Pastoral Care

Our pastoral care and personal development are of paramount importance and involve all children and adults who participate in the daily life of the school. We place strong emphasis on the creation of a supportive atmosphere, and we encourage our pupils to strive to achieve their personal, social and academic goals. We encourage our pupils to take a ‘can do’ approach to their school lives and find that pastoral care encourages character-building. The pupils become increasingly familiar with facing challenging situations with greater confidence when they apply the personal strategies they have been encouraged to adopt to their daily lives.

Wellbeing and e-Safety

Wellbeing and e-Safety


Emotional Support and Pupil Wellbeing

All staff are available to support any pupil who wishes to discuss a worry, share a concern, or needs emotional reassurance during the school day. Creating a culture of openness and trust is at the heart of our pastoral care.

We have a dedicated medical room that is accessible to all pupils and a designated First Aid Lead who is responsible for responding quickly to any health needs during the school day. This includes administering first aid and providing a holistic assessment and treatment of any illnesses that may arise.

Pupils with long-term medical needs are supported through individual care plans and regular check-ins to ensure their school experience is not disrupted by illness. All teaching staff are trained in first aid, helping us to maintain a safe and responsive environment for all children.


Online Safety and Digital Wellbeing

Be SMART – Think Before You Click!

Technology is integral to modern life, and internet access is part of our daily routine at school, home, and work. The online world offers children endless opportunities to learn, explore, connect, and create –  but it also comes with risks. Helping pupils and families understand how to reduce and manage these risks is essential to making the most of digital life.

At the core of our e-safety curriculum is teaching children how to recognise unsafe situations online and where to seek help when something doesn’t feel right. Just as we teach children how to cross the road safely rather than avoid it altogether, we teach them how to navigate the internet with awareness and confidence.

We are committed to supporting pupils in developing their own sense of digital wellbeing – understanding how their online choices, screen time, and interactions with others can impact their mental and emotional health.

We are proud to be part of Childnet’s Digital Leaders training programme. Each year, selected pupils are appointed as Digital Leaders and given the opportunity to lead by example, educating their peers about how to stay safe and positive online.

Parents and carers are key partners in supporting children’s understanding of online safety. They are often the first people children turn to if something goes wrong. We know it can be difficult to stay informed as technology evolves rapidly, so we provide access to trusted resources and advice to help families feel confident in supporting their child’s digital journey.

Useful Internet Safety Advice Links

If you are worried about online abuse or the way someone has been communicating online, let CEOP know.

The button has been developed to offer children, young people, parents/carers and professionals working with these groups with a simple and convenient mechanism for reporting abuse and gaining access to trusted online safety advice, help and support.

Co-Curricular

Co-Curricular


We offer over 40 clubs a week which serve to enrich the pupils’ development in a variety of areas such as chess, dance, football, coding, and fencing, to name a few. We aim to link the clubs to the curriculum so that we can extend beyond the confines of the classroom subjects and offer opportunities for pupils to develop their curiosity, resilience and independence.


Clubs Programme

Our clubs’ programme aims to provide opportunities to develop skills and interest in a range of areas such as logic and reasoning, creative arts, health & fitness and communication. An extensive range of activities is available during lunch breaks, before and after school.

Some of the clubs we offer include: performance arts, debating, music theory, choir, orchestra, football, netball, brainteasers & logic puzzles, Lego construction, creative drawing, arts & crafts, coding, eco-team, fencing, sewing, dancing, chess, cooking and book club.  We also offer a Breakfast Club every morning before school.


Workshops and Visits

The pupils benefit hugely from the variety of workshops throughout the year, relevant to the topics they are covering in lessons. These include: dance, music, drama, history geography, architecture, the science dome, British Values workshops and maths puzzle days.

Outside the classroom, we take full advantage of our wonderful location and frequently visit the city’s museums, art galleries, and other places of interest relevant and complimentary to the curriculum. Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 also enjoy annual residential trips.

House Systems

House Systems


The house system fosters a strong sense of belonging and loyalty across the whole school and helps to cultivate relationships between girls in differing year groups. This is especially beneficial to the younger girls who often find a mentor or special friend in an older pupil.

From Nursery the children are divided into three Houses: Tudor (red), Stuart (yellow) and Windsor (blue). Daughters of Old Girls are able to join the same House as their mother and we endeavour to allocate siblings and other family members to the same House wherever possible. Each term a House Captain, Vice Captain and Games Captain are chosen from Year 6.Interhouse competitions foster a spirit of competition and camaraderie amongts pupils. These events encompass a wide range of activities, including our Swimming Gala, House Music, and Debating events along with those during themed days such as World Book Day and Science Week. On Sports Day, the Sports Day Cup, festooned in the winning House colours is presented to the day’s winning House.House Points and Golden Points are earned by pupils in the course of their school work.  They are tallied each week and the House and Golden Point Cups are presented to the winning Houses in assembly. The cups are proudly displayed in the dining hall for the week. At the end of term and the end of the academic year, the House with the most points over the whole period is awarded the Cup for the term or year.
Performances and Assemblies

Performances and Assemblies


Assemblies are an essential part of the Sarum Hall life and we meet 4 times a week to celebrate the success of the girls in a variety of endeavours, as well as listening to performance and class assemblies and themed inspirational stories or demonstrations by staff and pupils alike.

