Former primary school teacher opens new Dundee nursery

A former primary school teacher is opening a new nursery in Dundee.

Learn and Grow Childcare opens on Clement Park Place, just off Harefield Road, on Monday.

Owner Laura Mooney says she has invested a five-figure sum into refurbishing the building, which was formerly home to the Oranges and Lemons nursery.

Laura, 35, has more than 10 years of experience teaching in primary schools.

The Former St Pius RC Primary teacher says she was inspired to open a nursery after the birth of her daughter, Lily.

She said: “As a working mum I felt so guilty about going back to work last year when Lily was eight months old.

“I felt awful leaving her and that’s what started the process of opening up my own nursery.

“I looked at this venue last summer and since then we’ve invested a lot of money getting the building ready.

“Lily will be coming to the nursery as well, she’ll be my guinea pig.”

The nursery – which will cater for up to 48 children – features a parent room and space for children aged 0-2, 2-3 and 3-5.

Every room has access to a garden space.

New Dundee nursery Learn and Grow aims to have ‘mix of fun and learning’

Laura says she is keen to make use of her educational background to benefit the youngsters.

She said: “I’ve been visiting a number of schools and supporting teachers to do reading and writing at school.

“As an educator, we want to have that mix of fun and learning – which is just as important.

“Given the nearby nursing home, we also want to do intergenerational learning – the nursing home has been so welcoming to us moving in.

“We want to make this a home away from home experience for the youngsters and their parents and guardians.

“The parent room will allow them to come and visit as long as they feel the need to.

“We want to be very family-centric, almost like a village.”

The nursery has created five jobs, which Laura hopes will grow in the coming months.

It comes after data collated by The Courier revealed the top-rated nurseries in Dundee.

You can compare childcare performance in Dundee and across Scotland using The Courier’s tracker.