Integrated Inspection by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education of
Moray Primary School Nursery Class
Falkirk Council

15 December 2004

Moray Primary School Nursery Class
Moray Place
Grangemouth
FK3 9DL

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

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 or make a complaint about any aspect of the inspection or about this report you should write either to the Care Commission or to HM Inspectorate of Education at the address below. If you are still dissatisfied with our services, you can contact your member of the Scottish Parliament (or, if you prefer, any other MSP). You can also contact the Scottish Parliamentary Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is fully independent and has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and Agencies.

Crown Copyright 2004

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

Moray Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in September 2004 as part of the integrated inspection programme by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education. The nursery catered for children from age three to five years. At the time of the inspection the roll was 57.

The environment

Standard 2

The nursery class was part of the primary school but had a separate entrance from the playground. The lack of a security system and the cramped entrance vestibule meant that it was very difficult for staff to see if children were following their parents back out of the nursery. A dividing wall within the classroom meant that staff cover of the room was difficult when children were playing outdoors. Activities had to be limited accordingly. Water temperature at children’s sinks needed to be regulated. All these issues were to be addressed as part of a planned programme of refurbishment but the education authority had not yet identified a date for work to commence.

Staff had created a warm and welcoming ethos. Children’s artwork was attractively displayed within the premises. The layout of the nursery allowed children to play in small groups or independently. There was no space for energetic physical play within the nursery but children had very regular access to a large outdoor area and weekly use of the school gym.

A wide range of very well-organised and well-maintained resources was available. Appropriate measures were taken to monitor access to the internet. Staff enforced good hygiene routines but needed to review the dishwashing system after snack to reduce the risk of infection. The fridge temperature was too high and staff needed to ensure this was regulated. The certificate of registration, insurance certificate and complaints policy were not displayed for parents.

Quality of children’s experience

Standard 4 & 5

Staff interacted very well with children to support and extend their learning. They encouraged children to work out the answers to questions by guiding and supporting them appropriately. They valued children’s contributions and offered them a range of activities to meet their differing needs. Staff were very committed to offering high quality experiences for children and worked very well as a team. Each child was welcomed individually at the start of the session.

Assessment, recording and planning were very good. Staff observed children at play very carefully and used this information to plan appropriate activities. Activities were planned, reviewed regularly and changed as necessary. Staff gathered folios of children’s work which gave clear examples of progress. These were shared with parents in June each year and passed on to P1. Children were offered high quality experiences in the five key areas of their development and were highly motivated.

Features of the programmes for children included the following.

• The programme for emotional, personal and social development was very good. Staff encouraged children to develop independence by allowing them time to persevere at activities which they found difficult. They encouraged an awareness of others by celebrating a variety of cultural festivals and collecting regularly for charity. Children were learning to share and cooperate with others. They were secure with routines and developing friendships. Children were enthusiastic and confident learners.
• In the very good programme for communication and language, staff encouraged early writing activities indoors and outdoors. This included, for example, a large chalkboard, notepads, pens and ‘magic slates’ available in the outdoor play area. Children recognised the link between the written and the spoken word with ‘stories’ written to accompany their pictures in an album. Staff encouraged them to ‘read’ for information from, for example, the packaging at snack time. An attractive story corner and lending library encouraged a love of books. Staff reviewed the previous day’s story with the children and encouraged them to use the language when playing with finger puppets.
• The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world was very good. Children were gaining a basic understanding of number in a variety of real-life situations. This included, for example, counting out the yoghurts to set the table for snack. Children were able to sort shapes and matching tools at the workbench to the appropriate shape on the shelf. They observed change through regular baking and seasonal activities. They had access to a computer in the nursery room. Pre-school children used the computer suite in the school and an overhead projector had recently been purchased for children to use. Staff provided small interesting displays around the room where children could explore using the materials set out and gain more information from books related to the topic. Staff made very good use of visitors and outings to extend children’s knowledge.
• The programme for expressive and aesthetic development was very good. Children had many opportunities to express themselves freely. They participated enthusiastically in role-play in the home area and outdoors. Staff introduced stories, for example, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and then supported children to re-enact the story using finger puppets. Children were exploring sound through musical instruments and sound mats. The majority were confidently joining in with group singing although some had only been in nursery a short time. Children had many opportunities to paint and draw both indoors and outdoors. They had free access to a variety of materials including junk modelling.
• The programme for physical development and movement was very good. Children had the opportunity for energetic play outdoors during both the morning and the afternoon session. Most children were suitably challenged when using the large equipment available outdoors. The most able children had their needs met through access to the equipment in the school gym hall. Staff provided a wide range of equipment to develop control of hands and other parts of the body including a workbench, balancing activities and ball skills. They encouraged healthy eating.

Support for children and families

Standard 6

Staff supported children and families very well. They were flexible and responsive to children’s needs. They had established links with a wide range of support services including a family support worker employed by Falkirk Council to address needs in their local area. Returns of the pre-inspection questionnaire were very low because children had only been in nursery a few days at the time they were issued. However, those which were returned expressed total satisfaction with all aspects of provision. This was further confirmed by parents spoken to on the day of the inspection. Staff kept parents informed of their children’s education through curriculum information, open days, parents’ evenings, newsletters and home-link sheets or books, as needed.

Children with additional educational needs were very well supported. Individual educational programmes were used to identify appropriate goals. Parents/carers and members of other agencies, as appropriate, were involved in this process. Two support assistants and a specialist teacher were directly involved with children with hearing impairment. Staff used additional communication methods such as visual timetables.

Management

Standard 14

The nursery was very well managed. The headteacher was very supportive of staff and had a very good understanding of the work of the nursery. She had a strong vision for its development mainly linked to the proposed renovations. She was firmly committed to children learning through exploration and investigation and this was evident in the provision. The depute headteacher had responsibility to oversee the curriculum and was directly involved in the nursery for at least ninety minutes each week. Appropriate plans and policies were in place. A complaints policy was available but did not advise parents that they could go directly to the Care Commission. This should be amended.

Staff were involved in evaluating all aspects of provision. This information was then used to identify targets for improvement. Previous targets had been met and timescales identified for this year’s work. Parent questionnaires had been used to ascertain their views on some aspects of provision.

Key strengths

• The commitment of staff to knowing children as individuals and meeting their needs, abilities and interests.
• The range of very good experiences offered to children.
• The strong teamwork.
• The ethos of welcoming parents as partners.
• The strong management.

Other Issues

Response to recommendations or to requirements made at previous inspection

The nursery staff had completed most of the previous recommendations which they could progress independently and the others were targets within the current development plan. The education authority had not yet given a date for the start of any work relating to the premises.

Recommendations for improvement

• Management should revise the complaints policy to advise parents of direct access to the Care Commission.
• Management should ensure that the certificate of registration is clearly displayed.
• Staff should continue to offer high quality experiences for children.

Requirements

• The Education Authority must provide details of the planned refurbishment programme for the service including the date of commencement.

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.

Jan Wardlaw
HM Inspectorate of Education