Pastoral care and the personal development of our pupils is at the heart of everything we do at Ribblesdale. Alongside academic success and through the Ribblesdale Way, we want the young people in our care to grow as happy and confident individuals, developing a variety of skills and the resilience needed to thrive when they leave school.

As such, we dedicate a great deal of time and resources to ensuring that pupils always have someone to approach and speak to if they need support. We have a dedicated team of Pastoral Co-ordinators who are members of the support staff - meaning that they do not have a timetable and can focus their attention throughout the day on the wellbeing of pupils. Each year group has a dedicated Pastoral Co-ordinator with the sole responsibility of supporting our pupils and their families through day to day life at school. Every year group in school benefits from the support of both a non-teaching Pastoral Co-Ordinator and a teaching Year Leader. 

We also have two Pastoral Intervention Managers who further support pupils and families, especially when it comes to signposting external support and other agencies who can assist in offering early help to tackle some of the issues and vulnerabilities that young people can face.

Alongside other members of the pastoral team, our Attendance Manager works to support families in removing barriers that might negatively impact a pupil's attendance. This involves working closely with pupils in school but also liaising with parents as needed.

Our school counsellor dedicates time to more targeted one-to-one sessions for those pupils who might need additional support and guidance. We also have a trained Emotional Literacy Support Assistant who works with individual pupils and other staff who are trained to work with groups of young people to help them in developing strategies to regulate their emotions and responses to situations. In addition, and as part of our commitment to ensuring the positive emotional and mental health and wellbeing of pupils, we have close links with Lancashire MIND. We also have a designated Mental Health Support Team members of which come into school to work with our pupils and we dedicate days in the curriculum for each year group to focus on  promoting all aspects of health and wellbeing. (Please refer to Emotional, Mental health & Wellbeing Policy)

For our pupils, every day starts in form time where they have the support of their Form Tutor and their Year Leader. During this time, our Personal Development curriculum, 'My Future Matters' is delivered. All pupils have an assembly once a week and this time is another opportunity for a variety of people, including external speakers, to focus on key aspects of personal development. We regularly revisit safeguarding with pupils and also celebrate success routinely in assemblies. As a school we prioritise time in the curriculum to ensure that the personal development of pupils is at the forefront of our work, helping them to become healthier, more independent and responsible members of society. We encourage all our pupils to play a positive role in the life of the school and the wider community and, in doing so, we help them to develop their sense of self-worth and their aspirations for the future.