What to wear to an outdoor nursery

We are out for hours at a time come rain, hail or shine, so our children need to be dressed for the weather.  

In Autumn/Winter:

• waterproof, fleece-lined jackets

• cosy, waterproof trousers (rather than all in one suits to make toilet trips and changing simpler)

• extra layers of clothing

• hats and gloves (mittens tend to be warmer - and waterproof, fleece-lined versions are best)

• waterproof, fleece-lined snow boots with velcro fastening

In Spring/Summer:

• waterproof/showerproof jacket

• wellies

• gloves and hats when it’s cold

• Suncream

• light layer for when it’s sunny (especially if your child is fair-skinned)

Menu / Allergies

We adopt a healthy, vegetarian, mainly organic diet at Riverside.  We have our own allotment and grow as much as we can in our allotment, with help from the children.

Breakfast here is usually cereal, toast and fruit.  Snacks are usually fruit and lunch is a home cooked hot meal - something like pasta, curry, chilli or soup.  Drinks are milk and water. We do our best to cater for allergies.

Illness

If your child is ill, please consider whether they should be in nursery.  We follow West Lothian Council’s school exclusion policy because we work with many other settings.  Kids with stomach bugs should stay off for 48 hours after the last bout of sickness etc.

Please note that as we are a mainly outdoor setting, please can we ask that if your child has an illness or injury whereby you feel they should stay indoors, please do not send them in to nursery.  Our staff resource means that we cannot cater to one child who needs to stay indoors. Thanks :-)

Nappies

Please provide nappies, wipes and creams for your child.  We have set nappy changing times and obviously change nappies as and when needed.

Medication

If your child needs medication, please provide this, along with specific guidance regards administration.

Care Inspectorate Report

A link to our latest report is here.

Viewings

If you would like to arrange to view the nursery, please contact us to make an appointment.  The best times for visits are 10am and 2pm on weekdays. Children are very welcome to come and try things out!

Holiday Club and Wraparound Care

We pick up and drop off at a select number of local schools and school nurseries.  Please contact us for information and our fees. Spaces are extremely limited so holiday club is restricted to siblings of and current children in daycare with us only.

Settling In

Some children settle in better than others to any new environment.  If your child finds it hard to settle, there are various strategies we can try until they feel secure. We follow individual plans for each child so contact us to speak with a member of staff about your child.

Sleeping

We take our cue from children regards their sleep and don’t follow a strict sleep routine, although we do encourage kids to sleep if parents have asked for this.  We encourage as much outdoor sleeping as possible, wrapping kids up cosy if it’s cold and gently rocking them to sleep in hammocks protected by tarpaulins if it’s wet/sunny.

Fees, Policies and Procedures

Our fees are available here, and our policies are available to browse inside the nursery. Please contact us to request a copy.