Polam School is a small independent preparatory school located on a quiet Victorian avenue in the heart of the established market town of Bedford. Founded in 1923, the school remained a family concern until it was bought by Cognita and merged with a similar sized pre-preparatory school in 2008. The school now occupies two large Victorian houses, which have been significantly extended to provide some impressive facilities for a school of its size, including a large gymnasium and indoor swimming pool. The setting receives early years funding. The school provides education and care for children aged from twelve months to nine years, having recently reintroduced Years 3 and 4. This extension to the age range enables those children not quite ready to move on to the local preparatory schools at the age of seven to continue in a small, nurturing environment. It also enables the school to offer parents the choice and benefits of a small setting as a start for the education of those children who may enter one of the local maintained middle schools in Year 5. The school believes that the opportunities offered to children during their formative years are critical for the future development of the child. It provides a safe, nurturing, home from home learning environment in a small setting. Class sizes are particularly small and adult to child ratios are high. The school provides wrap-around care for children from 7.30 am to 6.00 pm in term time through its breakfast clubs and after-school clubs. It also offers holiday clubs for all children in the school and the Nursery between 8.00 am and 6.00 pm for approximately fourteen weeks a year. The holiday club is also a popular choice for parents whose children do not attend the school. The school has a Christian ethos. There is a diverse mix of ethnicity within the school. The school aims to teach children within a culture of high expectation and challenge, enabling them to achieve their best, and help them to be good choosers, skilful problem solvers and powerful learners. It aims to give them the confidence to question and to search for answers, to understand that without mistakes they do not learn and so encourage them to take risks. It aims to build the skills, knowledge and understanding required for making sense of the world around them, to learn to work collaboratively as well as independently, and to be caring and respectful of those around them. It aims to help them to recognise that learning is lifelong, but most importantly to enjoy learning.