Nurseries praised for innovation

Notes to editors

Background

Information on the ELC Expansion Programme can be found here.

Information on the National Standard can be found here.

The Awards

The ELC Innovation Awards were open to nurseries, childminders and playgroups registered in Scotland who deliver funded Early Learning and Childcare. 

Applications were assessed by an independent, external panel including Early Years Scotland, the National Day Nursery Association, the Care Inspectorate, Parenting Across Scotland, Education Scotland and the Scottish Childminding Association.

Applicants needed to clearly demonstrate how their delivery of innovative approaches benefitted children’s development.

Applications for the second round will open at the end of 2019.

The winners

Clober Nursery, Glasgow

Clober Nursery used a grant from a local building company to buy tools and safety equipment and family volunteers helped the children build a car from recycled materials. The children also built a wildflower garden and a bug hotel. Additionally they  grow and cook their own fruit and vegetables.

Menstrie Nursery, Clackmannanshire

Menstrie Nursery created the ‘Wee Scones Café’ which allows the children to measure ingredients, prepare food, create menus, work as a team and learn how to use real money. Children have developed their literacy, numeracy and social skills, and many parents have become regular visitors.

Jenny McEwan, a practitioner from the Menstrie Nursery, said:

“Our ‘Wee Scones Café’ was developed to enhance early literacy and numeracy skills within a real-life context, and we were delighted to get such a good response from parents wanting to come and use the café. We applied for this award to allow us to develop our cafe and become sustainable by exploring the concept of cafés and growing our own produce.

“The grant process has been interesting and has allowed us the time to reflect upon the aims of our project and ensure that we are making a positive impact on our learners and families.”

The Village Nursery, West Linton, Scottish Borders

The Village introduced coaching and mentoring links between new and experienced staff to build knowledge, better share good practice and allow staff lead their own professional learning.

Nursery manager Caroline Dunmur said:

“We are delighted to have received this award for our mentoring scheme. We believe high quality staff are key to high quality learning and childcare and our mentoring scheme was created to invest in staff and build knowledge and expertise.

“This grant from the Scottish Government, alongside support from Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate, will allow us to further enhance our scheme as well as share learning with other settings across Scotland.”

Bowhouse Early Learning and Childcare, Falkirk

Bowhouse have been piloting an approach to learning through play, which puts the needs of the child at the centre of learning and provides them with opportunities to lead their own learning.

Gemma Paterson, Excellence and Equity Lead in Bowhouse Early Learning and Childcare COMMA said:

“The Innovation in Childcare Awards has been a fantastic experience. To have our setting recognised and celebrated is a defining moment for us, and we have been on a journey in making Bowhouse the best place for our wee people to play, learn and grow.

“The team delivering the initiative have been supportive and genuinely interested in our project, which for us validates our innovative approach.”

Treetop Family Nurture Centre, Fife

Treetop focused on developing children’s language skills. Staff received additional training, working alongside speech and language therapists and the nursery involved parents with activities they could do at home.

Stewart Westwater, Head of Treetop Family Nurture Centre, said:

“We are delighted to be recognised as an Early Learning and Childcare setting that shows innovation in practice. We firmly believe in high quality interactions with children which support their emerging language development.

“This award will allow us to train staff in enriching children’s language experience as well as allowing us to share our approach with other settings across the country.”

Innerwick Early Years Setting, East Lothian

Based around children’s rights, Innerwick lets children create and develop the next stages of their own learning. Children can now hold their attention for longer and are more confident in making meaningful decisions.

Ronnie Taylor, Headteacher at Innerwick Primary School and Early Years Setting, said:

“We regard Innerwick Primary school as a learning community, and the work in Early Years around innovation and impact is a fine example of the child’s voice leading learning through play. We intend to build on this work and further reinforce the principles of curiosity, enquiry and creativity across all ages.”