Pastoral Care













At Cobham Free School we believe that every child has the right to learn within a happy, supportive and safe environment. We aim to instil self-confidence in all pupils, whatever their abilities and help them to fulfil their potential through furthering self-belief and nurturing the child’s natural desire to learn. We see it as important to develop a sense of community and to teach pupils to have empathy and respect for people from all backgrounds. 

Our pastoral structure has been designed to assist pupils in their transition as they move through the school phases and ensure each individual gets the support they require to achieve their potential. In the relatively short time since opening, Cobham Free School has already built a reputation for offering excellent pastoral care to all pupils. The school has developed robust, age appropriate systems to ensure the needs of each pupil are met as they progress up through the phases. Our strategies include:

Small Classes

Our commitment to smaller than average class sizes means that all pupils can have more time with their teacher and feel a valued part of the CFS community. We regard each child as an individual, with talents and interests which should be identified and given the opportunity to develop. 

Uniform

CFS has high expectations for the appearance of pupils and the school rules regarding hair, jewellery and makeup must be adhered to at all times. The school has a distinctive, smart and high quality uniform which should be worn correctly and with pride. We believe that smart appearance promotes self-respect and helps equip pupils for expectations in the professional workplace.

SEND

The school has a well-qualified SEND team who help teachers identify specific needs which may impact on the learning and welfare of the pupils. The SEND team work with their colleagues, parents, carers and outside agencies to ensure each child receives the correct level of support to help them achieve their potential.

Mental Health

Our pupils’ well-being is important to us; we have a pastoral manager leading on mental health issues and a trained emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA) on our staff team.  We have also engaged a school counsellor to work with pupils who may benefit from this service.


Safeguarding 

All staff working in school (including teachers, office staff, governors and facilities team) are fully trained on ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education 2021’ and ‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018’.


We have a Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for each site, a number of deputy DSLs on both sites, and a trained social worker based at the main site.

Further information on the Safeguarding and Mental Health page >.

E-Safety Awareness

We are fortunate that all our pupils have access to their own Chromebook computer while at CFS and that our Google platform has opened up a whole world for exploration. However, with these freedoms come certain risks, and we are mindful that children need to be equipped with skills to help them use the internet in a safe way. We offer sessions for parents, staff and pupils to raise awareness of e-safety issues and to educate on how risks may be mitigated. 

Behaviour Expectations

We have very high expectations with regards to pupil behaviour. We aim to achieve a calm learning environment which allows all pupils to concentrate on their studies and enjoy their time at school. 

Our sanctions and rewards policies are age appropriate and implemented rigorously.

Use of mobile phones by pupils is strictly prohibited during formal school hours. 

See Policies & Documents for further information on our junior and senior behaviour policies.

Attendance

Attendance is carefully monitored at CFS. Pupils with poor attendance miss vital parts of their learning, which has an adverse impact on educational outcomes. We use a number of strategies to help promote attendance, including rewards for those pupils with evidence of an excellent attendance record.

Young Carers

At Cobham Free School, we recognise that some of our students may be Young Carers and we are proud to have been awarded the The Angel Award through Action for Carers Surrey.

The Angel Award Scheme was developed by young carers to help caring pupils be recognised and supported at school. 

More information for carers can be found on their website:  Action for Carers >