The team at Monymusk Playgroup are super proud to have their nature pedagogy recognised by becoming a “School for Nature” as they achieved the RSPB Wild Challenge Gold Award for doing great things in nature. You can read all about their journey here: https://read.bookcreator.com/MMOA3EJlebYrE5IXZUsspwoLEN73/OgFtskKTSKCW2jfVZTRSIw .
We were delighted to welcome Early Years colleagues from across Aberdeenshire to Unlocking the Learning in Block Play today.
Inspired by Froebel’s belief in the power of play, we explored the history of block play, the developmental stages children move through as builders, and the important role adults play in observing, supporting and extending learning. Through discussion and practical experiences, we reflected on how block play can enrich learning across the curriculum, from literacy and numeracy to creativity, communication and problem-solving.
We also explored how digital tools such as Gemini Storybook, can enhance children’s learning by helping them capture, reflect on and share the stories behind their creations. Thank you to everyone who joined us and contributed to a fantastic day of learning, collaboration and inspiration. 🏰🌿🏡✨
Innovative CPD Opportunity: Engaging Children in Permaculture for Early Years
My name Christine Mathieson from Welly Walkers Childminding Family out at Portsoy. I have just finished a fantastic course that ran for 6 weeks, 12hrs in total 2 hrs in the evening per week. It is the Introduction to Engaging Children in Permaculture part of the Permaculture Association, with lecturers/trainers Lusi Alderslowe and Annette Argabright.
As we look for innovative ways to embed sustainability and outdoor learning into our Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) provisions, I would like to tell you about the training that i stumbled on whie doing reaearch during an outdoor play module in my second year of Uni : Engaging Children in Permaculture.
Permaculture goes beyond standard gardening. It introduces a holistic design framework rooted in three core ethics: Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share.
I really wanted to shout about this CPD as I believe it can lead the way in progressive, climate-conscious early pedagogy.
June 2026 – Congratulations to:
Peterhead Central ELC – https://educationinspectorate.gov.scot/media/h23fxrwh/peterhead-central-school-nc-sif-230626.pdf
Laurencekirk ELC – https://educationinspectorate.gov.scot/media/ivvf0b1v/laurencekirk-psnc-sif-190526.pdf
Macduff ELC – https://educationinspectorate.gov.scot/media/veveixc3/macduff-school-nc-sif-210426.pdf
June 2026 – Congratulations to:
Stepping Stones Ellon – https://ci-web-media-production-bucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/inspection-reports/CS2009195509/327829.pdf
Crossroads ELC – https://ci-web-media-production-bucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/inspection-reports/CS2003015747/327985.pdf
Danni’s Daycare – https://ci-web-media-production-bucket.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/inspection-reports/CS2024000430/328110.pdf
The team at Banbury Cross Nursery are absolutely delighted to share that Banbury Cross Nursery has won NDNA Nursery of the Year Scotland 2026.
We travelled down to the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool for the NDNA Conference before heading to the awards ceremony that evening. It was a brilliant experience, and we were over the moon when Banbury Cross was announced as the winner.
The judges said:
“Judges praised Banbury Cross Nursery for creating a warm, caring environment and strong family relationships, reflected in glowing testimonials. A clear vision, engaging learning approaches and investment in staffing shows commitment to children’s needs, while strong staff retention highlights effective support despite its rural location.”
Hearing those comments and then winning the award made all the hard work worthwhile. After 15 years of building and growing Banbury Cross Nursery, this recognition means so much to our whole team. We’re incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved together and of the caring, nurturing environment we’ve created for our children and families.
It’s a real team achievement, and we’re still smiling about it!
Recently the teams from both Flowerpots sites gathered at the Kastille in Turriff for our bi-annual staff development workshop. Twice a year we step away from our daily routines to engage in collaborative professional discussion and in- house training. This dedicated time allows us to analyse our performance and reflect on our impact in improving outcomes for children and families.
Key focus areas of this event included: Skills for life learning and work, developmental milestones, manual handling, health and safety, curriculum, the promise, pedagogy, and digital literacy. We are incredibly proud of our team’s commitment to providing the highest standards of care and support for our children and families. The level of passion and professionalism brought to these workshops was truly inspiring. Such a valuable opportunity to learn together and we look forward to seeing the benefits of these refreshed insights in our playrooms.
Linda McRae is excited to share that she has recently received a certificate through and is proudly the first childminder in Scotland to be on the map for the Breastfeeding friendly Scotland Award😊
Linda knew a lot with having her own 2 children but after doing this course it has given her much more information about breastfeeding.
This is a free course available to all Childminders, ELC settings and more to support building a Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland. For more information, visit the website here – Breastfeeding Friendly Scotland Scheme
As part of our improvement plan at Boddam ELC, we have been working hard this session on raising attainment in literacy. We have had a focus on developing phonological awareness skills using assessment feedback from P1. We have also been thinking of ways to get children interested and motivated in literacy learning. EYP Mrs Alexander’s Mum knitted a very special teddy for nursery, and the children called him Boddam Gruffalo. Project Boddam Gruffalo was born!
The children have been busy creating their very own Boddam Gruffalo story and have been drawing and describing their character, planning where to take Boddam Gruffalo on our outings, thinking about how we keep Boddam Gruffalo safe in the community and drawing/writing a thank you card for the Little Lighthouse Bakes Cake Shed owners. Boddam Gruffalo has been joining us on our nursery outings and visiting all the lovely places in Boddam with the children. We have linked our learning across the curriculum to enhance and maximise the children’s learning experiences. We visited the local shop to buy some things for snack which tied into our intentional planning around money, we visited the local harbour to see the boats and through stones in the water looking at safety in the community, we visited the local lighthouse and learned how the Boddam lighthouse keeps the boats safe and we visited a very special local cake shed where the owner had made some yummy treats for the children!
We created a special presentation of the children’s work including their voice telling their Boddam Gruffalo story and describing their activities and presented this recently to the whole school at a special Nursery Learning Assembly. The children all earned Certificates of Achievement against the school and nursery values. The children have all taken part in this project, and it has inspired the children in all aspects of literacy learning.
We are planning on sharing the presentation with all the parents when they join us in nursery for an end of term celebration at the end of the month.
Here at Crombie Nursery, we have been extending our intergenerational links with the community.
We invited some of the residents of the local sheltered housing, to a stay and play session. We usually visit them but thought it would be nice for them to come and play with us. The manager organised the dial-a-bus for them to visit.
We also held our termly ‘grandparents stay and play’ session.
The children really enjoy having their grandparents their and feedback from the adults is they enjoy it too.
Having the grandparents in to the setting, started a collaboration with the local ‘Men’s Shed Band’. One of our grandparents is a member of the band and was keen to collaborate with us in some way.
The band joined us for a ‘sing along’ session where they sang nursery rhymes and other children’s songs.
We plan to build on these intergenerational links, by collaborating with the ‘Men’s Shed’ and the local ‘She Shed’. By building on these intergenerational experiences, we will continue to develop and build our links with the community.
