Our Facilities
Snowdrops
(6 Weeks – 18 months)
The qualified, caring staff follow the ‘Pre-birth to Three’ guidelines to provide a loving, safe environment . The four key principles of the guideline are:-
‘Rights of the Child’; Children have the right to thrive and be nurtured. We promote general well-being, health, nutrition and safety by giving love and hugs, daily visits to the garden, tooth brushing and a flexible routine which meets the individual needs of each child.
‘Relationships’; essential to a baby’s health and wellbeing and to determining their future potential and life chances. We promote this by using the ‘Keyworker’ system, tailored ‘settling in’ and ‘stay n play’ sessions with parents & families (currently restricted due to pandemic).
‘Responsive Care’; each child is accepted and respected as an individual. We use ‘All about me’ forms, personal plans, responsive planning sheets and ‘learning plans’ which are updated in relation to each individual child’s needs.
‘Respect’; shown to all children and families. Parents and carers are encouraged to share their knowledge of their child’s preferences and interests. Children are encouraged to make choices to develop their confidence and feeling of being respected.
The playroom is a warm spacious room with a homely atmosphere. There is a sleeping room, a kitchen and a changing room.
Parents provide nappies, creams and wipes as well as sufficient milk and food for the day.
Buttercups
(1-2 years)
The Buttercup staff also follow the ‘Pre-birth to three’ guidelines providing a nurturing, safe environment. The children are supported and encouraged to express and develop their own personalities while exploring the areas of the room.
We have a Home Corner, a construction area, a sensory/discover area, messy area, cosy corner and physical area. The children have the opportunity to make choices, to play, to interact, to explore, to create and to problem solve.
We provide a healthy, nutritious cooked lunch as well as snacks. These times are used to form positive relationships by encouraging social skills.
The children enjoy playing daily in the large garden experiencing a variety of activities such as digging, planting, running, climbing and crawling.
The routine is flexible to encourage children’s choice and interests. We know and accept that all children are unique individuals and promote this by using ‘All About Me forms and learning plans which are updated to meet the children’s individual needs.
Parents provide nappies, wipes, creams and a change of clothing which are kept in individual boxes.
Bluebells
(18 months- 30months)
Following the ‘Pre Birth to Three’ guidelines, the staff in the Bluebells create an environment which helps to develop children’s sense of personal identity and self-esteem. Each child is treated as an individual and activities are planned around their interests. Children are encouraged to develop self-help skills, become aware of safety, express feelings, create using their imagination, enjoy texture, sounds, sight, become aware of numeracy and literacy and interact with other children and adults along the way.
We make use of the outdoor environment. Children play daily in the large garden, go for nature walks and visit the local community.
Time is set aside for snacks, lunch, singing, soft play, Heuristic play, story time, rest and more……
Parents provide nappies, wipes and a change of clothes.
Poppy Seeds
(2 years – 3 years)
The Poppy Seeds provides a nurturing environment which builds on existing routines that are familiar and welcoming. We promote self-help skills required to encourage independence, such as serving themselves, pouring own drinks and putting on their coats, shoes, hat, gloves etc.
We use the ‘Pre-Birth to Three’ guidelines promoting the Rights of the Child, Responsive Care, Relationships and Respect which are the four key principles of the guidance.
Our experiences are based ‘In The Moment’ and have a focus on ‘Loose Parts Play’ which is open-ended materials that can be used and manipulated in different ways. Having loose parts in an environment invite immense imaginative possibilities and promotes children’s curiosity, inquiry and creativity as well as helping to develop the children’s vocabulary, social skills, numeracy skills, fine and gross motor movements and problem solving skills to name a few.
Parents provide nappies, wipes and a change of clothes.
Poppies
(3 – 5 years)
The Poppies follow the Curriculum for Excellence in order to provide an active play based approach to learning in line with the Scottish Government’s guidelines. Our aim is to provide and ensure that every child in our care has access to a broad range of educational experiences and outcomes that develop skills for learning, life and work.
We implement the curriculum in full, ensuring a focus on literacy and numeracy and the promotion of an active, safe and healthy lifestyle. The knowledge skills and attributes learners develop will allow them to achieve the four key capacities in becoming successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.
Our staff group embraces this enriched and creative curriculum. We encourage this through responsive planning, the involvement of all children, parents, families and other partners, as this is paramount to shaping and directing learning. We plan through seasons ensuring we make maximum use of our outdoor environment and include opportunities to celebrate festivals, explore enterprise and sustain our eco commitments. Our planning reflects the principles of challenge, enjoyment, breadth, progression, depth, personalisation and choice, coherence and relevance.
Staff and children review individual learning and together record this in personal ‘Learning journeys’ which include observations, quotes and photographs, samples of progressive work, including literacy and numeracy examples, and evidence of achievements and celebrations. Opportunity is given for parents and carers input. Personal ‘learning journeys’ inform the planning of next steps, support access to learning activities which meet individual needs, prepare for changes and choices, including transition to school and assists when information is required for additional support agencies.
As well as individual needs being considered, any group focus for learning can be adapted as staff respond to children’s thoughts, ideas and interests. All this as well as love, care and fun that children have come to expect from their time spent at Riverside.
Outdoor Play
Everyday
Our extensive garden area has the advantage of being surrounded by fields and countryside, away from roads and traffic and offers space to allow the children to move around freely. Outdoor play is an important part of our Healthy Living strategy and provides the means for children to develop their physical skills. Children’s physical development is influenced by their growing confidence and enjoyment of physical play, by their increasing ability to control their own bodies through movement and by their well-being and strength.
We encourage children to develop a greater awareness and understanding of the countryside and natural habitats of birds, insects, trees and plants within the environment. We have created some natural habitats on a small scale that will attract and encourage visits from birds and insect life.
Our garden has all these resources;
- Environmental garden
- Forest
- Digging pit
- Garden of Eden
- Balancing Beams
- Climbing Equipment
- Stepping Blocks
- Outdoor Art area
- Walk in sheltered area
- Construction area
Riverside Childcare is an eco-friendly nursery. We promote environmental awareness in a way that links to most, if not all, curriculum subjects.
This approach allows us to critically examine the values we hold as individuals and as part of society as a whole.
