The FMS Inspection Score is FindMySchool's proprietary analysis based on official Ofsted and ISI inspection reports. It converts ratings into a standardised 1–10 scale for fair comparison across all schools in England.
Disclaimer: The FMS Inspection Score is an independent analysis by FindMySchool. It is not endorsed by or affiliated with Ofsted or ISI. Always refer to the official Ofsted or ISI report for the full picture of a school’s inspection outcome.
Forest School is not an occasional enrichment activity here, it is woven into the week. Set in the Stour Valley near Colchester, Littlegarth School blends early years specialist teaching with a traditional prep-school spine that runs through to Year 6, then on into selective grammars and a wide spread of independent senior schools. The nursery runs long hours and, from September 2025, is described as operating all year round apart from Christmas and bank holidays, with funded early years entitlements accepted from April 2025.
Leadership is stable. Kathy Uttley is named as head on the school website and on the government’s official records. The regulatory inspection record also indicates she was appointed in September 2021, which matters because it anchors the current direction of the school in a defined period of change and investment.
The defining feature is breadth at a small-school scale, with pupils moving between specialist spaces and outdoor learning areas without the feeling of being rushed through a timetable built for older children. The school explicitly positions itself as non-denominational, while noting a Christian foundation and welcoming families of any faith, or none.
The setting is used as a teaching asset rather than scenery. The school describes itself as being on the Essex and Suffolk border in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and the Forest School programme is presented as a core route for teamwork, sensible risk-taking and practical problem-solving. That translates into a tone that suits pupils who learn best by doing, particularly in the early years and lower school.
History gives the school a clear identity, without being treated as a museum piece. Founded in 1940 by Miss Barbara Erith and Miss Betty Mallett in Dedham, it became a charitable trust in the 1950s and moved to Horkesley Park in 1994. The modern story is about growth and redevelopment, including new teaching spaces and a library development referenced in inspection materials and background information.
This is an independent prep, so the most meaningful “results” signal is what leavers secure at 11+, 12+ or 13+ entry points, plus the readiness pupils show for competitive senior school processes.
The school’s own destinations page for leavers in 2024 describes a cohort of thirty-three pupils moving on with 46 offers of scholarship, with accepted places across a mix of grammar and independent schools. It is unusual for a prep of this size to publish destination detail at this level, and it is genuinely helpful for parents trying to calibrate ambition against realism.
A practical reading of those outcomes is that the school appears comfortable supporting both pathways at once. On the grammar side, the 2024 list includes multiple accepted places at Colchester Royal Grammar School and Colchester County High School for Girls. On the independent side, accepted destinations include Ipswich School and Royal Hospital School. For families, the implication is straightforward, the school is not tied to a single senior route, and there is evidence that pupils are being prepared for several different selection styles.
The curriculum pitch is broad, but the school provides enough specifics to make it feel concrete.
Early Years is built around specialist input. The nursery page states that children are taught by specialist teachers in areas including yoga, PE, Forest School, French, music and drama, with access to wider-school facilities such as the sports hall, drama studio, music room and Forest School area. Reception continues within the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, with an emphasis on phonics-trained staff and a mix of adult-led and child-initiated learning, supported by specialist sessions across the week. For parents, this is a strong signal if you want early structure and specialist teaching without pushing children into a secondary-style day.
From Year 3 onwards, the programme reads like a classic prep approach with modern edges. The March 2025 routine inspection report describes a broad curriculum that includes creative subjects and modern foreign languages, plus a Year 6 post-examination programme intended to develop learning skills and prepare pupils for secondary expectations. In practice, that can be a differentiator for families who want Year 6 to be more than an extended revision cycle.
For a prep school, “next steps” are the main output families care about, and here the school offers unusually specific evidence.
Leavers’ destinations for 2024 include a mixture of selective and non-selective, day and boarding, grammar and independent. The published list includes Ipswich High School, Woodbridge School and Tonbridge School alongside local state options. Scholarships are recorded by type in several cases, which suggests structured preparation for interviews, assessments and portfolio-style evidence where relevant.
Parents weighing whether a prep is “worth it” often want to know if the school can support the child who is aiming high, while still keeping the child who is not in that lane confident and well placed. The published destination spread supports the idea that multiple routes are normalised.
Admissions are described as flexible and capacity-led rather than driven by a single annual intake cycle. The admissions page states that children may join at any stage if places are available; most start in nursery from around age 2½ by arrangement, and there is no testing for nursery entry. Reception and later entry points are described as being available as places arise, which is often useful for families relocating or looking for an in-year move.
Visits are central to the process. The school invites families to visit either at open mornings or on other days by appointment. For 2026 entry, the safest assumption is that the pattern repeats annually and dates are published as they are confirmed, particularly for open events.
If you are comparing several local options, it is worth using FindMySchool’s Saved Schools shortlist feature so you can track each school’s visit schedule, wraparound hours and fee tiers in one place.
A prep’s pastoral quality shows up most clearly in routine, supervision and the clarity of safeguarding culture.
Wraparound care is clearly structured. The school describes supervised care that can extend the day from 7:30am to 6:30pm, including breakfast club, an early morning club, homework time for older pupils, and a later session with a light tea. This matters because it suggests the school expects working-family logistics and has set systems rather than ad hoc arrangements.
