Being a Form Tutor

The Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School Training School

BEING A FORM TUTOR

Teachers’ Standards Q 1, 2,,4, 5, 18, 32 C 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 18, 20 P 1, 6, 9, 10 E 14 A 2

Please consult Training School website for CPD support materials and other useful booklets www.bhbs.hereford.sch.uk

Carol Rushton, Assistant Headteacher The Bishop of Hereford’s Bluecoat School, Training School, Tupsley, Hereford, HR1 1UU Tel: 01432 347529, Fax: 01432 347566, e-mail: [email protected] BEING A FORM TUTOR

The purpose of the school’s pastoral system is to provide for the care and educational welfare of individual pupils. Your task as Form Tutor must be seen in relation to the policies and attitudes of the school as a whole. (See STAFF HANDBOOK ‘ROLE OF THE FORM TUTOR’).

Being a form tutor has, in some respects, elements of friendship and parenthood BUT DO AVOID OVER-FAMILARITY – YOURS IS A PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP. Professional distance is necessary at all times.

TUTORIAL TIME

This time can be both valuable and useful. It needs to be planned in the same way a lesson in, so that it is never a waiting period for the next lesson.

INTERVIEWING PUPILS

It can be useful to informally ‘interview’ each member of your tutor group maybe twice a year. If the word ‘interview’ sounds ominous, then the activity may be more conveniently referred to as a ‘personal chat’ about school progress, academic interests, vocational leanings etc. Information gathered can be most useful when writing Form Tutor Reports.

If a problem presents itself, take care not to make a difficult situation worse. IF IN DOUBT, REMAIN ALOOF AND SEEK FURTHER EXPERTISE (Head of House).

USING FORM PREFECTS

Use them wisely and some of your time can be ‘freed up’. Reward them for their efforts.

CONFIDENTIALITY

You owe no general duty of confidentiality to a pupil, because this might conflict with your professional obligations to parents and to staff colleagues as well as with any wider public or professional duty. If approached by a child who asks,

“May I talk to you about something?”

“Yes of course” you reply, how can you be of help? The child goes on to enquire.

“If I tell you about something, will you promise not to tell anyone else?”

THERE IS ONLY ONE POSSIBLE REPLY TO SUCH A REQUEST. “That is not a promise a teacher can ever give. You must leave it to me to decide if anyone else ought to be told about it. I can promise that I will do my best to help you”.

NEVER ALLOW PUPILS TO THINK THAT THEY CAN BIND YOU TO ABSOLUTE CONFIDENTIALITY.

SOCIAL EDUCATION

In your daily contact with your form, do try to encourage the development of personal character and a sense of responsibility. Try to arouse interest and pride in the form, the house, in the school itself and the community at large.

TUTORIAL TIME

 Set an example to the pupils by your own punctuality and be present in the form room BEFORE pupils arrive. Remain in your room throughout tutorial period.

 Be strict when taking register ‘Quiet, legal document’.

 Check receipt of absence notes and file them.

 Inspect homework notebooks weekly – do not sign if there are gaps and ‘NO HOMEWORK’ written.

 Do ‘equipment’ checks – pen, ruler, etc.

 Ensure all administrative announcements are properly given. Comment encouragingly on appearance of pupils and check school’s policy on uniform is being followed. Comment privately on pupils improperly dressed.

 Form worship – ideas are circulated but teachers all have a special way of enjoying a quiet, reflective time with pupils or a lively discussion group. The important factors are that pupils should grow spiritually and learn to respect the views of others through guided discussion.

RECORDS FOR YOUR OWN USE

Some teachers use a section of their markbook to tabulate notes about pupils’ progress, concerns, achievements, etc. These are valuable for when you are writing reports later. DISCUSSION / OBSERVATIONS

ACTIVITIES FOR MENTEES

STUDYING THE ROLE OF A TUTOR (See Staff Handbook).

1. From your observation and discussion with an experienced form tutor, write a job description of the tutor’s role, i.e. list all the things they do.

2. Observe closely a significant incident or interaction – perhaps when conflict arises or when the tutor is sorting out a problem.

PASTORAL CARE

As a form tutor, you could at any time find yourself faced with one of the following situations. Consider each and think how you would deal with it. Discuss with your mentor.

1. A parent sends you a letter asking you to talk to her daughter who is miserable and uncooperative at home.

2. A member of your tutor group tells you they have stolen money from a relative.

3. A pupil in your tutor group asks if he can talk to you in confidence. He tells you he won’t tell you if you don’t assure him you won’t pass it on!

4. You half hear a conversation about drugs in one corner of your tutor group.

5. One of your pupils is late every morning – you speak to him/her and there is no improvement.

6. At the end of the school day a pupil runs back to the form room crying. He has been picked on by older pupils and had to give them money – no bus fare now, can’t get home!

7. You notice that a girl in your tutor group smells of body odour and her hair and cloths are dirty.

8. One of the girls in your form says she thinks she is pregnant. She is reluctant to go to the doctor or have a pregnancy test. She can’t tell anyone at home.

