WORK has started on the construction of a new early learning and childcare centre in Peebles.

As previously reported, Scottish Borders Council is proposing to build a new centre on the grounds of Priorsford Primary School, on Marmion Road, in order to meet demand for the rollout of extra childcare hours. 

By 2020, the Scottish Government aims to provide all children aged three or four, and some vulnerable two-year-olds, with 1,140 hours of free childcare, nearly double the amount parents were previously entitled to.

The new childcare facility at Priorsford Primary School will cater for 95 children, with 15 spaces allocated to children aged two to three years old, and 80 spaces given to three to five year olds. 

A design statement, submitted in support of the original planning application by the council’s architect Ray Cherry, reads: “Accessibility and inclusivity have been a key focus during the design development. 

“The provision will be universally accessible and will offer a high-quality learning environment for the children and teaching staff. 

“The proposal has been developed to meet current and future teaching with the primary focus being on teaching spaces that are flexible and adaptive to cater for a variety of needs and learning experiences. 

“The design ethos has been simplified to provide a hierarchy of spaces from the two to three year old’s playroom up to the three to five year old’s playrooms with intermittent shared activity spaces in-between. 

“A ‘central corridor’ between the play areas and the service areas provide a visual link between the new nursery entrance and the existing school. Roof lights along this passage encourage and delineate this route.

“This is an exciting opportunity to raise the standard of early learning and childcare provision in Peebles. 

“It will provide the required increase in provision as set by Scottish Government for 2020 and will offer an environment which is flexible, modern and meets the criteria set out by the professional education body and the Care Inspectorate. 

“It aims to set the benchmark and act as a ‘model’ nursery which sets the standard for future local educational developments.”

The new building will be situated to the east of Priorsford Primary School, on land that is currently used for outdoor teaching, and is set to open in August 2020.

Council leader Shona Haslam, who represents Tweeddale East, commented on the development: “It is great news that the next phase of our early years expansion programme has started in Peebles.

“The creation of the new facility for Priorsford follows on from more than £4m invested in improving 15 schools in the Borders last summer. 

 “Making sure there are enough high-quality childcare and early learning places in the Borders is really important not only for ensuring our young people get the best start in life but for allowing parents to be able to return to work sooner.

“The plans for Priorsford look great and parents can find out more about them at scotborders.gov.uk/PriorsfordEYC.”

Whilst construction work is being undertaken at the school, there will be no parking at the school and parents are advised to make alternative arrangements to pick-up and drop-off their children.

Priorsford was officially opened in 1973, and subsequent extensions in the 2000s has increased the school’s capacity.

Currently, Priorsford has a roll of approximately 440 children and an additional 60 children for the nursery; 30 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon.