Nursery children building together

Nursery for 4 Year Olds

A Qualified Primary School Teacher assisted by Early Years Practitioners nurture curious minds in our Nursery rooms

Having the largest outdoor space of any Nursery in Edinburgh, our Nursery provision for 4 year olds lets children explore new worlds, develop new skills and imagine wonderful things.  

Each room has a staff to child ratio of 1:7 and is overseen by a qualified Primary School Teacher, assisted by experienced, qualified Early Years Practitioners.  

Our Nurseries provide an an exciting, imaginative and caring environment for children. Staff observe, nurture and help children to develop skills which enable early learning to take place and allow them to prepare a detailed profile of each child to support future learning.

In addition to classroom staff we have specialised staff who teach weekly sessions of Music, Digital Learning, PE, Forest Kindergarten and Library.

We understand that children who feel happy, confident in themselves and in their own abilities will learn better.  Our children are valued as individuals and are encouraged to explore their interests, take part in new experiences and build on strengths in order to achieve their full potential. 

A place to learn and play

The teaching ethos in the Nursery is creative, exciting and hands-on. Each day, we nurture the children’s natural curiosity, creativity and critical thinking through fun, play-based opportunities which helps our youngest children to become independent and to think for themselves.  Our stimulating classrooms offer a wide range of exciting learning opportunities including a dedicated story and role-play corner, literacy and numeracy zones, a Digital Learning space and areas for building, small world play and imaginative challenges.

In our secure outdoor learning environment, the children enjoy exploring the mud kitchen and digging pit, take part in construction challenges with Loose Parts and experiment and play with sand and water. There is a hard surface for riding bikes and scooters, as well as a play house, slide, tunnels and bridges which encourage imaginative adventures! In addition, the children have access to extensive private grounds which include woodland areas, a maze and an orchard where children embrace outdoor learning.

Flexible care

Children attend from 8.30am - 2.30pm each day during term time, with our popular e-Plus services offering flexible before and after school care based within the same room. Families can tailor care packages to suit their needs including an early drop off from 7.45am or after school club from 2.30pm - 6pm. Children can also be collected at 12.30pm if families do not want them to stay for lunch, which is provided at a small cost in line with the other year groups.

We would love for you to visit our Nursery and see it in action and families are welcome to visit us any time. Contact us at nursery@esms.org.uk or 0131 347 5777 to arrange a visit, or find out more about Nursery Admissions.