First Beginnings Nursery
Inverness
IV1 1NE
Highland
15 August 2007
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.
National Care Standard
Standard 4 – Engaging With Children
Standard 5 – Quality of Experience
Standard 6 – Support and Development
Standard 14 – Well-managed Service
Child at the Centre Quality Indicator
Staff/child interaction
Structure of the curriculum
Children’s progress and development and
learning through play
Meeting children’s needs and care routines
Partnership with parents
Leadership and Self-evaluation
Evaluations made using HMIE quality indicators use the following scale, and
these words are used in the report to describe the team’s judgements:
excellent
very good
good
adequate
weak
unsatisfactory
outstanding, sector leading
major strengths
important strengths, some areas for improvement
strengths just outweigh weaknesses
important weaknesses
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.
Introduction
First Beginnings Nursery was inspected in May 2007 as part of the integrated
inspection programme by the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of
Education. The nursery catered for pre-school children aged six weeks to five
years. It was registered for 65 children attending at any one session. At the
time of the inspection the total roll was 67.
Key strengths
• Happy children who were confident in the nursery environment.
• Very good care routines for children and their families.
• Staff committment to ongoing training.
How good is the quality of children’s experience?
Standard 4 & 5
Staff working with babies and toddlers had created a warm, caring learning
environment. Babies were contented and settled in their environment. Staff
provided appropriate activities, including natural materials for babies to explore
using their senses. Staff working with toddlers provided a good range of
activities for children to investigate, use their imagination and explore using
their senses. Overall, staff made good use of praise but were not consistent in
the quality of their intervention with children.
In the playrooms for children aged three to five years, staff were friendly and
approachable and had developed good relationships with children. Overall,
staff used praise appropriately to celebrate children’s achievements.
However, they did not consistently make effective use of questioning and
discussion to encourage children to think for themselves. Assessment
information was not effectively used to ensure appropriate progress in
children’s learning. Children were able to make choices confidently within the
planned activities. However, staff did not always ensure learning activities
were challenging and meeting the needs of individual children.
Children were happy and confident with nursery routines. Most children were
learning to cooperate and share toys. Children were developing
independence skills when serving snack and putting on their coats. They were
1
confident when talking to each other and to other adults. Most children
enjoyed listening to stories. Some children were experimenting with mark
making and a few were writing their name. Children would benefit from
increased opportunities to develop writing skills in play situations. Most
children had a good awareness of shape and colour. Some children were
developing a good understanding of numbers. A few used appropriate
mathematical language in play situations. Children were confident operating
simple programmes on the computer. They enjoyed singing and exploring
rhythm with musical instruments. They used the house corner and small world
play imaginatively. Children were developing good control of their hands and
fingers through use of a range of materials. They were confident in energetic
physical play and were developing an awareness of space. Some children
were becoming skilled in throwing and catching.
How well are children supported?
Standard 6
Staff had created a warm, welcoming environment for children and parents.
They kept parents well informed about the life of the nursery through a range
of informative notice boards, regular newsletters, displays of work and
photographs of children at play. Most parents who responded to the
pre-inspection questionnaire were satisfied with all aspects of the provision. A
few parents stated they would like more information about their child’s
progress. Staff were aware of child protection guidelines and of their duties in
keeping children safe.
Staff had appropriate procedures in place to ensure a smooth transition for
children moving to P1. They invited the local primary staff to visit the nursery
and shared the children’s assessment documents with them. Staff had good
links with the local community and were aware of the assistance support
agencies could provide. The manager had attended training on identifying and
assisting those children who required additional help with their learning. She
had not yet shared this information with staff.
Leading and improving the centre
Standard 14
The manager had good relationships with the recently-appointed deputes.
She had not yet identified clear remits and duties for the new management
team. Together, they provided adequate leadership of the nursery. Staff met
2
regularly as a team to share information. Staff enjoyed working in the nursery
and were beginning to work as part of a team.
An appropriate and supportive system of staff development and review
identified and addressed staff training needs. The manager and staff were
familiar with the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of Practice and their
implications for the workforce.
The manager had carried out an annual audit of all aspects of the provision to
identify key areas for improvement. She had developed an appropriate
development plan but had not ensured all staff were familiar with this. The
manager had not yet implemented formal systems for monitoring and
evaluating the quality of children’s experiences and practice within the
playroom.
Issues from previous inspections
Response to recommendations or to requirements or enforcement action made at
previous inspection.
At the last Care Commission singleton inspection there were two
recommendations. One had been addressed and one had been partly
addressed.
Recommendations for improvement
• Staff should be supported by the management team to ensure individual
children’s needs are being met through appropriate activities and
interaction.
• Staff should update their knowledge of legislation for children who require
additional support in their learning.
• The management team should establish systematic and robust procedures
for monitoring and evaluating all aspects of the provision.
3
The centre and the education authority have been asked to prepare an action
plan indicating how they will address the main findings of the report, and to
share that plan with parents. Within two years of the publication of this report
parents will be informed about the progress made by the centre.
Jacqueline Milliner
HM Inspectorate of Education
4
Paul Hersee
Care Commission
HOW TO CONTACT US
If you would like an additional copy of this report
Copies of this report have been sent to the head of service, 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 any aspect of 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:
Complaints Coordinator
Headquarters
Care Commission
Compass House
Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
Complaints Manager
HMIE Business Management Unit
HM Inspectorate of Education
Denholm House
Almondvale Business Park
Almondvale Way
Livingston EH54 6GA
You can also e-mail HMIEComplaints@hmie.gsi.gov.uk. A copy of our
complaints procedure is available from this office, by telephoning 01506
600200 or from our website at www.hmie.gov.uk.
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 (SPSO). The SPSO is fully independent and
has powers to investigate complaints about Government departments and
agencies. You should write to the SPSO, Freepost EH641, Edinburgh
EH3 0BR. You can also telephone 0800 377 7330 (fax 0800 377 7331) or
e-mail: ask@spso.org.uk. More information about the Ombudsman’s office
can be obtained from the website: www.spso.org.uk.
Crown Copyright 2007
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.