Reception

A warm welcome to Parkgate House School

We always welcome new children into Reception and one of the highlights of my role as Head of Early Years is welcoming new families to Parkgate House and helping to ensure a smooth transition into our warm and friendly community, often described as a ‘family’.

Our skilled staff are passionate about getting to know each child as an individual, enabling them to personalise the learning experience to each child from the outset, and our nurturing environment supports children whatever their starting point. It is always wonderful to see how our children thrive and develop throughout their Reception year and beyond.

Starting school is a big step for children and parents alike. We take time to get to know our families and to properly settle every child in, whilst ensuring that parents feel happy, reassured and supported. Our induction events will enable you to meet key members of staff and other families joining Parkgate House, and a curriculum session for parents provides a comprehensive overview of the journey ahead, guiding you through each step of the way.

Our outstanding teachers quickly develop positive relationships with the children, create stimulating learning environments and plan exciting learning opportunities to ensure that every child feels safe, happy, confident and ready to learn. The foundation of each child’s journey of learning and development begins in the Early Years where they learn through an innovative curriculum including creative play, free-flow sessions, guided play, outdoor learning, exploration and discovery. We encourage independence and resilience in our children and identify and foster talents early on. At Parkgate House we pride ourselves on our provision of exceptional pastoral care that creates a love of learning through exploration, fun and challenge in a safe place. Our pupils love coming to school.

Here at Parkgate we offer a wide range of activities every day which are designed to help each child develop physical, cognitive and social skills in a fun and engaging way. Subjects such as Drama, Ballet, Music, Sport, Art and French are carefully brought to life by our specialist teachers, while core topics such as reading, writing and number-work are established and embedded through fun activities.

I thoroughly enjoy visiting our Nursery and Reception classes each day and our current Reception children have been keen to share their highlights of the year so far! A selection of quotes is below:

I like swimming, it’s my favourite. I love playing and going underwater. I can swim like a dolphin! 
I like violin lessons with Miss Chrissy, because I love playing the animal game on the strings.
I like practising my drawing in Art. I really enjoyed making a vegetable face collage!
Did you know there are new clubs in Reception? My favourite clubs are Dance Club and Drama Club!
I love going to Football Club because it’s fun and I can play football with my friends.
I love seeing the older children when they help us during lessons and playtime.

I would be delighted to welcome you to Parkgate House, and I very much look forward to meeting you.

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Mrs Lara Smiles
Head of Early Years and Pre-Prep

“We wanted to express how thankful we are to everyone at Parkgate who has gone far and beyond for our son. He has only been at Parkgate for one year so far and he absolutely adores going there. He has come a long way in such a short time!  I just wanted to say a big thank you for believing in him, spotting his talents as quickly as you did and to say how pleased we are that you’re all so supportive. We understand not all schools would be this accommodating!”
Parkgate parent