Pastoral Care Program

Pastoral Care Program

Pastoral care of students is considered an essential part of Clemes life. All teachers are conscious of the need to support the students that they teach and to convey information about their academic progress to their tutors, the Head of Clemes and the Deputy Heads of Clemes, as well as to the students and their parents.

Pastoral care is the responsibility of all Clemes staff, tutors, the Deputy Heads of Clemes and the Clemes Psychologist. The major unit for pastoral care is the Tutor Group, which meets every day for Registration and at least once a week for a longer session. Tutors will come to know their group well and will monitor the students’ academic and social progress. Tutors will provide support when any difficulties arise and are an important point of contact with the School. The Social and Emotional Long Tutor Program (SELT) is a structured program of learning sequences delivered by tutors over the course of the year aimed at building resilience in students to embrace the challenges of pre-tertiary study. Tutors may, from time to time, contact parents about specific matters and following the regular student progress checks that occur at Clemes. Similarly, parents should feel free to contact tutors concerning their child or may contact the Head or Deputy Heads of Clemes if an issue is seen to warrant this.

Clemes students maintain their House membership in Years 11 and 12 although the House unit is not maintained as a part of the pastoral care system. New students to Clemes will be allocated to one of the four Houses.

The Clemes Pastoral Care program aims to equip students with the skills necessary to navigate the journey into young adulthood and life beyond school. The School draws heavily on the expertise and experiences of members of the broader community for our Assembly program which takes place on a weekly basis. Assemblies are a formal gathering of the Clemes community and are an opportunity to hear more about topics of interest or concern to young adults. Typically, Assemblies are supported with follow up sessions in Tutor Groups which may be accompanied by guided training on topics such as consent, healthy and ethical decision making and relationships, road safety, cyber safety, advice on drug and alcohol as well as safe partying. 

All Clemes students take part in the weekly Gathering program. This is an opportunity to come together either in small groups or as a community to reflect in silence in the tradition of the Quaker meeting for worship. Students are given a high degree of autonomy in these sessions to select topics and themes relevant to their own needs. Members of the broader Quaker community frequently join students for Gatherings.