Marmalade Bear

Marmalade Schools have been providing outstanding early years education to children aged 2 to 4 years for over 18 years. With six nursery school settings in South London, Marmalade Schools are widely regarded as one of London’s leading early years prov…The Marmalade Bear is situated close to Bellevue Road and Wandsworth Common Station in St Magdalene Church Hall. The Head Teacher is Miss Karen Wright, who has been teaching at the Marmalade Schools for ten years. The School has 48 children at any one session and nine full time teachers, including five visiting teachers. The Marmalade Bear was inspected by Ofsted in Feb 2025 and is Outstanding in all areas.
Miss Karen, Head of Marmalade Bear, has been with the Marmalade Family since 2011. She has been with the Marmalade Bear Nursery since 2012, moving to the position of Head in January 2022. She is passionate about creating a friendly and nurturing environment for children to enable them to be well prepared for the next step in their learning and educational journey. She lives locally to Marmalade Bear and is very familiar with the local area and community. Miss Karen qualified as a Registered General Nurse and Registered Midwife and worked as a Neonatal Intensive Care Nurse in Scotland before moving to London in 1988.She then continued her midwifery practice at St. George’s Hospital and as a Community Midwife before becoming a stay-at-home mum of two in 20. Miss Karen then changed direction and worked with SEND children before working as a nursery teacher. She is dedicated in carrying out the Marmalade Schools’ vision and supporting children, and their parents, in the most important stage of the children’s education, developing a firm foundation for the building blocks of their future
The Marmalade Bear staff are all well qualified, experienced, and passionate practitioners led by the Head Karen Wright. Karen and the team have developed creative learning strategies catering for different children’s learning styles and interests. During the day the children undertake purposeful activities to challenge and extend the children’s skills and abilities. This is all achieved in a warm and friendly environment where all children have a safe and stimulating place to learn. In addition, playing and learning in mixed age ranges allows the children to support each other building empowering relationships.
Parents are involved with many of the activities and events held at the school to foster a close working relationship with our parents. The use of Tapestry is an excellent way for the parents to be involved with the school and for the school to share information. The school is very well resourced with new equipment to ensure the best for all the children. The Marmalade Bear shares the ethos of being an inclusive school with many different religions, ethnicities, non-traditional families and abilities at the school. We celebrate many different religious festivals.
Parents are involved with many of the activities and events held at the school to foster a close working relationship with our parents. We encourage parent participation and hold events such as sponsored wheelies, sports day and parent stay and play. We also have an active PTA which helps create a friendly community around the nursery. Marmalade Bear children have access to specialist teachers in a range of additional activities such as Ballet, French, Activ Ts, Small Sports, and Music. The children also spend one morning a week on Wandsworth common engaging in Forest School activities.FacilitiesFrench LessonsSongs and rhymesFree playArtsGardenSports equipmentGamesSports dayStory TellingBallet sessionsSports programmeBilingual learning activitiesToysBooksClass roomInstrumentsLegoComplete range of educational material in FrenchKitchen and cookingToys for children with developmental disabilitiesCooking and bakingLibrary visitsCookingConstructionLetters and sounds activitiesCreative playCreative areaCraft activitiesMessy playVisits to the parkMathsDanceQuiet areaVisits and outingsDramaMontessori inspired teachingMontessori equipmentMessy play224Music and movementMusicDressing upEquipment for Children With Developmental DisabilitiesScienceMusic21Sand playSand and water playEarly Learning Goals TeachingNumeracySensory playOut-door playEYFSFloor playFit and funOutdoor play areaFestivalsMarmalade Bear is one of six Marmalade Schools settings in Wandsworth, offering outstanding early years education for children aged 2 to 4. Led by Head Teacher Karen Wright, the nursery has 48 children per session and nine full‑time teachers. Staff use creative learning strategies and tailor activities to children’s different learning styles and interests, ensuring purposeful learning in a warm, friendly environment. Specialist teachers offer additional subjects such as ballet, French, sports and music, and children enjoy weekly forest school sessions on Wandsworth Common. Parents are closely involved through events, stay‑and‑play sessions and a parental app. The school celebrates diversity, welcomes non‑traditional families and has a well‑resourced environment to support inclusive learning.