Lower Prep

The Lower School at Sherborne House provides a nurturing and engaging environment for all pupils. During these key years of schooling, Year 1 to Year 3, the focus for the form tutors is to prioritise getting to know the pupils and promoting a sense of belonging. The staff within the Lower School aim to foster a love of learning through our child-led curriculum and personalised learning for all.

As a two-form entry, we can put a strong focus on personalised learning, where each child is supported according to their individual strengths, interests, and needs, helping them build confidence and a sense of achievement. The nurturing environment promotes curiosity, creativity, and resilience, laying the groundwork for a lifelong love of learning.

Diversity is not only respected but celebrated, with children encouraged to appreciate different cultures, perspectives, and experiences, helping to build a strong sense of community and inclusion from the very start of their educational journey.

A Day in Lower School

The children in Year 1 to Year 3 benefit from specialised teaching in Performing Arts, PE, Modern and Foreign Languages (French and Spanish). In Year 3, the children are also introduced to specialist drama lessons, and weekly swimming lessons (during the Autumn term)

We have a specialist Forest School teacher who plans and delivers exciting weekly outdoor learning. We offer an extensive range of after-school clubs, including art, music, netball, multisports, and football. happy minds, puzzles and games.

The children enjoy a healthy and varied lunch menu, and a large salad bar is always available. The catering team are excellent at responding to any dietary needs, and there are several lunch options available each day.

Explore School Curriculum

Meet our Head of Lower School

Clare Mathema Head of Lower School

I have had the pleasure of working at Sherborne House for the past eight years. I love the diverse, harmonious community and the nurturing environment. It is a privilege to be able to personalise the children’s learning with such small...

Assessment and reporting

At Sherborne House, we hold much focus on the way pupils articulate their learning. As such our language for learning – OUR STORY – underpins much of our assessment and reporting process.

Our child-led focus and the development of metacognition in learning conversations afford our pupils more awareness and autonomy in assessing their progress with learning, specifically through the use of pupil-led conferences. Through scaffolded preparation, each child will be able to reflect on their progress in learning over time; they may talk about how and where they struggled, how they have improved, and their next steps.

Pupil-Led conferences

Pupil-led conferences are times when the teachers will do very little talking. Instead, the pupils lead the conferences, informing their parents about how they’re doing, what their goals are going forward, and how they best learn. Each child will have worked with their teachers to select a range of work that represents their learning and progress in all subjects. Each individual will keep and manage a portfolio of their own work, which will guide discussion throughout their conference. These conferences will take place over a two-week period in late Autumn and late Spring, either before or after school. Parents will be able to book a time to suit their family through their child’s form tutor.

Parents Evening

During the academic year, we hold a more formal parents’ evening too. This takes place at the beginning of the Spring term and offers the opportunity for parents and teachers to meet and discuss academic progress and test results. However, we still wish for parents to approach us at any time with their concerns; our open-door policy is very much a part of our school.

The role of parents

Ahead of our planned Form Tutor meetings (which are held in Mid-October), we ask that parents take some time to think about what they would like to share regarding their child as a learner. During the meeting, we discussed their child’s view of themselves as a learner using their Pupil Transfer Information form, completed in July, as well as the parents’ point of view. With this information, we will be able to discuss and plan the year ahead.

Reporting cycle

Whole school

We will continue to provide termly data reports, which will keep you informed of GL Assessment standardised scores, teacher-assessed attainment levels and attendance data.

Contacting your child’s teachers

We encourage an open-door policy, where we engage in a two-way dialogue between home and school throughout the year. If parents would like to meet or speak with any teacher about their child’s progress, teachers can be contacted directly by email using the format: initial.surname@sherbornehouse.co.uk.