Prep Parent Guide 2026-27

PREP SCHOOL PARENTS’ GUIDE

2026-27

Term Dates and Holidays

Autumn Term 2026 Start of Term:

Monday 7th September (coaches will not be running)

Half Term:

Monday 19th October – Friday 30th October

Term Ends:

Tuesday 15th December 11.00am:

Nursery

11.15am:

Reception and Year 1

11.30am:

Year 2 - Year 6

Spring Term 2027 Start of Term:

Thursday 7th January

Half Term:

Monday 15th February – Friday 19th February

Term Ends:

Wednesday 24th March 11.00am: Nursery 11.15am: Reception and Year 1 11.30am: Year 2 - Year 6

Summer Term 2027 Start of Term:

Tuesday 13th April

Half Term:

Monday 31st May – Friday 4th June

Term Ends:

Wednesday 7th July 11.00am: Nursery 11.15am: Reception and Year 1 11.30am: Year 2 - Year 6

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Contents Welcome

4

House System

26

Character Attributes and Learner Habits

5

School Lunches & Snacks

27

Equipment Needed in School

28

Communication

6

Prep School Uniform Guide

29

Parent Engagement

11

Pastoral Care

12

Senior Sisters

13

Medical Matters and Personal Care

14

Wraparound Care

15

The First Day and Week

16

Travel to School

21

Co-curricular Clubs, Co-curricular Extra Lessons

25

Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 3

Welcome Dear Parents and Guardians A very warm welcome to St Helen’s School. We are delighted that your daughter is joining our kind and vibrant community, and we look forward to getting to know both her and your family as you become part of life at St Helen’s.

This is the beginning of an exciting journey – one full of learning, growth, and opportunity. At the heart of everything we do is a strong belief in the potential of each individual girl, and we are committed to supporting her academically, socially and personally as she begins this new chapter.

We are looking forward to getting to know all our new families in the coming months and welcoming you into school for various events such as parent workshops, class assemblies and some truly stunning performances.

At St Helen’s we are passionate about the girls receiving the best opportunities across and beyond the curriculum and we are proud of how we carefully balance this with a strong sense of pastoral support, as we know that happy children learn well. I hope you find this parent guide helpful as a brief introduction to the school. Please use it in conjunction with the parent portal which also contains a wealth of information. If you do have any further questions, do not hesitate to contact the Prep Office who will be happy to help in any way they can.

Please do introduce yourselves when you see us around the school site, and we look forward to working with you over the coming academic year and beyond.

Best wishes

Mrs Bridget Ward Head

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Miss Sudeep Gupta Head of Prep

Character Attributes and Learner Habits

Our Learner Habits • Pursuit of Knowledge • Problem-solving • Creativity • Metacognition

Our Character Attributes • Courage • Integrity • Resilience Our academic, pastoral and Co-curricular activities enable our pupils to develop and cherish our Learner Habits and Character Attributes, which together will enable them to fulfil our Vision Statement:

“ Our pupils will be ever intellectually curious. They will believe they can do anything.

They will want to explore how they can best interact with the world around them and make a difference for the better in their own way. They will be ready for whatever the future brings.”

• Kindness

Our Prep School Behaviour Guidelines are based around the promotion and expectation of positive, pro-social behaviour and pupils are rewarded for demonstrating our Character Attributes and Learner Habits.

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Communication

Keeping in Touch We appreciate close communication between home and school. If you have a query about day-to-day activities, please contact the School Office in the first instance.

Contacting the Prep School Office The Prep Office deals with routine enquiries and attendance matters. If someone in the office is not available, please leave a message and a member of the team will return your call during working hours.

Tel: 01923 843330 Alternatively, you can contact the Prep Office by email via prepschool@sthelens.london.

Account Queries Any questions concerning fees or the termly bill should be directed to the Accounts Department.

Tel: 01923 843347 E-mail: accounts@sthelens.london

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Parent portal and Communications The parent portal provides access to several services to help support parental interaction with the school, including school policies and confidential information about your child, such as medical information, attendance data and annual reports. You can update your contact details or notify the school of a change of address via the parent portal.

It also provides access to SchoolPost, where you can view electronic copies of letters and emails. Further services such as WisePay, absence reporting, our parents’ evening booking system and the school calendar can be found here.

The pastoral team provide a wealth of useful information about important topics such as mental health, wellbeing and online safety on the parent portal, which is regularly updated.

