News | Marina View Nursery

Our New Menu

Marina View
Apr 21
1 min read

We’re pleased to introduce our new six-month menu at Marina View, carefully planned in line with Setting the Table.

Food is a big part of our day, and we focus on getting the balance right, making sure meals are nutritious, varied and enjoyable for the children.

What this means for children @ Marina View

• All meals are freshly prepared in-house

• A varied menu including fish, meat, vegetarian and plant-based options

• Fruit and vegetables offered at every meal and snack

• Wholegrain options included where possible

• Reduced sugar and salt across all meals

• Balanced light teas, not just snack-based

Inclusive and supportive

Where children have allergies or dietary requirements, we provide alternatives that are as close as possible to the main meal. This helps children feel included and keeps mealtimes relaxed and positive.

More than just meals

Mealtimes are calm, social experiences where children are encouraged to try new foods and build confidence. We also promote simple sustainability through things like our Zero Waste Friday.

Always improving

Our menus are regularly reviewed as part of our commitment to quality and continuous improvement.

Registration Week 2026-2027

Marina View
Jan 15
2 min read

Planning ahead for funded childcare is important, and with registration week approaching, we want to make sure families have all the key information they need in one place.

What are 1140 funded hours?

The 1140 funded hours are a Scottish Government entitlement that allows all eligible children aged 3 to 5, and some eligible 2 year olds, to receive up to 1140 hours of funded early learning and childcare each year. These hours are fully funded by the local authority and are designed to support children’s learning and development while helping families balance work and home life. The funded hours can be taken in a variety of patterns depending on the options offered by each setting.

What you need to know for the upcoming term:

If your child is already in receipt of the 1140 funded hours and will be continuing their place at Marina View Nursery, you must reapply for funding for the new term. Funded hours do not automatically roll over from one year to the next.

If your child is not currently receiving the 1140 funded hours but will be eligible, you should submit an application when applications open.

Children who turn 3 between 1st March 2026 and 28th February 2027 are eligible for the 1140 funded hours and should apply during registration week.

Registration week runs from Monday 16th February to Sunday 22nd February.

Applications cannot be submitted before Monday 16th February, as the South Ayrshire Council application link will not be live before this date.

Allocation of funded places:

Funded places are allocated based on priority criteria set by South Ayrshire Council. Marina View Nursery allocates funded places strictly in line with these council guidelines.

We are unable to confirm whether a funded place has been allocated until we receive instruction from South Ayrshire Council. This information is usually provided around May, and we will be in touch with families as soon as we are able to confirm placements.

Flexible options and support

If you do not see a funded option that suits your family, please do get in touch by email or feel free to pop in for a chat. We pride ourselves on being as flexible as possible and will always try to support families in balancing work commitments alongside school drop offs and pick ups where we can.

Autumn/ Winter Menus have arrived!!!

Marina View
Oct 30, 2025
1 min read

A huge thank you to all our families who took the time to complete our menu questionnaire. Your ideas and suggestions gave us such helpful insight into what your little ones enjoy, and they played a big part in shaping our new Autumn🍂/Winter ❄️menus.

Our new menus started this week, and it has been lovely to see how much the children are enjoying the dishes already. Each meal has been carefully planned while adhering to Setting the Table guidelines, ensuring everything we serve is nutritious, balanced, and freshly made. We have also shared an overview of how we meet these standards in practice, showing the thought and care that goes into planning every meal here at the nursery🥰.

I worked closely with Yvonne👩🏻‍🍳, our nursery cook, to create menus that are both nourishing and full of variety. We had originally thought about creating a separate menu for The Cove, but after reflecting we realised it was not necessary. Instead, each dish is adapted to suit age and stage. For example, our broccoli and pea fritters are smoother for the younger children and chunkier for the older ones.

Thank you again for your feedback and continued support🫶. It really helps us make nursery mealtimes something the children look forward to each day.

And for those already thinking ahead, you might want to keep your recipe books handy as we will be looking for inspiration again when it is time to plan our Spring💐/Summer🌞 menu!

Nurture. Discover. Inspire.