To give feedback from the
questionnaire.
 To provide information on current good
practice.
 To discuss what children are learning in
nursery.
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Lots of positive feedback on
atmosphere, environment, staff and
opportunities offered to the children.
Changes to group time have left some
children lacking a sense of belonging.
 The children need more adult led
activities
 Folders are not as they used to be.
 Children may not use the whole nursery
 My child isn’t learning and may not be
prepared for school.

We are on a journey of change and are
incorporating the Care Inspectorate guidelines
and Midlothian Council.
We are using these guidelines and current
documentation to tailor our routines and
environment to promote best practice.
“play encompasses children’s behaviour which is freely chosen,
personally directed and intrinsically motivated. It is performed for no
external goal or reward and is a fundamental and integral part of
healthy development which seeks to improve play experiences for
all children.” National play strategy
“The role of the adult is to enable and facilitate play
(but not to control it). Adults can create a supportive
framework that gives children time, space and
permission to play. Adults provide encouragement,
support and access to play opportunities which
nurture the child’s development and which allow them
to encounter challenges appropriate to the individual.”
Midlothian Play Strategy.”

Folders now reflect individual
experiences and from parental
feedback we will add what the child
may be learning throughout the
experience.

As children develop their personalities
and sense of self there will be areas
where they gravitate to more than
others. Within the nursery we ensure
there is a wealth of resources which can
be transported to other areas. E.g. Rulers
and pencils etc. in the brick area.
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Children are learning all the time in nursery and are
practicing skills, negotiating social interactions,
investigating environments and developing an
understanding of the world around them.
Every child’s brain-development-work is done
through play.
We want all our children to be ready to transition
into primary 1 smoothly, with well timed
interventions and staff extending learning
opportunities the child is cementing their skills in a
meaningful, relevant manner for them.
Primary 1 is becoming more play focused and
learning through play is still very appropriate at this
stage.
Maths; weighing, measuring
counting how many items to take.
Money; snack order and counting
the children’s contribution.
Science; how items mix together
and the end product. Where food
comes from.
Process and product
Communication; explaining to each
other what needs done.
Socialisation; working together,
eating together, negotiating.
Independence and routines; the
routine supports children to practice
skills and build confidence.
• Fine motor skills
• awareness of
self
• Pre writing skills
• pencil grip
•Creativity and
imagination
•Symbolic
representation
•Health and wellbeing; Understanding senses,
developing awareness of self
• Science experiences; Planting; process and product
Exploration of our environment, investigation and
experimenting
• Purposeful socialisation; role play, team work,
negotiation, problem solving
• Gross and fine motor skills
•Risk management; planning and design
Maths; measurement, size,
shape, weight, balance
Fine and gross motor skills
Texture and properties;
materials and natural
resources.
Problem solving
Imagination
Social skills; negotiating,
communicating, taking
turns, sharing and team
work.
Planning and design
Risk management
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“Decades of research has shown that play is crucial to physical,
intellectual, and social-emotional development at all ages.
This is especially true of the purest form of play: the unstructured,
self-motivated, imaginative, independent kind, where children
initiate their own games and even invent their own rules.” Dr. David
Elkind
“Babies and children who are allowed uninterrupted play-time are less
likely to learn what ‘boredom’ is - they develop creativity, imagination
and a concentration span that they take with them to adulthood.”
Nature play- The adult role in child led play
Midlothian play Strategy
 Building the Ambition
 How Good Is Our Early Learning and
Childcare.
 Curriculum for Excellence
 Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC)

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Any questions?
1. Children use first hand experiences from
life;
2. Children make up rules as they play in
order to keep control.
3. Children symbolically represent as they
play, making and adapting play props.
4. Children choose to play - they cannot be
made to play.
5. Children rehearse their future in their role
play.
6. Children sometimes play alone.
7. Children pretend when they play.
8. Children play with adults and other children
cooperatively in pairs or groups.
9. Children have a personal play agenda, which
may or may not be shared.
10. Children are deeply involved and difficult to
distract from their deep learning as they
wallow in their play and learning.
11. Children try out their most recently
acquired skills and competences, as if
celebrating what they know.
12. Children coordinate ideas and feelings and
make sense of relationships with their
families, friends and cultures.