Welcome to Duchal Nursery School, we are delighted that you are joining our Duchal Family. This Guide together with the information on the website should provide you with all the information that you will need for your child’s time with us, but if you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to get in touch - either by email: info@duchal.com or by calling the Nursery direct: 01505 874358 we are happy to help.

As a Parent’s Co-Operative we encourage parental involvement with the nursery, if you have any skills or information to share with the children or just want to just generally help out and get involved please get in touch.

Nursery Opening Hours:

We open Monday to Friday from 8am - 6pm (5pm Fridays)

Funded hours (from August 2024) between 9am – 3pm

Wraparound Care:

Early bird drop off 8am - 9am

After School: 3pm - 6pm (*5pm Fridays)

Please let the nursery know if your child is unable to attend any morning.  Duchal Nursery Phone number is 01505 874358

Our Teachers:

Head Teacher: Mrs Victoria Gheur

Teachers: Mrs Grant, Mrs Sinclair, Mrs Watson, Mrs Wylie, Ms Stewart

Music Teacher: Mrs Alison Campbell French Teacher: Madame Camelford

Supply Teachers: On occasion we use supply teachers who have been involved with the nursery in previous years

Parent’s Co-Operative 

Duchal is proud to be a parent co-operative giving all our parents an opportunity to influence and be part of their child’s nursery years.  Our parent group get involved in running social events, fundraising and promoting Duchal in the community, as well as liaising with the teaching and management team.  This interaction really enhances both the children’s and parents’ nursery experience.

We hold a number of social events throughout the year involving our Duchal families and attend local events creating a friendly welcoming environment for parents and children alike.

Duchal Management Team

We have 3 Directors, all of whom are past parents of Duchal, who oversee the running of the nursery with the Head Teacher.  We also employ an Administrator to deal with the day to day finances of the nursery, registration of new children and secretarial issues.

Duchal Directors:  Jane McCarroll, Heather Glass and Fiona Campbell

Duchal Administrator: Jackie Sayers 

Duchal Year

During the Duchal year the children enjoy lots of activities: watching the changing seasons through walks in the park; a Halloween party; bonfire crafts; our Christmas trip to the theatre; performing in our Christmas show; celebrating World Book Week; dressing-up mornings for national charity events; Easter crafts and a visit from the Easter bunny; sports day in the park; summer trip and leavers’ show and party at the end of the year.  We celebrate each child’s birthday and special events in their lives, such as the births of younger brothers and sisters.

School uniform - Order Here

Parents are asked to ensure that children are dressed in the school uniform detailed below:

• Red sweatshirt                       

• White polo shirt                     

• A red waterproof coat

• Red Apron for messy play        

• Soft indoor shoes to be kept at the nursery

It would be helpful if all clothes and shoes (particularly wellingtons) could be named.

Order new uniform here additionally we have some pre loved uniform in the nursery please get in touch for more information.

Curriculum

Duchal follows the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence which aims to provide a coherent, flexible and enriched curriculum from 3 to 18.

First Year - Red Teddy Year

In the initial year, value is placed on developing the building blocks for successful learners, self-respect, confidence, manners and social skills.  Much of the curriculum, taught as a whole school activity, is delivered in the form of projects.  A theme is chosen per term and all the work built around it.  Past projects have included transport, healthy eating, people who help us, the zoo, under the sea and space.  

French, taught by a specialist teacher, starts for first year children in October. The French course includes learning about colours, numbers, animals, clothes and food, as well as French songs and rhymes.

Second Year (Blue Teddy Pre-School)

Children in their pre-school year spend time each day in groups of four to six, depending on the activity, involved in more formal activities to prepare them for school entrance.  The smaller groups enable all pre-school work to be tailored to each child’s ability level, thus providing an individual challenge and love for learning.

French continues throughout the child's second year at Duchal. Small amounts of homework are introduced and received with great excitement, especially from children with older siblings.  Library books taken from our book corner are also taken home.  The gentle introduction and familiarization with these concepts prepares the children for the important and smooth transition from pre-school to junior school.

All our children take part in P.E., music and movement, simple science, healthy eating, art and craft and ICT with use of hand held tablets and inter active smart board.  We try and get outside into the Duchal garden or for a short walk in the park each day if possible. Language development is encouraged through all activities during each child’s morning, plus lots of storytelling, poems, rhymes and songs.  Monday and Friday ‘news time’ provides the perfect opportunity to nurture the expression of feelings and emotions. We have additional  P.E. sessions with a local Personal Trainer and Football team.  The introduction of different cultures and religions is intertwined with the children’s experiences and through festivals during the year.

Each week a newsletter is sent out from nursery it includes special diary dates and information about the following week.  Additionally, each parent has access to their child’s online learning journal which details daily activities.

First year children are known as ‘Red Teddies’ and pre-school second year children are called ‘Blue Teddies’.

Notice board

The notice board is situated in the hallway of the nursery.  Please check it regularly as it will hold up to date information on the nursery activities.

Diary

In the hallway of Duchal there is a diary for parents to write any changes of pick up routine for example, if your child is going to be collected by someone new.  It is always best if your child is told of this plan and a teacher is informed too.  The staff will not let a child go without this requirement being fulfilled, but may phone to clarify with you if there has been an oversight.  This diary is also used for holidays and appointments.

Duchal Teddy

Duchal teddy is given out on Fridays after news time to children who have been particularly helpful, kind or considerate that week.  Teddy has a great weekend, and the children love sharing their stories on Monday about their adventures.

Illness

We are very aware of the number of coughs and colds that children get when they first start nursery school.  We are happy for them to come with a simple runny nose or cough, but ask you to keep any child with an infectious illness at home.  If the child has diarrhoea or vomiting they should be at home for at least 48 hours after the last occurrence.  They should not come if they have any fever, conjunctivitis or other illness.

From time to time there will be a notice up saying that we have had a case of chicken pox etc.  This information is for all parents as your child may been exposed to an infection risk.

 Toilets

There are two toilets and children are free to go whenever they need to.  There are sinks, soap and towels and a member of staff is always close at hand if needed. 

Toileting

As we are a pre-school nursery, we expect children to be toilet trained by this age, or for younger ones to be at least a significant work in progress. Please speak to the Head Teacher if your child is having difficulty with toilet training and a plan will be put in place to work together to ensure they achieve this important milestone as soon as possible.

Funded Hours August 2024 - 25

Inverclyde Funded Hours from August 2024 will be 9am – 3pm, however the nursery opens at 8.00am for those that require an early drop off.

Wraparound Care:

Wraparound Care is provided from 8am - 9am and from 3pm until 6pm for those families that require additional childcare, this must be booked in advance to allow for planning and to ensure that adequate staffing numbers..  This is invoiced in 4 week blocks in arrears.  To book extended hours please complete the relevant form on the website.

Lunch

Children with funded places receive a free lunch, please see menus in the parents section of the website.  However if you wish you can provide your child with a healthy pack lunch but please note that we are a nut free zone! Please do not include chocolate/ sweets.

Snack Time

A healthy snack and drink is provided mid-morning and water is available throughout the session

Driving to Duchal

We have been asked by St Columba’s school to inform parents of an informal one way system that is in operation at peak times i.e. nursery drop off.  Parents are asked to drive down Castlehill Rd, and then turn down Broomknowe Rd rather than using Knockbuckle Rd.  This is so Knockbuckle Rd can be used as an exit road back to Lochwinnoch Rd. This should reduce congestion at peak times, and make the road safer for all our children.

Social Media

Duchal has Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages – please like the pages to keep up to date with our activities!