Pastoral Care

Parents want to know that when they say goodbye to their children in the playground in the morning, they will have a happy, safe day full of learning, friends and fun. At Lingfield, we believe pastoral care is as important as academic achievement and every child's welfare is important to us. We consider each pupil to be unique, and we work hard to guide them to achieve their greatest potential in a safe, secure and happy environment.

From the moment they arrive, pupils are shown the value of good manners, compassion, humility, and mutual respect. We see daily demonstrations of how kind and supportive they are of each other. They are mindful of the opportunities afforded to them, with our beautiful grounds and spacious, bright facilities within which they are privileged to receive their education.

Throughout the school, pupils develop into well-rounded, charming and confident young people who show a caring attitude for others and promote a friendly and welcoming school community.

We are a happy school. This is joyfully apparent in the interactions you see between all community members. Teachers have primary responsibility for the children in their class, understanding them as individuals and knowing their friendship groups and their families. They watch and cheerlead with pride as their pupils move through Prep to Senior School. The children also interact with many other adults throughout their school day. They talk excitedly to teaching assistants, support staff, volunteers and the catering team, who all know the children by name and are interested in their news. These closely formed relationships and our warm and supportive environment allow children to feel safe enough to share any concerns, along with their celebrations and successes.

Here are some ways we work hard to keep your child happy and safe with us.

Lingfield Life Wellbeing Programme

At Lingfield College Prep, we believe in emotionally, physically, and socially nurturing the whole child. Our new Lingfield Life programme brings this belief to life: designed for every pupil aged 0-11, it ensures that wellbeing is woven into everything we do, from classroom learning to playtime, curriculum to community.

Our Wellbeing Committee

Our dedicated Wellbeing Committee brings together pastoral leaders, specialist staff, and teachers, who work strategically to guide Lingfield Life and ensure that every child is supported.

Mrs Jacky Shackel (Head of Prep & Designated Safeguarding Lead) leads the team, ensuring our wellbeing initiatives sit at the heart of school life.
Mrs Charlotte Hubbard (Director of Studies) embeds emotional intelligence, resilience and mental-health awareness into the curriculum.
Mrs Philippa Pearce (Mental Health Lead & ELSA) supports pupils with individual and small-group sessions, teaching tools to build resilience and positive wellbeing.
Mr Simon Kempson (Head of PE) encourages active play, team sport, confidence building and fitness for life.
Mrs Jo Daugherty (Healthy Schools Coordinator) champions PSHE, healthy eating, physical activity and our status as the first independent school in Surrey to maintain Surrey Healthy Schools accreditation.
Mrs Louise Leppard (Mental Health First Aider & ELSA) works across the school with tailored interventions to strengthen pupils’ emotional literacy and social skills.
Mrs Emily Penn (Anti-Bullying Lead) guides our Anti-Bullying Ambassadors and promotes a culture of respect and kindness across the Prep.
Mrs Helen Roe (PSHE Co-ordinator) oversees the PSHE programme and works closely with the committee to embed wellbeing into daily school life.

The Programme in Practice

Under the Lingfield Life umbrella, we deliver wellbeing through five integrated strands:

Emotional Wellbeing & Kindness: Circle time, storytelling, kindness challenges, and peer support encourage empathy, self-expression, and community.
Physical Health & Fitness: Daily activity, team sports, playground games, “Morning Move”, healthy-tasting opportunities at breakfast and lunch: all designed to help children enjoy movement and build lifelong habits.
Mindfulness & Relaxation: Children learn mindfulness, relaxation techniques and ways to manage their emotions and focus through our wellbeing clubs and quiet spaces like The Snug.
Wellbeing in Learning: Lessons and projects integrate wellbeing themes such as resilience, curiosity, collaboration, and growth mindset, ensuring learning is joyful and grounded in positive mental habits.
Friendship & Social Wellbeing: Buddy classes, peer support, collaborative projects, and community initiatives help children build strong friendships, respect differences, and feel part of something bigger.

Current Initiatives

Some of the key activities children are already enjoying:

Wellbeing Wednesday clubs across all year groups.
Anti-Bullying Ambassador training and pupil-led initiatives.
Healthy Tasting Tables at lunch to make nutritious eating fun and exploratory.
Morning Move sessions every day to energise the body and the mind.
Cookery for KS2: hands-on experiences teaching healthy nutrition and cooking skills.
The Snug — a calm, welcoming space for one-to-one and small-group ELSA sessions supporting emotional resilience.
Gardening projects connecting children with nature and growing responsibility, well-being and care.
Rosco Rovers — our wellbeing dog who offers walks, cuddles and joy, helping to make the Prep day even brighter.

