Edinburgh Academy Nursery life

The Edinburgh Academy,
10 Arboretum Road,
Edinburgh, Scotland, EH3 5PL.
Phone: (0131) 552 3690
Fax: (0131) 551 2660
Email:

The Edinburgh Academy is a
registered charity, no. SC 016999

Edinburgh nursery school role play

Edinburgh nursery school art

Nursery Life - and how to cope with it!

Here at The Edinburgh Academy Nursery we provide a warm, caring environment where boys and girls from two years of age can grow and develop in a secure, stable and friendly environment. We aim to develop each child’s true joy in learning and guide individuals gently along the path that prepares for life.

Nursery is a busy place where children are encouraged to control their own learning. We therefore recommend that children do not wear their best clothes. We use the outdoor areas in all weather and so please provide suitable waterproof clothing and a pair of wellington boots. These can be stored in a bag on your child’s peg.

Handy Hints on Settling your Child at Nursery

Take time to show your child round the room, including the toilets

Remember that every child is different. They don’t all react in the same way.

Talk to your child in a positive way about coming to Nursery.

If your child is happy and settled, please feel free to leave. Remember to inform a member of staff that you are leaving.

Always tell your child that you are going and then remind them who is collecting them at the end of the day.

If your child is upset, don’t worry. The staff in the room will help.

For the first few days try to collect promptly.

Nursery Teachers

The senior nursery teacher is Mrs Paula Howden Thompson: the ‘room leaders’ are Mrs Karen Thompson – Spruce; Mrs Annie Addison – Rowan; Miss Elspeth Hill – Beech; Mrs Sheila Stewart – Willow.

Day to day nursery matters

The handover ceremony

piano

setting table

lunch

Part time in Willow & Beech

Parents who are offered places in Willow or Beech decide how many days they would like and often arrange, say, two mornings with a third full day or 4 mornings. So there is a great deal of flexibility for the young ones – appropriate for their age.

All day 2 year olds

The Edinburgh Academy Little Nursery can take 2 year olds 8.30a.m.-3pm. if required. There is a sleep room and cosy book corner with big cushions for children to rest after lunch. Children who stay for lunch and the full day in this room have lunch provided for them in the large nursery school kitchen/dining room.

Shared Places

Children in the year before their pre-school year have the option of full or part time place or a shared place which would be 2½ full days per week.

Other Part Time

Children in their pre-school year are advised to take five mornings or five full days a week to adapt to the continuity of school and get the most benefit from the Nursery Curriculum for Excellence.

Delivery and collection

There is a buzzer and intercom. Parents must sign their children in and out and a class register is taken every day.

Sickness and absence

If your child is ill please do not send them to Nursery until they are well and no longer infectious.

In the case of vomiting and diarrhoea, they should be free from symptoms for 48 hours. This is necessary to avoid the spread of infection and to ensure the health of all the Nursery children and staff.

Out of nursery hours care

Edinburgh nurseries regularly need to cope with the children of two working parents. At the Edinburgh Academy you can, if you choose, have your child of 3 years and upwards looked after from 8am till 6pm every day throughout the year with only a few exceptions. Holiday Club covers all bar a few days of the school holidays.

Healthy Eating

Here at The Edinburgh Academy we are a health promoting school and so snacks and lunches are well balanced and provide healthy choices.

Children from the bigger Spruce and Rowan classrooms who stay for the afternoon eat lunch in the school Dining Hall at tables specially allocated for Nursery children. They eat the same menu as the school children.

Lunch

This has been increasingly popular with parents – who often say “but I can’t get him to eat that at home!” surprised to hear how well their child has eaten his/her lunch.

Nursery staff like to emphasise that lunch is much more than just feeding a child. The children all sit and eat together and wait for eachother to finish before leaving. They have to behave at table and show considerations for their neighbours, so important social development for a child plus a good introduction to the school dining hall and to feeling part of the school.

The lunch menu is written up on a board for parents along with the morning and afternoon snacks which the children prepare themselves in their classrooms.