Performance Assemblies

  • Every week girls have the chance to perform solos or duets etc. in our performance assembly. This gives them the opportunity to perform in a relaxed, friendly and informal environment and to listen to each other.

Recital Evenings

  • There are two recital evenings each year. In the Spring Term for Years 5 and 6 and in early summer for Years 3 and 4 The aim is to give children confidence when performing solo or in small groups in a welcome, friendly environment. These evening concerts take place in the school hall and are for pupils in Year 3 upwards. Younger performers are encouraged to play in performance assemblies (to which parents are invited) and in front of peers in class music lessons.

School Plays

  • Years 1 and 2 perform a short musical together at Christmas. Nursery and Reception perform a short musical revue at Christmas. Both performances take place during afternoons. In the Summer Term, Year 6 rehearse and perform a musical on two evenings and one afternoon.

School Concerts

  • There is an annual school concert which normally takes place in the summer term. The concert consists of performances by the junior and senior choirs, orchestra, chamber, recorder, keyboard and violin groups as well as soloists from Year 6. The aim is to give the children the opportunity of performing in a welcoming environment and listening to each other.

Carol Service

  • The carol service takes place in St Mary’s Church, Primrose Hill. Each class prepares a class carol with or without percussion. The choirs prepare special carols and the orchestra plays. This is a service, not a concert, but a good level of performance is achieved.

Other Church Services

  • These take place in St. Mary’s Church. All girls from Reception upwards participate in hymn singing. The choirs usually sing an anthem. These services include occasions such as Harvest, End of the School year, etc.
Sports

Sports


We are proud of our outdoor space which boasts a floodlit netball court and 4 short tennis courts. The purpose built and fully equipped gym also ensures that we are able to hold the majority of our sports lessons at school regardless of the weather. The girls have dance, gymnastics and yoga alongside training in other sports such as netball, football and hockey.

  • Pupils at Sarum Hall School enjoy an extensive range of sports in a cooperative and stimulating environment. Lessons take place in our purpose-built, well-equipped gymnasium, outside on our multi-purpose Astroturf and at Primrose Hill. Swimming lessons take place at Swiss Cottage Leisure Centre.
  • As well as the physical health benefits of Sport, the pupils benefit from competition, problem-solving, and improved wellbeing through participation in Sport. We offer a diverse and challenging Sports curriculum, which includes; football, netball, swimming, gymnastics, cross Country and athletics. We seek to challenge our pupils, both physically and mentally, as they aim high to achieve their full potential.
  • At Sarum Hall School, we run a thriving extra-curricular PE programme, where we offer everything from Jazz, Gymnastics, Netball, Cricket, Football and fencing. From Year 3 onwards pupils are encouraged to represent the school by taking part in regular fixtures, tournaments and competitions, against local prep schools.
  • Whether it is through competitive sport, co-operative work or independent exploratory sessions, we equip our pupils with the physical tools and motivation to remain active into adolescence and beyond.

Main Competitive Sports at Sarum Hall School

  • Netball
  • Gymnastics
  • Football
  • Cricket
  • Athletics
  • Swimming
Special Events

Special Events


Sarum Hall School places great emphasis on having a ‘family feel’ and therefore the ability to unite staff, parents and pupils alongside extended family is extremely important to us. Our Special Events provide us with the opportunity to share good work and performances with a wider audience, and to the benefit of the entire school community.

Open Day

  • Our annual Saturday Open Day each Spring Term welcomes pupils and their families to view work within their classrooms and around school.
  • Old Girls are warmly invited to attend our Open Day. It’s the perfect way to catch up and learn what our leavers have been up to since we saw them last, as well as allowing them to see how Sarum Hall has changed over the years.

Parents’ Day

  • On Parents’ Day, the parents of children in Nursery and Reception are invited to spend time in class with their daughters and get ‘hands-on’ experience of exciting ,and occasionally messy, activities such as construction, puppet theatre, cooking, art and crafts and reading.

Harvest Festival

  • We celebrate Harvest Festival with a service at our local church, St Mary’s. The generous harvest contributions donated by our families each year are taken to the Simon Community, a homeless centre in Kentish Town.

Christmas

  • Our annual carol service at St Mary’s Church is held just before the end of the autumn term. Nativity plays are performed for parents by Nursery, Reception and Key Stage 1 classes. All the pupils enjoy traditional festive parties at the end of the term.

Summer productions

  • As well as the traditional Nativity plays at Christmas, at the end of the Summer Term, Nursery and Reception children present a short musical play to parents. Year 6 pupils work throughout their final term on a full-scale production, performed for families on two nights during their last week at Sarum Hall School.
Healthy Living

Healthy Living


We have long recognised the link between happy, successful learners and an active, healthy lifestyle. It has been part of our ethos since 1995 and having achieved Healthy School status.

