Uist Beò speaks with Nursery Manager Chrissie Ford about languages, continuous learning and community involvement.

The nursery’s location in Balivanich, Benbecula sits at the heart of busy community life. Group activity is inspired by what is happening around them and, being surrounded by local businesses, staff can just pick up the phone and say, “Can we pop along?” 

The group of 1 – 5 year olds can be found in their hi-vis jackets visiting the airport cafe, the bank and the thrift shop, where they rummage for trinkets for their ‘house corner’. During Seachdain na Gàidhlig the nursery group made bunting that was displayed in both MacLennans Supermarket and the Thrift shop. Visitors come to them too: a police officer calling in to talk about road safety, a nurse talking about their job at the local hospital and a crofter visiting the garden with a trailer and two lambs.

Balivanich Nursery has its own dedicated play areas, with both Gaelic learner and Gaelic Medium rooms for the one-to-three year olds and three-to-five year olds. Being within the school grounds, they can also use the wider school facilities like the gym hall and library, making the transition from pre-school to primary easier. 

“Some babies start here at age one. We do assemblies and end of term events alongside the school and they get to know the staff. By the time they get to primary one, they are familiar with school staff and know their way around.” 

Bala Fest

Activity within the nursery is child-led, and nursery staff never know where the day might take them.

“You just have to follow their lead and see where the learning takes you.” 

One child’s holiday to Australia led to discussions about different countries and their flags, long-haul flights and plane spotting on the flight radar app. Another had attended a wedding over the weekend, and the nursery group took it upon themselves to conduct their own ceremony. An idea for an end of term party inspired by one child’s festival style outfit resulted in a community effort:

“…it grew arms and legs and turned into a festival! We had music playing, face painting. There was a bouncy castle, arts and crafts stuff – they had us build a stage! Dancers from the school came in to do Highland dancing, the wee band from the school played for us. They had QR codes, so they had to collect their wristbands in the morning and they all had VIP passes – it was great. They absolutely loved it.”

Speaking Our Language

With the nursery being host to a mix of families from the local vicinity and further afield, diverse languages (including Polish, Chinese and Russian) are spoken. Staff take the time to learn phrases to help children settle in and to be able to communicate with parents at drop-off and pick-up.

“There was one child whose first language was Chinese and the parents requested a space in the Gaelic learner room, but the only space we had was in Gaelic Medium. He had very little English when he started, but he went in there and picked up Gaelic.”

With pressures on room space and at the same time sensing a growing demand for Gaelic, staff were shuffled around to ensure there was a fluent Gaelic speaker in every room. One of the biggest challenges the nursery faces now, is recruitment for these positions.  

“Children can access Gaelic Medium education right from when they start with us, from a year old, all the way through until English is introduced, I think around P4. We introduced our Gaelic pathway to enable more children to access Gaelic language throughout the nursery. We have seen successes with some children starting in our Gaelic Learner 1-3 room going on to move into our Gaelic Medium 3-5 room. We need to make sure they continue to use the language throughout primary and secondary so that they can access job opportunities which require Gaelic when they leave school.”

Lifelong Learning

Nursery Childcare Manager Chrissie Ford has seen and adapted to many changes over her time in Early Years, “it’s a different skillset needed”. Staff must be trained to SVQ Level 3, and to Degree level in a Management position. Professional development is ongoing, with the nursery holding monthly meetings for staff to go through any changes in legislation and new policy documents and larger meet-ups on in-service days for early years providers across the islands. In addition to mandatory core training, including first aid and child protection, staff have the opportunity to take part in additional training, including Outdoor Learning, Bookbug and Play on Pedals, which last year enabled seven pre-schoolers to learn to ride a bike before starting primary one. Chrissie is also trained in Triple P (Positive Parenting Programme), a globally recognised parenting programme that provides practical strategies to build strong family relationships. 

First Steps

Often being the first point of call for young families moving to the islands, new parents can feel uncertain and anxious about the process of applying for nursery. Chrissie keeps in regular contact with parents who have applied for nursery spaces, offering support and the option to contact her at any time with questions. Building relationships even earlier is something she hopes to develop in the future by dropping into Parant is Paisde sessions or meeting new families out in the community or their own homes, putting minds at ease about first steps to nursery.

“There is nothing more fulfilling and enjoyable than being part of a child’s learning and development as you watch them progress from nursery through to school and on to secondary. You help encourage them, see their confidence grow and watch their personalities develop and know that you had a part to play in it”.