +44 (0)1234 362261.

Communication between parents, boys and staff, both formally and informally, is valued and is seen as integral to each boy’s success at the school.

We encourage you to develop a strong relationship with your son’s Tutor, and to get in touch with any concerns, queries and, importantly, successes both in and out of school. Your son’s Head of Year will also be available as the next point of contact.

Your Son’s Tutor

Your son’s Tutor is your first point of contact at the school. They will be in contact with you by phone or email at least once each half term to update you on your son’s progress, and are happy to discuss any queries or concerns you may have.

How we stay in touch

School Website

The parents’ pages of the school website host a wealth of useful information including notices, school policies, term dates, the school calendar, parent letters, as well as links to our dedicated sports website and the secure parent portal.

You will also find a link to view a video that guides you through the content available on these pages.

www.bedfordschool.org.uk/portals/parents/home www.bedfordschool.org.uk/portals/pupils/home

The pupils’ pages of the school website include a similar selection of information tailored to their needs.

Secure Parent and Pupil Portals

We offer parents and boys online access to a variety of information via our secure parent and pupil portals. These portals are real time and cover such areas as reports, rewards and conduct, timetables, activities, exam results and detentions. We will write to you shortly before the start of term with details on how to self-register for the secure parent portal. Boys are automatically granted access to the pupil portal through their school network account.

Sports Website

Our dedicated sports website holds details of all our fixtures and results as well as team sheets and useful directions for away fixtures: www.bedfordprepsport.org.uk

To access the team sheets, please use the password: deparysav

A web app is also available for the sports website. Instructions on how to add the web app to a mobile phone can be found on the school website at www.bedfordschool.org.uk/portals/parents/ sports-fixtures-results

Bulletins and Emails

We send parents regular emails and newsletters, to ensure that you have all the information that you need for your son as well as news about the wider school community.

Each week during term time, we send a newsletter called The Week, which provides a round-up of the week’s top stories and the Prep Bulletin, which contains all the key information for the week ahead.

Social Media

Regular news stories and updates are posted on the school’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn pages, as well as the school website. We also post regularly on WeChat.

We advise that Prep parents follow BPSTravelInfo (@TravelBPS) on Twitter for details of any delays in trips or fixtures returning to school.

Classlist

Towards the end of the summer you will be invited by the Prep Parents’ Guild to join Classlist, which is a private social networking site specifically for parents and guardians of Bedford School to keep in touch with each other.

Once you have received the invitation from school, all you have to do is download the Classlist app on your phone or visit the website www.classlist.com and search for Bedford Prep School. Then it is just a case of following the very straightforward joining instructions.

Once you have signed up, you can use Classlist to talk to other parents, find out about the Prep Guild and the activities they’ve got planned, join (or even set up) special interest groups, discuss arrangements for parties and lift-shares, and even find a home for an old bicycle. It’s simple to use and we hope will help to introduce you to even more of our fantastic parent community.

If you do have any queries about Classlist, please contact the Prep Parents’ Guild at prepguild@ bedfordschool.org.uk

Reporting Illness, Leave of Absence and Early Departures

We ask that parents advise us of any required absence from school.

Reporting Illness

If your son is unable to attend school due to illness or injury, we ask that you notify us by completing the ‘Absence - Notification of Illness’ form, which can be found in the forms section on the secure parent portal. You can also call Prep Reception on +44 (0)1234 362274 in emergencies. It is very helpful if you can let us know before 08:45 so that we can notify all necessary staff of your son’s absence.

Leave of Absence

Any requests for leave of absence (with the exception of medical appointments – see below) should be made using the ‘Absence – Request for Exceptional Circumstances’ form, which can also be found in the forms section on the secure parent portal. Your form will be received by the Headmaster and your son’s Tutor.

Medical Leave of Absence

If your son needs to come into school late or leave during school hours for a doctor, dentist or hospital appointment, we ask that you complete the ‘Absence

– Medical Appointment’ form in the forms section on the secure parent portal. This form will automatically inform Prep Reception and your son’s Tutor of the appointment.