Head of Pastoral & Extra-Curricular Activities
About This Role
Role Description:
La Garenne International School would like to appoint a Head of Pastoral. The Head of Pastoral is responsible for ensuring a coherent, safe and high-quality student experience across the full 24-hour school cycle, bridging academic life, boarding and co-curricular provision for students aged 4–18.
The role operates at the same leadership level as the Head of Primary & Middle School and Head of Secondary, reporting directly to the School Principal, and works collaboratively to ensure that the school’s mission is supported through a consistent and integrated pastoral approach.
The Head of Pastoral provides strategic oversight rather than operational replacement of existing systems, ensuring alignment between academic, boarding and co-curricular teams, and continuity of care across all aspects of school life, including evenings and weekends.
The nature of this role means that working hours are largely concentrated in evenings and weekends; however, the post-holder is not necessarily required to live on campus, though close proximity is required. Working hours will be defined in consultation with the School Principal to ensure effective SLT coverage across the full 24-hour school cycle.
Leadership & Collaboration:
Collaborating effectively with the General Director, School Principal, Head of Primary & Middle and Head of Secondary to ensure alignment across academic, pastoral and boarding provision
Leading the strategic development and implementation of whole-school pastoral systems, ensuring consistency across Primary, Middle and High School
Acting as one of the school’s Designated Safeguarding Leads (DSL) during key times ensuring 24/7 coverage, ensuring compliance with Swiss and international safeguarding standards
Ensuring effective communication and collaboration between academic staff, boarding teams and co-curricular/activity coordinators
Leading the development of systems that ensure effective sharing of student information across all contexts (academic, boarding and co-curricular)
Providing strategic oversight of all boarding houses (Primary, Middle and High School), ensuring a high-quality and consistent student experience
Working closely with Heads of Section to ensure strong alignment between boarding and academic provision, including behaviour, routines and student support
Supporting Heads of Section in managing complex pastoral and safeguarding cases, ensuring a coordinated whole-school approach
Development and implementation of evening, weekend and co-curricular provision, working with coordinators and service providers to ensure alignment with student wellbeing and development aims
Leading and contributing to staff training in safeguarding, pastoral care and boarding practice
Supporting staff wellbeing alongside the General Director and School Principal
Building strong relationships with students, parents and boarding families, ensuring clear and consistent communication regarding student wellbeing
Acting as a key member of the Senior Leadership Team, contributing to whole-school strategy and development
Organisation & Administration:
Overseeing pastoral systems within school platforms (e.g. iSAMS), ensuring accurate and up-to-date records relating to safeguarding, behaviour and student wellbeing
Developing and monitoring systems for tracking student wellbeing, behaviour and engagement across academic, boarding and co-curricular contexts
Ensuring effective structures for daily and weekly communication between boarding and academic teams
Contributing to the planning and coordination of the school calendar, particularly in relation to boarding, activities and student wellbeing initiatives
Supporting admissions processes where pastoral insight is required
Contributing to accreditation and inspection processes related to safeguarding, boarding and student welfare
Monitoring the quality and consistency of boarding and co-curricular provision, identifying areas for development
General Duties:
Upholding and promoting the school’s mission statement and IB philosophy
Maintaining a visible and active leadership presence across the school, including evenings, weekends and school events
Supporting conflict resolution and mediation relating to students and staff
Contributing to assemblies, student events and wider school life
Working with SLT to support continuous school improvement
Making recommendations to improve the overall student experience across academic, boarding and co-curricular provision
Please note that whilst the key responsibilities have been included in this job description, it should be acknowledged that the role is not limited to these activities and can vary based upon the needs of the school / faculty, as directed by the School Principal.
The Ideal Candidate: - You will be an educator who is dedicated to continual improvement and embodies the attributes of the IB Learner Profile. - Has a good honours degree and/or a further degree in a directly-related subject. Further leadership qualifications are desireable. - Embraces a commitment to working within the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. - Is passionate about boarding life and has the ability to enthuse others. - Embraces developments and innovations in teaching and learning and is willing to experiment with new practices. - Has significant experience as a supervisor to learners completing the MYP Personal Project and the IBDP Extended Essay. - Has excellent written and verbal communication skills. - Shares the educational philosophy of La Garenne International School including our holistic vision of education and is excited to contribute to the co-curricular and pastoral aspects of life at the school. - Has strong interpersonal skills and can build relationships and collaborate with colleagues and school leadership. - Strong ICT competence and willing to embrace new technologies for teaching and learning. - Possesses a positive outlook, an optimistic approach to change and development, and a good sense of humour. We are committed to ensuring that all of our teaching staff continue to develop themselves professionally and embrace new and innovative approaches to teaching and learning. The successful candidate will teach across our campuses in contemporary and bright teaching spaces which are equipped with the latest educational technology. - The opportunity to live and work in a beautiful area with great connections to the rest of Europe - A safe and secure environment in which to work - The numerous outdoor activities that are on offer (particularly as Villars is a renowned ski resort) - An opportunity to learn or improve your French - To work in a school with an excellent reputation - To be part of a growing school with opportunities for advancement - Attractive working conditions - Professional development opportunities - Possibility to travel internationally - Depending on availability, places for staff children - Access to your own Macbook Air - To teach in modern classrooms with the latest technology - Approximately 15 weeks annual holiday spread throughout the year - Annual ski pass and Free Access Card (many free activities and transport during the summer) offered by the school for full time teaching staff We welcome any applicant who has a passion for education, who is ready to give each learner individual attention, participate in the life of the whole school and will uphold our guiding principles. If this is you, please complete the online application form (via Schrole connect), also attaching an up to date CV and a letter of application.Benefits:
The school has a range of additional benefits including: How to apply