One-to-one ELSA sessions are available for children who would benefit from additional emotional support and resilience-building.

Small Classes

We have small classes of no more than 24 children with a class teacher and teaching assistant in every room, ensuring each pupil receives the individual care they deserve and is given the time and support to reach their true potential.

Small classes at Lingfield Prep help children to reach their full potential

Partnerships with Parents

Parent Focus Groups: A selection of parents from each class are invited to meet with the Headmaster and Head of Prep each year to discuss concerns, share ideas and give feedback
Parent Reps: Each class has a parent rep who meets with the Key Stage Leaders every term to exchange ideas and feedback; reps typically coordinate social events and communication between the class
Volunteering Opportunities: We always welcome the help of parents to support various events and activities at the School, including sporting fixtures, clubs, talks and educational visits
Weekly email news bulletin sent to all parents
Regular surveys to gauge feedback on new initiatives or proposed changes
Frequent communication about health, illness and accidents
An invitation to join our thriving Lingfield Parents’ Association

School Houses

We have a thriving House system at Prep. The system helps children to experience a sense of belonging, healthy competition and teamwork. It encourages pupils to embrace challenges in all aspects of school life. We run House events each term such as talent shows, quizzes and sports days. Within the House system achievement is recognised by awarding stars.

The Houses are named in honour of the saints George, David, Andrew and Patrick. The children all try their hardest in House activities and are motivated to do well for themselves and each other. The year culminates in a prize-giving ceremony.

Listening to and Respecting our Pupils

We believe every child’s voice should be heard both by their peers and by the adults in the School community. We offer several formal opportunities to ensure this happens throughout the school year.

Class roles and responsibilities
Year 6 leadership roles and Head Team
Year 6 Captains for Drama, Sports, Music and Art who work closely with our specialist teaching staff
Pupil focus groups to discuss ideas and school matters with Mrs Shackel
Eco-Council
Marketing ambassadors
Year 6 Digital Leaders

Lingfield College Prep School student community

Rosco - Wellbeing Dog

Rosco is a 6-year-old Pomeranian who has been trained through the Dog Mentor Programme. Rosco is based with Mrs Hubbard, but goes out and about the Prep school at break and lunch times. Rosco has a programme of activities, such as lunchtime dog walks, ‘Reading with Rosco’ for anxious or struggling readers, and various wellness activities with children.

The Dog Mentor Programme builds on the benefits of the human-animal bond by offering young people positive experiences with dogs that can help them educationally, developmentally, emotionally and socially.

The social therapy dogs (also) play a role in supporting pupil wellbeing.

ISI 2024

PSHECE

We recognise that pupils' moral, social and cultural development plays a significant role in their ability to learn and achieve. As part of a whole-school approach, we focus on the qualities and attributes children need to thrive as individuals, family members and global citizens. We provide children with ongoing opportunities to explore and develop their values and beliefs and to maintain their high standards of personal behaviour. We place great emphasis on cultivating positive and caring attitudes towards other people and the importance of understanding and accepting social and cultural traditions that are different to their own.

Anti-bullying Measures & E-Safety

The School has a robust anti-bullying policy. Pupils are regularly reminded of its importance in assemblies, talks in class and displays in and around the School.

E-Safety plays a fundamental role in our safeguarding and child protection measures. We recognise that we must ensure our processes and systems keep children safe, while also teaching pupils about online safety. We discuss e-safety at the beginning of each academic year with both children and parents, and it is reinforced explicitly in Computing lessons and assemblies.

Please see our full Safeguarding Policy on our Policies Page.

Buddy Classes

Each class is paired with another in a different year group. Every term they have playtime together as well as working collaboratively on an activity, such as reading or making Mother’s Day cards. This builds strong, supportive and nurturing relationships between pupils of different ages and backgrounds.

Star of the Week Awards

In weekly assemblies held by the Head of Prep, we celebrate success and achievement by awarding a Star of the Week certificate to an exemplary pupil. We find this is integral to developing positive behaviours and to teaching children to be proud of themselves and each other.

Learning Support

Learning Support helps our pupils to maximise their potential and to achieve their learning goals. The ethos of the School promotes individualised approaches to learning and positive emotional wellbeing. We recognise that children learn at different rates and have individual needs and learning preferences. Our aim is to empower all pupils to fulfil their personal, academic and creative goals.

At Prep School we offer the following programme of support:

English and Maths 'Mastery' groups for Years 1 to 6
The services of a Special Educational Needs Coordinator