Loreto Wexford | Class Teachers/Year Heads/Student Care Co-ordination Team

Class Teachers, Year Heads and the Student Care Co-ordination Team

The school places great emphasis on its Class Teacher system. It acknowledges that teachers undertake the resultant increased responsibilities on a purely voluntary basis.

At the start of each school year, a Class Teacher is assigned by the Principal to each class groups. Each class group will be allocated a base room for the year by the Principal.

Class Teachers of each year group will meet as required to discuss any issues arising in that year group. Such meetings will be facilitated by the Deputy Principal.

The school will provide training to Class Teachers to support them in carrying out their role.

The essential role of the Class Teacher is to take a pastoral interest in each student’s welfare and progress in school. S/he will get to know students sufficiently well to carry out the following specific responsibilities:

To monitor a student’s attendance in school, in consultation with the Anseo system, and to receive notes from parents through the school diary explaining any absence
To sign the school diary of students in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd years on a weekly basis.
To be available to Subject Teachers to assist in dealing with any serious disciplinary matters
To be aware of any factors likely to adversely affect a student’s school performance and to inform Subject Teachers of same in a professional and appropriate manner.
To be as supportive as possible to any students experiencing difficulties impacting upon school life and performance.
To refer any particularly serious matters affecting a student’s welfare to the Student Care Co-ordination team (SCCT)
To refer any reported instance of bullying to the Deputy Principal.
To facilitate the election of two prefects in each group
To assist the Principal and administrative staff in various organisational matters
To meet/consult with parents as necessary in relation to the discharge of these responsibilities.
To attend a staff meeting every August when vital handover information on students will be provided

It is essential that parents keep Class Teachers fully informed of any relevant matter so that the above responsibilities can be fully discharged in the best interests of all students.

The school community is most appreciative of the care, professionalism and time-input of all those who work as Class Teachers on a voluntary basis.

To ensure that all students in the school receive the necessary support at difficult times in their lives, the Student Care Co-ordination Team (SCCT) meets every week to review particular cases and to allocate support. The SCCT will also address any general issues concerning the welfare of students. Membership of the SCCT is as follows:

Principal (chair), Deputy Principals, Learning Support Teachers, Guidance Counsellors and Chaplain.

The SCCT liaises closely with the relevant Class Teachers and Year Heads and reports on its work at staff meetings.

The SCCT will be the primary body for determining the school’s prompt, caring and supportive response to any critical incident that may occur. When meeting as the critical incident team, the SCCT will have due regard to the 2016 publication by NEPS: Responding to Critical Incidents – NEPS Guidelines and Resource materials for Schools. This publication was reviewed by the SCCT in January 2017 and has been brought to the attention of the full school staff.

This policy will be brought to the attention of staff every August.

Class Teachers and Base Rooms, 2022/2023

Class	Class Teacher	Classes	Base Room	Room Number
1.1	Mr. J. Cummins (Geography)	2	Menapia	R032
1.2	Ms. R. Kennedy (SPHE and PE)	4	Tuskar	R134
1.3	Mr. C. Mc Bride (Religion)	3	St. Kevin	R233
1.4	Ms. A. Culleton (Religion, SPHE, CSPE)	6	Religion Room	R219
1.5	Ms. L. Jordan (Religion, History)	5	St. Brigid	R221
2.1	Ms. P. Kinsella (French)	3	St. Cecilia	R147
2.2	Ms. H. Smyth (Business)	3	St. Patrick	R121
2.3	Ms. C. Howlin (Home Economics)	3	Teresa Ball 2	R067
2.4	Ms. A. Walton (Music)	3	Teresa Ball 3	R069
2.5	Ms. A. Cotter (Science)	3	Maths Room 2	R217
2.6	Ms. A. Doyle (Science)	3	St. Ignatius	R132
2.7	Mr. F. Laffan (Applied Technology)	3	St. Ignatius	R132
3.1	Ms. Beattie (Maths)	5	St. Joseph	R123
3.2	Mr. Broderick (Maths)	5	Spawell	R070
3.3	Ms. A. Byrne (Maths)	5	St. Anthony	R120
3.4	Mr. Crowdle (Maths)	5	Mathematics 1	R052
3.5	Mr. Grant (Maths)	5	St. Francis	R122
3.6	Ms. Skelton (Maths)	5	St. Francis	R122
4.1	Mr. F. Kavanagh (Library, Music)	3	St. Aidan	R232
4.2	Ms. S. Smith (Spanish)	3	St. Teresa	R149
4.3	Ms. M. McLean (I.T.)	2	Guidance Room	R138
4.4	Mr. A. Murphy (Business)	3	Business Room	R102
4.5	Mr. E. O’ Sullivan (I.T.)	2	St. Aidan	R232
5.1	Ms. Whelan (English)	5	Selskar	R057
5.2	Ms. Mc Manamon (English)	5	Teresa Ball 1	R065
5.3	Ms. Davey (English)	5	St. Catherine	R153
5.4	Mr. Goff (English)	5	St. Ita	R237
5.5	Ms. Lawler (English)	5	St. Ibar	R231
5.6	Ms. Whitty (English)	5	St. Colmcille	R230
6.1	Ms. Carroll (Irish)	6	St. Peter	R203
6.2	Mr. Cornejo (Irish)	6	St. Raphael	R206
6.3	Ms. De Róiste (Irish)	6	St. Michael	R204
6.4	Ms. Shannon (Irish)	6	St. John Paul	R215
6.5	Mr. Usher (Irish)	6	St. Gabriel	R205
6.6	Ms. O’ Keeffe (Irish)	6	St. Bernadette	R150