The parent portal can be accessed securely at schoolportal.sthelens.london.

The main ‘comms drop’ in Prep School is Thursdays at 4pm. This is when parents & carers can expect to receive the bulk of the week’s communications pertaining to their daughter or their daughter’s year group. There may be the occasional message which cannot wait until the Thursday comms drop or which slips through the net, but hopefully these are the exception.

In addition to the weekly comms drop, parents & carers will receive a Weekly Bulletin.

We also like to update you weekly on what your daughter has been learning in class our regular communications channels.

Pastoral Contact You will be given your Class Teacher’s email address, which we kindly ask you to use only between the hours of 7am – 7pm to preserve staff wellbeing/family time. Please be mindful that Teachers are in class all day and do not usually access emails during this time; please contact the Prep Office if your communication is urgent or concerns logistical arrangements.

When emailing, please include your daughter’s full name and class in the subject line.

Communicating about Trips, Events and Co-curricular Opportunities All letters providing information about trips and events are sent to parents via SchoolPost and all communication regarding Co-curricular activities can be found on SOCS. We have a clear system of response and payment deadlines relating to trips, trials, sports fixtures and events, so that we can safely offer the range and quality of educational experiences to all pupils.

We aim to make it clear in our communications to which of the following categories the opportunity belongs: • Compulsory educational visits, which are part of the taught curriculum (you will always be given the opportunity to withdraw your daughter from a trip) • Optional educational visits and other events, for which you can optin on behalf of your daughter • Sports trials, auditions, and academic opportunities for which explicit parental consent is required

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Who to Contact Subject

Submit Form/Email to

Please ensure all emails have your daughter’s full name & form in the subject line • Change of personal details

Via My School Portal

• Requests for planned absence (e.g. medical appointments, music exams, school visits / assessments etc) • Register an absence due to illness • Register a religious absence • Request an exceptional absence

Prep Office: prepabsence@sthelens.london

• Change in logistics (including end of day pick-up arrangements) • Family matters e.g. bereavement, changes to personal circumstances etc • General enquiries

Prep Office: prepschool@sthelens.london (by 1pm for changes to collection that day)

• Questions regarding your daughter’s learning, welfare etc

Class Teacher (email addresses will be shared at the start of the school year)

• Appointments with the Head of Prep

prepheadsPA@sthelens.london

• Co-Curricular enquiries

cocurricular@sthelens.london

• PE enquiries

pe@sthelens.london

• Music enquiries

music@sthelens.london

• Fee or termly bill query

accounts@sthelens.london

• Car park enquiries

carparking@sthelens.london

Financial Matters Our Financial Matters letter contains important information about school fees, school lunches, payment systems (including Wisepay) and your school account. Please read this carefully.

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Download and read the Financial Matters information

Special Events Specific dates for all school events can be found on the parent portal, and you can link this to your electronic diary.

The table below shows a selection of our events for this coming year.

September

Meet the Teacher Evenings Open Morning (all Year 5 & 6 girls are expected to attend)

November

Year 5 Drama Performance Parents’ Evenings Dance Shows (Years 3 to 4)

December

Winter Concert Christmas Fair & Calendar Sale (all girls are expected to attend) Christmas Productions (Nursery to Year 2) Prep Christmas Concert – (parents of performers and Year 6 pupils to attend)

February

Year 5 to 8 Soloist Competition

March

Year 4 Production Gym & Dance Show (Year 5 upwards) Prep Spring Ensembles Concert

April

Year 3 Symphonfree Performance Prep Choral Concert Parents’ Evenings

May

Year 5 to 8 Soloist Concert

June/July

Sports Days (Nursery to Year 6) Prize Giving (Years 1 to 6) (Year 6 parents and Prize Winners to attend) Year 2 Violin Showcase Year 6 Production Summer Fair

Variable dates

Open Ballet, Swimming & PE sessions Class Assemblies Parent Workshops FOSH (PTA) Events Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 9

Languages and Ethnicity Survey In line with government guidance, we seek information about your child’s ethnicity, using the categories that the government has recommended. We also seek information about the language(s) your child uses or is regularly exposed to outside of school, and about the language you consider to be their main language. This information helps us to be more knowledgeable about your child, and for us to understand whether she may need any additional support in school. If we feel this is the case, we will be in touch with you to discuss in the first instance. The Languages and Ethnicity Survey can be found on the parent portal.

