The nursery has been divided up into playrooms to meet the different age and development needs of the children attending. The rooms are divided into: Babies, Toddlers, Tweenies and a large Pre-school room. Each playroom is supervised by suitably qualified and experienced staff. In addition to the playrooms we also have a sleep room, cosy room, a soft play room, a music room and a separate dining area that is also used for baking activities. In addition, there is the fully secure garden with soft top.
The babies are cared for in a warm bright and stimulating environment where they are made to feel emotionally secure by qualified and experienced child carers. A day in the baby room is very much a child led day where particular attention is paid towards children’s individual patterns of feeding and sleeping. The baby room has a wide range of early toys, activity gyms, play-mats and the babies are able to take part in sensory activities. Weather permitting the babies are taken out for daily walks to the nearby Holyrood Park.
Within the toddler rooms, the children are expanding on skills they have already learned and being are introduced to creative and messy activities with paint, play dough, water and sand and also to early puzzles. The toddlers are given every opportunity to explore their environment, socialise, share and begin to make friends with other children.
The Tweenies Rooms (2 years – 3 years)
At this stage the children are becoming more independent and staff will gradually lead them into a slightly more structured environment where themed activities are planned to enhance children’s skills and give them a greater knowledge of the world around them. The children are beginning to join group activities and are given every opportunity to make choices that will enable them to develop their own personalities.
At this stage the children are becoming more independent and staff will gradually lead them into a slightly more structured environment where themed activities are planned to enhance children’s skills and give them a greater knowledge of the world around them. The children are beginning to join group activities and are given every opportunity to make choices that will enable them to develop their own personalities.
Staff will encourage and motivate children to develop at their own pace and help them to gain self-confidence and self-respect and learning through play. They will also learn to become more independent, establish positive relationships and be sensitive to the needs of others. The children are able to use their natural curiosity of the world to explore a variety of subjects in a child centred way. To link up with the many different activities we have going on throughout the nursery, the children will be taken on outings to experience, first hand, all the things we have been discussing to give them a greater knowledge and understanding of what they are learning. Included in the places we will be visiting are: museums, the zoo, libraries, the City Farm, the Commonwealth swimming pool, Holyrood park etc.
This is our indoor, active jump-around room that the children can use for energetic play all year round so when the weather is not so good, the children will still have opportunities to have lots of fun burning off some of their excess energy! The room is furnished with larger toys and equipment for more active pursuits.
Cosy Lounge & Story Room
This is our relaxing room where there are lots of cushions and bean bags and the older children can relax, rest and prepare themselves for more fun and games in their base rooms. The cosy room is also used for small group activities and stories can be read here in tranquil surroundings. Children who sometimes prefer quiet time can also use this room and avoid the more boisterous distractions of the larger rooms.
In this room children will have the opportunity to sing, play percussion and other musical instruments and learn to dance, without disturbing other activities. We have visiting musicians and dance instructors to enable the children to get the opportunity to hear how instruments are really played and have an opportunity to participate themselves. Ballet and highland dancing classes may also be available.
The separate dining rooms are mainly used by the over two’s for meals. Younger children will normally eat within their base room. Staff will also take their meals with children to help promote good eating habits and table manners.
Telephone: 0131-668-3300