Last Spring Jenni Curson, the development officer for Studying Scotland, wrote an article called “A Wee Bit Mair Than Burns”  for the “Early Years Matters” magazine highlighting the  Studying Scotland website. The guidance on the website shows that while there is lots of excellent, innovative and challenging practice in Scotland already, there has also been a tendency to focus mainly on famous people and important events such as Robert Burns or St Andrew’s Day. Many practitioners are keen to see good practice which allows children to experience learning and teaching about Scotland in a more coherent and interdisciplinary way.

The Education Scotland website shows examples of how early years staff have widened children’s understanding of Scotland. Karen Bulloch explains here how Cherry Tree Nursery used Robert Burns’ birthday as a meaningful starting point to develop children’s wider understanding of Scotland. This page shows how Brucehill Early Education and Childcare Centre involved parents in their children’s literacy development, using the Scots language as a context for learning.

We’d love to know how you are extending children’s learning about Scotland to be “a wee bit mair than Burns”. Go on, gie it a go!