Nursery
Earthtime’s Forest School Nursery
Earthtime is an independent provider of childcare for early years and school age children.
We opened our nursery in 2016, with a base in Duffus Village Hall but operating in the surrounding woodland. We became a fully outdoor Forest School accredited setting in 2018, operating from Duffus Estate. Our nursery was awarded the prestigious Crown Estate Scotland Schools Trophy in the Scotland Finest Woods Awards in 2019.
We provide care of children from aged 2 to school age, based on Forest School principles and ethos.
We provide a before and after school club at our nusery for children attending Hopeman Primary School.
We are registered with the Care Inspectorate as a provider of childcare and are delighted to have achieved a full set of ‘5s’ (very good) in all areas in our recent inspection in February 2025.
where we are
Our Site
We have three main established areas in the woodland around Duffus Estate:
- our yurt base;
- the parachute area; and
- what we call ‘the top woods’.
We are fortunate to also have lots of open space to explore, including a wildflower meadow, fields and woodland walks.
Key Numbers
The capacity of our service is set out in the table below together with the practitioner to child ratios required by the Care Inspectorate.
In practice, we generally operate below our maximum numbers of children and with more practitioners.
Age Group |
Maximum Number of Children |
Practitioner: Child Ratio |
| Age 2-3 | 10 | 1:5 |
| Age 3-5 | 32 | 1:8 |
| Primary School Age | 15 (25 for school holiday club) | 1:10 |
| Maximum children on site at one time | 50 |
Term Dates 2026
We operate during school term time, following the dates set by Moray Council for the Lossiemouth area schools.
Term |
Term Starts |
Term Ends |
|
Spring Mid term closures on:
|
Monday 5 January 2026 | Friday 27 March 2026 |
|
Summer Mid term closure on:
|
Monday `13 April 2026 | Thursday 2 July 2026 |
|
Autumn Closed on:
|
Wednesday 19 August 2026 | Friday 9 October 2026 |
|
Winter Mid term closures on:
|
Monday 26 October 2026
|
Tuesday 22 December 2026 (New term starts on Wednesday 6 January 2027)
|
Cost
All children age 3 and 4 (and eligible 2 year olds) are entitled to up to 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare every academic year (August to July) paid for by the Scottish Government.
Earthtime has entered into a contract with Moray Council to be a provider of early years childcare. This means that children can use all or some of their funded hours at Earthtime.
Parents/carers pay us directly for:
- snacks for children;
- childcare for 2 year olds who are not eligible for funding;
- additional hours (to the 1140 hours) for 3 – 5 year olds;
As a registered care provider we can also accept childcare vouchers including those from universal credit and military vouchers.
If a child’s care is not covered by their funded hours, our hourly rate is: £8.15 (age 3+)
Age 2-3 morning of 3 hours (inc. snack): £28.00
Age 3+ full day of 6.5 hours (inc. lunch and snacks): £50.00
Register for Funded Hours
Click this box to register for funded hours on the Moray Council website or contact ELCadmin@moray.gov.uk or 01343 563374
Holiday Care
PLEASE CHECK BACK HERE OR ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE FOR DETAILS OF WHEN OUR HOLIDAY CARE IS AVAILABLE.
We can provide childcare for up to 25 children of primary school age. By primary school age, we mean age 5 – 12 (but including 4 year olds who are already at school and who will be 5 during the school year).
Holiday care is paid for by parents/carers. As a rough guide, holiday care is around £40 for a full day (6 hours) and £20 for half a day (3 hours). We accept childcare vouchers to pay for holiday care. Sometimes, other third sector organisations or a child’s school have supported a child to attend our holiday club by paying the cost.
Our Operating Hours
The nursery is open for childcare from 08:00 – 17:00 Monday to Friday and we operate the term time model.
We recommend that children attend the nursery for a minimum of 2 sessions to allow them to create bonds with both staff and peers.
Some 2-3 year olds who are eligible for funding may have a longer day with us.
The funded session times we offer 3- 5 year olds are:
- 08:00 – 14:00
- 08:00 – 17:00
- 09:00 – 15:00
- 09:00 – 17:00
Parents/carers have the option to pay for additional hours on top of their funded hours.
The session times we offer 2-3 year olds are:
- 09:00 – 12:00
The session times for out of school care are:
- 08:00 – 08.45
- 15:00 – 17:00
Our Practitioners
All of our practitioners are in the PVG Scheme and must be a member of SSSC or GTCS within 3 months of starting work as a practitioner. Practitioners are bound by their relevant codes of practice as set by SSSC (Scottish Social Services Council) or GTCS (General Teaching Council Scotland). All practitioners are expected to follow the Health and Social Care Standards and the Policies and Procedures of Earthtime.
All of our practitioners have childcare qualifications or are working towards this. A number of our practitioners have a forest school qualification such as Level 3 Forest School Leadership or Level 8 Forest and Outdoor Learning Award, or are working towards this. All of our practitioners are trained in food hygiene and outdoor and paediatric first aid.
Find out more about our nursery and school age childcare
Email: nursery@earthtime.co.uk
Call: 01343 200 206