Forest Kindergarten

At Cramond we are delighted that 15 of our pre-schoolers have a morning nursery session in Lauriston Castle as Forest Kindergarten before returning to Cramond Nursery each afternoon. This is part of an 1140 pilot which has been a huge success at Cramond since October 2017.

Miss Patrick our EYO leads the learning as Cramond staff along with Miss Magda Kursa the Senior Forest Kindergarten practitioner and other Early Years Staff. Parents drop the children at Lauriston at 8.30 am and they eat lunch with Clermiston afternoon group before getting the minibus back to Cramond for an afternoon session in nursery. 

CEC Early Years team provide all the waterproofs, backpack and equipment for learning outdoors. The feedback from pupils, staff and parents has been amazing. We have seen the children’s language, resilience and social skills rocket. We are hugely impressed by their ability to explore, create and investigate – making use of natural materials, learning about nature and developing practical skills such as rope knots along with gross and fine motor skills.

We were delighted to welcome Maree Todd, minister for Early Years and Childcare to the site recently.  The children are outdoors in all weathers. This has a positive impact on learning back at nursery (and home) whilst also positively influencing the direction of learning for all in Cramond nursery. Children have access to books, writing and art materials in the forest. They create signs, labels and crafts as they explore. The learning is pupil interest led. We are hoping this pilot will continue to be offered as part of a blended Early Years and childcare model.