We are delighted to announce that Sutton Valence Prep School has been awarded a Quality Mark for our English and Mathematics provision throughout the School. As a community, we know the teaching we deliver to our pupils is outstanding, but it is wonderful to have this endorsed by an outside agency that has undertaken a detailed audit of the children’s teaching, learning and progress.

Regular reflection on our provision and practice is important to all our staff and so, when the opportunity arose, we decided to pursue the award despite the disruption that Covid-19 has brought over the last year.

The Quality Mark is an internationally acknowledged accreditation supporting and recognising high-quality education, and in particular improving standards in the provision, practice and performance of English and Mathematics. Only a handful of schools in Kent have been awarded this accreditation and we believe SVPS is the first independent school to be recognised in this way.

The assessors made a number of overwhelmingly positive comments about the quality of our provision. These include the following:

“Sutton Valence Preparatory School has many strengths, including a dedicated staff, thorough planning, robust assessment and monitoring procedures, plentiful learning resources, a stimulating learning environment and very supportive parents”.

“The school successfully addresses the needs of all pupils, including the higher attainers in English and Mathematics”.

“Observations are used very effectively by practitioners to inform their short-term and longer-term planning in reading, writing and mathematics”.

“Teachers use a balance of whole class, focus group and individual approaches to teaching. They adjust their daily lesson plans according to their ongoing assessment. Staff devise and deliver tasks which stretch and challenge pupils”.

“During the lockdown, the use of Microsoft Teams enabled parents to see every piece of work their children have undertaken, along with the teacher’s feedback. This, together with regular communication from staff, has further strengthened relationships with parents, who really appreciated the high-quality lessons provided for their children during the extended period of home-schooling”.

Miss Corkran said, “I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the staff for their commitment to improving provision, practice and performance in English and Mathematics, as well as in all areas of the curriculum. In particular, I am grateful to Mrs Harrison and Miss McCarmick who worked alongside Heads of Department Mrs Dallamore, Mrs Skelly and Mrs Whittome on the ten elements of the Quality Mark audit process.

As you know, we really enjoy and appreciate working closely with our families and we would like to thank all of you for your support of the School. The Quality Mark is a wonderful achievement for all of us, particularly during the testing times we have been living through over the last year.”

For further information about the Quality Mark and how it is assessed, you can visit their website – https://www.tribalgroup.com/education-services/quality-mark/overview