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Parents’ Evenings Parents’ evenings are an opportunity for you to see your daughter’s work and meet their Teacher to discuss progress and next steps. We hold a Meet the Teacher evening early in the Autumn Term and two parents’ evenings a year; one in the Autumn Term and one in the Spring Term.

You can book a parents’ evening appointment with a Teacher using our online Parents’ Evening booking system. You will receive guidance and login details for this in your Parents’ Evening invitation letter.

Reports Each pupil will receive a short report at the end of the Autumn and Spring Terms and full report at the end of the Summer Term. These reports will enable you to have a clear understanding of your daughter’s achievements in relation to our expectations and her next steps for learning. All reports are published on the parent portal.

Parent Engagement

We encourage two-way communication between home and school and have put in place ways you can get involved with supporting our work and your daughter.

Futures Programme From EYFS to Sixth Form, pupils explore personal development, employability, and the world of work.

Class Representatives You will receive an email from the Prep Office at the start of the Autumn Term about how you can volunteer to be a Class Representative for your daughter’s class. Class Representatives encourage and enhance two-way communication between home and school and meet with the Head of Prep and Director of Prep in the Autumn and Spring Terms to share questions from the wider parent body.

Class Reps are often used to help disseminate messages from the Prep Office and FOSH. We hope this will help you get to know other parents of children in your daughter’s class.

The wealth and breadth of the collective expertise of our Alumnae and parental network provides a strong and powerful resource for current pupils and recent Alumnae, so we welcome parents’ support.

If you can support the Futures Programme, for example by talking or presenting to current pupils at networking and mentoring events, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please share your areas of interest and professional expertise with our Development Team at development@sthelens.london.

FOSH (Families of St Helen’s) FOSH is our Whole School PTA. They meet regularly and are always open to new committee members and volunteers.

They put on wonderful events for the girls and our families throughout the year, which not only raise money to re-invest into enriching the girls’ education, but also to bring our lovely school community together. We are always looking for parent volunteers to join us at FOSH to support with our school events and fundraisers. If you are interested in joining us, please drop us an email at familiesofsthelens@gmail.com.

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Pastoral Care All classes are cared for and taught by their Teacher and a Teaching Assistant from Nursery up to Year 3.

The Class Teacher actively fosters the crucial partnership between home and school, and develops a personal relationship with each girl, monitoring her progress and ensuring she fulfils her potential.

Staff in the Prep School regularly discuss personal, moral, and social issues with the children individually, in small groups, in class or during whole school assemblies, whichever is most appropriate. Every effort is made to ensure that matters addressed are relevant to current issues so that the discussions are meaningful.

In addition to our Class Teachers and Teaching Assistants, the Assistant Directors of Nursery to Year 2 and Year 3 to Year 6 are also responsible for overseeing the pastoral and academic development of year groups.

We also have several non-teaching Pastoral Support Leads who are based in The Nest, our Pastoral Support Hub, offering a range of wellbeing initiatives, to individuals or small groups of pupils who may need additional emotional support for a variety of reasons.

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Zones of Regulation are used throughout the Prep School, to help pupils to understand how to ensure they are ready for learning.

If your daughter has any worries, she is always welcome to talk to any member of staff who will be able to liaise with the most appropriate pastoral lead.

The Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for the Whole School is Mrs Varma, Senior Deputy Head: Pastoral and Wellbeing. The Deputy Designated Safeguarding Leads (DDSLs) in the Prep School are Miss Gupta, Mrs Bryson, Ms Daulby and Miss Marriot.

Senior Sisters

Senior Sisters Girls in Years 5 are assigned a Senior Sister in Year 7 who will remain with them into Senior School. The Senior Sister is someone the younger girls can look up to and connect with outside their own year group. Ms Agnew, our Director of Transition and Communications

(maternity cover) arranges regular opportunities for the ‘sisters’ to come together during the school day to catch up and connect. Our Year 5 girls LOVE hearing who their Senior Sister is and often these relationships blossom into a really lovely ‘sisterhood’.

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Medical Matters and Personal Care Medical Matters The Prep School Nurse manage any health concerns, and care for children when they are unwell until they can be collected.

Children who are obviously unwell and who require non-prescription medication such as Calpol, Nurofen or cough medicine should not be in School. Please do not bring your daughter to School if she is unwell as this is not good for her and risks spreading the illness. Girls who are unwell for morning registration should stay at home for the whole day rather than coming in later.

