Tutor groups

Students are arranged into tutor groups in each year, using the letters P, A, T, C, H, W, A, depending on how many students there are in each year group. 

Tutors are your first point of contact as a parent and a list of tutors is available at the end of this page.  They are central to the growth and development of each student at Patchway Community School.  Tutors support their students' academic progress, their social and emotional well-being, and their career planning.  They also help students to manage and organise themselves within school, and they are responsible for maximising each student's attendance, as well celebrating their achievements.

Daily roll call

We begin each day with roll call, which starts at 8.28am.  

Students enter the gates by 8.25am, put their coat, bag and phone into their locker, and take their pencil case and water bottle to roll call.  Each year group has an allocated space for roll call and the session is led by the year leader.  Tutors register each student and check uniform and equipment.  The year group's previous day's achievements are celebrated by the year leader and important notices for the day are announced.  It is a really positive start to each day, supports students to develop their sense of community and belonging to a happy and successful school, and gets the day off to a brisk and timely start.

Guided reading

During three mornings each week, students follow a guided reading programme.  This is planned by our literacy lead teacher and we use a canon of texts which are common to all secondary schools within the Olympus Academy Trust.  Each student has a copy of the same book and they track, with their bookmark, as they follow the teacher who is reading aloud.  Research has demonstrated that guided reading is powerful in improving young people's literacy levels, not least because they are exposed to books at a level they might not choose themselves, and because complex or unusual words are explained as the group moves through each novel.  The teacher models confident and fluent reading, and this sets the academic tone for the school day ahead.

(Year 11 students follow a different programme, focusing on intensive revision in English and mathematics.)

Safeguarding tutorials

Each fortnight, we extend one tutor period so that students can be trained in an aspect of safeguarding.  We cover a range of topics, such as healthy relationships, mental health,and staying safe online.  The extended tutor period means that we can take time to explore these issues in depth, giving students the chance to ask questions and develop a secure understanding.  Details of all our safeguarding tutorials can be found here.

PSHE

On alternate Fridays, we extend the tutor period in each year group's PSHE lesson which follows.  This maximises the time available to discuss sometimes very complex topics, and it means that students are able to do this with their tutor who already knows them well.  Information about our PSHE programme can be found here. 

Assemblies

Each year group has an assembly once a week.  Assemblies are planned throughout the year to coincide with events of national importance (eg. Remembrance Sunday, or Holocaust Memorial Day), to explore important religious festivals (eg. Diwali, Eid),  or to develop themes raised within our safeguarding and PSHE programmes, some of which have become national awareness weeks, such as that for mental health awareness.

Tutors 2021-22

To contact your child's tutor by email:

Either use the general email address so that your email can be directed to the right person: pcs-enquiries@olympustrust.co.uk 

Or, use the format firstname.surname@olympustrust.co.uk