The visit came after Haddo Woodland Kindergarten in Ellon, Aberdeenshire worked with NDNA Scotland on a new toolkit to support settings to incorporate the Rights of a Child into daily practice.
It was one of a number of settings to contribute to the development of the toolkit. In particular staff at the Kindergarten worked on a floorbook for the resource, which captures children's understanding and awareness of their rights, regardless of their age or stage of development.
The Toolkit has been launched to coincide with Scotland committing to incorporating the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child into law.
The Children’s Commissoner for Scotland, Bruce Adamson, and his team joined children from the Kindergarten, an outdoor setting for two to six year olds, to learn about how they use nature-based play to teach sustainability, conservation and environmental awareness.
As Scotland hosted COP26 this month, children talked to the Commissioner about their environmental rights and how they want more learning focused on climate change and action.
'The youngest children have incredible ideas about the environment they grow up in'
Mr Adamson said, ‘Children have the right to have their views taken into account in all matters which affect them, and there is no minimum age to this. The youngest children have incredible ideas and insight about their lives, the environment they grow up in, and about the world.
‘A rights-based education should be creative and fun and the best ideas on how to achieve this always come from children. The goal of education is to develop children to their fullest potential and play is the foundation of that. The importance of the right to play has been widely recognised as part of children’s development and I think we can all learn a lot from the creative ideas in early years settings.’
Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of National Day Nurseries Association (NDNA) Scotland, added, ‘We’re delighted the Commissioner has been to see some of the great work nurseries are doing to keep children’s rights at the heart of what they do.
‘Early learning and childcare providers have a strong history of focussing on children’s rights and getting the best outcomes for the children in their care. It’s great to see this first hand at nurseries like Haddo Kindy which offer fantastic outdoor environment full of engaging play and learning opportunities.’
The visit by the Children's Commissioner for Scotland is part of a rolling programme for him and his team to meet and work with children and young people face-to-face in places they have not been able to travel to previously due to Covid-19.
- The Toolkit, free for NDNA members, is available here