Integrated Inspection by the Care Commission and Towie School Nursery Aberdeenshire Council - HM Inspectorate of Education of 27 June 2007
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Towie School Nursery
Aberdeenshire Council
27 June 2007Towie School Nursery
c/o Towie Primary School
Glenkindie
Alford
AB33 8RN
The Regulation of Care (Scotland) Act, 2001, requires that the Care Commission
inspect all care services covered by the Act every year to monitor the quality of care
provided. In accordance with the Act, the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of
Education carry out integrated inspections of the quality of care and education. In
doing this, inspection teams take account of National Care Standards, Early
Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, and The Child at the Centre. The
following standards and related quality indicators were used in the recent inspection.
National Care Standard Child at the Centre Quality Indicator
Standard 2 – A Safe Environment Resources
Standard 4 – Engaging with Children Development and learning through play
Standard 5 – Quality of Experience Curriculum
Children’s development and learning
Standard 6 – Support and Development Support for children and families
Standard 14 – Well-managed Service Management, Leadership and Quality
Assurance
Evaluations made using HMIE quality indicators use the following scale, and these
words are used in the report to describe the team’s judgements:
Very good : major strengths
Good : strengths outweigh weaknesses
Fair : some important weaknesses
Unsatisfactory : major weaknesses
Reports contain Recommendations which are intended to support improvements in
the quality of service.
Any Requirements refer to actions which must be taken by service providers to ensure
that regulations are met and there is compliance with relevant legislation. In these
cases the regulation(s) to which requirements refer will be noted clearly and
timescales given.HOW TO CONTACT US If you would like an additional copy of this report Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher, staff and the education authority. Copies are also available on the Care Commission website: www.carecommission.com and HMIE website: www.hmie.gov.uk. Should you wish to comment on any aspect of integrated pre-school inspections, you should write in the first instance to Kenneth Muir, HMCI, at HM Inspectorate of Education, Denholm House, Almondvale Business Park, Almondvale Way, Livingston EH54 6GA. Our complaints procedure If you have a concern about this report, you should write in the first instance to either: Complaints Coordinator Hazel Dewart Headquarters HM Inspectorate of Education Care Commission Denholm House Compass House Almondvale Business Park Riverside Drive Almondvale Way Dundee Livingston DD1 4NY EH54 6GA If you are not satisfied with the action we have taken at the end of our complaints procedure, you can raise your complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman. The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and agencies. You can write to The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, 4-6 Melville Street, Edinburgh EH3 7NS. You can also telephone 0870 011 5378 or e-mail enquiries@scottishombudsman.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office can be obtained from the website: www.scottishombudsman.org.uk. A copy of the HMIE complaints procedure is available from the HMIE website at www.hmie.gov.uk or by telephoning 01506 600 258. Crown Copyright 2007 Care Commission HM Inspectorate of Education This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.
_______________________________
Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Towie School Nursery
Aberdeenshire Council
Introduction
Towie School Nursery was inspected in March 2007 as part of
the integrated inspection programme by the Care Commission
and HM Inspectorate of Education. HMIE carried out this
inspection on behalf of both organisations and consulted the
Care Commission about its findings. The nursery catered for
pre-school children aged from three to five years. It was
registered for 15 children attending at any one session. At the
time of the inspection the total roll was 28.
The environment
Standard 2
The nursery was located within the primary school. It consisted
of a spacious cloakroom area and a playroom. Staff had created
a safe, bright, warm and welcoming environment within the small
playroom. Available space was used appropriately to provide
children with a suitable range of activities to play independently
and in groups. There was scope to improve the layout and
organisation of some areas. Staff regularly used the school’s
general purpose room for planned physical activity and the
enclosed outdoor play area to promote children’s energetic play
and interest in nature. Staff displayed children’s work and
photographs attractively to recognise children’s successes and
celebrate achievement.
Staff ensured that play equipment was clean and well maintained.
They had appropriate measures to control the spread of infection
and carried out and recorded appropriate risk assessments.
Quality of children’s experience
Standard 4 & 5
Staff had developed warm, caring, and positive relationships with
children. They intervened sensitively in play activities and made
very good use of questions and dialogue to support and
challenge children in their learning. Children were interested and
involved in their play. Staff provided a good balance between
those activities children could choose for themselves and those
directed by adults.
Staff had identified the need to improve planning.
Long-, medium- and short-term planning was in place. They
maintained assessment records for each child. Staff regularly
observed children at play. They did not use assessment
information well enough to clearly identify next steps in learning
for individual children. Staff had made a start to involving
children in planning. Staff maintained useful folders of children’s
1work which helped to identify development and progression.
These were readily accessible to children and parents.
Features of the programmes for children included the following.
• The programme for emotional, personal and social
development was very good. Staff had created a caring
environment where most children played happily together.
They made consistent use of praise to acknowledge
achievements and had developed nursery rules with children
to promote positive behaviour. Children were developing
strong friendships and caring attitudes towards each other.
They were learning to take turns and share. Children were
developing independence through a variety of activities, for
example serving themselves at snack and changing clothes
and shoes for outdoor play.
