Integrated Inspection by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education of
St Ninian’s Primary School Nursery Class
Dundee City Council

31 August 2005

St Ninian’s Primary School Nursery Class
Dochart Terrace
Menzieshill
Dundee
DD2 4HB

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 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.

Introduction

St Ninian’s Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in March 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. At the time of the inspection the roll was 34.

The environment

Standard 2

The nursery was located in two separate playrooms within the primary school building. They offered a welcoming, safe and secure environment. The playrooms were in an adequate state of repair. The equipment was clean and well maintained. The layout and organisation of the spacious playrooms allowed children to work in large and small groups. One playroom offered a variety of opportunities for physical play which were enhanced further by an enclosed outdoor play area. Risk assessments of the outdoor and indoor play space had been completed. Appropriate measures had been implemented to control the spread of infection.

Improvements were required to the storage of medication and accident record keeping.

Quality of children’s experience

Standard 4 & 5

Staff planned a range of activities with a good balance between those children chose for themselves and those led by adults. Some children were not well motivated or sufficiently challenged by many of the activities. Staff needed to organise activities to enable them to track children’s reactions to activities and monitor the quality of their learning more easily. They did not structure the pace of session well to ensure children used their time purposefully.

Overall, staff interaction with children was fair. Not all staff interacted well or intervened effectively to extend or support children’s learning. They were not sufficiently positive in their approach to managing children’s behaviour. They did not use the guidance set out in the nursery’s behaviour policy nor help children follow rules or develop self discipline. Staff did not support children sufficiently well in learning to cooperate with adults and other children.

The nursery team met regularly to plan learning activities and took appropriate account of children’s interests. They had identified general long- and medium-term learning outcomes for children. Staff evaluated their planning and recorded children’s responses to activities. However, they did not take full account of the development and learning of individuals. Staff did not make sufficiently detailed observations of children to help plan the next steps in their learning.

Features of the programmes for children included the following.

• The programme for children’s emotional, personal and social development was good. Children knew their routines and were comfortable with them. They learned simple rules but some needed greater support to follow them. Children were independent at snack time and in dressing themselves. Many children were developing friendships. Some children were aware of the needs of others and cooperated with their friends. However, others were not sufficiently considerate of other children. Children expressed choices at snack time.
• The programme for children’s communication and language was fair. Children were developing skills in talking as they discussed their models and work with staff and friends. A few children used the writing table and some were able to write their own names. Children did not listen or talk well in whole group activities. They did not access the book corner on the day of the inspection. Staff needed to encourage children to use books independently. There was insufficient use of environmental print. Early reading and writing activities were not integrated well enough into children’s play.
• The programme for knowledge and understanding of the world was fair. Children investigated snow and magnets and learned about their properties by experimenting with these materials. They were developing good skills in counting, sorting and measuring. They used these skills well in their play. Children were learning about people at work such as firemen. However, staff needed to extend the range of visitors into the nursery and improve opportunities for children to learn about their own environment. Children did not have sufficient opportunities to develop skills in the use of suitable forms of information and communications technology. Staff did not plan a range of opportunities for children to learn about other cultures.
• The programme for children’s expressive and aesthetic development was fair. Staff valued children’s paintings and displayed them attractively on the wall. Some children knew songs and rhymes and sang as they played. The craft table was not used well and the materials available did not stimulate the children. Children needed to have access to a broad range of interesting materials to allow them to express their thoughts and feelings creatively. Children’s experience of role-play was limited.
• The programme for children’s physical development and movement was good. Children had free access to large-scale physical play throughout the free-play session. They had weekly sessions with the active school coordinator to develop skills. They were developing good skills in moving their bodies. Staff planned regular weekly access to the hall for gym lessons and children enjoyed energetic outdoor play most days. Children were not sufficiently aware of safe practices in physical play. They were developing good control of hands and fingers through the use of brushes and construction toys.

Support for children and families

Standard 6

Staff were developing effective support for families. A good range of methods for communicating with parents and sharing information with them was used. Parents completed booklets about children to contribute to children’s records. Staff provided helpful booklets for parents about how to help children at home. Parents and carers who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire expressed satisfaction with most aspects of the service. Some parents wanted more information about their children's progress and a clearer explanation of the work of the nursery. Although staff knew the children well, they kept very little information about each child’s progress and development. This limited their ability to respond appropriately to the needs of individual children.

Appropriate support arrangements were in place for children with additional support needs. Staff had regular contact with other agencies to support children, including educational psychology, speech therapy and bilingual services. They prepared individualised educational programmes where appropriate and attended regular review meetings with parents and agencies to identify progress and future support.

Management

Standard 14

The headteacher had delegated responsibility for the nursery to the recently appointed depute headteacher. The depute headteacher was implementing monitoring systems to improve the work of the nursery and was assisted effectively by the headteacher. She held helpful weekly meetings with staff and visited the nursery each week to monitor informally the quality of the work. The management team were working hard to achieve improvement in the nursery and had requested and received helpful advice from the local authority. They provided good leadership. Initiatives had yet to have an effect on day-to-day practice and show an improvement in children’s learning experiences and progress.

Appropriate policies and procedures were in place including child protection. The management team had introduced a range of helpful guidelines to improve daily practice and had worked hard with staff in the playroom. Staff had not yet implemented these guidelines and there had been little improvement in day-to-day practice. The management team had introduced formal and informal monitoring and evaluation of playroom provision but this had yet to impact on children’s experiences.

Key strengths

• The energetic physical play opportunities provided for children.
• The spacious environment and good outdoor facility.

Recommendations for improvement

• Staff should improve programmes for children’s development and learning as detailed in the report.
• Staff should make more effective use of interaction to extend and support children’s learning.
• Staff should improve the pace of the session and ensure that activities provide appropriate interest and challenge for all children.
• Staff should implement fully the nursery’s policy for positive behaviour management when managing children’s behaviour.
• As planned, staff should improve procedures for planning and assessment.
• The management team should continue to support, monitor and evaluate the work of the nursery.

Requirements

• The nursery must store all medication in a locked unit.
  Scottish Statutory Instrument 2002/114 Regulation 19(3)(j). Timescale for implementation is one month.

• Staff must ensure all details and treatment are recorded when an accident occurs.
  Scottish Statutory Instrument 2002/114 Regulation 4(1)(a). Timescale for implementation is immediate.

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.