Pastoral Life

"The pastoral side is outstanding and Chaplain Ronan is a wonderful listener who walks alongside the girls to guide and support them emotionally and spiritually".

Parent Survey 2024

Mayfield is a school built on our Cornelian principles of Joy, Compassion, Integrity, Generosity, Gratitude, Respect and Courage, with love for each member of the community at the heart of all we do.  This love and warmth is palpable at Mayfield and is often the first thing visitors notice.

We nurture and celebrate each individual, but also engender in our girls an awareness and appreciation of the needs and gifts of others. Good interaction between staff and pupils results from supportive relationships, and we are justly proud of our pastoral care.

Each girl at Mayfield is supported daily by her Tutor, who serves as the primary point of contact for pastoral care. For our boarders, the Housemistress also plays a vital role. The Heads of Lower School, Middle School, and Sixth Form lead the Heads of Year and Tutor teams in ensuring that every student is well-known and supported. Our Lay Chaplain is also available at any time, providing an additional layer of support.

Our brand-new Wellbeing Centre, St. Raphael’s, is a safe and welcoming space for all members of our community. It houses our registered nurses, on-site counsellor (available for both drop-in and scheduled sessions), and our Wellbeing and Pastoral team. At Mayfield, every staff member takes their pastoral responsibilities very seriously, and students are encouraged to talk to any staff member they feel could help them.

We believe our role is to help students discover their passions by offering them numerous opportunities to explore new interests, especially when they first join us. When students find activities they enjoy, they are happier—and when they are happy, they excel. If a student faces any challenges, we encourage them to share their concerns with someone they feel comfortable with.

 As a close-knit community of just over 400 pupils, we find peer-to-peer mentoring particularly effective. Our Mentoring Programme, led by Year 13 students, provides both academic and pastoral support to girls across all year groups. Mentors and Mental Health Ambassadors are available daily in the Wellbeing Centre’s kitchen, offering a listening ear over hot chocolate and biscuits, away from the hustle and bustle of the main school.

As one parent commented in our recent survey, "These girls are always happy!" Our Catholic ethos underpins everything we do, bringing joy to all aspects of school life.

Child Protection/Safeguarding  

At Mayfield School, the rights, safety, and welfare of our pupils are paramount.  This means that sometimes we have to take actions to protect the welfare of the child.  In such cases we will work with parents for a mutual understanding. We will explain our professional responsibilities and we will give every reassurance as to our motives, but we will always stress that, for us, a pupil’s needs must come first. A copy of our latest Child Protection and Safeguarding policy can be here.

Mayfield School is committed to safeguarding our pupils.  To this end, we are signed up to Operation Encompass which is a partnership between police and schools.  The principle of Operation Encompass is that all incidents of domestic abuse are shared with schools, not just those where an offence can be identified.  Information is shared with the Designated Safeguarding Lead to enable support to be given dependent on the needs and wishes of the child.

For all safeguarding or child protection concerns, please contact Jodi Stone (DSL) on dsl@mayfieldgirls.org