大象传媒 Scotland - 大象传媒 Scotland - The haven for children in a high-rise area of deprivation 鈥� and the inspiring head teacher who helped make it happen

The haven for children in a high-rise area of deprivation 鈥� and the inspiring head teacher who helped make it happen

22 June 2018

High-rise flats on three sides and a distillery on the fourth — not the most inspiring of views for a nursery.

So thought head teacher Julie Carey, from the Adelphi Nursery in Glasgow’s Gorbals area, who decided to do something about it: she turned the nursery into a haven for its children.

Glasgow鈥檚 nursery haven

Meet Julie, the childcare champion in the heart of the Gorbals.

Although identified formally as an area of deprivation, Julie argues that the Gorbals is thriving.

“It’s like a village in a city. Everyone knows everyone and everyone supports everyone.”

Around 60% of the children at the nursery are not originally from Glasgow. Many of them speak languages from all around the world: Mandarin, Russian, Polish, Urdu and Arabic are all spoken there.

“[The children are] very respectful of one another. They don’t see the differences because it’s very much the norm in the area.”

Because many inner-city children live vertically and therefore don’t have outdoor spaces of their own, Julie decided to turn the nursery’s garden into an area in which they can play all year round.

The children also look after the nursery’s hens. Caring for a living thing is often difficult to achieve in the children’s living situations, so this experience can prove extremely valuable to their development.

They examine the coops every day to check for eggs and, twice a week, take them to a local baker who deducts the cost of the eggs from fresh bread and other baked goods.

People in deprived areas may not always have access to new clothing, so Adelphi Nursery decided to introduce a ‘recycle rail’ — take what you need; give what you can.

It started with children’s clothes, but soon added clothing for adults too. Parents who might need clothes for an interview, for example, stand to benefit as “an outfit is a big layout when you’re not in employment.”

Julie enthuses about the Gorbals, because the local community is so engaged.

Reminiscing of a graduation ceremony the nursery held, she described hearing a voice shout “goan yersel’, Jonny boy” from one of the windows in the high-rise.

“It was one of those moments where I just thought ‘this is such a great place to work’.”

A lack of opportunities and role models, crime and territorialism are all issues related to deprivation

Celebrated photographer Oscar Marzaroli’s shots of the area

Glasgow could have had far more high-rises if The Bruce Plan had gone through

Here’s another inspirational teacher helping children from a deprived area.

Richard Appiah Akoto is a computer teacher from Ghana, whose pictures of his chalkboard-computer alternative went viral on social media.