13th January 2020 — Wellbeing Week at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook provided the children with a number of activities on offer to promote a sense of wellbeing including yoga, art, sewing and singing; alongside visiting speakers and events. The aim of pastoral care at Dulwich is simple, everything is focused on helping the children believe in themselves, to flourish in the classroom and thrive as individuals and be active members of the school community. Inspired by the theme of #ChildrensMentalHealth Week, Dulwich are encouraging the children to #Findyourbrave. Bravery can be sharing worries and asking for help, trying something new and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone. Finding your Brave can be about building your confidence and self-esteem and make you feel good about yourself.

The whole school joined together for the ‘Big Sing’, sharing the joy of music as a community. An ambitious upcycling sewing project kept everyone busy, transforming old clothes into stylish shoulder bags. The Art department painted pebbles to be hidden in the school grounds for a treasure hunt, as well as creating a large mural inspired by nature. All the children in Upper School took part in yoga sessions. Discussions about healthy eating and the importance of good nutrition were held for parents and children. Childnet, the non-profit organisation that helps makes the internet a great and safe place for children, led sessions both with parents and children. An active Football Fun day rounds off the week, raising funds for Football Beyond Borders, a charity which uses football to support young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Activities for parents included talks about Managing the Transition to Senior School, and sessions on Anxiety and How to Manage it, both organised in conjunction with leading children’s mental health charity Place2Be. Dulwich have their own dedicated Place2Be team based permanently in school, available for one to one counselling and small group drop in sessions. Children also make use of the informal Place2Talk sessions where they can talk freely about friendship issues, self-esteem and anxiety.

Dulwich Prep Cranbrook are hosting the Mental Health Champions Training for School Leaders, run by Place2Be, supporting School Leaders to bring about strategic change to create 'mentally healthy' schools. Dulwich has pledged to promote the importance of a focus on positive mental health throughout our local community, supporting local school and youth leaders with the opportunity for expert mental health training.

Headmaster Mr Paul David commented ‘ The happiness of children is our top priority, and Wellbeing Week shines a light on our commitment to a very proactive approach towards mental health. We are constantly striving to improve our strong support networks, access to experts, open communication and to develop a close, compassionate community.’

9th September 2019 — Dulwich Prep Cranbrook is further strengthening its commitment to building emotional resilience for all children with the introduction of the iSpace Wellbeing and #iWonder programmes this term. The aim of pastoral care at Dulwich is simple, everything is focused on helping the children believe in themselves, to flourish in the classroom and thrive as individuals and active members of the school community.

From September 2019, Dulwich Prep is introducing iSpace Wellbeing for children throughout the school. This is an exciting, child-friendly approach to starting the conversation about mental health and wellbeing and has been designed to enable children, parents and teachers to integrate wellbeing into their everyday lives. The programme will offer strategies and tools to help overcome challenges and to thrive despite setbacks.

At the same time, pupils in Years 7 and Year 8 will be introduced to #iWonder which will dovetail with the PSCHEE curriculum. Dulwich Prep is fortunate in being one of the very first schools in the country to trial this programme, and an iSpace Wellbeing Co-ordinator has been appointed to enable continuity across the school.

The school’s existing partnership with leading children’s mental health charity Place2Be means that conversations around wellbeing from troubles in the playground to more deep-seated issues take place as a matter of course throughout the school. Therapeutic support is accessible and easily available to the children, and mental health is discussed as readily as physical health.

Headmaster Mr Paul David commented ‘We pride ourselves on the network of systems in place to ensure that the wellbeing and happiness of our pupils is at the centre of our school. The introduction of the iSpace Wellbeing and #iWonder programmes is a further commitment to ensuring all our children are equipped with the relevant life skills to develop positive attitudes and embrace and overcome challenges.’