Year Heads in 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd years

Year Head – 1^st Year: Ms. P. Kinsella

The responsibilities of the Year Head are as follows:

To get to know all students in the year group in order to support them pastorally as they progress through the school. A Year Head will remain with the same group of students as they move from 1^st to 3^rd years inclusive.
To co-ordinate the work of class teachers in the year group so as to maintain a uniform and consistent approach to matters that may arise
To assist class teachers in dealing with any discipline or pastoral issues that might arise before referral, if necessary, to the Deputy Principal or Counsellors
To ensure that any alleged instances of bullying are brought to the immediate attention of the Deputy Principal
To monitor the attendance of students in the year group in the following manner:
- When a student is absent for 5 consecutive days, to telephone the student’s home in a spirit of pastoral care and to then inform the relevant class teacher of the reason for the absence
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 10 days, to write to the student’s parents to inform them of this and to seek an opportunity to discuss the matter with parents
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 20 days, to notify the Education Welfare Officer, as required by law, and will continue to liaise with parents and the student in an attempt to encourage more regular attendance
- In co-operation with secretarial staff, to ensure that the reason for every student absence in the year group is properly and promptly entered on the Anseo system
- In co-operation with the Deputy Principal, to arrange for the presentation of certificates of attendance to all students whose cumulative absence in a given year do not exceed 3 days
To ensure the consistent implementation of the school’s uniform policy in the year group
To attend meetings of the Academic Council when the tracking of 1^st year students is being discussed
To liaise closely with the Meitheal Co-ordinator and leaders in relation to the welfare of 1^st year students
To liaise closely with the Student Care Co-ordination Team in relation to 1^st year students, attending meetings of the team when required
In co-operation with a Deputy Principal, to meet parents/guardians of students in the year group to discuss matters of disciplinary or pastoral concern

Year Head – 2^nd Year: Mr. F. Laffan

The responsibilities of the Year Head are as follows:

To get to know all students in the year group in order to support them pastorally as they progress through the school. A Year Head will remain with the same group of students as they move from 1^st to 3^rd years inclusive.
To co-ordinate the work of class teachers in the year group so as to maintain a uniform and consistent approach to matters that may arise
To assist class teachers in dealing with any discipline or pastoral issues that might arise before referral, if necessary, to the Deputy Principal or Counsellors
To ensure that any alleged instances of bullying are brought to the immediate attention of the Deputy Principal
To monitor the attendance of students in the year group in the following manner:
- When a student is absent for 5 consecutive days, to telephone the student’s home in a spirit of pastoral care and to then inform the relevant class teacher of the reason for the absence
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 10 days, to write to the student’s parents to inform them of this and to seek an opportunity to discuss the matter with parents
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 20 days, to notify the Education Welfare Officer, as required by law, and will continue to liaise with parents and the student in an attempt to encourage more regular attendance
- In co-operation with secretarial staff, to ensure that the reason for every student absence in the year group is properly and promptly entered on the Anseo system
- In co-operation with the Deputy Principal, to arrange for the presentation of certificates of attendance to all students whose cumulative absence in a given year do not exceed 3 days
To ensure the consistent implementation of the school’s uniform policy in the year group
To attend meetings of the Academic Council when the tracking of 2^nd year students is being discussed
To liaise closely with the Cara Co-ordinator and leaders in relation to the welfare of 2^nd year students
To liaise closely with the Student Care Co-ordination Team in relation to 2^nd year students, attending meetings of the team when required
In co-operation with a Deputy Principal, to meet parents/guardians of students in the year group to discuss matters of disciplinary or pastoral concern

Year Head – 3^rd Year: Ms. J. Byrne

The responsibilities of the Year Head are as follows:

To get to know all students in the year group in order to support them pastorally as they progress through the school. A Year Head will remain with the same group of students as they move from 1^st to 3^rd years inclusive.
To co-ordinate the work of class teachers in the year group so as to maintain a uniform and consistent approach to matters that may arise
To assist class teachers in dealing with any discipline or pastoral issues that might arise before referral, if necessary, to the Deputy Principal or Counsellors
To ensure that any alleged instances of bullying are brought to the immediate attention of the Deputy Principal
To monitor the attendance of students in the year group in the following manner:
- When a student is absent for 5 consecutive days, to telephone the student’s home in a spirit of pastoral care and to then inform the relevant class teacher of the reason for the absence
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 10 days, to write to the student’s parents to inform them of this and to seek an opportunity to discuss the matter with parents
- When a student’s cumulative absences in any given school year exceed 20 days, to notify the Education Welfare Officer, as required by law, and will continue to liaise with parents and the student in an attempt to encourage more regular attendance
- In co-operation with secretarial staff, to ensure that the reason for every student absence in the year group is properly and promptly entered on the Anseo system
- In co-operation with the Deputy Principal, to arrange for the presentation of certificates of attendance to all students whose cumulative absence in a given year do not exceed 3 days
To ensure the consistent implementation of the school’s uniform policy in the year group
To attend meetings of the Academic Council when the tracking of 3^rd year students is being discussed
To liaise closely with the Student Care Co-ordination Team in relation to 3^rd year students, attending meetings of the team when required
To meet parents/guardians of students in the year group to discuss any matters of concern
In co-operation with a Deputy Principal, to meet parents/guardians of students in the year group to discuss matters of disciplinary or pastoral concern

Year Heads for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd year were introduced following a review of the school’s Leadership and Management structures in Spring 2018. The BOM, in consultation with staff, will review their introduction over the next two years and will assess the desirability of their introduction into 4^th, 5^th and 6^th years in due course.