Nursery is a big step for both parent and child and we suggest that you visit Pinocchio's for a family tour. We have a regular open family viewing time at all our nurseries every Friday between 9.30am to 11.30am. You are more than welcome to drop in to the nursery during these times. If you would prefer to visit the nursery at another time of your convenience, please contact to the Nursery Manager who can arrange this with you. Our Nursery Managers would be happy to hear from you and discuss how we can meet your family's individual needs.

Often our nurseries have waiting lists, especially Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings. It is not unusual for us to receive a booking a year in advance. We would encourage you to visit the nursery early if you are considering a nursery place in order to make it more likely we will have suitable availability for you. We do however accept short notice bookings however it is dependent on room capacity and number of children already using the nursery.

There is a natural flow through the nursery in the summer time when the oldest children leave to start school. Most children will trial/move to their next playroom depending on age/stage of development. In July-September the nurseries have the most flexibility with regards to sessions available. The nurseries are at their highest occupancy levels from April-June every year, when availability in all play rooms is very limited.

At Pinocchio's our fee structure is transparent and there are no added extras for your daily requirements. Our fees include home cooked, healthy meals, nappies and baby care items. We understand parents today are very busy and we wish to make our service as convenient as possible.

Please see our children's menu area for more details on the healthy meals we provide. For more information on fees structure and grant funding for children over 3 years, please contact the nursery manger of the nursery you are interested in.

We offer two hours free trial sessions for new children starting. We can accommodate if parents/ carers wish to build up their sessions over their first month. This is particularly important when a parent is returning to work as it avoids parents and child having to start work and nursery on the same day. Our employees are always pleased to get to know children and parents and will work along with you to make nursery a happy and rewarding experience. We use a Care Plan which you fill in when your child starts nursery to ensure we are meeting your child's individual needs.

The majority of our employees are qualified professionals in Early Years Care and Education. Our employees who are not yet qualified are working towards a formal qualification. Each room has a Room Supervisor and we all work well as a team to provide a friendly, home from home atmosphere which creates a happy, fun environment for the children to grow and develop. Pinocchio's employees are trained to recognise genuine effort; to know when a child is trying hard and children's own work is valued. STAR Customer Service

In Pinocchio's we strive to offer the best possible customer service. Our employees are awarded a monthly STAR customer service award and parents and colleagues are encouraged to nominate employees.

Care Inspectorate is the day-to-day name for the SCSWIS: Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland, formally Care Commission.

A full time qualified company teacher - Jenni, supports the Preschool children and staff in the Curriculum for Excellence. Pinocchio's Nursery are one of the few private nurseries that employ a full time teacher. We also have teacher support from the local council, as we are in partnership for Pre school grant funding. This supports consistency of education provided in the company.

Please see below the company's history since inspection grading started in Scotland in 2009. We are proud that all our nurseries have been graded Good or very good in every area inspected consistently every year at all nurseries.

Eskbank

SCSWIS Grading Key

(I) Grading resulting from an inspection
(C) Grading resulting from an upheld or partially upheld complaint
(E) Grading resulting from an enforcement

There is a six point grading scale. Each of the Quality Themes they inspected, is graded using the following scale:

They can choose from six grades:
1= Unsatisfactory, 2= Weak, 3= Adequate, 4= Good, 5= Very good, 6= Excellent.

Joint HMIe and Care Inspectorate

Eskbank: In May 2011 HMIe inspected and graded the nursery in the following areas.
Improvement in performance- Good
Children's experiences- Good
Meeting learning needs- Good
The Curriculum- Good
Improvement though self-evaluation- Satisfactory.

HMIe use the following word scale.
Unsatisfactory= Major weaknesses, Weak= Important weaknesses, Satisfactory= Strengths just outweigh weaknesses, Good= Important strengths with some areas for improvement, Very good= Major strengths , Excellent= Outstanding, sector leading.

Last HMIe visits to other nurseries:
Heriot Watt: January 07
Lasswade: January 07
Penicuik: March 07
Gilmerton: None since we opened in June 08