Wellbeing
Pastoral care and wellbeing are at the centre of everything we do at Loretto. Each child is a member of a House where they are supported by a specialist pastoral team. This is led by a Housemaster or Housemistress. House spirit is very strong and the children really enjoy making new friendships and being a member of our wider community.
Our ethos, to promote Mind, Body and Spirit, allows children to develop new skills and engage in challenges which stretch them beyond their comfort zone and allow them to realise their ambitions.
“The family welcome and inclusion in the school campus was excellent. From admissions to meeting the head, other parents, house staff, tutors, teachers and coaches. Loretto seems to embrace the pupil in the entire community, teaching my child extraordinary values with thoughtful confidence way beyond the classroom.”
Senior School parent
Teenage life is busy and like all children, a great deal of their learning goes on outside the classroom. At Loretto, pupils have a strong network of support including their Tutor, our Chaplain and a fully staffed Health and Wellbeing Centre.
The Chaplaincy at Loretto has an important and visible role, setting the moral and spiritual compass of the community and nurturing a sense of belonging within the framework of mind, body and spirit.
At the heart of the pastoral life of the school.
The Chaplain is a senior pastoral figure within the school, embedded in the ‘chain of command’ for pastoral issues and available for pupils to speak to in an official capacity.
- The Chaplain himself is always available for pupils to chat to about any issues, great or small. There are weekly Chaplaincy ‘drop-in’ sessions that take place on a Saturday morning. These can be booked anonymously using the QR codes located on posters throughout the school.
- Alternatively, pupils can catch the Chaplain around school for a more informal conversation.
- The Chaplain also visits each boarding house at least once per half term.
- The Chapel Clerks also act as peer supporters, and can always be approached as a first port of call.
Our Chaplain
Mr J. Edward Barker
MA (Hons) MEd MSc FRSA PGCE
Chaplain, Head of History and Politics
Ed read History at St Andrews University and then joined the British Army via Sandhurst. He served in the Royal Dragoon Guards from 2009-2013, which included two tours of duty in Afghanistan.
He has a PGCE and MEd from the college of Peterhouse, University of Cambridge and an MSc in Scottish History from the University of Edinburgh. Ed also undertook a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from Harvard University. He has a Certificate in Theology and a Diploma in Christian Studies from the Edinburgh Theological Seminary. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2018.
As Chaplain, Ed leads the weekly worship, runs the Scripture Union and is a pastoral presence for all the students. As part of this, he spends one evening a week in a boarding house, visiting each one on rotation. He is currently training to be ordained as a Baptist minister. Ed is also a CCF officer and a 6th Form tutor. Originally from the Yorkshire Dales, Ed now lives in Musselburgh with his wife Ashley and their two sons. He enjoys church, karate and politics, but not at the same time.
A Chaplaincy that is Bible-based, school-oriented and chapel-centred.
The most visible role of the chaplaincy is that of leading the weekly chapel services. Our beautiful chapel is a building that is intended to be the heart of the school; the one place where the entire community gather weekly in one place. It is where we learn the foundations of Christian morality, as well as the school spirit and ethos.
- There are weekly chapel services for the whole school, as well as special stand-alone services for Remembrance, Harvest Festival, Christmas, Easter, and Leavers.
- Sermons are meaningful to the school community by being age-appropriate, relevant to events that resonate with Loretto pupils and carrying a message that is Bible-based, but accessible and applicable to all.
- Several times a term there is visiting preacher. These are usually either a representative of a different Christian denomination (with a focus on explaining what they believe and why) or an inspirational character who happens to be a Christian (with an emphasis on how their faith enabled them to do amazing things).
- Prayers and readings are read by a rotation of year groups and staff, in order to maximise participation. Prayers are said for the issues facing the world, but also for the life of the school (sports matches, exams, etc).
- There is strong singing, as is the Loretto tradition. Once a week there is whole school singing practice.
- The Chaplain is supported by a team of Chapel Clerks, who participate in the running of the services. This is an Upper Sixth position of responsibility.
Our Life Skills program aims to connect our pupils with expert speakers, prepare for navigating life after School and arm them with the tool kit required to deal with the day-to-day challenges and dilemmas faced by modern teenagers. As pupils grow through each stage at Loretto we build on the skills they will need to be successful adults. We have recently also run a number of sessions for our parents which have been informative and well-received.
Our Life Skills and Personal, Social, Health and Economic (PSHE) is a planned programme of learning through which pupils acquire additional knowledge, understanding and skills they need in order to manage their lives. As part of a whole school approach, Life Skills and PSHE develops the qualities and attributes pupils need to thrive as individuals, family members and members of society.
