World Mental Health Day falls on Saturday 10 October, the same morning many families will be visiting our Prep Schools for our open mornings. It feels like the right moment to answer a question we are asked at almost every visit: how do you look after children’s well-being, day to day?
Our answer is the same across all three of our Schools, even if it looks different at four, eleven and seventeen. Happy children learn well. Well-being is not an add-on to school life; it is led by our senior leadership team and built into how every day runs.
Known and noticed at the Boys’ Prep
At the Boys’ Prep, form teachers are the first point of contact for parents, and our open-door approach means small worries can be raised early, before they grow. Five values (community, courage, compassion, inquisitiveness and respect) shape how boys treat one another and their learning.
Belonging starts before the first day. Every Reception pupil is paired with a Year 6 buddy, who begins supporting them before they even start, and every Year 6 boy takes on a leadership role, from the School Council to the Head Boy team. Responsibility, it turns out, is very good for confidence.
Growing on the Values Tree at the Girls’ Prep
At the Girls’ Prep, pastoral care rests on a positive partnership between pupils, parents and staff. When a girl shows compassion, courage or curiosity, a leaf with her name on it is added to our Values Tree: a simple, visible reminder that character matters as much as achievement.
Girls also have a real say in school life. Our Pupil Leadership Team, made up of Form and Vice Form Captains from Year 2 upwards, meets the Head every week to share ideas and concerns, from the snack policy to playground design. Our three houses, Arundel, Balmoral and Caernarvon, give every girl a team to belong to.
A framework for flourishing in the Senior School and Sixth Form
As pupils grow older, the pressures change, and so does the support. Our Senior School and Sixth Form use a Charter for Well-being built on the PERMA framework: positive emotion, engagement, relationships, meaning and accomplishment. Our Healthy Mind Toolkit turns that into seven practical habits, from managing relationships to trying new things and giving to others.
Form Tutors work closely with every pupil, including through 1:1 coaching and target-setting, and our PSHE programme is delivered in partnership with the PSHE Association. Where more specialist help is needed, our qualified counselling team offers confidential one-to-one sessions. Pupils can self-refer or be referred by their Form Tutor or Head of Year.
This work has been recognised externally. The School holds the Wellbeing Award for Schools, and our most recent ISI inspection noted that pupils’ personal development is supported by our charter for well-being and PERMA framework “within the strong pastoral systems of the school”.
If you are worried about your child
Mental health is not something to save for one day a year. If something is on your mind, please talk to us. At the Prep Schools, your child’s form teacher is the best place to start; in the Senior School and Sixth Form, contact their Form Tutor or Head of Year. Small conversations, held early, make the biggest difference.
To find out more, visit our Senior School, Boys’ Prep and Girls’ Prep well-being pages.
