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At NCCGB we place strong pastoral care at the heart of everything we do.
We are committed to ensuring that our young singers receive excellent care whilst they are with us. Our courses are supportive, inclusive environments, where our young people can be themselves with like-minded people. We are proud that our singers grow in independence and self-confidence whilst they are with us. Our singers form life-long friendships, and many of them return to work with the choir as pastoral carers, because they love the choir so much.
We create an inclusive and supportive environment, where our young people can learn from the best musicians and receive high quality pastoral care. We are helping to grow the next generation of musicians.
Any staff or trustees who come into contact with the children must undergo an Enhanced DBS check, which is renewed every 3 years. Staff adhere to our Safeguarding policies and procedures and undergo safeguarding training at the start of each course, as well as undertaking NSPCC Child Protection training before working with us.
Our Head of Pastoral Care and Safeguarding Lead, Harriet Smith, has overall responsibility for safeguarding. Harriet is a secondary school music teacher in a large secondary school in Lincoln, with responsibilities as a Head of Year and Designated Safeguarding Officer. She therefore brings a lot of experience to her role with NCCGB. She works closely with two Deputy Safeguarding Leads, Nicole O’Donnell (CEO) and Natalie Walker (Junior Choirs Pastoral Lead) and meets with them regularly during our courses. Natalie is also a secondary school teacher outside of NCCGB. The entire staff team escalate any issues to the safeguarding team as soon as they arise.
The pastoral team is made up of musicians, teachers and NCCGB alumni. They work in specific boarding houses and across different choirs. There are pastoral staff on duty at all times, including overnight. We consider that it is particularly beneficial to our young choir members that some of the pastoral team were once in the choir, as they understand exactly what it is like to be away from home and a member of NCCGB. They are therefore more able to help our young people to integrate and feel welcome and supported.
Head of Pastoral Care and Safeguarding Lead Harriet Smith contact details – pastoralcare@nccgb.com