Dame Catherine Harpur's School Review 2026, small village prep with flexible attendance options

This is a very small independent primary in Ticknall, set up to feel closer to a learning community than a traditional prep conveyor belt. The age range runs from 3 to 11, and the school is structured around mixed-age classes, plus an early years setting.

Two things shape the day-to-day experience more than any headline results table. First, flexibility is part of the model, including reduced timetable arrangements and provision for home-educated children to attend on set days. Second, the curriculum is designed to be thematic and enquiry-led, with learning frequently pushed outdoors, supported by dedicated forest school activity and a garden that is treated as a teaching space rather than a break-time add-on.

Leadership is stable. Lorna Harvey is named as headteacher, and the June 2019 inspection record states the headteacher appointment was in September 2018.

The strongest clue to “what it feels like” comes from how the school describes its scale and how it uses it. The staffing and governance model is presented as hands-on, with a small team and trustees taking defined responsibilities, and the head also listed as the designated safeguarding lead and SENCO in staff information. That typically translates into fast decisions, consistent routines, and fewer layers between families and the people who can act.

Space is a big part of the identity, even though the footprint is not large in the usual prep-school sense. Facilities are described as four teaching rooms including a library and resource area, plus a music and activity room, with regular use of the adjacent village hall for physical education. The outdoor offer is unusually prominent for a school of this size: a large garden with wildlife areas, gardening plots, and a muddy kitchen, plus play equipment funded via a lottery grant.

The atmosphere aims for calm confidence rather than performance pressure. The school explicitly positions itself away from public exam culture, including a statement that pupils do not sit SATs or other public examinations, and that progress is assessed individually because numbers are small. For many families, that will read as “less stress”; for others, it raises a practical question about how learning is benchmarked and communicated, which you should explore at a visit.

You will not find the usual Key Stage 2 scorecard here. The school says pupils do not sit SATs (or other public examinations), and that it does not publish academic performance publicly due to small cohort sizes. That means parents should judge outcomes through three more direct routes: the coherence of the curriculum, the clarity of assessment information shared with families, and the quality of transition into the next school.

External commentary (from an earlier framework) provides some context on learning priorities. The June 2019 inspection notes strengths in progress and identifies improvement points around mathematical problem-solving and reasoning, and more frequent sustained writing (handwriting, spelling, punctuation, grammar, and presentation across subjects). It is older evidence, but it is still useful for framing questions: how is mathematical reasoning taught now, and what does “writing across the curriculum” look like in a mixed-age class?

The current curriculum description is detailed enough to give a sense of method. English and maths are described as broadly following the National Curriculum (with additions in English, including emphasis on speaking and interaction), while other subjects are taught through thematic questions shaped by children’s interests. Science is described as strongly investigational, with “working scientifically” emphasised. Language learning is positioned as a core enrichment strength, with Spanish, German and French named as the main languages.

A small setting lives or dies on how well it handles variation in age and starting points. The school’s curriculum approach is explicit: themes are framed as questions, then broken into smaller questions or challenges, with parental input used to shape the direction and build ownership for pupils.

Outdoor learning is not treated as an occasional “forest school day”. It is presented as a consistent strand, with one teacher identified as a Forest School Leader and the grounds used daily to support learning across subjects. The practical implication is that children who learn best through doing, building, exploring, and talking through ideas often find this kind of curriculum more natural than one dominated by worksheets and test rehearsal.

For families considering reduced timetables or blended education, it matters that the flexi model is described as a formal agreement, not an informal arrangement. The school describes reduced timetable agreements (flexi-schooling) as being offered at the discretion of the headteacher, with criteria established by the governing body, and with parents expected to provide information about educational provision on days not in school.

As a school ending at Year 6, “destinations” matters in a different way than exam results. The most useful question is whether pupils leave as confident readers, writers and mathematicians, and whether they can adapt to a larger setting with more formal assessment.

The school publishes less destination data than some preps, so parents should use the visit and conversations with staff to build the picture. Ask which local secondaries are most common, whether pupils tend to move into state or independent routes, and how transition is supported for children coming from mixed-age classes into year-group streamed secondary structures.

If your child is following a non-standard pattern (flexi-schooling or home education with part-time attendance), the transition conversation should start early. A receiving secondary will often want clear evidence of curriculum coverage, and clarity about how attendance has worked over time.

Entry is direct, and the school’s model is designed to accommodate a range of family choices, from full-time to reduced timetable agreements, plus specific provision for home-educated children attending on set days.