25th June 2019 — Dulwich WOWFest was a ten day period of excitement and a hive of activity across the school. WOWFest is designed to open the eyes of our children to life beyond school and the confines of the curriculum, and provide some real ‘wow’ moments.

he whole school were involved in activities over WOWFest, including exciting trips away to Snowdon and the battlefields of France. From professional story tellers to circus skills via the Big Bug Show and ceramics there was something for everyone. The Wellbeing Tent provided welcome respite from the busy day, where children enjoyed chilling on beanbags, mindfulness colouring and playing cards.

Nancy in Year 5 reports 'WOWFest was filled with all sorts of fun activities like Taiko drumming, foraging, circus performing, shoe making, story telling, illustrating and to finish, we went for a walk to fundraise for Health Poverty Action followed by our flashmob. I really enjoyed the circus workshop, the equipment included a trapeze, ribbons, stilts, glass balls, hula hoops and flower strings.'

Imogen in Year 5 added ' My favourite part of WOWFest was the flashmob, it was so much fun dancing with my friends and raising money for a charity which helps families in Africa have shelter and food. WOWFest was so fun, and I was sad when it was over, but I am looking forward to next year.'

20th May 2019 — The Art Department at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook are celebrating their fantastic success at this year’s IAPS iArt19 , a national competition open to all prep schools, which received hundreds of entries. Three top awards have gone to our children, a truly fabulous achievement.

Rosa L in Year 5 has been awarded 1st prize in the Years 5-6 category, for her stunning drawing of a bird, inspired by urban street artists from all over the world. In particular, a Belgium born artist called ROA whose identity has never been uncovered! Rosa developed observational drawings from the taxidermy birds in the Art room showing skills in recording their delicate feathery textures using pen and dippy ink. She worked on experimental papers to form a painterly background to capture the street art style.

Jed W has won 1st prize in the Years 9-10 category, which is the year group above his actual age in Year 8. Jed’s art installation is a response to the topic on ‘Fragments’. Jed was inspired by the artists Leonardo de Vinci, Paul Jackson, Mark Powell and Nava Lubelski. He spent hours and hours working on a large-scale portrait of his Granddad using pen and ink drawing techniques; as well as producing a stunning acrylic painting of a skull and mixed-media drawings of the human brain and facial muscle structure. These were presented suspended together in layers as a final outcome.

Eve W in Year 1 has been Highly Commended in the Years 1-2 category. During Year 1’s topic on Knights and Princesses, Eve created this sweet fairy-tale inspired ceramic house for either creatures of the forest, pixies or fairies! Eve used white studio clay and built up a number of layers and textures on her work. After biscuit firing, the house was decorated with under-glazes and a top gloss glaze. Her house will join her classmates’ buildings in an outside, fairy-tale village which the children will create.

1st October 2018 — As one of the main supporters of the Cranbrook Literature Festival, Dulwich Prep Cranbrook were delighted to host an event with Davina McCall based around healthy eating. Davina shared her ‘Kitchen Favourites’ with the audience, and everyone enjoyed sampling some of the recipes which were prepared by the kitchen staff.

Children from Dulwich Get Active! joined in the session, asking some very interesting questions about exercise and food. Children in Upper School from Years 6-8 can now choose between playing competitive sport on a Wednesday afternoon, or from a range of exciting options including Healthy Cooking and Dulwich Get Active! exercise class, who are busy compiling a CD of exercise moves for younger children.

It was an inspiring afternoon for the group, and thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended

1st October 2018 — Dulwich Prep Cranbrook  were delighted to welcome author and illustrator Jonny Duddle to school as part of the Cranbrook Literature Festival. Jonny is best known as the illustrator of the Harry Potter books, as well as the author of the popular ‘Pirates’ series of books. Jonny spent the morning with Nursery – Year 3, recounting his pirate tales and drawing some fantastic pictures to create characters suggested by the children. 

In the afternoon the school welcomed children from Sandhurst Primary School to join in a workshop with Jonny, who showed how he created the images of the famous Harry Potter characters. Everyone got busy with their sketch books, having a go at drawing Dobby and Hagrid – there were some fantastic interpretations of Jonny’s original drawings.