There are some 2500 centres in Scotland which provide part-time, funded pre-school education. HMIE have inspected these centres in collaboration with the Care Commission. The evidence in this section is taken mainly from evaluations of quality made by inspectors during the inspection of 1600 centres between 2003 and 2005. Evaluations were made against a four-point scale as follows:
Very good: |
major strengths |
Good: |
strengths outweigh weaknesses |
Fair: |
some important weaknesses |
Unsatisfactory: |
major weaknesses |
Analysis of HMIE evidence from these inspection reports identified clear patterns within the quality indicators.3 Information was analysed in detail across all pre-school centres: local authority, independent, private and voluntary.
Inspectors compared the percentage of teachers employed across the range of pre-school centres. The information is set out in table 1 against each sector type. Teachers were employed in all local authority nursery schools and primary schools with nursery classes and independent school nursery classes. Tables 2b, 3b and 4b, therefore, have no entry for percentages without a teacher. Local authority family centre provision is included in the evaluations for nursery schools. These did not always have a teacher employed. In the majority of private and voluntary centres, no teachers were employed.
TABLE 1
PERCENTAGE OF CENTRES WITH AND WITHOUT TEACHERS BY SECTOR TYPE
The data in tables 2a/b, 3a/b and 4a/b on the following pages provide detailed information on key quality indicators from inspections of different types of pre-school centres. They display evaluations of key quality indicators (staff/child interaction, meeting children’s needs, support for children will additional support needs, and leadership) separated into those centres with and without teachers.
STAFF/CHILD INTERACTION
The interaction of staff with young children is fundamental in providing them with the support they need to become confident individuals eager to explore and investigate their learning environment. Well-judged intervention by adults, knowledgeable about each child and their stages of development, is critical in extending and enhancing learning. Evidence showed higher evaluations where teachers were involved in the provision. Local authority nursery schools/family centres with teacher involvement had 16% more evaluations of very good compared to those centres without teacher input (65% compared to 49%). Within the private and voluntary sectors, the differences were similar with 14% more very good evaluations where teachers were involved compared with no teacher involvement.
TABLE 2A:
STAFF/CHILD INTERACTION IN CENTRES WITH A TEACHER
TABLE 2B:
STAFF/CHILD INTERACTION IN CENTRES WITHOUT A TEACHER
MEETING CHILDREN’S NEEDS
Evidence for meeting pre-school children’s needs showed a measurable difference in the percentage of very good evaluations of centres with teachers, compared to those without a teacher. Around twice as many local authority nursery schools and family centres (51%) with teacher involvement were evaluated as very good contrasted against those with no teacher input (28%). A similar picture was seen in the private and voluntary sectors with more than twice the percentage of establishments with teacher input evaluated as very good in comparison to those centres without.
TABLE 3A:
MEETING CHILDREN’S NEEDS IN CENTRES WITH A TEACHER
TABLE 3B:
MEETING CHILDREN’S NEEDS IN CENTRES WITHOUT A TEACHER
Percentages may not always total 100 due to rounding.
Support for Children with Additional Support Needs
Teachers had a significant impact in supporting the development and learning of all children and, in particular, those who had additional support needs. They had an important role in delivering an appropriate experience for children who had complex learning needs and in ensuring that additional support plans were being developed where appropriate. In the private and voluntary sectors, there were considerable differences in the percentage of evaluations of very good in centres with teachers in contrast to those without. About twice as many (31% against 17% and 41% against 19% respectively) were considered very good where teachers were involved. Local authority provision generally had more established working partnerships with other professionals, such as educational psychologists, who supported children’s needs.
TABLE 4A:
SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS IN CENTRES WITH A TEACHER
TABLE 4B:
SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH ADDITIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS IN CENTRES WITHOUT A TEACHER
LEADERSHIP
The quality of leadership was key to ensuring positive outcomes for children in all centres. Staff who had a high level of understanding and knowledge of pedagogy and child development were able to use their skills to lead the learning and model high quality interaction with young children, taking account of their stages of development. Local authority nursery schools achieved the highest percentage of very good evaluations for leadership (68%). These were led by experienced teachers who often also held additional special qualifications in early education. Where teachers were employed, the overall percentage of unsatisfactory and fair evaluations was reduced compared to those centres without a teacher. The smaller difference between the percentage of good and very good evaluations in voluntary provision was often the result of how teachers were deployed. The key role teachers had in these centres was a peripatetic support to help staff with planning the curriculum. This did not have the same direct impact on leadership of the centre. Across sectors, where the quality of provision was found to be weakest, there was a close link with leadership being evaluated as fair or unsatisfactory.
In centres aiming to improve their performance, service providers should take steps to improve management and leadership skills to ensure a higher quality of provision and improve the outcomes for pre-school children’s learning.
TABLE 5A:
LEADERSHIP IN CENTRES WITH A TEACHER
TABLE 5B:
LEADERSHIP IN CENTRES WITHOUT A TEACHER
