Secondary Pastoral JAWS. pg

Secondary Pastoral JAWS Jerudong International School, Brunei

Jerudong International School hosted the 2015 Secondary Pastoral JAWS for forty-nine pastoral leaders interested in discussing the unique issues concerning the welfare of students attending international schools throughout South-East Asia. The largest such JAWS event ever held at the school. An extremely experienced and talented visiting cohort of seventeen staff added to the school’s own pastoral compliment for a fascinating and extremely beneficial mixture of presentations, workshops and discussion forums concerning a range of important issues.

Across the Friday and Saturday two concurrent strands offered a wide range of options for those attending. Each morning began with some inspiring experiences specifically focusing on the importance of team-building and the possibilities of coaching to help students reach their maximum potential by resident motivation guru Ralph Morel. Further engrossing sessions continued on the first day on the topics of PSHE, Boarding, when and how to target intervention, tips on raising achievement, child protection and the role of senior management within the pastoral system. The second day brought yet more fascinating insight into the pastoral perils of the modern world amid the rising need for cyber-safety in schools, how to introduce and build a pastoral system, how to create leaders, building pastoral initiatives into the school calendar and lastly a specific focus on overseeing middle years/KS3 provision in international schools.

All those attending were passionate about establishing the best possible conditions for students, incorporating the myriad of backgrounds that make up the students of an international school. Thought-provoking and deeply fascinating discussions concerning the respective similarities and differences, enabled all present to further embed close relationships amongst the schools present and this will hopefully lead to more fruitful cooperation in the future.

Richard Humes, Deputy Principal Jerudong International School