Where places are limited, published oversubscription priorities (in the school’s prospectus material) include, in order: children moving up from the nursery, children living in Calke or Ticknall villages, siblings, and then applications in chronological order of receipt. Because this is a small school, that order can matter materially in years where interest spikes.

For entry timing, open day style events have historically run in autumn and again in January, rather than around a single fixed annual date. Treat past dates as pattern evidence only, and confirm the next visit opportunities directly before you plan around them.

A practical tip for shortlist management: if you are comparing several small primaries and preps, FindMySchool’s Saved Schools feature is a simple way to track visit notes, wraparound details, and which settings can accommodate non-standard attendance models.

The school positions itself as small enough to know children well, and publishes safeguarding policy materials that emphasise a secure environment and staff responsibilities. The latest ISI regulatory compliance report also states that safeguarding and welfare standards were met, alongside the other independent school standards.

SEND is part of the conversation here. The March 2023 ISI report states that around a third of pupils were identified by the school as requiring support for special educational needs and or disabilities, with some receiving additional specialist support. That does not tell you about resourcing or how support feels day to day, but it does justify asking detailed questions about identification, interventions, and how progress is tracked for children needing adjustments.

In a small school, extracurricular life tends to be more integrated into the week rather than a sprawling menu of dozens of clubs. The published facilities note use of the village hall not just for PE, but also to support after-school activities such as music lessons, multi-sports, dance, and cooking sessions.

Outdoor learning is the other pillar. The grounds include wildlife areas and gardening plots, and the “muddy kitchen” is explicitly mentioned, with the outdoor space used across subject areas rather than reserved for play. If your child is happiest learning by making, exploring, and talking through ideas while moving, this is likely to feel like a strength.

Trips and residentials appear as part of the wider experience in inspection-era evidence. The June 2019 inspection references educational visits (for example Bosworth battlefield and Stratford-upon-Avon) and notes a Key Stage 2 outward-bound residential visit to Wales. Treat that as indicative rather than guaranteed, but it suggests a pattern of using visits to extend the curriculum beyond the classroom.

This is an independent school, so fees apply. The school publishes a fee schedule on its website, but families should check the current year's figures directly before budgeting, especially for full-time and flexi-school attendance patterns.

Because the site did not show a 2025 to 26 main school fee schedule in the accessible pages during this research, families should confirm current fees and what is included (for example lunches, trips, and any additional charges) before making cost comparisons.

Financial assistance details are not clearly published in the sources accessed for this review. If bursaries or scholarships are important to your planning, ask directly what is available, what the criteria are, and how awards interact with part-time models.

Term dates for 2025 to 26 are published, including INSET days and the main holiday blocks. Daily start and finish times for school-age pupils are not consistently published in a single place, so confirm the core school day when you visit.

Wraparound care is part of the offer, particularly around early years. The nursery information references wrap-around availability, and the fees page also lists breakfast and after-school club charging (availability dependent). If wraparound is a decision driver, ask how often it runs, how far in advance you need to book, and whether it is available for all age groups.

• Very small cohorts. Small classes can mean high individual attention; it can also mean less breadth in friendship groups year to year. Ask how the school supports social dynamics and peer relationships when numbers are tight.

• Non-standard attendance models need structure. Reduced timetable agreements and part-time options can be a great fit, but they depend on clear expectations and strong home-school communication. Ask what evidence of learning is expected on non-school days, and how continuity is managed.

• Limited public benchmarking. With no SATs and limited published outcome data, parents need to be comfortable judging progress through teacher assessment, work scrutiny, and transition success. Bring specific questions about writing stamina, maths reasoning, and reading progression.

• Outdoor learning is central. This is a plus for many children, but it means being comfortable with outdoor kit, variable weather, and practical learning. If your child prefers highly structured desk-based learning, explore how the school balances both.

A distinctive small independent primary with a curriculum built around enquiry, languages, and regular outdoor learning, plus a genuinely flexible attendance offer that will appeal to some families strongly. It suits children who learn best through practical experience and discussion, and families who want closer partnership with a small staff team, including those seeking reduced timetables.

The trade-off is that parents must do more due diligence than at a results-heavy prep, because public benchmarking is limited and the school model is intentionally different. For families who match the ethos, the main hurdle is simply deciding whether the scale and the flexible approach align with your child’s learning style and your long-term secondary plan.