Barton Peveril’s Pastoral Team Win National Award for Work in Pandemic
Barton Peveril Sixth Form College’s Pastoral Team has won the Sixth Form Colleges Association’s Covid Above and Beyond Award.
The Team was recognised in the awards for their work on the frontline, during the pandemic. Whilst the College transitioned to remote working, the Pastoral Team were on campus ensuring students continued to receive all the help they needed: they made sure students continued to receive free meals, supported students where other services could not (due to the pandemic), assisted students with specialist needs, checked-in with the most vulnerable students frequently each day, and worked with parents, students and teaching staff to help learning continue throughout the pandemic for every single student.
Collectively, the team ensured students stayed at Barton Peveril despite any external challenges they faced. The College has an improved retention rate, with 97% of students staying in education, despite the unprecedented challenges the community has faced.
The Pastoral Team at Barton Peveril consists of Student Progress Advisors (Debra Collins, Steve Froud, Sharyn Peters, Matthew Short, Jason Tanihatu and Kathryn Townend), the College Nurse (Shelley Hughes), Student Counselling Manager (Helen Cunliffe), and Student Services (Sarah Kennedy, Henna Lekh, Sam Clarke, Lauren Morse and Jayne Ward. The Pastoral Team is led by Vice Principal (Students and Progress) Nicola Carcone.
“The frontline in College”
Speaking on the award, Nicola Carcone said:
‘To put it bluntly these are the people that really became the frontline in College during lockdowns.
‘I feel sure that the Pastoral Teams in many colleges did similar (and, therefore, this award is for all of them too), but the Pastoral Team’s extensive list of duties throughout the pandemic really illustrate just how much educational institutions ‘hold’ in terms of the wellbeing of young people without the direct support/input from any specialist outside agencies.
‘For those who work in pastoral, it is the joy knowing that, against all odds, we have kept a student in college and that they are going to get potentially life changing qualifications.’
