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Pastoral Care
Pastoral Care offers support to the complete development of each student.  While it is limited to and by school time, we realise that many external issues impinge on the development of students. 
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Our aim is to offer help, guidance and support to our students throughout their time in Coláiste Dún an Rí. We hope to achieve this through Child Protection, Anti-Bullying, Code of Behaviour, Guidance Counselling, Learning Support, Mentoring and above all, individual contact with our students. 
Each year a Pastoral Care team meets regularly to oversee student welfare within the school.  This includes identifying students who are in need of learning support and socialising; students who have suffered loss; inviting speakers to address selected student groups on relevant issues and supporting particular programmes from time to time such as Wellbeing, Mentoring Programmes ; Anti Bullying modules and RSE modules.
Tutorials
Tutorial time will start each morning in the class’s base classroom at 8.45am until 8.58am. This time allows for the ongoing commitment to the Wellbeing programme within Coláiste Dún an Rí and gives students the opportunity to become grounded for the day ahead.
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A class (Rang) Tutor’s role is central in: caring for students; monitoring their progress both academically and socially; encouraging involvement in the daily life of the school; commitment to the ethos of the school and encouraging high standards of work and behaviour. The class Tutor should be active in caring for the holistic development of each child.
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Tutor System
As part of our Pastoral Care Programme, each class is assigned a Class Tutor who, on behalf of the school community, undertakes the role of caring for a class group in order to maximise the learning opportunities for each member of the group.  As part of the tutor’s duties, he/she will monitor the use of journals, build a relationship with the student, consult with subject teachers to alleviate any source of difficulty, monitor progress, reiterate the school’s Code of Behaviour and check school uniform.  Class Tutors are usually the first point of contact in the morning for students.
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All classes in Coláiste Dún an Rí are named after their form Tutor, therefore class Tutors for 2019-2020 are as follows:
Transition Year
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Rang Leahy
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Rang O'Reilly
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Rang Atkinson
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Third Year
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Rang McKenna
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Rang Ní Bhriain
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Rang Hourigan
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Rang Hickey
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Second Year
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Rang Gallagher
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Rang Lynch
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Rang Fitzpatrick
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Rang Hamill
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First Year
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Rang Duffy
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Rang Farrelly
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Rang McCabe
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Rang Talbot
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Rang Kelly
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Care Teams
The Pastoral Care team is part of the student support system in the school. That system encompasses a range of supports that cater for the learning, social, emotional and behavioural needs of students. The Guidance Plan for the school sets out the components of this system which includes the SPHE curriculum; the behaviour management system; the role of year heads and so on. The Guidance Counsellor is an active member of the Care Team in the school which also includes the Principal, Vice-Principal, Learning Support Teacher and Year Head. This group meets regularly to liaise, consult, share and plan for the pastoral needs of students.
Counselling
Counselling is a key part of the guidance programme, offered on an individual or group basis. It may include personal counselling, educational counselling or a combination of both.
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In personal counselling, the confidentiality rule is followed i.e. school management, parents, guardians are informed only if it is felt that the student is a danger to himself/herself or to others as per legal requirements. The student is informed of the limits of confidentiality at the beginning of the session.  If it is felt it is in the student’s best interest to inform a teacher/parent/guardian of a particular difficulty, this is done with the knowledge and hopefully, agreement of the student.