OUR CURRICULUM

How little minds grow

At Appin, children learn the way children learn best, through play. Everything we do is guided by Scotland’s national frameworks for early learning, shaped around your child’s own interests and pace.

LEARNING THROUGH PLAY

Play is serious learning

Young children make sense of the world through play. Our practitioners watch what captures each child’s curiosity, then plan experiences that stretch it further, following the national practice guidance Realising the Ambition: Being Me.

That guidance asks us to think about three things every day, and they shape every room at Appin.

Interactions

Experiences

Spaces

THE FOUNDATIONS

Guided by Scotland’s frameworks

Curriculum for Excellence

Scotland's national curriculum. Children at Appin follow its early level, the same level that carries them through to the end of Primary 1, so the step to school feels natural.

Realising the Ambition

The national practice guidance for early years. It shapes how we plan, observe and respond to every child's interests, day by day.

GIRFEC

Getting it right for every child, Scotland's approach to wellbeing. Eight indicators help us make sure every child is safe, healthy and thriving.

Setting the Table

Scotland's nutrition standards for early years. Our chef builds every menu around them, refreshed in the latest 2024 guidance.

Appin Nursery is registered with the Care Inspectorate and our whole team is registered with the Scottish Social Services Council.

CURRICULUM FOR EXCELLENCE

Eight areas of learning

The early level of Curriculum for Excellence weaves eight areas of learning through everyday play. Here is what each one looks like at Appin.

Expressive arts

Painting, music, dance and pretend play

Health and wellbeing

Feelings, friendships and active bodies

Literacy and languages

Stories, songs, mark making and chat

Numeracy and mathematics

Counting, patterns, shapes and sorting

Sciences

Exploring, experimenting and asking why

Social studies

Our community, outings and the wider world

Technologies

Building, tools and how things work

Religious and moral education

Kindness, festivals and celebrating differences

WELLBEING

Your child at the centre

Scotland’s Getting it right for every child approach puts eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of everything we do. Practitioners use them every day to notice how each child is doing and what they need next.

From the settling in plan to daily updates in the Famly app, you will see these eight words woven through your child’s story at Appin. Hover the wheel to explore them.

EVERY DAY AT APPIN

Play in action

Messy play

Science, textures and glorious discovery

Construction play

Early numeracy, planning and teamwork

Outdoor adventures

Health, wellbeing and confident bodies

PARTNERSHIP WITH PARENTS

Watching them grow, together

We observe

Practitioners notice what your child loves and how they learn, capturing little moments every day.

You see it all

Photos, updates and daily feedback arrive in the Famly app, straight from your child's room.

We plan together

Personal plans and parents evenings keep you involved in every next step of their journey.

They move on proudly

Their final year ends with a graduation ceremony, ready and confident for Primary 1.

Come and see learning in action

The best way to understand our curriculum is to watch it happen. Book a tour and spend some time in our rooms.

Start your enquiry