Integrated Inspection by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education of
Lochee Primary School Nursery Class
Dundee City Council

14 June 2006

Lochee Primary School Nursery Class
Donald Street
Dundee
DD2 2RQ

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:

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.

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 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:

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 2006

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.

Introduction

Lochee Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in March 2006 as part of the integrated inspection programme by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education. The nursery catered for pre-school children aged three to five years. It was registered for 20 children attending at any one session. At the time of the inspection the total roll was 31.

The environment

Standard 2

The nursery was accommodated in two classrooms within the primary school. A small, enclosed outdoor area was also used by nursery children. The accommodation provided a safe environment, both indoors and out. One classroom was used for indoor energetic activities and music making. The main playroom was bright and stimulating. The layout of both playrooms allowed the children to play independently and to meet in small groups. Staff made effective use of children’s work and photographs to celebrate success.

Children had access to a good range of resources. Equipment was clean and almost all was well maintained. Appropriate procedures were in place to control the spread of infection.

Quality of children’s experience

Standard 4 & 5

Staff had created a warm and caring learning environment in which children played happily together. Overall, children had access to a broad curriculum. Not all children had sufficiently regular access to creative music making and indoor energetic activity due to the layout of the playrooms. Staff generally interacted well with children, but some staff did not effectively use questions and dialogue to support and extend learning. The majority of children chose activities well. Staff did not give good enough support to a few children to help them make choices. Staff provided a good balance between those activities children could choose and those directed by adults. However, there were times during the session when children were not engaged in learning activities.

Staff had good procedures in place for planning children’s learning and activities. Plans generally stated what children were expected to learn. However, staff did not make enough use of assessment information to indicate next stages in learning for individual children. Staff regularly observed children. They needed to further develop systems to record their observations, and link them more closely with assessment information.

Features of the programmes for children included the following.

• The programme for emotional, personal and social development was good. Children were happy in the nursery and were comfortable with simple rules. They helped prepare and serve snack and were aware of basic rules of hygiene. Staff supported them well in a tooth-brushing programme. Children took turns when playing board games and using the computer. They shared resources at the water tray. Most children dressed themselves for outdoor play. Staff celebrated children’s success by the effective use of stickers. They needed to develop children’s responsibility and independence more, to improve the learning environment.
• Overall, the programme for communication and language was good. The majority of children spoke confidently to adults and each other. Some children did not have sufficient opportunities to take part in extended conversations with adults. Staff provided good opportunities for children to develop awareness of letter sounds through the effective use of board games. Children listened well to stories and instructions in groups. A few children used the well-resourced writing area.
• The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world was very good. Staff provided good opportunities for children to develop skills in mathematics through play activities. Most children could count to ten. A few investigated capacity at the sand and water trays. They used simple computer programs independently, and staff provided good opportunities for them to use a digital video and camera. Staff supported children well to investigate seeds using magnifiers. Children helped care for the nursery goldfish. They had regular opportunities to bake.
• The programme for expressive and aesthetic development was good. Children played enthusiastically in the home corner. Staff provided a good range of art and craft activities. Children selected materials to use in collages and had made bubble prints. They enjoyed mixing thick paints, and a few modelled using papier mâché. They had regular opportunities to paint expressively. They joined in enthusiastically with singing games and rhymes. A few children used percussion instruments to create music. Staff did not provide sufficiently regular opportunities for children to create music using instruments within the main playroom.
• The programme for physical development and movement was good. Children were developing good hand and finger control through the use of cutlery, craft tools and jigsaws. Staff provided good opportunities for children to enjoy outdoor energetic activity. Children ran, skipped and rode wheeled equipment. Indoors, they climbed, slid and rolled. A few children were developing an awareness of space by jumping into, and out of, hoops. Staff had developed an appropriate programme when using the school gym hall. Staff did not provide sufficiently regular opportunities for children to engage in energetic activity within the main playroom.

Support for children and families

Standard 6

Staff knew children well and provided effective emotional and social support for them and their families. They shared information with parents through informal contact, written reports, regular newsletters, a well-organised notice board and an informative handbook. Parents felt very involved in the nursery. They had regular opportunities to help in the playroom. They had access to nursery plans and snack menus. Staff provided a suggestions box. Parents had access to a support group which met in school. Children regularly took books home to share with parents. Parents who were interviewed, and those who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire, were happy with the work of the nursery.

Staff provided good support for children with additional support needs. The senior management team and staff had made positive links with other agencies to support the needs of individual children. They kept parents informed of children’s progress through regular meetings. Senior school staff were in the process of creating individualised educational programmes for those children with additional support needs. They needed to ensure that records were kept of specific behaviour management interventions. Effective transition procedures were in place to assist those children starting school.

Management

Standard 14

The headteacher had delegated responsibility for managing aspects of the nursery to the depute headteacher. Together, they provided good leadership of the nursery. They had a clear vision for its future, which they shared with staff through regular team meetings. The staff team were ably supported by a visiting nursery teacher, and together they had formed good working relationships. A useful range of policies and procedures provided guidance to parents and informed staff practice. However, the headteacher needed to develop an appropriate policy and procedures for the use of restraint, and make these known to staff and parents.

The depute headteacher and staff had developed a quality assurance programme to regularly evaluate nursery provision. The depute headteacher monitored forward plans and provided written feedback for staff. She had started to monitor formally the quality of children’s learning and experiences. She needed to continue to develop and implement an appropriate programme to regularly monitor playroom practice.

Staff had access to a range of suitable training opportunities to further develop their knowledge and skills. The headteacher had not yet involved staff in a formal review process.

Staff had been trained in, and were aware of, their roles and responsibilities for protecting children. The senior management team and staff were aware of the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice and the implications for the nursery.

Key strengths

• Very good programme for knowledge and understanding of the world.
• Very good relationships with, and support for, parents.
• Commitment of the senior management team to the development of the nursery.

Other Issues

Response to recommendations or to requirements made at previous inspection

One recommendation was made at the last Care Commission inspection. This had been met.

Recommendations for improvement

• Staff should reorganise the pace of the session, and make more effective use of questions and dialogue to support and extend learning.
• Staff should improve procedures for assessing and recording children’s progress.
• Staff should provide more opportunities for children to take part in extended conversations.
• The senior management team should continue to develop and implement systematic and rigorous procedures to monitor the quality of children’s learning and experiences.
• The behaviour management policy of the nursery should include a statement on the use of restraint.

Requirements

All incidences of restraint must be recorded, with details of the form of restraint, the reason why it was necessary and the name of the person authorising it.

This is in order to comply with Scottish Statutory Instrument number 2002/114 Regulation 19(3) (a) — a requirement to keep records.

Timescale for implementation: 1 month from receipt of the inspection report.

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.