TAUNTON School has appointed experienced teacher and accomplished musician Sarah Leck as its new assistant head pastoral.

Sarah has a wealth of experience; she is currently head of lower school at Reigate Grammar in Surrey, and she has been head of year and assistant head of sixth form at the same school. She will draw from these experiences to provide exceptional pastoral care at Taunton School. 

Sarah is an accomplished musician, achieving grade eight in both violin and piano. She has also represented the University of Cambridge rugby team, coached hockey, netball, and athletics at schools across the country and ran the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award at Trinity School in Croydon.
 
Before starting her teaching career, Sarah read English at Magdalene College, Cambridge.
 
Sarah said: “I am thrilled to be joining such a dynamic, vibrant, and global school as Taunton School.

“I am looking forward to further developing the excellent practice in PSHE already evident across the school and supporting the comprehensive and caring pastoral care provision already in place.

“Through this, my English teaching and my involvement in sport, I am excited to get to know students and parents across the school and am keen to seize the broad opportunities available as part of life at Taunton School.”
 
Taunton School is one of the South West’s leading co-educational independent day and boarding schools for children aged 0-18 years.

Wraparound pastoral care and the safeguarding of students is something Taunton School prides itself on, aiming to know every child personally so that appropriate and effective care can be offered in a timely manner.  

It has a house system designed to make the school feel like a ‘home from home’, encouraging the older years to look after and lead the younger years. The house system gives the children a sense of togetherness, identity, and belonging.

The school also has housemasters and housemistresses who work very closely with both the safeguarding team and the health centre to ensure outstanding physical and mental provision is provided to support all children at any stage of their development.

The health centre consists of a range of professionals, including eight qualified nurses, a health care assistant, three matrons, two mental health nurses, a charted physiotherapist, and a qualified counsellor. The team is overseen by Julia Maclean-Smith, an experienced nurse who works in partnership with school doctors.

The school also has a chapel which provides a safe and welcoming space at the heart of the school for students to take time out and sit quietly or pray and reflect.

Sarah will work closely with the other members of the Taunton School pastoral team to continue the level of support students and parents have become accustomed to. 
 
Find out more about Taunton School’s pastoral care and safeguarding provision by visiting https://www.tauntonschool.co.uk/senior-sixth-form/senior-pastoral-and-wellbeing/.