Northern Ireland

Tor Bank School wins new award for outstanding pastoral care

Tor Bank School has been named the first winner of a new award for outstanding pastoral care
Tor Bank School has been named the first winner of a new award for outstanding pastoral care Tor Bank School has been named the first winner of a new award for outstanding pastoral care

TOR Bank School has been named the first winner of a new UK-wide award for outstanding pastoral care.

The National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NACPE) awards were created to provide recognition for the people and schools doing great work.

They aim to share good practice in pastoral care and to raise awareness of where such support is making a real difference in the educational experience of young people.

It is also hoped they will encourage new initiatives and ideas and recognise the contributions being made to developing policy and practice.

Tor Bank, a special needs school in Dundonald, prides itself on ensuring that every child that walks through the door has their aspirations nurtured, learning needs met and welfare supported.

It has a whole-school approach to meeting the pastoral needs of pupils, which is both proactive and responsive, inclusive of everyone in the school community and focused on individual need.

The NACPE award - for Outstanding Contribution to Pastoral Care - was based around its work on bereavement and how it supports pupils and parents following the death of some of their children.

It also celebrated its approach to addressing bereavement, adapted to pupils with severe learning difficulties.

The school previously was honoured with a Derrytrasna Award by the Department of Education. This recognised both its excellent pastoral care in general and in particular how it addressed bereavement and loss.