SCOTLAND'S first Islamic nursery has been granted partnership status from Glasgow City Council.

The Evening Times first told in 2015 how Little Wonders had opened in Govanhill with a view to providing pre-school education for Muslim children.

Now the nursery, which educates 23 children of mixed faiths, has received backing from the council.

Sheik Zoheeb Iqbal, who runs Little Wonders Nursery, said: "It means a lot in terms of having the support of the city council, especially as it means we have a mentor who will come in regularly to give us advice and work with us side by side."

Mr Iqbal studied Islamic theology before assisting the founding of Al Falaah Academy in 2014, which organises Islamic education and interfaith lectures and events in universities.

He said and a group of friends wanted to work with young children to try to foster religious tolerance, which would last as they grew up.

Mr Iqbal, who describes himself as a scholar, added: "We wanted to instil manners and etiquette. The first thing to say is that we currently have some non-Muslim children in our nursery.

"Parents choose our nursery because it gives them piece of mind, for example knowing their child is being given Halal food.

"We teach respect for their parents and elders, supplication before you eat, the correct greetings to use on returning home and seeing your parents, these are the things I mean by etiquette."

The Calder Street nursery currently employs five staff and has 23 children who come for afternoon sessions.

Children mainly come from Govanhill but a few travel from further afield to attend.

Mr Iqbal would like to extend provision to afternoon sessions and, in the next few years, open another branch on a second site.

He and his colleagues also hope to open an Islamic primary school so that nursery children have continuity of education.

Not all pupils are from Muslim families and the nursery offers non-Islamic choices for children of other backgrounds.

Mr Iqbal said: "We have different activities for different children.

"All nursery education is based on the individual and catering to individual learning needs so it's important that we have a choice anyway but for the non Muslim children, or the children whose parents do not want them to have these classes, they can choose to do something else.

"Our aim is for integration to start from as young an age as possible to foster tolerance, which they will keep as they grow older.

"If you have been exposed to different faiths from a young age and have always experienced living and learning side by side, you are not going to be scared or intolerant."

A council spokeswoman said: “We are in partnership with a variety of nurseries across the city in order to give parents and carers flexibility in relation to early years education and childcare that suits their needs.”