A brief history of Cranley Nursery
Established in 1979, Cranley Nursery was originally a mornings-only children’s nursery until it was taken over in August 2000 by mum-of-two Anna Maclean, who quickly established and developed it into a full-day facility. In 2003, Cranley Craiglockhart was established on Craiglockhart Avenue, and Cranley Buckstone was opened in December 2006. Our third nursery, Cranley Lanark Road was established in September 2015.
Anna’s aim, in a nutshell, was to create a stimulating, safe and fun ‘home-from-home’ environment, where children could develop at their own pace through structured play and interactive learning.
Over the years, Cranley Nursery has built an enviable reputation for excellence, as shown in our inspection reports, and has helped many happy children to gain the skills and confidence to prepare them for the next step into primary school.
Our mission statement
We’re committed to providing a stimulating and supportive nursery environment where children feel safe and secure to explore their interests.
We strive to encourage an excitement for learning while continuing to meet the individual needs of each family. Our passion for positive childcare and learning experiences characterises Cranley Nursery.
Working alongside parents and guardians
We pride ourselves on the strong bond we forge with parents and fully support their input into their child’s development.
Each child has their own Personal Learning Plan (PLP) which ensures continuity of care and learning between nursery and home. Our Personal Learning Plans for children are now available to view online, giving the opportunity for parents to securely log in to their child’s profile at any time or share it with other family members.
A highly dedicated staff team
Cranley Nursery takes great pride in our staff and believes that one of our main strengths surrounds the continuity brought by having a loyal and long-serving senior management team. Currently, we employ 50 full-time and part-time team members across our three nursery locations.
From our nursery managers to our newest recruits, all of our staff hold professional qualifications or are in training, from degrees in Childhood Practice to SVQs in Childcare and Education. We’ve developed a comprehensive learning and development programme for staff that provides diverse opportunities for personal development and career progression. The result is an award-winning team of confident, skilled, and loyal staff, who deliver excellent care and learning for children, and wide-ranging support for parents.
Meeting the highest standards
The Government has laid down a set of guidelines to ensure that all nurseries provide the best possible environment for children, families and staff. This is something we take great care and pride in, by applying the guidelines across a range of different topics:
- Safety, health and wellbeing
- Dignity, respect and interaction
- Privacy and choice
- Helping to realise and nurture potential
- Equality, fairness and diversity
- Staff support and development
- Providing a well-managed service
We also work with the ‘Pre-Birth to Three Matters’ framework and Curriculum for Excellence.
Additional support needs
An additional support need comes from anything which is a barrier to learning. The education authority has many legal duties towards children with additional support needs and, at Cranley Nursery, we take these responsibilities very seriously to ensure that all our children receive an excellent standard of daycare.
Information about this is contained in a booklet called ‘In On the Act: Information for the General Public’ which is published on the education website at www.edinburgh.gov.uk/inontheact. Alternatively, you can contact the Additional Support for Learning Team on 0131 469 3444 for more details.
