Our main aim is to provide a welcoming, secure and stimulating environment where children can build up their confidence and self-esteem, developing positive attitudes towards both themselves and others.

Nursery education plays an important role in children's learning and development, providing a foundation for future education. Structured play and practical activities provide many valuable experiences that are an important part of the learning process and encourage social interaction.

The Scottish Office provide a 'curriculum framework for pre-school children' that identifies 5 main curriculum areas:
Emotional, personal and social
Language and communication
Knowledge and understanding of the world
Creative and aesthetic development
Physical development

We use a thematic approach to curriculum planning, which promotes cross-curricular learning, to:
- plan a yearly programme of specified topics and ongoing themes
- build upon prior learning experiences and utilise current events and
children's interest
- provide a structure for flexible but detailed planning and continuous
evaluation
- enable children to develop individually and approach activities at different
levels

The quiet room provides:
- an attractive and comfortable environment, that is rich in print, for listening to stories, looking at books and sharing them with others
- an extensive selection and range of books that are attractively displayed and easily accessible to the children
- experiences to increase awareness of language in the environment, its range of uses and purposes
- experiences to encourage involvement and development of early reading and writing
- access to computers, with range of educational programmes, to build confidence and knowledge and encourage independent use

The main nursery area
This has been designed to promote children's involvement in choice and give them the confidence to explore a wide range of experiences and use their practice skills. We aim to use and develop stimulating interactive display areas usually based around the topic, themes or current interests.

Maths workshop area to encourage use of mathematical language and increase awareness of it within the environment, whilst developing early maths skills and concepts

Games, puzzles and tabletop activities are utilised to promote a range of skills including fine manipulative and early language, providing links with other curriculum areas and positive images.

Construction resources are used to gain increasing control over fine manipulative skills and develop simple problem solving strategies.

Imaginary play areas are developed through organising a range of different theme areas and use of small world equipment including puppets

Furniture in this area can easily be moved to enable the children to participate in group activities such as circle time, singing and playing percussion instruments in addition to PE lessons that include music, movement and dance

The wet area
Provides many opportunities for children to develop and express their creative skills including:

- exploring a wide range of materials including sand, water, dough and clay
- opportunities to use various drawing media such as chalk, pastels, pens
- experimenting with painting techniques, colour mixing, using different
methods and tools to apply paint and materials with printing techniques
- use of various materials for collage and modelling skills and projects

In addition to these a range of other activities and experiences are undertaken including the important daily social routines involved in sharing snacks and lunches with other children, baking and cooking.

Outdoor play and activities
This is organised to enable maximum use of outdoor play area, weather permitting, with many curriculum activities being adapted and developed to take advantage of the additional space

- Fully enclosed outdoor area with safety matting and patio
- Extensive resources including climbing frames, slides and trampolines
- physical games, action rhymes and ring games in addition to the group use of apparatus to encourage social co-operation
- wide range of large and small apparatus to practice climbing, jumping, balancing skills as well as throwing, catching, aiming and kicking
- adjacent garden, with grassed areas, flower beds and greenhouse, to encourage involvement in growing plants in addition to developing knowledge, understanding and a caring attitude to the environment

We are sited near to a residential area and local facilities, with strong established links with the community. This enables us to take the children on many walks and visits to enrich the nursery curriculum. Our new people carrier will also allow us to take small groups of children further afield.

Parents and carers
We encourage parents to be involved in the process of regularly sharing information as building upon the significant learning opportunities that children experience at home and within the family is very important.

Regular newsletter keep parents informed of nursery topics, themes and events and our Friends of Rainbow is an active group that organises social events and raises money for charities. There are many opportunities for parents to be involved in the nursery curriculum and we are keen for them to share their valuable knowledge, skills and expertise.