Pastoral Support
At Freebrough Academy we pride ourselves on providing a high standard of pastoral support to our students. Please click on the links below to find out more.
Small School Structure
The Academy is organised into four smaller schools, known as small schools which are named:
Please click on each school name above to visit the small school webpages
By structuring the Academy in this way we aim to:
- Provide a more human scale to what is a large establishment;
- Create an environment that is more akin to a close knit, but extended family;
- Provide real opportunities for positive social and learning communities to be developed;
- Ensure rigorous monitoring of progress;
- Provide opportunities for positive social interaction;
- Develop positive relationships between students, and between staff and learners.
Vertical Tutoring
Tutor periods are given over largely to mentoring sessions, and tutor groups are organised vertically to include students from each age range. This vertical mix enhances the consistency of pastoral care over the whole period of each students time at the Academy.
The vertical mix also helps to develop the social skills which are required to make a positive contribution to the Academy and the wider community. All age groups learn to collaborate effectively, developing team-working and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to relate to different age groups on an equal level, instead of a hierarchy established through same age groupings. At a later point in the development of the Academy, there will also be further exploration of the potential for vertical learning and teaching.
The key focus of the pastoral system is on the individual, to make sure that everyone is individually supported – socially, emotionally, behaviourally and morally. The system also ensures that challenging targets are set for all, a process which every learner is involved in.
The progress of each learner is tracked and monitored against challenging and aspirational targets, by the effective use of data. Learners will strive to achieve the highest attainment and this will be driven by a relentless focus on high quality learning, teaching and assessment.