Nursery schools, nursery classes, children's centres, the Family Centre and Books for Babies in the Craigmillar area received funding from the community school budget to hold joint in-service training days with Professor Bruce on the theme of learning through play.
Each centre tackled the theme through a variety of topics, culminating in an exhibition and celebration day last week. The exhibition was such a success that there are now plans to extend it.
Craigmillar Children's Centre took the theme 'All About Me' and children put together books with photographs of themselves at play in the centre and also at home. Nursery officer Rachael Barnes said, 'Professor Bruce was very inspirational. She gave us the motivation to take our project further and gave us great feedback.'
Children at Prestonfield Primary School's nursery class focused on the seaside, using play to explore the activities that can take place on a visit to the beach. Children's House Nursery School chose to learn through dance in a project that encouraged children, parents and staff to participate in dance workshops. The setting also had a visit from the Scottish National Ballet.
A second project concentrated on hospitals. Headteacher Maureen Baker said, 'Quite a few children in the nursery this term were going in and out of hospital, so it made sense to do something they were involved in.
'We set up a hospital corner and there was a lot of role-play where staff intervened sensitively. The children had the freedom to play, but staff would help develop it by offering props or entering into the play with them. There was a lot of literacy involved, with the children writing get-well cards for children in hospital, checking people into the reception area and writing prescriptions.
'We took this a stage further by visiting the hospital for a whole morning. We made a display of the outing with photographs and pictures, and the captions were made up of what the children recalled about their experiences. We have also incorporated visits from experts, including the school doctor and a physiotherapist. It meant that children could learn in a meaningful context.'
Professor Bruce, who is visiting professor at the University of North London, is hoping to write a book based on the projects to illustrate the breadth of the early years curriculum and to emphasise what she sees as the excellent early years practice in Scotland.