The latest inspection documentation also points to structured risk assessment and a focus on creating a safe learning environment, which aligns with a school that takes policies seriously and follows statutory guidance.
Co-curricular life here is broad, but the best evidence is the named programmes and the “what it looks like” detail.
Forest School is described as a regular programme for younger pupils, then expanding into wider outdoor learning as children move up the school. The school explicitly names after-school extensions such as Archaeology Club and Outdoor Drama and Story Writing, plus practical activities like den building, clay digging, campfires and making “museums” of found natural objects. The implication for parents is that outdoor learning is treated as curriculum-adjacent rather than just playtime.
Performing arts has a defined structure across the year, including Year 4 and Year 6 productions, a house talent show, concerts and an auditioned show for Years 4 to 6, with examples of past productions given. Weekly music clubs listed include choirs, African drumming, orchestra, wind band, string group and guitar ensemble, plus after-school drama clubs including Musical Theatre. This is the kind of specificity that usually signals consistent staffing and rehearsal time.
Sport is strongly resourced. The sports page describes a sports hall marked out for badminton, basketball, tennis and netball, with two lanes of cricket nets, and games pitches for rugby, football and hockey plus a flood-lit surface for winter multi-sport use. PE is taught by specialists across Nursery to Year 6, with fixtures from Year 4 and an expectation that every child has match opportunities each term.
The school’s own 2024–25 achievements piece also lists a range of competition results and notes that both of its e-sports teams reached national finals, with one preparing for world finals in Malta. For families, that mix suggests sport is taken seriously without becoming a single-track identity.
Fees for Reception to Year 6 are published per term for the 2025 to 2026 academic year, with figures shown both excluding and including VAT. Reception is listed at £5,140.45 per term including VAT; Year 1 and Year 2 at £5,307.32; Year 3 and Year 4 at £5,710.33; Year 5 and Year 6 at £6,272.86.
Several common extras are also set out clearly, including lunch priced per term and wraparound sessions charged by the day or hour depending on the element. A registration fee of £72 (including VAT) and a deposit of £250 are also published, along with a fees-in-advance scheme that offers a discount for payments made two years or more ahead.
Nursery fees are published separately and vary by attendance pattern; for early years pricing, use the school’s fees page directly rather than relying on summaries elsewhere.
*Bursaries may be available for eligible families.
Basis: per term
The school day is structured around an 8:40am registration. The published finish time is 3:30pm for Nursery to Year 2 and 4:00pm for Years 3 to 6, with clubs from 4:10pm and supervised care available later into the afternoon and early evening.
Wraparound care is offered from 7:30am through to 6:30pm in a series of bookable sessions, which is useful for families balancing commuting patterns.
For transport planning, most families will be driving given the rural setting. When shortlisting, FindMySchool’s Map Search is a practical way to check travel time from your home at peak school-run hours.
Fees include VAT presentation. Fees are published with VAT-exclusive and VAT-inclusive figures. Make sure you understand which figure applies to your child’s year group and what is included in the termly amount.
Reception places look limited. The admissions wording suggests Reception entry is possible but not guaranteed each year, with places opening as capacity allows. Families aiming for a specific start point should enquire early.
Long days are available, but they are structured sessions. Wraparound runs from early morning to early evening, but elements require booking and are charged. This suits organised family routines, less so if you need last-minute flexibility.
Outdoor learning is a real pillar. Forest School is a core element and extends into after-school clubs. That is ideal for many children, but it can feel less appealing to pupils who strongly prefer indoor, desk-based learning.
This is a prep for families who want early years depth, a strong activity culture and credible senior-school outcomes, all within a relatively small setting. The evidence base is unusually clear for a prep school, with destinations and scholarship offers published and a curriculum that puts specialist teaching and outdoor learning at the centre. Best suited to pupils who respond well to variety and structured opportunities, and to families who value a clearly defined wraparound day. The main trade-off is cost and the need to plan ahead, both for entry points and for the practicalities of a rural commute.
For a prep school, one of the clearest indicators is what pupils secure at the end of Year 6. The published leavers’ information for 2024 shows a cohort of thirty-three pupils moving on with 46 scholarship offers and accepted places at a mix of grammar and independent senior schools. The March 2025 routine inspection also records that the school met the required standards under the current inspection framework.
For the 2025 to 2026 academic year, Reception to Year 6 fees are published per term, with VAT-inclusive figures ranging from £5,140.45 per term in Reception to £6,272.86 per term in Years 5 and 6. Extras such as lunch and wraparound care are listed separately.
Yes. The nursery takes children from age 2 and states it is open 7:30am to 6:30pm each day, with an all year round model described from September 2025 (excluding a Christmas closure and bank holidays). It also states that funded early years entitlements are accepted from April 2025.
Admissions are described as flexible, with children able to join at different stages if places are available. Nursery entry is by arrangement and the school states there is no testing for nursery entry. For Reception and later years, places are offered as capacity allows, and the school encourages visits either at open mornings or by appointment.
Forest School and outdoor learning are central, including named clubs such as Archaeology Club and Outdoor Drama and Story Writing. Music provision includes weekly clubs such as African drumming, orchestra, wind band, string group and guitar ensemble, plus Musical Theatre. Sport is well resourced with on-site facilities and fixtures beginning from Year 4.
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