Life Skills is programmed into the academic weekly timetable. During these sessions external organisations and speakers are often brought in to ensure that the pupils are receiving up-to-date and relevant information on alcohol, drugs, internet safety and sex education from experts in their field. The classroom lessons of the Life Skills programme are predominantly led by academic members of staff, using resources taken from the relevant expert organisations to ensure students are receiving unbiased information drawing on accepted best practice.
Life Skills and PSHE education at Loretto do not exist in isolation; the relationship between Life Skills and PSHE provision and the whole school ethos of “Mind, Body, and Spirit” is hugely important. In addition to the person health and wellbeing elements, students will follow schemes of lessons on genuine skills for life, such as: financial awareness, First Aid, political participation, understanding Artificial Intelligence, academic study skills, interview skills, workplace conduct and public speaking.
Life Skills and the PSHE programme
The programme covers the core subjects below and whilst there is a scheme of work for the year it is important that we remain fluid and can be reactive to any external influences and significant external events.
Health and Wellbeing
- Managing physical, mental and emotional health
- Making informed choices about health and wellbeing matters including drugs, alcohol, tobacco and vapes, emotional and sexual health
- Identify different influences on health and well being
- How to access and manage risks to health and to keep yourself and others safe
- Managing risks to physical and emotional health and wellbeing
- Keeping yourself safe online, bullying, sexting and managing online encounters and where to identify and access appropriate advice and support
- The role and influence of the media on lifestyle • Sexual health is included within Health and Wellbeing and importantly is also covered within the context of healthy relationships
Relationships
- Develop and maintain a variety of relationships within a range of social and cultural content
- Recognise and manage emotions within a range of relationships
- Recognise risky or negative relationships, including all forms of bullying and abuse
- Respect equality and diversity in relationships
- Respect equality and become a productive member of a diverse community
- Sexual Health within healthy relationship and living in the wider world
- Respect for the self and others and the importance of responsible behaviours and actions
- How to make informed choices and be enterprising and ambitious
- To respect equality and to be a productive member of a diverse community
- Where money comes from, keeping it safe and the importance of managing it effectively
- How personal financial choices can affect oneself and others and about rights and responsibilities as consumers
- Public Speaking
Our Sexual Health and Relationships Education is appropriate for 2nd to 6th Forms, and will be covered at various points during the year. If you do not want your child to take part in these sessions then please inform Mrs Bonner, Deputy Head (Pastoral), mbonner@loretto.com
Loretto School takes a holistic approach to wellbeing, supporting and promoting both the good physical and mental health of those in our care.
If you child requires any help or advice they are to contact their tutor who will advise them with the best course of action.
The Team
- Mrs Hazel Howat – Health and Wellbeing Centre Manager and Nurse
- Mrs Esther Cunningham – Health and Wellbeing Centre Nurse
- Mrs Lorna Bruce – Health and Wellbeing Centre Nurse
Loretto Health and Wellbeing Centre is located within Schoolhouse and is open Monday – Saturday 8am – 6pm.
The Centre consists of two consulting rooms, a quiet room and two four-bedded rooms. It is staffed by a team of three Registered Nurses with experience in a wide range of specialities including: –
- Sports injuries
- Paediatrics
- Neurosurgery
- Orthopaedics
The Health and Wellbeing Centre is an integral part of a student’s life at school. The health of our students is paramount to their wellbeing and overall success at School, allowing them to achieve their full potential in all aspects of school life.
Emphasis is placed on health education and health promotion, and students are encouraged to learn to identify and take responsibility for their own health care needs.
The nurses work closely with Housemasters and Housemistresses to ensure that a student’s physical, mental and emotional needs are identified and met, and we report back to senior pastoral staff if there are any areas of specific concern.
Boarding students are registered with a local medical practice and a Doctor holds weekly surgeries in the Health and Wellbeing Centre.
The work of the nurses is underpinned by robust policies and procedures, including safeguarding and confidentiality where appropriate.
Services
Some of the services provided:
- Minor injuries clinic
- Eating disorder advice
- Sexual Health advice
- Access to Physiotherapy services
- Emotional wellbeing
- Listening
- Access to GP services
- Referrals to external Counsellors
- Access to Podiatry services
- Off games assessment
- Travel advice
- Vaccination and Immunisation advice Health Promotion
Should you or your child need to contact the Loretto Health and Wellbeing Centre, you can do so by emailing medcentre@loretto.com