Product reviews for Beyond Wiping Noses

Stephen Lane presents a new perspective on pastoral care - placing it at the heart of schooling and emphasising the need to get it right. This new focus is well overdue: A wide range of considerations are covered including related research, bullying, well-being, mental health, attachment, behaviour and character. Each chapter includes actionable, practical tips.

He acknowledges that the pastoral aspects of school life are varied, complex and dynamic, with different schools having different approaches to their staffing models. He advises schools to have a clear vision for their pastoral roles with job descriptions going beyond the administrative.

Well-being and mental health are flagged throughout as important issues. With the current well documented increase in pupil anxiety and mental ill-health, he outlines how there is a pressing need for schools and teachers to embrace a more rigorous approach to pastoral care. Inevitably this means more training and collaboration.

This book makes a very strong case for creating a knowledge rich pastoral curriculum and for embedding pastoral routines into the fabric of school life and learning.

Lane makes the point that - 'Some find the pastoral hard, and some see a clear distinction between the academic and the pastoral, suggesting that the latter should be left for those with "a passion for it"'. The book makes the case that this should change.