The idea of founding a Dharma Primary School evolved from the family camps at Amaravati[6] Buddhist Monastery in Hertfordshire in the mid-1980s.

Saisvadi Svasti) and Peter Carey, Buddhists and founder trustees, the school moved to The White House, Patcham, in June 1995 with eleven children.

The school integrated short sessions of silent or guided meditation several times a week for young children and connects mindfulness with regular daily activities such as eating, working and playing as a way to develop patience, compassion and self-awareness.

In daily meditation the older children were given a range of opportunities to reflect on and discuss experiences that have affected their inner world.

On Fridays parents were invited to the school puja, during which there was usually quiet time for meditation, after which the children performed or showed some work, or a story was told.