Please contact the school Nurse before your daughter returns to school if she has been unwell for any length of time, or if her treatment has required antibiotics. If your daughter has a bout of vomiting or diarrhoea, she should remain at home for 48 hours from the last episode. Similarly, girls should be clear of fever for 24 hours before returning to school.

The Prep School Nurse will administer antibiotics prescribed by a doctor if the child has been assessed fit to return to school. Parents should provide a completed consent form with the medicine, specifying the dosage and the time at which it should be given.

Medicines must be in the original container, and the pharmacy label with the dosage instructions must be included.

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It is the parent’s responsibility to hand medicine to the Nurse or adult on duty at the main door in the morning and to collect it at the end of the school day.

Treatment for asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, or any long-term condition will be supervised by the Prep School Nurses. It is essential that we have all information about any long-term medical needs before your daughter joins the school.

Parents must provide treatment plans from the prescribing doctor and alert us to any changes. If your daughter has sustained an injury which restricts her mobility or requires special arrangements to be made, you should make contact in the first instance with the Prep School Nurse via nurse@sthelens.london, who will work with the Class Teacher to put any necessary arrangements in place.

Please ensure you include your daughter’s name and form in the email subject line.

Personal Care We expect all of our children to be potty trained when they join us in Nursery as we do not have nappy changing facilities, nappy bins or the necessary staff ratios to change nappies according to safeguarding protocols. Of course we understand that with small children, accidents do sometimes happen, and that is why we ask our Nursery and Reception parents to provide a spare set of named uniform in their child’s gym kit bag. Thank you for your cooperation with this.

Wraparound Care

Our wraparound care is provided for onsite by the partner company JAG, Junior Adventurer Group. There is a Breakfast Club from 7.30am to the start of school and an after-school club, which runs until 6pm. The wraparound care is based in the Gables building and there is close communication between the School and the provider to ensure seamless transitions.

All girls need to be registered with the wraparound care provider in case you are ever unavoidably delayed and your

daughter needs to transfer into this care at the end of the day. To ensure the correct staff provisions are in place, you will need to book your daughter into a session before lunchtime on the day you require wraparound care, otherwise a place cannot be guaranteed due to staffing ratios.

Please do make sure that you register before your daughter joins the school.

Further details can can be found on the school website and via this link: www.junioradventuresgroup.co.uk/ findus/st-helens-school/ Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27| 15

The First Day: Nursery

On the first day of the Autumn Term, Nursery children should be brought to school at the time specified in the letter you will receive towards the end of the Summer Term (either 8.15am, 8.30am, 8.45am or 9am).

Please bring your daughter’s gym bag. It will double up as her spare clothes bag, in case of personal accidents.

Please enter the school via the side gate to Little Gables, and then the outside door to the relevant Nursery classroom.

The Class Teachers and Teaching Assistants will be in the classroom ready to welcome you and will show you where to hang your daughter’s coat. After this, please encourage your daughter to settle down to one of the activities set out on the tables in the classroom.

Leave the room as quickly and quietly as possible, but do make sure your daughter knows who will be coming to collect her at midday. If your daughter is tearful and reluctant to separate, please don’t worry

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this is a normal part of transition and our staff will guide you in calming her down so you can make a swift and subtle exit.

At midday, you can collect your daughter from her classroom. Each child is dismissed individually when staff identify the person collecting her.

The First Week Nursery children finish at 12pm on Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th September. They finish at 1.15pm on Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th September. Nursery girls will have their first full day on Friday 11th September. Drop off is between 8.15am – 8.45am.

Parents are invited to a Pizza Party on Friday 11th September at 2pm. More details to follow.

Ballet bags should be brought in by Friday 11th September.

The First Day: Reception

On the first day of the Autumn Term, Reception children can arrive at school from 8.15am but need to be in school by 8.45am. Please enter through the side gate to Little Gables and take your daughter to the side door, where she will be greeted and walked upstairs to wave goodbye from our special ‘waving window’. Once your daughter has waved goodbye, please exit the car park promptly to allow other parents to drop and wave.

You should bring your daughter’s book bag and rucksack for PE. The ballet bag should be brought in for Friday 11th September. You will be advised of the day your daughter will be swimming.

If your daughter is tearful and reluctant to separate, please don’t worry – this is a normal part of transition and our staff will guide you in calming her down so you can make a swift and subtle exit.

Please collect her at 12.15pm from the colour-matched downstairs Nursery classroom (front door for Yellow Reception). Each child is dismissed individually as the person who is collecting her is identified.

