At Harrow Hong Kong, the notion of pastoral care is underpinned by our social vision statement which
is to create and foster ‘a caring, respectful community in which everyone thrives’. Whilst this is a clear
and unambiguous statement of intent, each pupil will undoubtedly encounter a variety of obstacles that
they will need to overcome in striving to reach their potential. Pastoral care is not about removing those
obstacles, but rather assisting our pupils to develop the tools to tackle them, thereby equipping them for life
as an adult in the world beyond the confines of school. In building such resilience, we are striving to create
individuals who are able to reach their full potential by avoiding the pitfalls of modern life where possible,
and who know how to overcome them if and when required. This brochure provides an overview of the
structures and practices that Harrow Hong Kong has put in place to assist your child in thriving throughout
their time with us.
Effective pastoral care requires a ‘whole school approach’ which is made up of four cornerstones; the pupils
themselves, the staff, the parents and the facilities and structures in place at the School. Our aims and
expectations in relation to each of the four elements are encapsulated in detail within the document entitled
‘Excellence in Pastoral Care and Pupil Wellbeing at Harrow Hong Kong’. It is our goal to ensure that each
of these four elements is fully supported, resourced and regularly reviewed to maintain the high standards
of pastoral care required of a world leading school.
At Harrow Hong Kong, we stress the importance of both ‘pastoral care’ and ‘wellbeing’, not least of all in the
titles of our Senior Leaders. These two terms, although similar, refer to two distinct elements of our provision
which can be seen to relate to, firstly, the core business of our role as a School in safeguarding our pupils
and then the additional undertaking of developing a child’s resilience.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs lays down a pyramidal structure detailing the requirements that an individual
needs in life to survive, live and then subsequently thrive. In order to reach the next level of the pyramid, the
previous level must be realised. Maslow’s hierarchy is as follows:
- Physiological needs (e.g. water, food, air).
- Safety needs (e.g. physical safety, health, financial safety).
- Social needs (e.g. belongingness, social connections, relationships).
- Esteem needs (e.g. recognition, respect, appreciation).
- Self-actualisation needs (e.g. fulfilling your potential, being your best)
It is the role of our community to ensure that as many of these levels as possible are met during a child’s
time with us – noting that each child does not necessarily enter the school at the same level in the hierarchy.
In this way, ‘pastoral care’ can be seen to be associated with the provision of the first two levels of the
pyramid. This is the provision of the basic expectations of a school – ensuring that our pupils are safe and
have the essential requirements to operate within the environment. It is also about those safety nets that
protect our pupils and prevent them falling too far during their climb to the summit. It is here that we move
into the realms of wellbeing (levels three and four) whereby the basic requirements are met and we can aim
to promote the development of the skills, and thereby, resilience that pupils need to reach the fifth level. At
the pinnacle of this pyramid, we find pupils who are truly thriving. They are largely independent and able to
push themselves to new levels of success because they do not fear challenges and know that they can cope
with the setbacks that may come from reaching for something that may not at first be achieved. It is our
hope and desire that all pupils will leave us at, or on their way to, the top of this pyramid.
In laying out how the School endeavours to promote the pastoral care and wellbeing of its pupils, we hope
that this will enable you to play a full and active part in this important function of the School’s work, and to
help to assist our pupils in reaching their pinnacle.
Best wishes,
The Pastoral Team