Derrytrasna Pastoral Care Award 2025

Overview

The Derrytrasna Pastoral Care Award was created in partnership with the Public Health Agency (PHA) in 2014. The annual award is for school communities that have demonstrated exceptional pastoral care in supporting the emotional health and wellbeing of pupils.

The aim of the award is the acknowledgement and celebration of schools that exceed normal expectations in supporting some element of the personal, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of a child or young person.

The award is named after St. Mary’s Primary School in Derrytrasna whose special pastoral care inspired the award.

This site has been created to allow nominations for the 2025 Award in order to recognise and celebrate those Schools who have shown exceptional Pastoral Care throughout the 2023/24 academic year (September 2023 to June 2024).

Why your views matter

The Derrytrasna Pastoral Care Award is an award for school communities who show exceptional pastoral care for the emotional health and wellbeing of pupils. It is named after St Mary's Primary School in Derrytrasna, whose special pastoral care inspired the award.

What is Pastoral Care?

Pastoral care in schools is about offering support to pupil’s personal needs rather than their schoolwork. It is about meeting the personal, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of every child. Your child's school will have a pastoral care policy in place to include such issues as child protection and bullying.

Examples of normal expectations of Pastoral Care

Example 1

The school demonstrates its concern for the personal and social development of all its pupils, regardless of age or ability, as individuals and as secure, successful and fully participating members of the school and its wider community.

Example 2

In post primary schools, the school's pastoral care is also concerned with preparing pupils for the demands and challenges of adult and working life.

Example 3

The school's pastoral care arrangements protect the pupils from harm, safeguard their health and welfare and support their learning and development.

Example 4

Pupil welfare embraces all aspects of school life through the pastoral care system, child protection, pupil behaviour, health and wellbeing, physical safety and security.

Example 5

Pupils are equipped to cope with personal challenges through the curriculum on offer, the systems for monitoring of pupils' academic progress and wellbeing and the range of support available within the school to pupils experiencing difficulties.

Example 6

The pastoral care system includes the support which a school offers pupils at vulnerable times, such as mentoring or counselling provided either by school staff or external experts.

How to Nominate a School

You can nominate your child's school for the award if your child has benefitted from exceptional pastoral care in the 2023/2024 academic year (September 2023 to June 2024).

Those in the wider community can also nominate a school if they know of the exceptional care the school has provided in the 2023/2024 academic year.

Schools cannot however self-nominate.

If you wish to put forward a school you will need to complete a nomination form (max.500 words)

When making your nomination please take note to only nominate if you feel the standards of Pastoral Care have exceeded the normal expectations.

What happens next

Only information supplied in the Nomination Form will be used in assessing your application. All nominations are anonymised before assessing.

Nominations will be judged by a Panel.

Results will be published on the DE website.

Only winning nominations will be notified