Pastoral care and pastoral care teams: a review to inform policy and practice in schools

There is limited guidance available to schools about pastoral care best practice – about how to actually do the work of pastoral care in order to achieve the best possible outcomes for children and their families/whānau – although there is much talk about the importance of pastoral care and the work of pastoral care teams. This review was prepared in response to requests from schools who wanted to know more. It brings together the findings of a search of peer-reviewed literature, relevant websites and other grey literature, and also presents the findings of interviews conducted with teachers and other key professionals about their involvement in, and experience of, pastoral care teams in school settings.