The wellbeing of your child is at the heart of everything we do.
Our aim is to know every child as an individual and to forge close relations with every parent. Working in partnership helps foster your child’s growth and development, enabling them to feel comfortable in themselves and part of a new and wider family.
We are proud of all aspects of our community, but, most notably, we value friendly and respectful relationships. It is this, above all else, that makes Taunton School special.
A ‘Home from Home’
The students are supported on their journey to becoming respectful, open minded, confident and principled adults through the relationships they have within their house. Viewed as a ‘home from home’, our houses mirror family life with older ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’ looking out for, and leading, younger pupils as peer mentors and good role models.
Each house is a microcosm of the wider school, imbued with the core values of care and kindness that underpin all our work. All year groups – 9 to 13 – are represented in each house, and this engenders a sense of togetherness, identity and belonging. The house system offers the secure platform that enables all to embrace the various challenges of school life. Students are encouraged to take on new challenges, to embrace failure and to build resilience.
Each student is assigned a tutor, integral to student development. With parents working closely with tutors, the pitfalls of adolescence can be successfully navigated, and children flourish in our care. The other key figure, absolutely central to your child’s school experience, is the Housemaster or Housemistress. The Housemasters and Housemistresses work very closely with both the safeguarding team and the Health Centre to ensure outstanding physical and mental health provision to support your child at every stage of their development.
The beautiful and intimate Chapel provides a safe and welcoming space at the heart of Taunton School. Built by Lord Winterstoke in 1906, it has long been the place where students and staff have gathered to start their day. From its inception in 1847, Taunton School was the ‘West of England Dissenters’ Proprietary School’ with strong traditions of debating, questioning, and searching for truth, all of which remain today.
The Chapel is open every day, all day, for students to take time out and sit quietly or to pray and reflect. We are respectful of people of all faiths and none – all are welcome here. The Chapel also serves as a beautiful venue for musical performances and concerts.
Located at the heart of the school, the Health Centre is fully accessible to all students. We offer a holistic provision to support physical, emotional and social needs via a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week service. Our committed and highly skilled team consists of a range of professionals, including qualified nurses, health care assistants, matrons, mental health nurses, and a chartered physiotherapist. The team works in partnership with our school doctors who run regular GP clinics.
We pride ourselves on a multidisciplinary mental health team which provides support and early interventions for our students. We also work closely with the teaching staff to deliver elements of PSHEE education, and with safeguarding and pastoral leads to deliver solution-based approaches for students.
Children should feel safe at school and feel empowered to speak up if they are concerned about themselves or their friends or peers within our community. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children is the most important thing we do at Taunton School. It is embedded in our culture. Taunton School has a critical role to play in looking after and promoting the rights of every child to be safe and fulfilled inside and outside school: we take this responsibility very seriously and are proud of our excellence in this area.
Should any pupil, parent or teacher be concerned about anything to do with a child then we would urge you to get in touch using the contact details below.
Designated Safeguarding Lead
Mrs Lyndsay White
Lyndsay.white@tauntonschool.co.uk
01823 703759 / 07728 821261
Join our Headmaster, James Johnson, and the Taunton School Leadership Team at an upcoming open day.
This is the best way for prospective families to experience Taunton School with the opportunity to meet members of staff, tour the state-of-the-art facilities and ask questions. Join our in-person open mornings or attend virtually.