At Mowden Hall, we believe good behaviour is about far more than rules and sanctions. It is about creating a culture and environment where children feel secure enough to be themselves, confident enough to make mistakes and supported enough to learn from them.

“Children are going to make mistakes – this is a good thing. That is part of being a child.” said Phil Sturt, Head of Mowden Hall School.”

“I do not want an environment where nobody ever gets things wrong or fails. I want Mowdenians to have the confidence to try, the security to make mistakes and the support to learn from them.”

“Of course, children need clear boundaries and they need to understand what is expected of them. But those boundaries work best when they sit within a culture of kindness, trust and mutual respect.”

“We want our children to know that getting something wrong does not make them a bad person. It gives them an opportunity to reflect, put things right and do things differently next time.”

That philosophy is embedded throughout daily life at Mowden, where character education is the central pillar in school life. Values including Kindness, Community, Honesty, Resilience, Communication and Independent Thinking are developed not just in lessons, but through the everyday experiences of being part of the Mowden community.

The school’s pastoral approach is similarly built around relationships. With pupils aged from two to thirteen, Mowden is an extended family, with strong relationships between pupils, parents and staff – this generates a culture in which children are known as individuals.

That means a disagreement between friends can become an opportunity to learn about empathy. A mistake in the classroom can become a lesson in resilience. A disappointing result on the sports field can teach a child how to respond positively to setbacks.

Mr Sturt added: “Sometimes, children simply need the freedom to be children.”

“At Mowden, that might mean running through the school grounds, getting muddy, building a den, climbing the trees, competing in a swimming competition, laughing with friends or simply trying something completely new.”

The school is rural but not remote – less than 15 miles from the city, with great transport links – making the opportunity really accessible. As such, this setting provides children with plenty of physical space to explore and play, while its pastoral and wellbeing provision aims to provide the emotional space for them to grow in confidence. Mowden’s pastoral programme explicitly aims to create an environment where children can take risks, fail and grow without fear.

“We want children to be ambitious and to strive for excellence,” continued Mr Sturt. “But ambition should not mean that childhood is lost along the way.”

“Some of the most important learning children do at school happens when things don’t go according to plan. They learn how to apologise, how to listen, how to resolve a disagreement, how to persevere and how to think about how their actions affect other people.

“Those are lessons that stay with them long after they leave Mowden.”

To see the Mowden approach in action, families are invited to our Prep School Open Morning on Saturday 10 October, from 9.00am–11.00am. To register a place, please email admissions@mowdenhall.org.uk or call 01661842147.