Our purpose built nursery houses three learning environments that support children’s development from three months to five years.
Fun and engaging activities help support the key learning experiences which are part of the national curriculums. Children take part in dance, sports, performance, and cookery experiences within the nursery and also with students from Edinburgh College.
We are registered with The Care Inspectorate and have been inspected by HMIE. We are proud to offer government funded pre-school places and are registered as a partner nursery with the Edinburgh Council.
Three Months to Two Years
On our ground floor we have our youngest children’s learning space which we adapt to suit the age and stage of the children with us.
We support schematic play and provide a welcoming, calm environment to nurture the development of our youngest children. This space is cosy and warm with a separate area for sleeping. We assess the developmental stage of each child and discuss their transition with you to the next stage of their learning.
This room is staffed on a 1:3 ratio.
Two to Three Years
Further along the corridor, we have our toddler learning environment. These rooms are busy and active just like the little people who play and learn there. We have lots of different experiences available daily for the children to explore and as all of our ground floor playrooms open directly onto the garden, the children have access to the outdoors all day.
Our toddlers will be supported through their learning and prepared for transitioning to preschool when they are ready. Our toddler playroom adapts to provide greater challenge and depth of learning for those children that are just not quite ready for the move to preschool. This offers your growing toddler an opportunity to stay in a safe and familiar environment while developing confidence and experiencing new challenges.
Downstairs we also have an area which is used for mealtimes to make them an enjoyable and social experience for our younger children.
This room is staffed on a 1:5 ratio.
Three to Five Years
We have two beautiful play spaces, Rainbows and Dragons, each holding 40 children. The entire floor is dedicated to our pre and ante preschool children. We have a beautiful, open plan space for the children to learn and explore in. We are able to incorporate all eight areas of the curriculum and give children the autonomy and confidence to play a major role in their learning.
Your child will be assigned a key worker who will work with your child to develop their learning. The key worker will use observations of your child to identify areas they are progressing well in and areas where they may need a little support. They will plan next steps and support your child to achieve these through a mixture of independent learning and planned learning provocations to challenge your child’s natural curiousity and love of learning.
This room is staffed on a 1:8 ratio.
Outdoor Play
Our location on the waterfront, allows children to explore the outdoors in our large secure outdoor play area, as well as the regular use of our turtle stroller buses and regular supervised walks to the beach and surrounding areas.
Hidden Garden
Also available to our preschool children is the Hidden Garden. The Hidden Garden is our base for our all day outdoor adventures, a small group of children supported by 2 adults. Together they go on adventures in the local woods and the coastline while developing the children’s social skills, problem solving, resilience and risk assessing/safety. Children are invited along for a few trial sessions and then given a regular day to attend so they can come in dressed for the Scottish Weather and some muddy play. If you have any questions regarding the Hidden Garden please get in touch.
Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is a big part of our ethos. We understand that a balanced diet is important to your child’s growth and development. Our lunch and snack menus are taken from NHS guidelines for Early Years. Children are encouraged to learn about healthy foods by helping to prepare snacks in their playrooms.
Learn more about NHS Health Scotland nutritional guidance and food standards in their Setting the Table information booklet (external link, PDF).
We cater to as many dietary needs and preferences as possible, please speak to a member of our team if your child has any particular needs.
Meals at the nursery can include things like baked potatoes, lentil and mushroom ragu, fish dishes and more. View a sample menu for the nursery.
PEEP Classes
Waterfront Nursery currently run monthly PEEP sessions, however this is set to increase as more staff are trained over the coming months.
What is PEEP?
PEEP stands for Parent Early Education in Partnership. PEEP involves trained practitioners working in partnership with parents/carers to benefit their child’s learning and development. Involving Parents in their child’s early experiences helps practitioners plan effective play activities at nursery and supports parents to continue to expand their children’s learning at home.