Pastoral Care

Pastoral Care at Northfield

The welfare of our pupils is of paramount importance at Northfield.  We take pride in our well-targeted emotional and academic support for all pupils within our care, via our guidance system. We have a strong pastoral team which is at the heart of our supportive community.

Our governors, school leaders and staff understand that sometimes life can be really challenging for young people, and things like falling out with friends, maintaining the high standards expected, getting to school on time or, coping with difficult circumstances out of school can, at times, make being in school, ready to learn, challenging. We want all our pupils to be happy in school as this can have a positive and empowering effect on their ability to learn and develop as young people.

Each member of staff has responsibility for the general welfare of pupils. In addition, a formal guidance team structure exists to provide individual pastoral support to pupils.

These experienced teams work to provide support for our pupils and their families. This work can vary enormously depending on the emerging needs of pupils and their families at a particular point in time. We regularly survey our pupils on the quality of the care that they receive at Northfield, and we take enormous pride in the knowledge that every single one of our pupils can identify at least one adult they could turn to should they need some support and guidance.

The guidance teams work in partnership with teachers, our SENCo, Learning Support Assistants and parents/carers to provide this crucial additional support. The staff are committed to the welfare of all pupils who receive a very high level of pastoral care. 

The guidance teams undertake ongoing relevant training to ensure that they are able to develop productive and supportive relationships with parents to support the needs of pupils and their families. We regularly liaise with outside agencies and are able to offer advice or to refer or signpost parents to additional support within their community.

Please visit our Pupil Well-being page for the ways in which our teams provide intensive support for our pupils.

Meet the Team -  useful contacts

Pastoral Lead

Mr G Hetherington –

Mr Hetherington is the Assistant Headteacher who leads the pastoral team at Northfield.  He is also the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL.) 

Year Teams

Year Teams comprise of a teaching Head and Assistant Head of Year, a Year Manager who is a member of support staff, and a large team of tutors. 

Year 7 Guidance Team

Mrs J Barnfather - Head of Year 7

Mr J Pickup - Assistant Head of Year 7

Miss J Bailey-Saunders - Year 7 Manager 

Mrs Barnfather leads the Year 7 Team.  Mrs Barnfather and Mr Pickup have fixed positions within the Year 7 School and lead on primary transition and transition from Year 7 to Year 8.  They have considerable experience in helping our new Year 7 cohorts to settle, participate, flourish and thrive. Pupils become part of a new guidance team from Years 8 to 11. However,  The Year 7 Manager remains with the cohort for all five years.

Year 8 Guidance Team

Mr S Jackson - Head of Year 8

Mr E Walker - Assistant Head of Year 8

Mrs Z Featherstone - Year 8 Manager

Year 9 Guidance Team

Mr P Haylock - Head of Year 9

Miss M Bird - Assistant Head of Year 9

Mrs K Harvey - Year 9 Manager

Year 10 Guidance Team

Mrs A Charlton - Head of Year 10

Mr B Porter - Assistant Head of Year 10

Miss S Barwick - Year 10 Manager

Year 11 Guidance Team

Miss L Rees - Head of Year 11

Mr I Fisher - Assistant Head of Year 11

Mr A Sturrock  - Year 11 Manager