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

29 March 2006

Mount Pleasant Primary School Nursery Class
Castletown Road
Thurso
Caithness
KW14 8HL

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

Mount Pleasant Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in December 2005 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 26 children attending any one session. At the time of the inspection the total roll was 36.

The environment

Standard 2

The nursery class was located within the main building of the primary school. There was a helpful notice board and attractive displays of children’s creative work in the large cloakroom/reception area just outside the main playroom. This area was well used by parents. Children had weekly access to the school gym, school hall, music room and library. They used the special education unit’s playroom when available. The nursery was generally well resourced, but there was not a lot of space within the main playroom. Staff needed to ensure best use was made of the space available. The outside play area was too small and was not safe and secure. Refurbishment of the outside play area, to incorporate improved safety features and more stimulating play opportunities, had been agreed. The work had been delayed due to unexpected circumstances.

There was considerable condensation at the windows in the playroom and the window frames showed signs of corrosion and mould. Radiator covers had been fitted to three of the five radiators in the main playroom. However, gaps had been left between the guards and the radiators so that risks remained. Other radiators in the toilet area and reception area had not been covered. The surface temperature of the radiators posed a health and safety risk and these matters required attention.

The main entrance to the nursery was secure, but the door to the playroom was left open during the nursery sessions. While this allowed children easy access to the toilets, it also enabled them to access other parts of the school and the nursery’s main entrance. The nursery needed a suitable security system to ensure that staff were immediately aware if children left the nursery area unaccompanied. Staff had undertaken risk assessments for some activities and outings. They now needed to risk assess all aspects of the premises, both internal and external.

Quality of children’s experience

Standard 4 & 5

Staff enjoyed good relations with children and were aware of their care needs. They had good expectations of behaviour, to which children responded well. However, the overall quality of staff interaction with children was fair. Staff did not always intervene effectively enough to extend children’s play and encourage them to solve problems. Children readily engaged in the interesting activities provided, but the range of activities was not sufficiently wide or challenging for all children. Children, who played in Santa’s Grotto, were well motivated in small groups. Children did not have sufficient time to develop and extend play situations.

The nursery team met regularly to plan and had identified general learning outcomes for children in the long- and medium-term. Staff did not make enough use of information from observations of children to plan next steps in their learning. Staff discussed children’s progress with parents. Such meetings were supported by books containing a few samples of children’s work and photographs of their time in nursery.

Features of the programmes for children included the following.

• The programme for children’s emotional, personal and social development was good. Children were happy, confident and well behaved. They understood and followed simple nursery rules and routines. Staff encouraged children to play cooperatively and to be aware of the needs of others. Children were developing independence through helping at snack time and putting on outdoor clothes. They were encouraged to express their own choices and plan for the session. Staff provided various rewards to recognise children’s achievements but these had little impact. Children were not sufficiently supported by staff during social activities such as snack. They were not given sufficient opportunities to use their initiative.
• The programme for the development of children’s communication and language was fair. Children talked confidently for a range of purposes and many were articulate. However, they did not always listen well to adults and each other, especially in a large group. Children did not access the book corner independently. The book corner was not very inviting. Most children recognised their own name when it was written. They took part in some early writing activities, such as signing a card at the writing table. However, there were not enough opportunities to practise early writing skills through play.
• The programme for children’s knowledge and understanding of the world was fair. Children were learning about the natural world through a project about autumn. They were learning about the local environment and had recently visited the supermarket. Staff made good use of photographs to record trips. They encouraged children to be aware of healthy lifestyles and they had been successfully involved in the health-promoting-school project. Children could recognise colours. Staff had not sufficiently developed the programme in information and communications technology or provided enough resources for children to use. They did not provide enough activities for children to learn about other cultures. Staff did not provide sufficient opportunities for children to observe and investigate, solve simple problems or use mathematical skills in their play.
• The programme for children’s expressive and aesthetic development was good. Children experienced a good range of art and craft activities. They used the materials provided creatively. Staff valued children’s work and praised them for their creations. The music teacher encouraged children to sing in tune. Children took part enthusiastically in singing songs for the Christmas show. They readily engaged in role-play and acted out characters. However, they did not have sufficient staff support or a role-play area to develop stories.
• The programme for children’s physical development and movement was good. Staff offered a good range of energetic activities. They made effective and weekly use of the school hall and gym hall to develop a range of skills. Children had access to outdoor play most days. They were developing skills in riding wheeled toys, running, throwing and kicking balls. Children were not sufficiently aware of their safety in outdoor play. Staff provided good opportunities for children to develop control of fingers and hands through using pens, scissors, brushes and construction toys.

Support for children and families

Standard 6

Staff had established good relationships with children and their families. They provided formal and informal opportunities for parents to discuss children’s progress. Staff organised workshops for parents on reading and story sacks to encourage children’s reading at home. Staff had encouraged parents to come to nursery for a coffee morning to raise funds for charity. Parents who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire were very satisfied with the work of the nursery and the support their children received. Staff effectively supported younger children when they started nursery. They ensured their needs were met through providing appropriate support. Staff had a well-planned programme to ease children’s transition from nursery to P1.

Staff had a helpful policy for working with children requiring additional support. They liaised with other professionals and shared information to ensure appropriate support for children. Staff had not yet developed programmes for children requiring additional support.

Management

Standard 14

The headteacher supported the nursery staff and was enthusiastic about the overall nursery provision as an integral and important part of the school. She was a regular visitor to the nursery, spending time with the children and holding informal meetings and discussion with nursery staff. The nursery cluster teacher had overall responsibility for record keeping. She worked closely with the full-time nursery staff.

The recently-appointed principal teacher had not yet fully developed her role within the management of the nursery. She had taken responsibility for the formal appraisal system of the full-time team. However, the headteacher, in consultation with all staff, needed to develop systematic, rigorous, evidence-based procedures for recording, monitoring and evaluating all aspects of the nursery to inform future developments.

All staff were aware of, and working with, a good range of policies and procedures, including behaviour management and child protection. All policies and procedures were available to parents, and the most relevant were included in the nursery handbook. The complaints procedure should be displayed on the main notice board. It should be worded to encourage a complainant to use the school procedures in the first instance rather than going directly to the Care Commission. All staff had been issued with copies of the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice.

Key strengths

• Happy, well-behaved children.
• Staff valuing and displaying children’s own creative work.
• The nursery team promoting healthy lifestyles in line with the whole-school policy.

Other Issues

Response to recommendations or to requirements made at previous inspection

The requirement regarding the damp and condensation problems at the windows had not been addressed fully.

Recommendations for improvement

• Staff should make more effective use of interaction to extend and support children’s learning.
• Staff should improve the programmes in language and communication and knowledge and understanding of the world as detailed in this report.
• Risk assessments should be undertaken for all aspects of the premises, both internal and external. The risk assessments should include security aspects of the nursery.
• The headteacher, working with staff, should introduce a more rigorous and systematic monitoring and evaluation process.
• The complaints procedure should be displayed on the main notice board and should encourage a complainant to use the school procedures in the first instance.

Requirements

• Action should be taken to ensure the safety of all radiators within the nursery area and all other parts of the school used by children attending the nursery. Action must also be taken to remedy the problems of damp and condensation at the windows.

This is to comply with Scottish Statutory Instrument 2002 Number 114 Regulation 10(2)(c) Fitness of premises.

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.