Prep Curriculum
The very best start in life.
The purpose of a Stafford Prep School education is to give children the very best start in life and to prepare them for the next stage in their education. Importantly, we believe that our imaginative and creative curriculum, small classes and individual approach, enables our pupils to grow in confidence and to make excellent progress.
We encourage every pupil to strive to 'be someone'.
Music
Every day the sound of children’s singing fills the Prep School. From the moment a child joins the Prep School, our pupils are immersed in an array of musical opportunities.
Our music lessons are taught by specialist music teachers from the senior school and all pupils are given the opportunity to learn an instrument with visiting music teachers. In Year 4, all pupils learn an instrument as part of their lessons. These lessons continue for the whole year and, together with instrument hire, are provided free of charge to give children the opportunity to experience learning an instrument, which many continue with in the future.
The School Choirs – Training Choir (for Years R-2) and Junior Choir (Years 3-6) – are very well attended. As well as singing in school concerts and other events, the Choirs enter regional and national choral competitions and Gotta Sing. Our children love to sing, and as well as performing at our carol service at St. Mary’s Church, we all love to hear Reception children singing in their annual nativity.
We have a full size orchestra in the Prep School, with well over 20 members of the Prep School playing a full range of instruments. Children that are on our ‘Aim Higher’ Programme for music are invited to join the Senior School orchestra/concert band to broaden their experience.
Children can sign up for a wide variety of peripatetic music lessons. These are individual lessons where the children are collected in person and taken to a dedicated music room. Children can progress through the grades and perform in informal concerts to build their confidence, as well as whole school concerts.
Drama
Reception and Key Stage 1 produce our annual traditional Nativity, which is always a highlight of the school year. Years 3 and 4 perform a version of the Christmas story which is always entertaining: ‘The Good, The Bad and The Donkey’, ‘Behind the Stable Door’ and ‘Rock around Christmas’. Year 5 and 6 take the limelight in the Summer Term with an entertaining musical. Recent productions have included ‘What a Knight’, ‘Porridge’, and ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’.
We also have many pupils who begin LAMDA lessons in the Prep School, either in pairs or small groups. Children start LAMDA as young as Reception age which gives them a great start and an abundance of confidence.
Happy Children
Our first priority is always to ensure that our children are happy within our caring family atmosphere. Our philosophy is simple – happy children succeed. Our staff get to know each and every child and provide them with the encouragement and attention they deserve.
Learning
From Reception to Year 6, we offer a broad and rich education in and out of the classroom. Our curriculum allows our pupils to reach their full potential, both academically and personally.
Pupils at Stafford Prep School study English, mathematics, science, history, geography, art, design & technology, computer science (ICT), music, French, German, religious education, PSHEE, physical education and games. In addition, all children take part in Forest School.
30 minutes of homework is set on a daily basis for children in Years 3 to 6, so that pupils adopt good learning habits and develop independent working, including reading and practising their spellings.
From Reception class, Music, Languages and PE/Games are taught by specialists. In Years 1 to 3 pupils are taught most academic subjects by their own form teacher. In Years 4, 5 & 6 children are taught by subject specialists including some teachers from the Senior School.
Our approach is underpinned by our school values, which encourage children to engage enthusiastically whilst also being kind to others and treating differences between them with respect.
Educational Support
Children with any specific learning needs receive support within and outside the classroom. Early identification of needs, (such as dyslexia) allows teachers to tailor their lessons appropriately.
Working alongside the SENDCo, form teachers create Individual Education Plans (IEP) to support each pupil. Interventions for groups and individuals provide support in spelling, handwriting, reading and mathematics to allow children to consolidate their learning and gain confidence.
Peri Lessons
Our partnership with Impact Tennis enables children to sign up for individual tennis tuition. The children have the potential to progress to a dedicated performance group.
We have a dance studio where children can take part in dance club. Opportunities to perform in school assemblies, concerts and in ‘Gotta Dance’ at the Gatehouse Theatre, Stafford. Children can sign up for individual or paired dance lessons with qualified dance teachers from Dene Dance School. They can choose between ballet, tap, street or hip hop. Small dance showcases are presented to the parents and the children can take examinations.
In the Community
We enjoy building links with our local community and cultivate our values of kindness and community-mindedness in our pupils.
Here are just a few examples of our involvement with the local community:
- The junior choir regularly attends the local nursing home to sing and entertain the residents.
- A Christmas collection for local charities including toys and toiletries for Women’s Aid
- Food parcels for our local food bank and gift packages for the elderly.
- Harvest festival sees us collecting food for the local food bank.
- During the year we have non-uniform days and cake sales to raise money for local charities.
Trips and Residentials
Trips and visits to the theatre, museums and places of interest form an integral part of the Prep School.. We believe in learning outside of the classroom as well as in it, and recent school trips have included: Jodrell Bank, Black Country Museum and Liverpool Museum and Art Gallery.
All children from Year 4 have the opportunity to participate in outdoor education of the highest standard. These opportunities aim to achieve three core learning outcomes: confidence, resilience and life skills. Year 4 children spend a day at Conkers Discovery Park in the National Forest where they have the opportunity to KataKanu on the river, Barefoot walk on the longest course in the UK and orienteer around the site.
Our overnight trips in Year 5 and 6 allow children to develop greater independence and confidence. For many, a residential trip may be the first time they have been away from home and we work closely with parents to ensure this is a positive and fun experience.
Year 5 spend two nights at Whitemore Lakes, nr Lichfield. Children get the opportunity to enjoy a variety of activities including a high ropes course, the 3G swing and the giant zip wire. Evenings are spent by the campfire toasting marshmallows, telling stories and singing.
Year 6 students spend a whole week at the Arete Centre in the beautiful, rugged landscape of the Snowdonia National Park, Wales. Activities range from gorge walking to mountain climbing in the snow – a real life changing experience.
Visitors
We love to welcome visitors to share their enthusiasm and knowledge with pupils in the Prep School, and to enrich their experiences. Recent visitors have included: Pep the Poet who held a workshop about his poetry and dressed the children up as characters from the poems. The children also wrote their own poems. We also enjoy a visit from the ‘Animal Man’ who spends time with each class showing the children a variety of animals and their habitats.
Sport
Sport plays a very important role in the Prep School. Our pupils are stretched and challenged in a wide range of sporting activities as part of the curriculum and extra-curricular clubs.
We benefit from the use of the Senior School sports hall, and what sets us apart from other Prep. Schools is the vast amount of land and outdoor space available for our children to use. We host cross country events and other tournaments for other schools across the area.
Our sports are: netball, hockey, rounders, football, tennis, badminton, cricket, athletics. We also play a range of ‘big’ games to support the skills required that are a lot of fun, including dodgeball, bench ball, Capture the flag, mat rounders and War Zone.
Prep. children have achieved some spectacular sporting successes memorably winning medals at the National U11 hockey and netball. We have achieved ISA Midlands champion status in football, netball, hockey, cricket and rounders in recent years . Locally we have achieved many titles and gone on to County rounds to represent Stafford.
Learn more about Prep life
Reception
Welcome