The First Week

Reception girls finish at 12.15pm on Monday 7th September and 1.15pm on Tuesday 8th September. Their first full day will be on Wednesday 9th September, when collection will be at 3.15pm.

Parents are invited to a Pizza Party on Friday 11th September at 2pm. More details to follow.

Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 17

The First Day and Week: KS1 and KS2

Years 1-2 Pupils can arrive from 8.15am until 8.45am. Girls should enter through the front door of Gables. There will be plenty of staff on hand to help your daughter make her way to the cloakroom and her classroom.

All girls should bring in their book bags daily. The ballet bag should be brought in for Friday 11th September. You will be advised of the day your daughter will be swimming.

Normal collection times apply in the first week: • Year 1: 3.15pm • Year 2: 3.30pm 18 | Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27

Years 3-6 Pupils can arrive from 8.05am-8.30am via the Woolfson Hall side door. Pupils can arrive between 8.15am-8.30am either via the Carew Road gate or Woolfson front reception and go directly to their classroom. All KS2 children must arrive before 8.30am.

Arrival and Collection Arrangements

All girls should be settled into their classrooms prior to registration. If, however, you arrive after registration, please take your daughter to the Prep School Office in Woolfson. This is to ensure that all girls are correctly entered onto the electronic register and that we know your child is safely in school. Girls in Gables travelling to school with an older pupil may enter through the Carew Road gate and be walked to Gables by their older friend/sibling.

We ask for your support in ensuring that your daughter arrives at school punctually each day. Please collect your daughter promptly at the stated time.

Year

Arrival

Collection

Pick Up Location

Nursery

8.15am8.45am

3pm

Red and Blue Nursery are collected from the gate nearest to their classroom Yellow Nursery are collected from the front door

Reception

8.15am8.45am

3.15pm

Red and Blue Reception are collected from the gate nearest to the colour matched Nursery classroom and Yellow Reception from the front door

Year 1

8.15am8.45am

3.15pm

Collected from the class areas at the front of Gables

Year 2

8.15am8.45am

3.30pm

Collected from the class areas at the front of Gables

Years 3-6

8.15am8.30am

4pm Mon, Tues and Thurs

Year 3: Woolfson Front door Year 4: Woolfson Front door Year 5: Exit via the Drama Room Year 6: Carew Road

3.30pm Wed and Fri

Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27| 19

We do not allow the girls to walk to the car park or to any of the school gates unaccompanied. Once a child has been handed over to the adult collecting her, the school’s responsibility for that pupil has ceased. She should not be allowed to play or wander within the school grounds unsupervised. If older siblings are collecting Prep pupils, they must be in Year 9 or above.

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Pupils in Year 6 may, if parents so wish, have an independent travel pass which allows them to leave the school without an accompanying adult from any of the school exits. The pass can only be used at the end of the school day, and not after Co-curricular activities or sporting fixtures. At the end of Year 5, parents will receive a SchoolPost communication asking whether they would like to take up the option of a pass. Please make sure clear arrangements are in place for where you will be meeting your daughter.

Further details on car parking and arrival and collection arrangements can be found later in this guide.

Travel to School

Parking, Arrival and Collection You will appreciate that, with over 1,100 girls and over 300 members of staff, arriving at and leaving school each day, the local roads become busy at peak times. Car parking arrangements are designed with the safety of girls as our main priority and all users of the site are asked to respect speed restrictions and traffic control measures, and to take particular care where pedestrians have priority.

We operate a car parking badge scheme in the Prep School to limit congestion and ensure that our car parks are as safe as possible for all members of our community. You will be allocated two of each badge type that is relevant to you (see table on the next page).

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EYFS

Bright Yellow

KS1

Bright Blue

KS2

Bright Pink

SASC

Bright Green (Sibling After School Club)

With the exception of the first day of the Autumn Term, parking attendants check badges at the entrance to the relevant car parks at the designated times. To enter the car park, simply display the correct badge for the time of day.

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Parking permits will be sent home with the girls on the first day of the Autumn Term. All badges are numbered, and each one is associated with a family.

If you have a disabled badge, please display this when you are parking.

Please display your badges whenever you are coming to collect your daughter.

