Dear parents/carers,

We welcome you and your child to Newtonmore Nursery. We believe it is vital that children are given every opportunity to fulfil their potential.  In the nursery we hope to play our part in this process by offering a variety of experiences and opportunities designed to further their development and promote their learning whilst building strong and positive relationships,

We hope that your child finds learning at Newtonmore Nursery engaging, motivating and enjoyable.

Newtonmore Primary School

Main Street

Newtonmore

Inverness-shire

PH20 1DN

01540 673252

The staff for the school/Luchd obrach na sgoile:

Head Teacher:     Mr Malcolm McGregor

School Secretary:    Ms C McMillan

English Class Teachers:                    Mrs Lisa Ross

                                                         Mrs Cathy Grover   

Mr Callum Lloyd

 Gaelic Class Teachers:                          Miss Sarah Jane Ferguson

                                                         Mr Fraser Munro

Miss Ruth Budge 

Nursery Staff/Luchd obrach na sgoil-àraich:

Early Years Practitioner English:  Mrs C MacDougall

Early Years Practitioner English:  Mrs F Johnston

Early Years Practitioner Gaelic:   Miss L Binnie

Early Years Practitioner Gaelic:   Mrs A Richardson

Early Years Education Support Officer: Clare Blair/Ashley Bartlett

Nursery Times/Uairean

Nursery timings are as follows:

Mon – Thurs 0840 - 15.15

Fri – 0840 – 12.20. 

Every child must be brought to the nursery and collected by an adult known to them.  Please let nursery staff know if an adult other than the one who brought your child is collecting them.

Nursery/Sgoil Àraich

The school offers education for children from the age of three in both its English and Gaelic nurseries.

Nursery offers children the opportunity to learn through play and exploration in a nurturing and rich learning environment. Our Gaelic nursery provides an ideal introduction to Gaelic Medium Education.  There is no need for any family member to have previous knowledge of Gaelic for your child to benefit from accessing this provision.

The nursery also works closely with the Primary Teachers in school and we operate a ‘Onery’ where the nursery children join the P1/2 classes on a regular basis for planned learning experiences as a means of supporting and enhancing transition from nursery to P1.

Our Vision

At Newtonmore ELC our vision is:-

To provide a respectful, safe, secure environment (inside and out) where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, learn and be the very best that they can.

Our nursery aims to/Amasan ar sgoil-àraich:

·         provide a stimulating environment in which children feel safe, happy and secure

·         encourage the emotional, social, physical, creative and intellectual development of children

·         provide rich contexts for learning

·         provide opportunities to stimulate interest and imagination through play and active exploration

·         develop creativity through a range of contexts

·         encourage positive attitudes to self and others, and develop confidence, self-esteem and resilience

·         extend children's abilities to communicate ideas and feelings in a variety of ways

·         encourage children to explore, appreciate and respect their environment

·         work collaboratively with parents and carers in children’s learning

Illness/Bochdainn

If your child becomes ill, or has an accident while attending the school we will contact you.  Child Protection Guidance requires schools to account for all children and we ask parents to inform the school if your child is unable to attend nursery or is likely to arrive late.  In line with school policy unexplained absence will be followed up by a phone call and prolonged unexplained absence will be followed-up in line with Highland Council policy. 

Please note that where children have had sickness or diarrhoea, 48 hours should elapse before they return to nursery.

Adverse Weather/Early Closure/Droch shìde/Dùnadh tràth

Information regarding adverse weather and school closures are available from Highland Council Information Line:- 08700546999 then enter pin number 042730 . Should the school need to close earlier than usual we will contact you or your emergency contact in order to collect your child. 

Snack/Biadh

In ordinary circumstances we provide a healthy snack daily for all children and snack time is an important part of the nursery session.  Children are encouraged to become involved in the preparation and serving of snack.  Fresh fruit and milk or water will be available daily. However, we would request that parents provide snack for the first week back at nursery in August until we have up to date guidance on snack provision.

If your child is allergic to particular foods please ensure the staff have been informed so that these foods can be avoided and dietary needs can be met. The staff will ask you to complete an information sheet regarding this.

Outdoor Play/Cluich a-muigh

Your child will spend part of the nursery session outdoors each day.  This will enable them to explore physical play and pursue activities which involve the environment.  Please ensure that they come suitably dressed with warm jacket and outdoor footwear. 

