Senior Pastoral and Wellbeing

The pupils 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 buddies, peer mentors, or more informally as 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 – Years 9 to 13 – are represented in each house, and this engenders a sense of togetherness, identity and belonging.  Most importantly, the house system offers the secure platform that enables all to embrace the various challenges of school life. Indeed, inspired by tutors, housemasters and housemistresses, pupils are encouraged to take on new challenges, to embrace failure, to support others and aspire to lead. Each is assigned a tutor, and these figures are integral to pupil development. It is hoped that, through parents working closely with tutors, the pitfalls of adolescence can be successfully navigated and your child will flourish in our care. The other key figure – absolutely central to your child’s school experience –  is the Housemaster or Housemistress. You can read more about our day and boarding houses here.

The Housemasters and Housemistresses work very closely with both the safeguarding team and the Health Centre to ensure outstanding physical and mental health provision is provided to support your child at every stage of their development. Please read about the amazing work undertaken by Emily Kane, our sister in charge of the Health Centre, and her team here. Ultimately, of course, schools have to be safe places for young people to thrive, and the work we do within safeguarding sits at the very heart of our culture. Various policies and procedures can be found here.

The 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. 

Chapel is central to the community life where students are encouraged to keep an ‘open mind’, and prepare to be challenged, nurtured and inspired.  The regular pattern of singing, Bible reading and prayer, continues to this day, marking the rhythms of school community life, enhanced by the appropriate use of the latest AV technology. During this season of physical distancing, the Chapel will be used to broadcast messages to the whole school since we cannot gather in the usual ways. It is available to be used in a wide range of creative ways. Please remember that this is a communal area – it is a space that was built to foster community. 

Special Services – including Harvest, Remembrance, Christmas, Easter, Leaver’s Service and Chapel Service on Commemoration Day. 

The Chapel is open every day, all day, for students to take time out and sit quietly or pray or reflect. It is also used regularly for rehearsals and performances/concerts by the Music Department. Other events (like the Burke Debate) are also live-streamed from this central and beautiful location.  

The Chaplain’s vestry office is at the back of the Chapel, accessed by both the internal door leading off the sanctuary, and a more private exterior rear door. My mandate is to provide non-judgmental spiritual (and human!) accompaniment to both staff and students. I am entirely respectful of people of all faiths and none. All are welcome here. 

May this space provide hospitality and celebration and solace for all at Taunton School.

The Chaplain,

Rev Dr Eliza Getman, PhD

At the Health centre we endeavour to identify and deliver the health needs of all Taunton School Pupils from nursery age into the sixth form.  We offer a holistic provision to support the physical, emotional and social needs via a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week service.  Our committed and highly skilled team consist of a range of professionals, including eight qualified nurses, a health care assistant, three matrons, two mental health nurses, a chartered physiotherapist and a qualified counsellor.  The team is overseen by Emily Kane, a paediatric nurse with extensive school experience and she works in partnership with our school doctors who run a GP clinic 4 days a week.

 Located at the heart of the school, the health centre is fully accessible to all students and each day is a hive of activity. We also support staff employed by the school by advising on their health and wellbeing when needed. We aim to deliver the best care and service to all by signposting them to relevant services or getting support from the pastoral team. We pride ourselves on a multidisciplinary mental health team who aims to provide support and early interventions for our pupils.

 Some responsibilities of our experienced nurses include; caring for unwell and injured pupils, supporting children with chronic illnesses, health screening, administering medication and vaccinations. We also work closely with the teaching staff to deliver elements of the PSHEE education and we work very closely with safeguarding and pastoral leads to deliver solution based approaches for pupils. As a team we strive to encourage and support pupils to thrive in a way that is autonomous and empowering and will ultimately allow them to become resilient, capable children who can succeed in a global community.

Children should feel safe at school and feel empowered to speak up if they are concerned about themselves or the friends or peers within our community. Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children is the most important thing we do at Taunton School and it is embedded in our culture, the way we educate and train children and staff alike. The wellbeing of our pupils is at the heart of everything we do and all decisions must be of direct benefit to them. 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 compliance and 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.

If you would like to contact the safeguarding team please refer to the contact details on this page: Safeguarding at Taunton School | Somerset

Building a Culture of Respect – webinar

Keeping Your Children Safe and Happy – webinar

How Taunton School safeguards children – webinar