Integrated Inspection by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education of Invergarry Primary School Nursery Class The Highland Council

21 December 2005

Invergarry Primary School Nursery Class
Invergarry
Inverness-shire
PH35 4HG

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.

Evaluations made using HMIE quality indicators use the following scale, and these words are used in the report to describe the team’s judgements:

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 .

If you wish to comment about integrated pre-school inspections

Should you wish to comment on any aspect of integrated pre-school inspections, you should write in the first instance to Dr Bill Maxwell, 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:

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 2005

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 Invergarry Primary School Nursery Class The Highland Council

Introduction

Invergarry Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in September 2005 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. An inspection of the primary school was carried out at the same time by HMIE and is the subject of a separate report. The nursery catered for pre-school children aged three to five years. It was registered for ten children attending at any one session. At the time of the inspection the total roll was three.

The environment

Standard 2

The nursery was accommodated within the primary school building. The playroom was hygienic, safe and in a good state of repair although it required some upgrade to paint work. It shared the toilet area with other primary classes. There was a secure entry system to the nursery. Staff provided a welcoming environment within the small playroom. They displayed children’s work attractively. However, storage space was limited. Staff organised space to allow children to work individually or in groups. Resources were well maintained but did not include large-scale play equipment within the playroom.

Staff made appropriate use of the primary school playground for outdoor play but there was no designated nursery area and limited resources for developing the curriculum outdoors.

There was no computer or other information and communications technology (ICT) in the playroom.

Quality of children’s experience

Standard 4 & 5

Staff had created a welcoming atmosphere and had very good relationships with children. They interacted well with them and supported their learning and behaviour effectively. Staff were aware of, and responsive to, children’s individual needs. However, there were limited opportunities for children to make and express choices. Staff did not have high enough expectations of children’s learning. They constantly moved resources and activities around the playroom. The balance of free and more structured activities needed adjustment.

Staff did not make effective enough use of information gained from observations of children’s learning. Planning focused too heavily on the theme and not enough on what children were expected to learn. Children’s profiles did not clearly show progress and development. Parents needed more opportunity to help compile evidence of children’s development. They needed to have more access to children’s profiles. Planning was not effectively monitored and evaluated.

Features of the programmes for children included the following.

• The programme for emotional, personal and social development was good. Children were happy, safe and secure. They were comfortable with the simple rules and routines of the nursery. They were developing confidence and had good self esteem. Children were forming positive relationships with adults and other children. They played cooperatively, took turns and shared resources well. They were developing appropriate independence in dressing and personal hygiene. They helped tidy around the nursery. However, they needed more opportunities to make and express choices, persevere in tasks that were at first difficult and help to prepare the snack. There were not enough opportunities for children to learn about the importance of celebrating cultural and religious festivals.
• The programme for communication and language was good. Children talked confidently to each other and to adults about their experiences and ideas. They listened to stories and responded well to songs and rhymes. They paid attention to instructions and information from adults. Staff had provided a wide range of papers, cards and writing tools to encourage interest in early writing. Children had opportunities to scribble, make marks and write. The book corner had a good range of information and story books to encourage children to read. Children recognised their own names and were developing an awareness of print. However, there was no ICT available and children had very limited opportunities for using talk during role-play.
• The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world was fair. Children had good opportunities to learn about their local environment through visits out of the nursery and the range of visitors in. Staff provided good opportunities for children to learn about some properties of materials. Children were learning about science skills through playing with sand and water. They were developing an understanding of early mathematical processes including counting, matching, sorting and measuring. They could identify numbers to ten and simple shapes. They were beginning to become aware of daily time sequences. However, there were not enough opportunities for children to learn about planting, growing and harvesting. Children did not have enough opportunity to experiment, design and make, and to solve problems. They needed to develop more interest in, and knowledge of, their own and other cultures.
• The programme for expressive and aesthetic development was fair. Children could investigate and use a variety of art and craft media and techniques including painting, drawing, printing and model making. They used play dough to cut, roll, knead and make shapes. Staff had provided a range of musical instruments to encourage children to learn about rhythm and play music. However, there were very limited opportunities for children to take part in role-play. Children did not have enough opportunities to listen to music, to dance or to accompany music. They needed more opportunities to develop creativity, expression and imaginative play.
• The programme for physical development and movement was fair. Staff had provided a range of tools to help children develop finger and hand control including scissors, writing utensils, paintbrushes, jigsaws and construction toys. Children were learning about caring for tools and being safe. They had daily access to the school playground and to the general purpose room for energetic play. However, they had very limited opportunities to develop skills and confidence on large apparatus. They did not have enough opportunity to explore different ways to use their bodies or to develop progressively skills in running, jumping, skipping, climbing, balancing, swinging and sliding. There were no large toys to develop skills in riding, pushing and pulling.

Support for children and families

Standard 6

Staff had developed very good relationships with parents and families. They were responsive to individual needs and circumstances. Staff had good links with support agencies. They provided a good range of information to parents in the cloakroom area about the work of the nursery, its curriculum and other items of interest. There was an informative and interesting nursery pack for parents whose children were starting in the nursery. Parents had access to a well-presented nursery handbook. All parents responding to the pre-inspection questionnaire were very pleased with all aspects of the nursery.

Children with additional support needs had been identified and support had been initiated. Individualised educational programmes were in the very early stages of development. Parents were closely involved and consulted. Support agencies, including speech and language therapy and the health visitor, liaised and planned regularly.

Management

Standard 14

The headteacher’s leadership of the nursery was fair. She was very approachable and maintained good relationships with staff, children and parents. However, she had yet to establish effective monitoring and evaluation of the nursery curriculum and practice. She did not lead the process of self-evaluation effectively. The newly appointed nursery coordinator teacher was in the nursery one day a fortnight. She liaised with the early years worker and assistant who had responsibility for the planning and day-to-day running of the service.

A range of policy and procedure documents was in place, including child protection. These had been developed with support from the education authority. The headteacher was unaware of the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice and its implications for employers and employees. Staff had access to staff development and training through the local council programme.

The school development plan had identified priorities for the nursery including establishing a monitoring programme, improving the health promoting status of the school and developing support for learning strategies appropriate for individual children. Some of the targets from the previous year had not yet been achieved.

Key strengths

• The very positive relationships between staff, children and parents.
• The use of questioning and interaction to support children’s learning.

Other Issues

Response to recommendations or to requirements made at previous inspectionThere were no recommendations or requirements made at the previous inspection.

Recommendations for improvement

• The headteacher and staff should develop effective planning with a focus on what children are expected to learn and how this will be achieved.
• The headteacher and staff should further develop children’s profiles to include information gained from observations and from parents, examples of children’s work, and to make these more readily accessible to parents.
• The headteacher and staff should improve the areas of the curriculum as identified in the report.
• The headteacher should develop procedures for self-evaluation to include the views of staff, parents and children.
• The headteacher should develop systematic and rigorous systems to monitor and evaluate the work of the service.
• The headteacher, local authority and staff should ensure appropriate ICT is available to meet the needs of the curriculum.
• Senior managers should develop a written policy to explain how the service intends to meet requirements of the Scottish Social Services Council’s codes of practice.

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.

Margaret Stirling
HM Inspectorate of Education