On the
1st October 2021, a Webinar was conducted by The Doon School, Dehradun and Scindia Kanya Vidyalaya, Gwalior attended by the Dorm Incharges - Mrs Gulab Kanwar, Ms Durgesh Nandini, Ms Nirmal Inda, Ms Rosalind Vincent of RKKGPS.
The various responsibilities of Pastoral Care and the Standard Operating Procedures to be followed were talked about.
Participants were provided with information related to the role of tutors, house tutor system like maintaining records of the interaction with the child, counselling sessions, the art of delegation etc. Suggestions were provided to have minimum two interactions in a month with the parent of the tutee. These records needs to be maintained in a register and submitted to the Head Pastoral and the School Principal at the end of each month.
Topics discussed in the Webinar were :·
Counselling Session : Group and individual sessions should be organised to develop a good connect with students and communicating strong message in an interesting and entertaining way.
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Sharing information vs confidentiality : Information should not be suppressed or kept confidential. All concerned and directly related should be made aware. The Counsellor and the Housemate should work in close association and mutually share information.
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Documentation : System of taking written reports from all concerned (House Tutor, Class Teacher Matron, Counsellor and the Child). Give a chance to listen to each stakeholder’s perspective and take their recommendation before taking decisions of the consequence.
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Buddy System : The Buddy System is a procedure in which two individuals, the "buddies" operate together as a single unit so that they are able to monitor and help each other. It is also called Peer Mentors who help their peer cope up with academics.
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Housemate : Housemate's primary role involves pastoral care, physical mental, emotional and spiritual well-being and overall personality development of a student. The overall responsibility of the students staying in the house lies with her. Housemate plays a double role: a teacher/ mentor and a parent.
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Orientation of New Admissions : Orientation program is designed to help new admissions to know the school and its functioning better. They also are then able to explore the opportunities that the school provides and helps to create everlasting bonds.
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Dealing With Sensitive Issues : Prefer to stay calm and quiet when you are angry. Take an extreme decision alone. Involve opinions of all concerned. Involve students in decision making. Talk to parents about extreme consequences of the matter.
· Helicopter Parenting : Helicopter parents are parents who pay extremely close attention to the kid’s activities and school work in an effort to protect them from pain and disappointment. Helicopter parents are known to hover over their children and become overly involved in their lives. The webinar also gave a useful knowledge on how to organize and maintain different kinds of documentation systematically. The webinar was a very instructive refresher course, highlighting the best present-day practices to be incorporated in pastoral care.
