The Role of the Form Tutor

1
The Role of the Form Tutor

• Redefine, Reshape and Reform.
• The sharing of good practice

2
A positive is that is good to get to know the
individuals well over the years. It is like a
family there are bad times as well as
good. The class get used to your standards and
expectations if you are consistent in your
approach Continuity of the mentoring programme
year by year is a positive with your form
group I like the social interaction with the
pupils, seeing their development and
maturity The positives about being a form tutor
is that you are part of a team and you can learn
from other form tutors and see how individuals
compare across the whole year group
3
Being a form tutor gives me the chance to develop
a relationship with students and get involved.
Being able to help/support them gives you a great
feeling. I feel I am a constant for some of them
they know I will always be there. Its been
lovely being a year 7 tutor to see them settle in
and grow in confidence. It was good to take part
in the Christmas Fayre to work with the form a
good team building event. Ive enjoyed building
relationships with the girls and feeling that
they can trust me. I have found phoning parents
to be effective and it has had a good effect on
the punctuality for several girls.
4
As a form tutor I want to make a positive
influence on a pupils life It is an important
role because I am not only concerned with the
pupils academic development but also concerned
with the whole child If I was not a tutor I
would miss having a close relationship with a
group of pupils. I would also miss the day to
day conversations we have I would miss the
rapport I have build up with the majority of my
form and with the majority of the year team if I
was not a tutor A positive about the role is
contact with the same pupils everyday Having an
overview of how they are getting on in all the
subjects across the school
5
At present with my form I try to use this time to
talk to the girls in their groups about their
academic work whether they are struggling with
homework, guide and help them on a more one to
one basis. The girls know that I am there to help
them with any issue even if it means helping
them out with their work for other teachers,
because there are times when some pupils hold
themselves back to ask for help from their
subject teachers. I have found phoning parents
to be effective and it has had a good effect on
the punctuality for several girls. Wednesday we
do planner checks Friday we talk about the week
and try to solve problems for the next
week. Form strategies definitely circle time
and writing notes in planners to parents about
absences etc.
6
I like being able to deal with problems with
those I teach and keep a daily check on how they
are getting on with work in their lessons Being
a form tutor has helped me to establish
relationships with pupils which has helped me
settle as a new member of staff Mentoring helped
me to gain a better understanding of pupils and
their needs. I was able to offer advice and
support which I enjoyed doing I enjoy the fact
that my form make me feel welcome I enjoy the
daily chit chat eg what they did at the
weekend I enjoy being a part of a team. I
particularly enjoyed taking part in the lining up
for exams, there was real team spirit It has
been positive and helped that I have shared the
same staffroom with a number of staff on the team
to get help and advice
7
I have used circle time techniques from our day
out in the wilds and although fairly cynical
about their use with secondary kids have been
proved wrong. Kids really enjoy circle time
activities information is shared and
interesting points of view expressed by not just
the confident and voluble few. To raise self
esteem I get pupils to reflect on 1/2 good things
that they have enjoyed about school that
week. It is nice to talk to the girls, without
the pressures of a subject or assessment. It
is nice to see them develop and mature into young
ladies.
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Aims and objectives of the day

• AIMS
• To redefine the role of the Form Tutor
  concentrating on generic responsibilities and
  year specific attributes.
• To share good practice within the team and equip
  each tutor with a toolkit to tackle everyday
  situations.
• To ensure that all members of the year team are
  consistent with their approach to the start of
  the day.
• Objectives By the end of the Workshop you will
  have
• Discussed what the role of the Form Tutor ideally
  should be.
• Shared good practice amongst the team on how to
  tackle different situations.
• Gained strategies to deal with specific
  situations as a form tutor.
• Reflected on your own practice and gained ideas
  for developing your role as a tutor.

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Registration A less effective start to the
day.
Youre in my chair
I wish I had some friends
Why does no-one speak to me?
Yeah Im on report again
Aisha, Rachel, Halima, Halima!!! I cant hear to
take the register
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Registration A more effective start to the
day.
I wonder what we are doing p1..
If I get all 1s today Miss said I can come off
next week.
Its Wednesday! Planner checks!
I am going to write down when my Mentoring
session is.
Girls, Now I have done the register, can you get
your planners out for me to check them with the
Prefects? Thank you..
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More effective

• Formroom Routines

Less effective
Teacher waits at the door to meet the pupils at
the start of the day
Pupils arrive before the teacher who is often
several minutes late
Pupils arrive promptly, enter the form room in an
orderly way, remove outdoor clothing, bags under
desk and sit quietly for the register
Pupils drift in without being challenged, taking
time to settle, have outdoor clothing on and have
a negative effect on the ethos
Latecomers arrive casually over several minutes
and are chastised or ignored one at a time during
the register
Latecomers enter quickly and quietly. Their
presence is acknowledged and they expect a word
with the teacher in due course
The tutor shouts out the register over the top of
form room noise. Pupils shout back confirming
who is present. This is time consuming and
confirms to the students that this is a period of
time of no real value
The tutor begins the session promptly by making
clear the form time activity. This conveys the
expectations that pupils will do something of
value during the session
The tutor debates with frustration, although
occasionally with amusement, each pupils reason
for lateness or having no absence note. Some of
the form are listening to reasons offered whilst
others are chatting
There is positive interaction between tutor and
individual pupils. This takes place whilst the
rest of the form are engaged in a meaningful
activity
Some pupils are beginning to get restless. The
noise level is too high, there is no sense of
purpose and the tutor struggles to get attention
Pupils engage positively with tasks. It is clear
that there is a well-understood routine in the
form room
At end of the session the pupils leave the form
room calmly and in a positive frame of mind,
ready for learning
As the bell goes the pupils leave the room with
their coats on, chairs are left untidy and they
rush out to meet friends in the corridor for a
chat before period 1