Foundations
One of the stories I have just written up for our new book (details below) is about a teacher who made a huge impact in the life of a student simply by being a brilliant form tutor. I say simply, but simple it is not. And not everyone understands that the role of the form tutor and pastoral care is incredibly crucial to the well being of the school. For me, after 34 years of teaching, and three headships, a school's pastoral care is it's foundation. The stronger the foundation, the more robust the academic output and growth can be. Sadly, this is not always understood and from time to time I have met teachers who see 'tutor time' as merely a registration period and not a golden opportunity to build relationships and provide unique support mechanisms.
I'm honoured to be in contact with most of my first tutor group from 1983. Check out my hair in the photo! It was role I loved in every school I taught in.
A bit like the celebrities who visit chat shows to talk about their new movie or TV drama, I'm not going to give lots away here (as you'll have to buy the book when it's out!), but in this story, the nominated teacher understands the role of the form tutor in the deepest sense and because of this sees that a particular member of his new tutor group has different needs. He recognises that the issues that present themselves need a different approach to the one stop sanction shop and builds the relationship to support this vulnerable student, who tells us that she could not imagine how she could have achieved her results without the brilliance of her form tutor.
But there is even more to it. Many many teachers go well beyond the call of duty, and pastorally this teacher did just that. His student became very ill and needed powerful treatment to save her life. All through this time he provided a rock solid support mechanism from the school, galvanising others to become part of it, not just for his student, but for her family too.
Our new book celebrates teachers who make a difference, teachers who change lives for the better. Every day teachers make a difference, but sometimes those differences are so great they are life changing in one fell swoop. The book will look specifically at teachers who have made huge impacts on the lives of their pupils and how they achieved that, also sharing the strategies and techniques they used.
Like many professions in the public domain, schools and teachers are far too often knocked by some newspapers and politicians. We want this book to shout loud thanks for every teacher and every member of school staff changing lives every day, past and present. The only currency we can offer you by way of reward is the fact that you will have an opportunity to say thank you to someone who transformed your life or someone else’s.
We’d love to hear from anyone if they have a story where a teacher (or member of support staff) has had such an impact it changed their life for the better. It could be you, or maybe you know someone it happened to. It could be that a teacher inspired someone to pursue a career or take on a challenge, or did something that had a life changing or even lifesaving outcome.
Please share this with your friends and family via any means possible.
Initially, we’d simply like you to tell us the story very briefly (just a few sentences) and then we will get in touch to gain the full details.
Please send your thoughts to [email protected]