The Swale Business Awards are open to all types of businesses, including charities and our next entrant is an independent Prep School for children ages 3-11. Lorenden Prep is based in Painter’s Forstal, providing a well-rounded and high-quality education, including breadth and depth of teaching and learning with outcomes including confidence, resilience and a high success rate of pupils achieving Grammar School places and scholarships to Independent Senior Schools.
Kathy Uttley is Head of Lorenden Prep School. She gave an overview of who Lorenden are and what their mission is: “We are a not for profit charitable organisation. We reinvest our earnings back into the school with the aim of providing excellent facilities and experienced enthusiastic well-qualified staff who have access to the resources they need to achieve the high educational standards that parents expect. We are the only Independent Prep School to achieve ‘Excellent’ in an Independent School inspection in the whole of Swale. The school is an honourable employer and this includes using the living wage rather than the minimum wage as our lowest hourly rate.”
The School places a huge emphasis on working in the community. Lorenden completed a litter pick of the Lorenden Park Trustlands (April) as part of the Great Britain Tidy so that the local community can enjoy the area. They have also implemented a minibus pick-up route for the mornings to reduce local traffic and pollution. The school won a Kent Wildlife “Wild About Gardens” award for two years in a row and this year also won the “Best New Pond” award. The School also has a Forest School which is has opened to Nurseries from Swale.”
Kathy sees opening the Forest School to local nurseries as just a small part of her drive to place Lorenden at the heart of the local community. “The feedback from these days is hugely positive - and staff see different ways in which pupils engage in the outdoor environment and can then take that back with them to improve the child’s learning. In 2019 we hosted approximately 200 children for these sessions. We want our children to understand that they are part of the local community and to help give them the tools and means to engage with and support initiatives taking place in our community.”
Lorenden Prep School
Painter's Forstal
ME13 0EN
01795 590 030
www.lorenden.org