Parents are kindly reminded not to enter any car park on the school site until 10 minutes before your daughter's allocated pick-up time to keep the car park moving efficiently. Car park restrictions are in place between 8am – 4.20pm on weekdays. The details of the parking arrangements for each year group are below: Section of Morning Drop Off the School

Times

Afternoon Pick Up

Times

EYFS Parents (Nursery and Reception)

Park in Central Car Park displaying windscreen badge.

Nursery 8.158.45am

Park in Central Car Park displaying windscreen badge.

Nursery 3.00pm

Get out of car and deliver child to designated drop off point.

Get out of car and collect child from Reception designated collection point.

8.158.45am

Y1 & Y2 Drive into Gables Car Park displaying 8.15(Y1 and Y2) windscreen badge and 8.45am use ‘drop off’ zone.

Key Stage 1 Parents

Get out of car and deliver child to designated drop off point.

Key Stage 2 Parents (Y3-Y6)

Senior School Parents

Y3-Y6 Drive into Central 8.15Car Park displaying windscreen badge and 8.30am use drop-off zone.

Reception 3.15pm

Y1 Drive into Gables Car Park displaying 3.15pm windscreen badge and use ‘drop off zone’.

Y2 Get out of car 3.30pm and collect child from designated collection point.

Parents of pupils in Year 2 should not join the queue until 3.25pm.

No use of School Car N/A Park for collection.

Find alternative parking off site.

Parents should not get out of the car.

Child will get out of car and make their way into the building.

May not use any School Car Parks.

May not use any School Car Parks.

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Local Parking and Walking Routes We are proud to be the first independent school in Hillingdon to be awarded Gold STARS status, and we encourage our school community to share our support for a greener and healthier environment.

We also have plenty of scooter and bike racks, so why not scoot or cycle with your child?

School Coaches Our coach service provides pupils with convenient, safe, reliable, and environmentally friendly transport to and from school, for pupils in Year 3 and above.

You can manage the bookings, payments and track the progress of your daughter’s journeys via the userfriendly website and App at sthelens.vectare.co.uk. More information, including timetables, route information and FAQs, can also be found here.

If you require further information or have a question or concern about coach services (including property left on coaches), please contact coaches@sthelens.london.

By Friday 19th June 2026: Book regular coach journeys (if required) via sthelens.vectare.co.uk (Years 3+ only)

St Helen’s Enterprises

Holiday Activities During the school holidays, we offer courses and activities for children of all ages, from energetic sports sessions to full-day activity camps. Each programme is designed to encourage exploration, learning and fun in a supportive environment. All activities take place on site.

St Helen’s Enterprises also offers the following.

Venue Hire Set within 21 acres of immaculate grounds, our campus features two 300seat theatres and a range of flexible spaces suitable for meetings, conferences, celebrations, workshops and exhibitions.

Gym Our fully equipped gym includes a 25metre swimming pool, a wide range of group fitness classes and personalised fitness programmes to support health and wellbeing.

Swimming We provide crash courses and swimming lessons for children and adults of all abilities, from beginners to advanced and master swimmers.

For more information visit our website.

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Co-curricular

Co-curricular

Clubs

Optional Lessons

The Co-curricular programme is integral to the education provided in Prep School and is designed to complement our academic curriculum. From Year 1, there is a plethora of after-school activities on offer, which aims to broaden our pupils’ experiences and horizons, helping to build the Character Attributes which will equip them for their adult lives.

The school offers optional Ballet and Instrumental Music lessons, for which an additional charge is made. LAMDA lessons are also available. Our Individual Study Co-curricular Guide outlines the offer, describes how the school manages these lessons and explains how these activities are billed to parents.

We publish a full timetable of the Cocurricular activities on offer each term (both free and paid-for) via SOCS. You can find information on how to access and make use of SOCS in our guide here.

Autumn Term clubs will go live on SOCS on Friday 19th June at 4pm and will remain open until 9am on Monday 29th June for parents wishing to book a club or activity. Allocation to all clubs will be made according to preference. We will endeavour to ensure that all girls are allocated to one of their top three choices wherever workably possible. Please read the Co-curricular Club Information below before making your selection online.

Should your daughter wish to participate in any of these activities, you should complete the relevant application form online.

Application form links are included in the relevant activities’ section in this booklet.

