Home | Uppingham Pastoral

Central to education at Uppingham are the personal, social, health and wellbeing skills that are the foundations of a happy, healthy life.

RISEupp Framework

Below you will find our pastoral framework, which is designed to help support personal development and wellbeing.

By focusing on these four key areas (Relationships, Independence, Self and Engagement), we hope that our pupils will be able to grow and thrive whilst at Uppingham but also be prepared for life beyond our walls.

Relationships

Building strong relationships helps us improve our wellbeing. At the core of this concept is what constitutes a healthy relationship and how to recognise the dangers of unhealthy relationships. In addition, we should also be ensuring that we have the tools to deal with changing circumstances, in all types of relationships, to make sure that we can manage our wellbeing when things, perhaps, go wrong. Knowing when and how to access support is crucial in dealing with difficult situations and enables us to get the help we need to thrive.

Over the last couple of years we have developed our RSE (Relationships and Sex Education) and, as well ensuring that we meet the government's statutory requirements, we have developed a course that is effective, thorough and allows pupils to explore the concepts of RSE in depth. This is delivered through lessons, talks from internal and external speakers, workshops and sessions in house.

Of course, much of a pupil's wider experience in school and in house should also be seen as part of 'relationships education' and we strive to continually reinforce and role model positive behaviour. in all our interactions. Encouraging participation in social activities, trips and house events also helps pupils learn to build long-lasting and healthy relationships.

RISEupp Lecture Series

The RISEupp Lecture Series allows our students a chance to hear a range of different voices, and allows them the chance to consider their perspectives and be challenged in their thoughts.

We have hosted numerous speakers as part of this programme, all of whom have shared their lived experiences and offered the opportunity for pupils to ask questions. Despite each talk having a focus, there are inevitably many sub-themes that run throughout, and pupils have the space to explore these in more depth. Previous talks have included:

Drugs, Gambling and Addiction (Iain Mahony and Patrick Foster)
Self-Harm Awareness (Satveer Nijjar)
Adventure and Adversity (John Sullivan)
Wellbeing and Stoicism (Dr K Hanrahan, Housemistress of Constables)
Personal Finance and Budgeting (My Personal Finance Skills)
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (Self-Esteem Team)
Global EDI and the Future (Asif Saqiq MBE)
Fertility (Mrs R Kay, Assistant Head: Pastoral)
Stress vs Pressure (Mr J Holroyd, Deputy Housemaster of Highfield)

The structure allows for a fortnightly talk at 2.30pm on a Monday afternoon, followed by workshops in small groups on the alternate week to encourage discussion and debate.

Iain Mahony

Iain delivers engaging, honest talks on the perils of addiction and the causes that can lead to it.

Despite being privately educated and a high achiever, he was in rehab at 32 and shares his journey.

Patrick Foster

Patrick is a former professional cricketer, insurance broker and teacher whose life was shattered by a gambling addiction.

Now more than three years into recovery, Patrick is the Director of EPIC Risk Management and author of “Might Bite”.

Satveer Nijjar

Winner of Most Inspirational Person of the Year MBCC 2018, Satveer delivered talks to over 15,000 students last year on self-harm awareness and suicide with an aim of building confidence around the subject and reducing stigma, anxiety and fear.

Asif Sadiq MBE

Currently the Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for Warner Bros and having had similar roles at adidas, Ernst and Young and the City of London Police, Asif’s talks are powerful and inspiring. Asif offers an insight into diversity and inclusion first-hand and discusses the importance of EDI for the future.

Relationships and Sex Education

Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) is a statutory part of a pupil’s education, and at Uppingham, we believe that RSE should be an integral part of the lifelong learning process.

Research has shown that young people who feel good about themselves, and are knowledgeable and confident about sex and relationships, are more likely to be discerning in their relationships and sexual behaviours and are more likely to have fulfilling relationships.

The aim of RSE is to provide balanced factual information about human reproduction, together with consideration of the broader emotional, ethical, religious, and moral dimensions of sexual health. Our RSE programme aims to prepare pupils for adult life within a broader Wellbeing curriculum, which helps ensure that young people can thrive whilst at Uppingham School, and in their lives beyond our school gates. You can view this in more detail by clicking on the RSE Roadmap below.

We have built an age-appropriate and relevant spiral curriculum of topics to educate our pupils, but this sits within our broader pastoral care provision and pupils are encouraged to ask questions and seek advice whenever they need to, whether it be in House, at Woodfield, in Wellbeing lessons or from the pastoral team. For more information please see our RSE policy.

RSE Policy

RSE Road Map_Uppingham School_2024 (002).jpg

The Wellbeing Hub

Creating an environment that nurtures pupil mental health and wellbeing is a key priority for us at Uppingham School. To help us do this, we have invested in The Wellbeing Hub, developed by child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing experts, Teen Tips.

Uppingham pupils, staff and parents are all entitled to free access to their resources, webinars and podcasts. Parents can sign up using the link that has been sent from the School via email.

The Wellbeing Hub