Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Quarry Brae Primary School Nursery Class
Glasgow City Council
9 June 2004
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
Copies of this report have been sent to the headteacher, staff and
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.
Complaints Co-ordinator
Headquarters
Care Commission
Compass House
Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
Hazel Dewart
HM Inspectorate of Education
Saughton House
Broomhouse Drive
EDINBURGH
EH11 3XD
Crown Copyright 2004
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
Quarry Brae Primary School
Nursery Class
Glasgow City Council
Introduction
Quarry Brae Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in
February 2004 as part of the integrated inspection programme by
the Care Commission and HM Inspectorate of Education. The
nursery catered for children from age three to five years. At the
time of the inspection the roll was 37.
The environment
The accommodation provided a warm, welcoming and secure
environment with displays of children’s work attractively
presented. The layout of the room provided areas for children to
play individually or in groups. An enclosed outdoor play area was
located within the school playground. Plans were in place to
further develop the area. Procedures were in place for health and
safety, fire safety and reporting repairs. Fire drill records needed
to be extended to include the numbers of children and time taken
to evacuate. Staff carried out appropriate risk assessments for
aspects of accommodation and for outings. They had developed
procedures for administering first aid and medication and
recording accidents. Staff implemented appropriate food hygiene
and infection control measures.
Quality of children’s experience
Staff knew children well and paid good attention to the physical
and emotional needs of children. They were caring and
considerate and ensured that new children were well supported.
Overall, staff interaction to support and extend children’s learning
was good. On some occasions, however, they needed to use
their skill more effectively to extend play and encourage children
to think and persevere.
The curriculum was fair overall. Staff had introduced new and
appropriate procedures for planning and recording children’s
progress. However, staff should observe and identify children’s
needs and interests, and use this information when planning
activities to ensure progression in children’s learning.
•
The programme for emotional, personal and social
development was good. Children were happy and relaxed.
Staff made good use of praise and encouragement to
promote self esteem and confidence. Children played
co-operatively together and were establishing good hygiene
practices. They needed more opportunities to be
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independent at snack time and to take responsibility for small
tasks.
•
The programme for communication and language was fair.
Staff promoted children’s enjoyment of books using an
attractive book area and effective story telling techniques.
Children were using writing materials in the imaginative play
area to make shopping lists. Some were showing an interest
in writing words and letters. However, staff needed to make
more use of print and labelling around the room. They
needed to provide more opportunities for children to use
books to find information, and develop their skills in early
writing in play activities.
•
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the
world was good. Staff made good use of visits to shops,
parks and the local area to extend children’s understanding of
weather, the world of work and shopping. Children were
developing an understanding of information communications
technology (ICT) using a computer for matching games and a
camera to record their achievements. Children were making
good progress in counting, matching and recognising shapes
and colours. However, they needed more opportunities to
extend their understanding of early science such as planting
and growing. They needed more opportunities to investigate
and solve simple problems.
•
The programme for expressive and aesthetic development
was fair. Children enjoyed role-play activities. They used
scissors, glue and paper to make mobiles. However, staff
needed to provide a wider range of opportunities for children
to express their ideas and feelings in art and craft. Children
needed more experience of exploring sounds and percussion
instruments in music making.
•
The programme for physical development and movement was
fair. Children demonstrated good hand control when using
scissors, stacking cups and moving the computer mouse.
Staff made some use of a programme to develop skills in
using balls and simple gymnastic equipment. However, staff
needed to make more effective use of the large hall and
outdoor area to ensure that all children have daily access to
energetic physical play.
Support for children and families
Staff had developed positive relationships with parents. They
shared information informally on a daily basis and paid good
attention to the care and welfare needs of children. Parents
found staff approachable and helpful and were confident that their
children were happy and settled in nursery. Some parents had
found a recent curriculum evening very helpful. However, staff
needed to make more use of newsletters, the noticeboard and
meetings to share information on children’s learning with parents.
Staff passed information on children’s progress to the receiving
primary classes. However, arrangements to support children at
the time of transition needed to be improved both within the
school and with other primary schools. Staff attended meetings
with other professionals involved in working with children.
However, the information shared at these meetings needed to be
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used to develop individualised educational plans for some
children.
Management
The management team consisted of an acting headteacher and
an acting depute head. The acting head had been in post for six
weeks and the acting depute head for three months. The acting
depute head had responsibility for the management of the
nursery. Both were approachable and supportive and had
fostered effective staff teamwork. They had developed good
relationships with parents and children and demonstrated
effective leadership overall. The roles and responsibilities of the
management team and staff were clearly defined and
communicated to staff and parents. They were committed to
providing a continuously improving service and had a good
understanding of national and local priorities. They now needed
to work with staff to improve the curriculum in the nursery class.
They needed to develop more systematic procedures for
monitoring and evaluating the overall quality of provision.
Records, plans and policies were in place in line with local and
national guidance. A handbook containing policy statements and
procedural guidance was available to parents.
All staff had undergone a safe recruitment procedure in line with
national guidance and were qualified in education or childcare.
There were appropriate ratios of staff to children. Staff were well
supported in their professional development and given
opportunities to take part in a range of training courses. The
nursery had procedures for employee development and review.
These needed to be implemented for all staff.
Key strengths
•
The welcoming environment created by staff.
•
The positive relationships among staff, parents and children.
•
The commitment of the management team to the
improvement of the service.
Recommendations for improvement
•
Staff should observe and identify children’s needs and
interests more systematically, and use the information when
planning activities.
•
Staff should improve the programmes as outlined in this
report.
•
Staff should work in partnership with other professionals to
create individualised educational plans for some children.
•
The headteacher and depute should develop systematic
procedures for monitoring and evaluating the quality of the
service.
•
The headteacher should fully implement the procedures for
employee development and review.
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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.
Margaret Hinshelwood
Care Commission
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Muriel Weir
HM Inspectorate of Education