Download and read the Prep School Co-curricular Guide and complete the relevant booking form

Should you have any queries, please contact cocurricular@sthelens.london

By Friday 19th June 2026: Download and read the Cocurricular Club Information and submit your choices via SOCS Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 25

House System

From Year 1, girls belong to one of four Houses: Curie, Earhart, Keller and Nightingale. Girls who make a valuable contribution to school, or show a particularly good attitude to their learning, are given a House point. During the year, there are Inter-House Competitions and a House Charities Afternoon. The House colours are orange for Curie, purple for Earhart, turquoise for Keller and magenta for Nightingale.

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Girls are also expected to have a House t-shirt which they wear to House events.

These can be purchased from the Prep School Office ready for the start of the Autumn Term.

School Lunches

Each day, we provide a well-balanced hot and cold food menu, catering for all dietary requirements. Up-to-date menus are available on the parent portal.

Parents are asked to notify the school about any allergies on the Medical Form which you can find on the parent portal.

Parents with girls in Nursery-Year 2 will also be asked to choose the dietary option they would like their daughter to be served. From Year 3, girls choose from a clearly labelled buffet.

Snacks We provide a mid-morning snack of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day.

If girls are staying for an after-school activity in Key Stages 1 & 2, they may bring a healthy, nut-free snack of fruit, vegetables, breadsticks, rice cakes or crackers with them if you wish.

All fruits and raw vegetables are permitted. Nuts, seeds, and other foods are not allowed.

Drinking water is always available. Girls should bring a clearly named bottle of water for use in the classroom. The bottle should be no more than 500ml capacity, with a sports cap.

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Equipment Needed in School

EYFS and Key Stage 1 In EYFS and Key Stage 1 all equipment is provided.

Key Stage 2 Girls need the following in school: • Pencils, coloured pencils, 30cm ruler (not flexible or hinged), rubber, pencil sharpener, glue stick and a pair of scissors (all in a small, clear, soft pencil case) • A Yamaha YRS302B Descant Recorder (available from music shops or Amazon) – if your daughter already has a decent recorder (pupils in Year 3) this will be acceptable • Girls in Years 5 and 6 need a protractor and compass • Girls who have obtained their pen licence will be provided with a blue handwriting pen • PE kit needs to stay in school every day and taken home on Friday for washing.

(Years 5 and 6 should also have wipes and roll-on or stick deodorant in their PE bag)

Mobile Phones Pupils in the Prep School are not allowed to have mobile phones unless they have permission from the Head of Prep and even with permission, no smartphones are allowed. Permission is granted if pupils travel to or from school on their own. The ‘brick’ phone must be handed to the Teacher/TA on duty at the beginning of every day and must not be switched on when on the school site. Any girl found with a phone on her will have it confiscated, and a parent will be asked to collect the phone. We define a ‘brick’ phone as a phone which has: • No WIFI capacity • No access to an app store or capacity to add additional apps beyond those provided by the manufacturer at purchase • No access to social media

28 | Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27

Prep School Uniform Guide

We take great pride in our smart, coherent, and bespoke uniform and PE kit. All regulation items are supplied by Pullens, our official uniform supplier.

Items can be fitted and purchased in store or ordered at uniform4kids.com.

During term time, this includes an option for collection from the School.

Pullens 48/50 Church Road Stanmore Middlesex HA7 4AH 020 8954 3850

School contact: Paul Beresford www.uniform4kids.com Pre-loved uniforms can be purchased from the school. The shop is open once every term – dates will be advertised on the School Calendar and via SchoolPost.

These are usually scheduled towards the end of each term. Please direct any queries to enquiries@sthelens.london.

Download the uniform list

Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 29

Nursery

R ecept ion

KS1 (Years 1 & 2)

KS2 (Years 3 – 6)

St Helen’s Prep School Uniform Guide September 2026-27

Plain Black Shoes

Plain Green Tights

OR

OR Plain Green Ankle Socks

Green St Helen’s Blazer (P) Plain Green Knee High Socks

Green Gingham Long or Short Sleeved Shirt (P) Green St Helen’s V Neck Jumper or Cardigan (P)

Black Straight Leg Trousers

OR

Green Pinafore (P)

Plain White Ankle Socks Plain Black Shoes (not patent)

Green St Helen’s Polo Shirt(P)

Green St Helen’s V Neck Jumper or Cardigan (P)

Plain White Knee High Socks Plain Black Shoes

Green St Helen’s V Neck Jumper or Cardigan (P) Green St Helen’s Blazer (P)

Black Tailored Shorts (P) Green Gingham Short Sleeved Shirt (P)

OR

Green Gingham Dress (P)

Plain Black Shoes (not patent)

