Be extremely successful in the Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment.

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We’ve had amazing success at Manor Lodge for years and years and years.

Parents love this school. Parents tend to adore their open day and fall in love with the school itself. They love the extensive grounds and the fact that they are told that a lot of the learning takes place outside. They love the head teacher and the teachers that they meet. Overall, I hear a lot of positive things about Manor Lodge.

First of all it is important that you are laser sharp aware about what exactly Manor Lodge are even assessing when it comes to the 4+ Assessment. So many of you want to send your child here but don’t truly know the expectations.

They will be assessing:

  • Confidence

  • Communication

  • Collaboration

  • Creativity

  • Curiosity

The 4+ Assessment for Manor Lodge takes place in October (17th October 2025) - therefore it is one of the earliest 4+ Assessments. You have 2 weeks from now left to prepare your child to go in and pass this 4+ Assessment.

In my vast experience, what I’ve noticed is that parents start far too late preparing for the 4+ Assessment at this school. Perhaps they haven’t planned their time correctly, perhaps they don’t imagine their child will have any difficulty in being offered a place or perhaps they just don’t understand the 4+ Assessment process. For whatever reason, parents starting too late preparing their child for Manor Lodge, usually does not lead to positive results. I do not say this to scare you. I say this to inform you. And this has been my personal experience doing this for over 16 years.

Interestingly, Manor Lodge group children by their nursery which I don’t personally think is the best idea. Children tend to become overly ‘confident’ when they see their nursery peers and sometimes this can lead to behavioural issues. Obviously this is not in our control but please do prep your child by telling them that there will be children they know and telling them your behavioural expectations.

‘Your child’s age at the time will be taken into account’ means nothing. Disregard this comment completely please. Your child’s age is your child’s age and that is all.

The 4+ Assessment at Manor Lodge lasts 45 minutes. Be aware that this is a very over subscribed school and competition will be fierce. Picture hundreds and hundreds of children all at Manor Lodge on the same day! Tell your child about it and prepare them for this. My son would hate to be in a place with hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of children.

Don’t assume that because it is in the forest garden that your child will just be running around and having fun and playing in a forest. Your child is going to be assessed. And your child will need to meet all of the criteria to a very high standard. No body cares about how much fun they have in the forest.

I suggest you cover all 7 areas of the EYFS curriculum to a very high standard. I suggest that you don’t forget about physical development as this is an important aspect of this 4+ Assessment. I suggest you give yourself at least 12 months of preparation time for Manor Lodge (if you are considering ML for 2027 entry and beyond). 30 minutes a day of focused learning with your child every single day for 12 months (to the best of your ability).

I will be running a curriculum sprint for the Manor Lodge 4+ Assessment and this will be open to 5 very lucky students. I will be charging £97 for the Curriculum sprints and current clients can join for half the price (£48.50). This will launch on Friday 3rd October. Email me to be the first to register (office@creativemindstutors.com).