Promoting Effective Learning/Ionnsachadh èifeachdach

Staff in the nursery play a vital role in supporting children’s learning.  This involves planning and providing a range of effective learning opportunities in collaboration with the children.

Children’s interest learning is planned for, recorded and assessed in partnership with the children through their floorbook. Please look at your child’s current interest floorbook and add your comments about the learning taking place.

Recording Learning

Each child has a “My Learning Folder” to report on learning. This includes children’s work, photos and observations. These are working documents and are available for you to look at with your child and contribute to at any time. The folder also contains a Developmental Overview for your child which staff are happy to share and discuss with you.

All children are individuals and will progress at different rates and the folder contains information relating to your child’s overall learning and progress in nursery

Staff will meet parents informally on a regular daily basis.  There are opportunities for you to attend Stay and Play sessions which are held termly but again are temporarily postponed due to COVID 19 restrictions.

There will be opportunities to meet on a more formal basis to discuss your child’s progress at designated times during the year.

Notice boards and displays give an insight into what your child is learning in nursery.

Visits/Consent/Tachartan/Cead

At Newtonmore nursery we take full advantage of our local environment and community links, therefore your child will be taken on visits, walks and trips. At enrolment time you will be asked to sign a consent form to cover such visits.  The school will inform you of planned visits in advance.  This consent form will also ask for permission to take photographs of your child.  Video recording of school activities also require consent and this is requested at the same time. 

Data Protection/Dìon dàta

Any information supplied about pupils will be maintained in accordance with the Data Protection Act

Child Protection/Dìon chloinne

All agencies involved in Child Protection are obliged to make the welfare of children their paramount consideration and this will be the priority of Education Service staff. Any incident or concerns regarding the welfare of a child must be reported.

The school follows the national strategy known as Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC). This places the needs of the child first and provides co-ordinated help from agencies. The named person for each child is the Head Teacher but all staff are trained in GIRFEC.

More information about Child Protection Procedures can be obtained from the Child Protection Development Officer, Inverness, Telephone (01463) 703483

Curriculum for Excellence/Curraicealam airson sàr-mhathais

At Newtonmore we work very hard to create rich, meaningful and engaging learning experiences building on individual abilities, needs and interests.

Curriculum for Excellence is Scotland’s curriculum for children and young people aged 3 to 18. It aims to provide children with opportunities to develop knowledge, understanding and skills to become Successful Learners, Effective Contributors, Confident Individual and Responsible Citizens. 

The curriculum is divided into 8 main areas:-

o   Health & Well-being/Slàinte agus Sunnd

o   Literacy & English/Litearrachd agus Beurla

o   Numeracy & Mathematics/Àireamhachd agus Màtamataig

o   Religious & Moral Education/Creideamh agus Foghlam Moralta

o   Science & /Saidheans

o   Social Subjects / Cuspairean Soisealta

o   Technologies/Teicneòlas

o   Expressive Arts/Na h-Ealain

How Can You Help Your Child/A’ cuideachadh do phaisde

You can help your child to learn by playing and talking together at home and:

• encouraging them to be independent, for example in getting dressed and washing their hands

• encouraging them to socialise with other children (social distancing adhered to in current situation)

• reading to them daily, talking about print with them

• talking with them and answering questions and playing listening, memory and guessing games like “I Spy”.

• helping them to match and sort things, for example putting together forks and knives

• encouraging them to count and use numbers in every day situations and in nursery rhymes

• encouraging them to listen to music, songs, stories and rhymes and join in

• encouraging them to express ideas and feeling,

• providing opportunities to explore outdoors in the natural world

• giving them opportunities to develop their fingers and hands, for example building with bricks, fastening zips and buttons, using clothes pegs

Some useful websites to support your child’s learning:-

Highland Literacy Blog – Emerging Literacy

hps://highlandliteracy.com/emerging-literacy/

•

Bumps to Bairns website

hps://bumps2bairns.com/

•

Read, write, count website

hp://www.readwritecount.scot/

•  Highland Literacy Blog – Emerging Literacy -

         https://highlandliteracy.com/emerging-literacy/

•  Bumps to Bairns - https://bumps2bairns.com/

•  Read, write, count website - http://www.readwritecount.scot/