Plain White Knee High Socks

Green St Helen’s V Neck Jumper or Cardigan (P)

OR

Black St Helen’s Shorts(P)

Black Tracksuit Bottoms (P)

Green Gingham Dress (P)

Summer Uniform (+ 1st half of autumn term if warm)

Green St Helen’s Polo Shirt(P)

Autumn/Winter/Spring Uniform

Plain White Ankle Socks Plain White Trainers

Year 5 & 6 only Black & Green Skort (P) St Helen’s Hockey Socks (P) Mouth Guard Shin Pads

KS2 St Helen’s Tracksuit Jacket (P)

(Sports Centre/Online)

KS1 & 2 House Swimming Hat

(Sports Centre/Online)

REC Green Swimming Hat

KS2 (Ballet is optional)

Plain Sliders/Crocs

Pink Wrap Around Bolero

Plain Black Swimming Costume Towel

School Swimbag (P)

SWIMMING:

Pale Blue RAD leotard Pink Ballet Shoes (with elastics)

Black St Helen’s Mid-Layer (P)

Pink RAD Ankle Socks

Mesh Bag x 1 (NUR x 2) (P)

Ballet Uniform

White St Helen’s PoloShirt (P)

Black St Helen’s Shorts(P) Black St Helen’s Tracksuit Bottoms (P)

Plain Black Swimming Costume Towel Plain Sliders/Crocs

School Swimbag (P) Green Swimming Hat (Sports Centre/Online)

Plain White Trainers SWIMMING (summer term)

Green St Helen’s Polo Shirt (P)

Black St Helen’s Shorts (P)

PE & Swimming Uniform

KS2 Analogue watches can be worn

Named Water Bottle

House Colour T-Shirt (Prep Office)

Green Sports Haversack (PE kit) (P)

Green Legionnaire Cap (summer) (P)

Black Rucksack (P)

Green Scarf (P)

Green Acrylic Hat (P)

Green 3 in 1 Coat (P) Green Fleece Gloves (P)

KS1 & 2

No watches permitted

Recommended - Dark Coloured Waterproof trousers

KS1

No watches permitted

Named Water Bottle No scarves permitted

Wellies & Dark Coloured Waterproof trousers

Green Fleece Gloves (P) Green Acrylic Hat (winter) (P) Green Legionnaire Cap (summer) (P) Green Book Bag (P)

Green 3 in 1 Coat (P)

Additional Items Required

The School respects cultural dress, but uniform may only be modified in consultation with the Director of Prep. Headscarves should be black or dark green

Items in black can be purchased from anywhere, Items in green must be purchased from Pullens, Items in purple must be purchased from school ALL ITEMS MUST BE CLEARLY NAMED IN A VISIBLE PLACE

Rationale: Our school uniform promotes a sense of pride, looks smart, is practical and makes children feel equal to their peers in terms of appearance

Nursery R ecept ion KS1 (Years 1 & 2) KS2 (Years 3 – 6)

Personal Appearance Hair Hair that is longer than shoulder length should be tied back or plaited. Hair fastenings, bands and ribbons may be plain, dark green or black. They should not be large or ornamented. Only soft Alice bands are allowed.

Nail polish and make-up Nail polish and make-up are not permitted. Henna, following a family celebration or a religious event, is welcomed.

Jewellery Religious items of jewellery may be worn but must be removed for PE. Girls need to be able to remove them themselves and should hand them to their TA or PE Teacher for safe keeping.

32 | Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27

Small, plain, gold, or silver stud earrings may be worn but must be removed for PE. On days when girls in Little Gables have PE, swimming or ballet, please remove their earrings before school.

School staff are not allowed to remove/replace earrings.

If you are going to have your daughter’s ears pierced, please do so at the start of the summer holidays, otherwise, she will not be able to participate in PE, swimming, or ballet for the 6-8 weeks it takes for the holes to heal.

No other jewellery is permitted.

Pupils should not wear watches before Year 3, and from Year 3 onwards only analogue watches may be worn.

Money No money should be brought into school.

Parents are always informed if girls need to bring money for a particular charity event or activity, and this should be brought in a named purse or envelope and given to the Class Teacher.

Prep School Parents’ Guide 2026/27 | 33

St Helen’s School Eastbury Road Northwood Middlesex HA6 3AS enquiries@sthelens.london 01923 843210 www.sthelens.london

@sthelensnorthwood @sthelensnorthwood