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Informed by The National Practice Guidance, Building the Ambition, our nursery aims to provide experiences which:

• Encourage an understanding of others’ emotions.
• Help young children become independent in managing conflict.
• Highlight a growing awareness of the need for some rules and why this is important and being able to respond to basic structures.
• Allow opportunities to play and learn together, to share ideas and interests, to reconcile differences and to begin to develop a sense of fairness.
• Encourage children to contribute their own ideas and be involved in decision making about their day.
• Engage children in daily energetic play, which supports and extends their developing physical skills, stamina and strength.
• Use real tools and equipment to help coordination of fine movements, for example, combining items together using different fasteners, preparing snack, using a camera or keyboard.
• Encourage physical skills, such as, finding out about distance and speed by throwing, chasing, running.

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What is Play?

PLAY STRATEGY FOR SCOTLAND: OUR VISION
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 – not only for individual children but also for the society in which they live. Play comes in many forms. It can be active, passive, solitary, independent, assisted, social, exploratory, educational or just for fun. Moreover, it can happen indoors or outdoors, it can be structured, creative, messy, entirely facilitated by the imagination or can involve using the latest gadget. What is important is that children and young people have the freedom to choose how and when they play. From the earliest days and months play helps children learn to move, share, negotiate, take on board others’ points of view and cultivate many more skills. It remains equally important throughout infancy, childhood, the teenage years through adolescence, and beyond into adulthood and at all ages, stages and abilities. Many people say it’s a child’s ‘job’ to play and the whole of society has a role in ensuring we can support children to behave as children, minimising the pressure on them to grow up too quickly. We consider play as the primary tool for addressing this challenge, through allowing children and young people to experience fun, joy and laughter in a way that is important to them.

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