Departmental mythologies: pastoral bureaucracy
FORUM - Print ISSN 1474-7685 - Online ISSN 2047-7171
Volume 68 Number 3 (2026)
Departmental mythologies: pastoral bureaucracy
K. David pages 123‑126
DOI: 10.3898/forum.2026.68.3.11
Abstract
‘Pastoral care’ in English schooling has fragmented across specialised bureaucratic domains: safeguarding, attendance, SEND (special educational needs and disabilities), well-being, mental health, family support. This fragmentation reorganises institutional integration: coherence is not produced through a shared pastoral vision or vocabulary but through specialised procedures, referral systems and accountability frameworks that cut across institutional boundaries. Drawing on recent attendance and health guidance, this article traces how this reconfiguration operates. It forms part of a wider series, ‘Departmental mythologies’, on the conceptual and organisational forms through which governmental systems manage persistent structural pressures.
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To cite this article
K. David (2026) Departmental mythologies: pastoral bureaucracy, FORUM, 68(3), 123-126 . https://doi.org/10.3898/forum.2026.68.3.11