• The programme for communication and language was good
overall. Children were confident in expressing their thoughts
and ideas and listened and spoke to others about their own
experiences. Staff provided a suitably resourced writing area
where some children enthusiastically experimented with mark
making. A few were able to write their own name and some
were developing an awareness of letter sounds in their name.
The book area was uninviting for children to use. Staff did
not provide sufficient opportunities for children to use books
throughout the playroom.
• The programme for knowledge and understanding of the
world was good. They were becoming familiar with their local
environment and the changing seasons through nature
walks. Children were developing appropriate skills on the
computer, and accessed a suitable range of other
technological toys, including a digital camera. Staff
organised a wide range of activities to develop children’s
understanding of early mathematics through play. Children
were learning about numbers, shapes, size and money when
playing in the ‘garden centre’. They had opportunities to
learn about natural materials through exploring the effects of
heat on lard when making bird food and when playing with
the sand and water. Children did not have sufficient
opportunities to discover and investigate using a range of
resources.
• The programme for expressive and aesthetic development
was good. A few children enjoyed very imaginative play in
the ‘garden centre’ where they acted out adult roles. They
enjoyed developing their characters, sharing ideas and
cooperating together. Staff interacted well to support and
extend their play. They planned a variety of suitable activities
for the children to be creative and expressive. Children
enjoyed singing action songs along with staff and had access
to a suitable range of percussion instruments. An improved
layout of this area would encourage children to develop their
skills further.
• The programme for physical development and movement
was good. Children were developing good hand and finger
control through rolling, mixing, digging, cutting and using
construction toys. Children benefited from regular visits to
the school’s general purpose room where they were
developing a range of coordination skills and an awareness
2of space. They also regularly used the outside area where
children were developing a range of skills in balancing and
riding tricycles.
However, more challenging energetic play equipment would
allow children to develop their skills further. Staff encouraged
the development of children’s health and fitness through
emphasis on healthy eating at snack.
Support for children and families
Standard 6
Staff were developing positive relationships with parents and
carers. Parents were encouraged to be involved in the life of the
nursery by sharing their talents and helping with outings. A key
worker system was in place to ensure support for children and to
provide appropriate lines of communication between parents and
staff. Most parents who responded to the pre-inspection
questionnaire, and those spoken to on the day of the inspection,
were satisfied with most aspects of the service. A few wanted
more information about their child’s progress and to work in
better partnership with staff.
Staff provided good support for children who needed additional
help with their learning. They had formed effective links with
parents, relevant support agencies and other professionals.
They had successfully put in place strategies to meet the needs
of individual children who required additional support. Staff had
limited knowledge of recently revised legislation about additional
support needs.
Management
Standard 14
The leadership of the nursery was good. The headteacher had
taken up his post just over a year ago after a period of significant
change within the school. During this time he had worked hard to
build relationships with children, staff and parents, improve the
service and make the nursery an integral part of the school. The
recently appointed nursery teacher had day-to-day responsibility
for the running of the nursery and was committed to developing
her role and the quality of provision. She was ably supported by
the hardworking staff team.
An appropriate range of policies and procedures was in place.
The headteacher had identified the need to introduce a staff
review system to identify staff training and development needs.
However, training and guidance from the local authority was
required. All staff were aware of child protection procedures and
followed these appropriately. They knew about the Scottish
Social Services Council Codes of Practice and the implications
for their practice.
The headteacher had made a good start to monitoring aspects of
the provision. Formal and informal systems were in place to
monitor the work of the nursery and the quality of children’s
experiences. Views of parents had been sought through
questionnaires. An audit of the provision had been carried out by
the headteacher and staff. Information gathered was used
effectively to improve aspects of the work of the nursery. The
systems for monitoring and evaluating did not cover all aspects of
the provision and fully involve staff, parents and children.
3Key strengths
• The bright, warm and welcoming environment created by
staff.
• High-quality interactions of staff.
• Very good programme for emotional, personal and social
development.
• The commitment of the headteacher and staff to develop the
service.
Other Issues
Response to At the last Care Commission singleton inspection there was one
recommendations or to requirement and six recommendations. The requirement
regarding the radiator in the hallway had been addressed
requirements made at satisfactorily and the six recommendations had been included in
previous inspection the nursery’s development plan. Staff were working on the
priorities identified.
Recommendations for improvement
• Staff should further improve use of assessment and
observation information to identify children’s individual next
steps.
• Staff should explore further ways of sharing information with
parents about their children’s progress.
• Staff should access training on current legislation in
supporting children with additional needs.
• The headteacher should further improve monitoring and
self-evaluation of the service and fully involve children, staff
and parents.
Care Commission Officers and HM Inspectors have asked the
pre-school centre and education authority to prepare an action
plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the
report. Where requirements are made, the action plan should
include timescales to deal with these. The plan will be available
to parents and carers. In liaison with the pre-school centre and
education authority, Care Commission Officers and
HM Inspectors will monitor progress to ensure improvements are
in line with the main findings of the report.
Christine Dow
HM Inspectorate of Education
4You can also read
