Tel: 0131 629 2500 : email: Manager@pilrignursery.co.uk
Curriculum
Children at the nursery benefit from a broad based and child centred range of play experiences & activities informed by Education Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence, Early Level, Building the Ambition and Pre Birth to 3 and Girfec principles.
Information on all of these documents can be found at the link below.
Our day to day routine is greatly enhanced by weekly specialist activities provided by experts in their own field. We currently have weekly classes in children’s yoga (Tatty Bumpkins), Enjoy a Ball and dance classes.
Learning
Through Play
Children learn through play and are free to choose from a range of experiences & activities in our free-flow nursery layout. The playrooms are organised to facilitate choice, independence and child directed learning. Our spacious garden is easily accessible from the playrooms. From a young age, children are encouraged to be independent and support is given when needed for hand washing, choosing their snack, dressing, etc.
Staff make careful observations of the children at play, their use of resources and the interaction between the children, and use this information for planning purposes. Children plan together with the nursery staff using Floor Books (a large book documenting the children’s learning journeys, ideas, pictures, experiences and photographs) ensuring that our nursery day is child-centred. We involve the children as much as possible in everyday nursery decisions (such as snack choice, book of the week & trip choice) taking their views on board.
Transitions
Transitions
Learning
ThroughPlay
To ensure a smooth transition from home to nursery, we offer a settling-in process which takes place in the week before a child’s formal start date. There is no fee for this process. The number of days will vary dependent on how well the child settles, but we offer 5 days for this purpose (typically Monday to Friday but this can be changed dependent on circumstances). The first session lasts around 1 hour and a parent will stay with the child for the whole session. The remainder of the week gradually builds up the time involved, ultimately leading to the child being with the nursery for a few hours without a parent.
Children, parents and staff work together to ensure a smooth transition between groups at the key stages within the nursery. Children of different ages already play alongside each other resulting in straightforward transitions.
Journals
Transitions
E-Learning Journals
All of the children at Pilrig Children's Nursery have their own e-Learning Journal which everyone loves. Nursery staff manage the journals on ipads and parents have a personal login access code which allows a fantastic insight into their child’s time at nursery, reading comments from staff and looking at all the lovely photos. Parents may also input to the journals as they wish.
The website pages for our individual Child Groups (Rabbits, Hedgehogs, and Squirrels) are updated regularly to show nursery experiences & news, and how these interact with our curriculum.
Further information on Building the Ambition, Girfec, Pre Birth to 3 Guidelines and Curriculum for Excellence is available at www.educationscotland.gov.scot