Within school, pupils are encouraged to eat a healthy, well-balanced diet. All food is freshly prepared in our kitchen and the nutritious menu includes traditional and modern dishes from around the world. Hot and cold dishes are available daily, together with a variety of salads, fresh fruit and vegetables, some from our garden. Fruit, vegetables and other snacks are provided during morning break. All diets are catered for. Everyone, staff and pupils, eat together in the bright dining hall, allowing social interaction and the practice of good table manners.

Our pupils are always active in school, whether in PE lessons, at playtimes or enjoying our wide range of sports clubs such as country dancing, karate, fencing, netball, rounders, tennis and football.

We also promote a healthy lifestyle outside of school. We support the Camden Schools Travel Plan initiative that promotes undertaking environmentally friendly journeys to school. Pupils are encouraged, where possible, to walk, scooter or cycle to school. This not only increases the fitness of our pupils but also improves the local environment. There is provision at school for bicycles, buggies and scooters and for those living further afield, car sharing and the use of public transport are promoted. We have achieved higher standards level in the School Travel Accredited and Recognised (STAR) scheme as a school with a travel plan that promotes and achieve safe and active travel.

 

School Council

School Council


We believe that the School Council empowers pupils to speak their mind and share their opinions, develop crucial life skills in communication and democracy, as well as improving the overall school community. The School Council plays a large role in life at Sarum Hall School. There are representatives elected from each form from Year 1 to 6 and represent the views of their class in regular meetings. Class elections are held at the start of each academic year.

The elected School Council members attend twice termly meetings with the Deputy Head. School Council representatives are encouraged to engage with their peers in order that they put forward the views of the majority. We actively promote democracy so that every pupil’s voice is heard and this is achieved through quick, pupil-led class meetings.

Digital Leaders

Digital Leaders


Digital Leaders are pupils who take on the role of promoting and advocating for online safety within school. They receive training through the Childnet program, created by the charity dedicated to making the internet a safer environment for children and young people. These leaders:

  • Educate Peers: They deliver assemblies and activities to educate their peers about staying safe online, covering topics like cyberbullying, privacy, and digital footprints.
  • Raise Awareness: They work to raise awareness about online safety issues within the school and the broader community, helping to create a culture of responsible internet use.
  • Support and Advise: They provide support and advice to fellow pupils who may be experiencing online issues or have questions about safe internet practices.
  • Collaborate: They collaborate with teachers and parents to develop online safety practices.
  • Lead by Example: They act as positive role models for responsible and respectful online behaviour, encouraging others to follow their lead.

 

Swaffield School - Digital Leaders

Art Ambassadors

Art Ambassadors


An Art Ambassador’s job is to raise the profile of The Arts within school and give our pupils a voice regarding their Arts provision. They will help out at any arts related events taking place and meet up regularly to carry out arts related discussions and projects. They meet once a week in the Art Studio with Ms Johnstone to assist the department with project, competition and assembly planning. They also co-ordinate and oversee the sketchbook drop-in sessions and discuss any issues that have been raised by pupils.

Pupil Librarians

Pupil Librarians


Head and Junior Librarians assist in managing the School Library. Their duties include shelving books, organising shelves and overseeing the Library during break times when groups in other years visit. These Librarians receive training on all aspects of the Library, using the Libresoft computer system and understanding the Dewey system used for arranging the non-fiction library. Whilst the Junior Librarians change each term, the Head Librarians are appointed for the year.

House and Game Captains

House and Game Captains


A House Captain from Year 6 is selected as representatives for each House. Their role is to help facilitate the running of house based events. They will also be expected to uphold the school rules and values as well as being model pupils, showing their very best to the rest of the school. Games Captains from Year 6 are also selected and act as a sports crew during break and lunchtimes. They help the Sports Department with sporting events.

Prefects

Prefects


Our Prefects are significant role models and therefore are expected to demonstrate the values of the School in their daily lives, as well as encouraging them in others. Our Year 6 pupils have shown they are clearly taking their roles seriously and have developed supportive and encouraging relationships with the younger pupils. The role of Prefect brings out the pupils’ leadership qualities for higher responsibilities in the future. Prefects are appointed termly.

Monitors

Monitors


Pupils in Year 6 will be expected to take on the role of monitor for a term during the year. Each pupil will be assigned to a member of school staff and under take duties during lunchtime or break time. Undertaking this role will help prepare the pupils for their move to senior school and future roles like Prefects.

“Why did we choose Sarum Hall? Its reputation and our observations on the school’s value system and pastoral care, and how they raise the girls in addition to educating them. Also their commitment to music, the arts and extra-curricular activities.”

Sarum Hall School parent

“I think she is being extremely well taught in a very nurturing environment.”

 

Sarum Hall parent

“My daughter is happy and enjoys her school experience immensely. She often surprises us with the breadth of her knowledge.”

Sarum Hall parent

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