Our Pastoral Network

At Diocesan we have a network of people who provide support for your daughters through their journey in the senior school.

Tutor Teachers – your daughter is in a house tutor class and her tutor teacher will stay with her on the 7-year journey through the school.  They get to know your daughter and will support her through the academic and pastoral challenges she may experience.

 Deans – each year level has a Dean who has oversight of the year group.  Apart from subject teachers, they are your first port of call if your daughter needs help and support.  They stay with that year level for 7 years – so they get to know you well!

Year 7 – Kit Bushell

Year 8 – Josh Farrell

Year 9 – Christine Lewis

Year 10 – Jordyn Hughes

Year 11 – Tracey Cusdin

Year 12 – Jessica Thompson

Year 13 – Neil Cheetham

Chaplains – we have a Chaplain – Rev’d Sandy Robertson and an Assistant Chaplain Rev’d Bryan Haggitt.  The chaplains offer pastoral support for all students and staff and support many diverse groups in the school to enable them to connect and belong.

Counsellors – we have three counsellors who support our girls through wellbeing, friendship, family and relationship issues.   They are not psychologists, educational psychologists or mental health therapists – they are school counsellors.  They assist with advice, guidance and provide a time out space when girls need it. We also have a therapy dog Miles – who is a very special part of providing the love and care that girls need. 

Nurses – we also employ fully qualified nursing staff in our Health Centre to provide excellent help when girls and occasionally staff feel unwell.  They provide medical support and a helping hand when students become ill or injured during the many activities at school.

Wellbeing research and monitoring

Over the last ten years we have monitored the wellbeing of our girls using a survey from the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) that monitors various aspects of school climate from a student’s perspective including teaching, pro-social student culture, and student behaviour. This gives us a view of trends over time. (2014 to 2024). Overall many trends emerging are very positive and students report:

– An increased feeling of belonging and acceptance.

– Consistent action against bullying by teachers.

– Improved teacher-student relations across cultures.

– Enhanced support for dealing with personal challenges and racism.

Other positive trends showed that 90% of students in 2024 reported that they were encouraged to get on with students from different cultures or backgrounds and 91% said they feel safe at school.  A consistently high percentage of students feel they belong, with a slight increase from 86% in 2014 to 89% in 2024. Encouragement to interact with diverse backgrounds increased from 89% in 2014 to 90% in 2024.

While we are proud of our efforts, of course this is an area that is developing over time, in line with the changing world around us.

Please contact us if you require further advice or information to support your family.