9. A pupil tells you that a teacher is picking on him/her.

10.A pupil tells you that father beats mother but he/she is too scared to do anything. Mother has sworn him/her to secrecy. NOTES MADE FROM DISCUSSION

Possible Action

10. SOME TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION

IN FORM TUTORIALS

Especially Suitable For New Pupils

It is of course useless to bombard new pupils with a mass of information on their first day. Constant repetition is needed during the whole of the year. Indeed some of these topics will need to be repeated with not-so-new pupils. The list is not in any sense exhaustive.

 The school: Its name History Facilities Future developments.

 Domestic arrangements. Cloakrooms Lunch arrangements

 Lesson times: Movement between lessons Conduct in corridors etc

 Requirements for and care of books and equipment.

 Personal property: Lost property Owner’s responsibilities for labelling and caring for property

 An orderly approach to the school day. Some children come from disorganised homes and need training, need for drill and repetition to establish routines.

 How to address a teacher.

 The Classroom Code.

 Tour of the School.

 The staff. Who to approach if there is a problem.

 School uniform.

 Absence and excuse notes. What to do when unwell.

 Leaving school at the end of the day.

 Good manners.

 Litter.  Clubs and out-of-school activities.  Differences in behaviour, work and attitudes between primary and secondary school.

 The non-teaching staff. (Who is the caretaker? When should you go to the school office?)

 When and how to telephone the school, use of mobile telephones.

 Safety in school.

 Conduct in and out of school.

 Homework.

 Helping others. Who needs help?

 Fire drill.

Possible Topics for Other Year Groups

 Many of those listed above.

 The local environment.

 Conduct out of school – behaviour at different ages.

 Pocket money. Leisure – how to us it.

 Assessment of work.

 How to fill in an official form.

 Charitable activities.

 Vandalism – why? Who pays?

 Careers. Simulated interviews. Writing an application.

 Fashion in dress. Mentoring Trainee Teachers and Newly Qualified Teachers in the Role of the Form Tutor

Trainee Teachers

Work alongside Form Tutor to gain experience e.g. register taking. Observe – collaborative work – practise under supervision of Form Tutor

Useful activities to undertake with trainee

 Completing the register  Helping with assemblies  Attending House Staff Meetings  Welcoming new pupils  Supporting individual pupils  Giving out notices  Checking planners  Helping with routine administration matters  School Show (Autumn) arrangements

During PGCE workshops, trainees explore the role of the Form Tutor and how to deal with this aspect of teacher’s work to facilitate a positive approach to pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

At the end of each term, the Form Tutor will be asked to write a short report on the trainee (Appendix 1). All workshops for trainees are on the Training School website.

Work alongside Form Tutor or take a tutor group under the close supervision of a more experienced Form Tutor/Head of House/member of SLT.

During Induction Days (before term begins) the Pastoral System is explored. An early NQT workshop further explores the role of the Form Tutor and important aspects of classroom management. There should be careful support monitoring of such things as:

 Punctuality a.m. and p.m.  Keeping boundaries with pupils  Use of tutorial time  Register taking and record keeping  Checking planners Appendix 1 The Bishop of Hereford's Bluecoat School Training School

REPORT FROM TUTOR FOR WORK WITH TUTOR GROUP

Name of Trainee/NQT Date:

Form: Form Tutor:

PROGRESS REPORT

Tasks Carried Out

Relationship with Pupils

Involvement in Tutorial Activities

Attitude to Tutorial

Degree of Initiative Used

Signed: Date: ______

(copies to Mentor, Training Manager and Trainee for PDP) Appendix 2

Top Tips for Tutoring to Explore with PGCE Trainee/NQT

 Value traits such as punctuality and preparedness for the school day. Lead by example.

 Trust is important in tutor groups. One way of developing this is to show that you are scrupulously fair in your dealings with each member of your group. Develop approachability, although this needs to be on your terms.

 Remember your sense of humour when dealing with your tutor group. You may well be together for several years, so the more you can get on in a light-hearted way, the better.

 Celebrate key moments in your tutees’ lives, such as achievements, successes and birthdays.

 Be open about the strengths and weaknesses of the group and jointly consider strategies for improvement.

 Never be drawn into gossiping about other members of staff with your tutor group.

 Use your tutor group as a way of finding out what’s really going on in the school from the students’ perspective.

 Use tutorial time as a way of instilling social niceties. Teach them to express gratitude, for example, when teachers make an effort beyond the call of duty, such as running an extra-curricular activity or club. In fact, expressing gratitude at the end of a lesson will always go down well with other teachers.

 Prepare for tutorial periods as you would prepare for a lesson.

 Discuss a ‘thought for the day’ or ‘thought for the week’ with your tutor group. Take an inspirational quotation (a search on the internet will reveal many quotations sites from which to draw ideas) and discuss its meaning and implications as a group. This needs only take a moment or two but the impact can be profound.