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Pastoral Care & Support

At Downham Market Academy, we aim to support young people to develop emotionally as well as academically and we do this via our pastoral care system.

All students have a tutor that they will see every morning at the start of the day and this tutor should be the first point of contact for both students and parents if there are any problems or concerns.  In addition to this, we have a Head and Assistant Head of Year 7 and four Heads and Assistant Heads of House.  Students will be encouraged to compete in various activities throughout the year and represent their House. 

Students in Year 7 are in dedicated tutor groups to aid their transition to secondary school and ensure that they settle into life at Downham Market Academy.  Year 7 tutor groups will be comprised of students from a mixture of Houses.

We believe that support from more experienced peers is so important and normally, students in Years 8-10 would be in vertical groups that contain a mixture of students from each year group but all students belong to the same House.  As the nation battles against the coronavirus pandemic, and the government provides strict guidance for schools to adhere to in order to, these vertical groups will be temporarily suspended and students will start the day in tutor groups of just one year group.

Students in Year 11 are in subject-based groups to enhance their preparation for exams.

Each week, all students will have an assembly with their Head of Year or House that compliments the PSHE theme.  PSHE (Personal, Health and Economic Education) prepares students for life in modern Britain and each week explores a different theme, making use of discussion-based activities, debates and reflection.  In addition to this, there are different competitions each week that students are encouraged to take part in and represent either their tutor group or House.