Our central aim is to provide as rich a life as possible for every pupil, so that school fosters fulfilment, happiness and success; a preparation for life as a good adult in society. At Solihull School we provide emotional and spirtual support for our pupils in various ways, with PSHE lessons and presentations, Form Tutors, School Councils and peer mentoring. 

The Form Tutor

The Form Tutor is the central figure in a pupil’s life. He/she will see the pupils at least twice a day, at registration in the morning and in the afternoon, and there are on average three form periods during the week. The Form Tutor’s overall responsibility is to oversee the pupil’s academic progress and personal welfare. One small part of that will be checking the pupil’s planner to ensure that prep is being done, but a Form Tutor will also know his/her pupil in many different ways. He/she will be the clearing house for information from subject teachers, including Merits, Demerits and Commendations and he/she will contact parents if there are matters which need raising. It is important that parents should feel that the Form Tutor is the first person to contact, and parents should not be shy about doing so. In different sections of the school, Form Tutors will have different responsibilities. For example, a Fourth Form Tutor will guide a pupil in options choices, an Upper Fifth Form Tutor will guide a pupil in A Level subject choices, and Upper Sixth Tutor will guide a pupil in university choices, in the writing of his/her personal statement and write a pupil’s UCAS reference. In each case the Form Tutor will operate with the support of other specialists. If the Form Tutor has concerns about a pupil, he/she will raise these with the Head of Year or the Head of Section.

The Head of Year, Head of Section and Pastoral support manager

There is a Head of Year attached to each year. It is the Head of Year’s responsibility to oversee the progress of the whole year and support and guide Form Tutors with individual pupils and issues. The Heads of Section have overall responsibility for every aspect of the life of their sections, in academic, pastoral and organisational terms. They are involved in the more serious issues of discipline. They are the Head of the Lower School, Head of the Middle School, and Head of the Sixth Form, supported by Deputy Heads of Sixth Form. Heads of Section meet regularly with the Assistant Headteacher (Pastoral), in order to ensure continuity of approach across the school.

Other Means of Care and Support

This support system is only part of the care and support that the school is providing. In addition, there are other members of staff, pupils and networks who are here as part of the support system. The school's Wellbeing and Personal Development curriculum is also an instrumental part of our Pastoral support system. 

The Senior Nurse and School Nurse are responsible for the health of the pupils, but they also have a pastoral role and liaise closely with others in the pastoral care structure. The Nursing team is on duty from 08.30 am until 4.30 pm each school day. Anyone who is unwell is sent/taken to see them in the Surgery. They maintain records of treatment and notify form teachers when necessary. Only one of the Nursing team can send a pupil home for medical reasons and when a pupil is to be taken home, one of the Nurses will contact the parents. In the event of a pupil going to hospital, one of the Nurses or a member of staff will accompany the pupil and remain there until parents arrive. The Surgery is on the ground floor of School House and remains open throughout the school day.

We are also proud to offer wrap around counselling care to those in need. Post assessment, pupils are assigned to the most appropriate counsellor at which point one of three forms of counselling is administered;

• Person-centred
• Art therapy
• CBT

The Chaplain, Reverend Rachel Hill-Brown, is always willing to see pupils of whatever religious persuasion to offer advice and guidance.

The School Bench, the Middle School Bench and the Lower School Bench are pupils in each section who are given responsibility to assist with the running of the school. They are often the first to be aware of the difficulties of individual pupils, and they may be able to help, or to bring such situations to the attention of staff. There are regular, separate meetings of members of each group with the Headmaster and the head of the relevant section to discuss issues relating to each section of the school.

The Lower School, Middle School and Sixth Form Councils are bodies which involve a representative from each form. The meetings are organised and chaired by the elected Chairmen of each section and the agenda is based upon the concerns of the pupils. The Headmaster and the Head of the relevant sections attend these meetings.

Form Benchers, Sixth Form pupils who are not necessarily Benchers, are assigned to each form in the Lower and Middle School. The purpose is that they should be able to assist the Form Tutor with the running of the form, and develop close links with the pupils in the form. In this way they may be able to help with issues that a pupil may want to discuss, but not with a member of staff.

Sixth Form assist with the Junior School and Lower School Games on Friday afternoons and are increasingly involved in assemblies and musical events in the Junior School. All of this activity creates a greater sense of community within the school.