In mid-June, a UWC Pastoral Care Conference was held at Pearson College, Canada over five days. It was designed to bring together residential staff from all UWCs in the spirit of connectivity and collaboration. We were delighted that there were representatives from all the UWC schools and colleges, including the two prospective campuses in Thailand and Japan.
All the teams present at the conference are committed to providing a strong, supportive and responsive pastoral progamme on each of our campuses.
The RCN Delegation consisted of Larry (Rektor), Alistair (Deputy Rektor), Judit (House Mentor), Lena (nurse) and Arne (Director of Development).
We were delighted that Jens Waltermann, the Executive Director of UWC, joined us for the majority of the programme – eager to listen and learn about pastoral developments in all our colleges. Laurence Nodder and Larry Lamont, Rektors of UWC RBC and UWC RCN respectively, were the Heads present and responsible for the conference. For Larry’s welcoming address, please click here.
The residential teams present at the conference came together having listened to feedback on respective campuses from residential staff and having brought many student ‘voices’ (experiences, struggles, mental health issues, and personal UWC challenges) in their backpacks.
The programme consisted of presentations, workshops and discussion groups on many pastoral subjects including: health and wellness, safety and security, supporting students of concern, gender and sexuality issues, mindfulness and social and emotional learning, dealing with trauma, promoting regular sleep patterns, and much more.
The main objective of the conference was for participants to share experiences and learning and then to take back what we learnt to our respective schools and colleges. In essence, this was a conference designed to provide professional development, a springboard for ongoing collaboration and support, for the benefit for the students on our campuses.
The Annual UWC Admissions Meeting was organized to coincide with the Pastoral Care Conference – and we spent one day with a shared agenda.
Thank you to the hosting team at Pearson who succeeded in delivering a highly stimulating conference and creating a welcoming atmosphere for all participants.
Sarah Hamilton, Director of Boarding at Atlantic College, captured the spirit of the conference in the final plenary session: ‘I have worked at AC for over 20 years and this conference has helped me feel part of a global UWC community for the very first time. Thank you.’
