Academic Support:
To support our boarders’ academic progress at school, supervised Prep (study time) is carried out every night in our comfortable Prep Room. The Prep room is well equipped to meet the demands of the boarders’ academic needs. They are allocated their own table and have shared access to a desktop computer, a laptop and a printer. WiFi is also available in the Prep room which boarders can use with their own devices, however we do insist that during Prep this is to be used for homework only.
Additional help is provided by teachers from the school a couple of evenings per week. They offer valuable support to any boarder who requests it, ensuring that they get subject specific tutoring on a one-to-one or small group basis.
Pastoral Care & Well-being:
The health and happiness of our boarders is of the utmost importance to us and every care is taken to ensure that the boarders are well looked after, healthy and happy. Matron keeps a well-stocked medicine cabinet with a range of the usual over-the-counter medicines available. Matron and Housemaster both have up-to-date First-Aid training suitable for this residential setting. If a boarder is ill in the morning time and unable to go to school, they usually stay in boarding for the day with the care of Matron or Housemaster. The same arrangement is in place for boarders who become ill while at school – they are able to return to boarding and be cared for here. If the services of a doctor are needed, boarders can be brought to the local surgery in Raphoe or collected by their parents to attend their own surgery. Staff will naturally be in touch with parents should this occur.
The staff try to make RSH as home-like as possible, and are always available to have a chat with the boarders and take an interest in their well-being. Our close, family like atmosphere here means that staff get to know boarders very well during their time here and we are attentive to their pastoral needs. Conversations with boarders, both collectively and individually occur daily and as a result, staff are inclined to notice if a boarder is visibly not in their usual form. Specifically planned pastoral led chats are held with all boarders each term to ensure they are settling in, happy and content during their time here. An ‘Independent Listener’ visits boarding at least once a term, and is available for the boarders to speak to privately about any issue, but particularly items which they may feel, for any reason, that they cannot say directly to staff themselves.
Further information on our Pastoral Care and Child Protection Procedures can be found in the Boarding Policies section of our website.
