Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Meadowburn Primary Gaelic Medium
Nursery
East Dunbartonshire Council
31 May 2006
Meadowburn Primary Gaelic Medium Nursery
Lendale Lane
Bishopbriggs
Glasgow
G64 4BD
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
Child at the Centre Quality Indicator
Standard 2 – A Safe Environment
Resources
Standard 4 – Engaging with Children
Development and learning through play
Standard 5 – Quality of Experience
Curriculum
Children’s development and learning
Support for children and families
Standard 6 – Support and Development
Standard 14 – Well-managed Service
Management, Leadership and Quality
Assurance
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
Good
Fair
Unsatisfactory
:
:
:
:
major strengths
strengths outweigh weaknesses
some 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.
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:
Complaints Coordinator
Headquarters
Care Commission
Compass House
Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
Hazel Dewart
HM Inspectorate of Education
Denholm House
Almondvale Business Park
Almondvale Way
Livingston
EH54 6GA
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.
_______________________________
Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Meadowburn Primary Gaelic Medium
Nursery
East Dunbartonshire Council
Introduction
Meadowburn Primary Gaelic Medium Nursery was inspected in
March 2006 as part of the integrated inspection programme by
the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education. HMIe
carried out this inspection on behalf of both organisations and
consulted the Care Commission about its findings. The nursery
catered for pre-school children aged three to five years. It was
registered for 20 children attending at any one session. At the
time of the inspection the total roll was 19.
The environment
Standard 2
The nursery Gaelic unit was located in a room of a purpose-built,
single-storey building in the grounds of the primary school. The
playroom was bright and attractively decorated with a variety of
children’s art work and photographs. The limited space was used
effectively to enable children to play independently or in small
groups. Play equipment was in good condition and items of
interest were displayed to help to provide a stimulating
environment and focus for learning.
The outdoor play area was enclosed and work had started on
developing the play and garden area further. In consultation with
children and parents, staff were developing plans to enhance and
extend children’s opportunities for physical activity out-of-doors
and exploration of the natural environment. Children had weekly
access to the school gym hall for energetic play.
Staff carried out risk assessments for a range of nursery
procedures and paid careful attention to children’s health, safety
and security.
Quality of children’s experience
Standard 4 & 5
Staff had developed very positive relationships with children.
They interacted very effectively to support play activities.
Through these interactions, they helped build children’s
confidence and at times extend their learning. Staff made very
good use of praise to encourage effort and sustain interest. They
provided a broad and well-balanced range of activities for
children. Children had very good opportunities for free play and
to make choices and decisions in their learning. Children were
well motivated and concentrated for very good periods of time on
their chosen tasks.
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Staff met regularly to plan and evaluate the quality of the
children’s learning experiences. They planned effectively to
include the five key aspects of children’s development and
learning and took very good account of children’s interests. They
had established good procedures for recording children’s
progress. Staff planned to review systems for gathering
information about children’s learning to ensure observations were
the basis and clear focus for planning future learning for children.
Parents were appropriately informed of their children’s progress
through informal procedures, written reports and consultation
meetings.
Features of the programmes for children included the following.
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•
The very good programme for emotional, personal and social
development provided children with many opportunities to be
independent and confident. Children were happy and settled
in the nursery and were familiar with daily routines and
simple rules such as tidying up toys. They were able to put
name labels on their pieces of work once they had completed
them. They were forming friendships and were developing
an awareness of the needs of others. Almost all cooperated
and shared well. They responded very well to opportunities
to be involved in decision making in the nursery. These
included deciding which construction activities were to be
used for the session and planning their own areas of play.
•
The programme for communication and language was very
good. Staff provided a range of opportunities for children to
develop their skills in talking and listening in Gaelic. Children
talked confidently to adults and each other. Children listened
attentively to information and responded appropriately to
questions in Gaelic. Some chose to look at and handle
books by themselves in the book area. Children could
recognise their name in print and some could write their
name and some words. The ‘vet hospital’ provided additional
opportunities for children to develop skills in early writing.
Children used clip boards to keep records of animal illnesses
and medication. They had created cards and wrote
messages inside for parents and friends.
•
The programme for developing knowledge and
understanding of the world was very good. Children had
many opportunities to observe and investigate. They had
experiences in making boats and testing out whether they did
or did not float. A few used a digital camera well to record
events in the nursery. A focus on animals led to discussions
about stripes and spots on animals’ skins. Children
measured and counted cupfuls of ingredients when making
play dough. They showed interest in comparing their own
heights and had recorded their findings on a chart. Children
were learning about the world of work through visitors to the
nursery including school crossing patrol, community police,
fire-fighter and paramedic.
