Reception is part of the Early Years Foundation Stage where children acquire and develop key and life-long skills which will underpin the rest of their school journey.

Our children learn through a wide range of play-based and child-initiated activities as well as more formal methods of learning and adult-led group work. We aim to inspire a true love of learning in your children by encouraging them to develop their confidence and curiosity through a broad and stimulating topic-based curriculum.

In Reception we have daily phonics and numeracy sessions. The weekly timetable also includes specialised music, P.E., creative activities and a wide range of open-ended activities and learning opportunities which enable the children to discover and interpret the world around them.

We use high quality, core texts which help children to make links to the topics taught over the year.  The core texts provide exciting learning experiences and help children to develop a love of reading as well as ensuring they develop excellent early literacy skills.

We continue the You Can Do It reward system that many of the children became familiar with in our Nursery.  Children earn “tokens” and then certificates for showing Kindness, Confidence, Persistence and good Thinking. Rewarding children in this way is motivating for  the development of  good learning behaviours and social skills, ensuring all have an opportunity to succeed whatever their academic ability.

There are three large Reception classrooms (Wellington, Lucien and Durnsford) with an adjacent all-weather outdoor area and our own dedicated Early Years playground as outdoor learning is an important part of the Early Years’ experience.

We are a team of experienced and dedicated practitioners who work closely together to ensure the best outcomes for your children. Each child is valued for their individual characteristics and all achievements are celebrated. We foster strong and meaningful links between home and school, encouraging parents to tell us about children's interests and achievements outside of school, so that we can share in their success. Throughout the year we hold a variety of workshops to keep parents informed of teaching strategies and ways in which you can help at home.

To contact the Reception team:

Paula Greenwood (Wellington Class Teacher and Reception Year Group Leader)  |  pgreenwood@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk

Olivia Bacon (Lucien Class Teacher)  

obacon@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk

Venetia Gribble (Durnsford Class Teacher- maternity cover) 

vgribble@wimbledonpark.merton.sch.uk