•
The programme for expressive and aesthetic development
was very good. When gluing, children concentrated very well
and were able to talk about the shapes and colours of the
materials they were using. There were good opportunities for
role-play activities in the ‘vet hospital’ area. Children
developed imaginary roles as vets and used bandages to
wrap animals’ wounds and cared for them. Children happily
participated in singing a Gaelic lullaby and songs. Some
enjoyed using instruments independently to express their
ideas and emotions. Children were encouraged to paint and
to create models using clay and play dough.
•
The programme for physical development and movement
was good. Children were developing good hand and finger
control using brushes, scissors, construction toys, pencils
and jigsaws. They were learning to balance on stepping
stones and beams in the outdoor physical area. They
climbed, ran and swung on a very good range of large-scale
apparatus. Children enjoyed a timetabled period each week
in the school gym hall where they were learning to cooperate
with others in physical games. Due to restrictions of space
there was no daily indoor physical activity provided.
However, staff had plans to enhance children’s daily physical
experiences outdoors, once the improvements to the garden
and play area were completed.
Support for children and families
Standard 6
Staff had established very good relationships with children and
their families. Parents received information about the work of the
nursery through regular newsletters, parents’ meetings, informal
discussion and informative notice boards. They were
encouraged to attend various curricular meetings about the work
of the nursery and aspects of their child’s development. All
parents who responded to the pre-inspection questionnaire were
very satisfied with all aspects of the nursery. There was a wellplanned programme of induction which supported children
transferring to primary school. These procedures eased the
transition for children moving between nursery and P1.
Information on children’s progress was appropriately shared with
parents and the receiving P1 teacher.
Staff were knowledgeable about children and where necessary
had developed clear plans to support children who required
additional help with their learning. They had effective links with
staff from support agencies including the psychological services,
social work and health. Appropriate individualised educational
programmes (IEPs) were in place, as required, for children with
additional learning needs and parents were actively consulted
and involved in the process.
Management
Standard 14
The headteacher provided very good leadership for the nursery.
She was highly committed and provided strong direction,
guidance and support for staff. Staff felt supported and valued by
the headteacher. The headteacher had a clear vision for the
future development of the nursery which was shared effectively
with staff and parents. Roles and responsibilities within the
nursery were clearly defined and understood.
The nursery had sound and comprehensive policies and
procedures which provided helpful guidance for staff.
Relationships between staff were very good and they worked
very well as a team. They had developed very positive
relationships with parents. A system of professional development
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and review in which individual training needs were identified had
been established for the nursery teacher. Staff were aware of
child protection procedures and followed these appropriately.
Regular reviews to keep staff updated on procedures for
protecting children were in place. The headteacher and staff
were also aware of the role of the Scottish Social Services
Council and its Codes of Practice.
All staff were involved in monitoring and evaluating the work of
the nursery. Members of the nursery team had attended training
in self-evaluation to help them lead, support and take some
responsibility for evaluating the work of the nursery. The
headteacher monitored the overall operation of the nursery and
children’s development and learning very effectively. She
provided written feedback on planning. Staff sought the views of
parents on how well the nursery was working using
questionnaires and discussion. The development plan for the
nursery identified appropriate priorities for improving the service
and members of the nursery team were allocated time to support
their implementation.
Key strengths
•
The very good support provided by staff in developing
children’s communication in the Gaelic language.
•
The very good programmes in emotional, personal and social
development, communication and language, knowledge and
understanding of the world and expressive and aesthetic
development.
•
The very positive relationships with parents and support
provided to families and children requiring additional help.
•
Effective team working, enthusiasm and hard work of the
nursery staff.
•
The commitment and leadership of the headteacher to the
continuous improvement and development of the nursery
provision.
Other Issues
Response to
recommendations or to
requirements made at
previous inspection
The nursery had acted upon the recommendations from the
previous inspection report.
Recommendations for improvement
4
•
Staff should review systems for observing children and use
the information gathered in a more focused way to plan for
children’s next steps in learning.
•
Staff should continue as planned to improve the use of
outdoor facilities to develop children’s physical skills and
increase opportunities for exploring the natural environment
on a daily basis.
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.
Liz Oliver
HM Inspectorate of Education
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