Integrated Inspection by the
Care Commission and
HM Inspectorate of Education of
Abernethy Primary School
Nursery Class
The Highland Council
8 November 2006
Abernethy Primary School Nursery Class
Nethy Bridge
Inverness-shire
PH25 3ED
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
Abernethy Primary School
Nursery Class
The Highland Council
Introduction
Abernethy Primary School Nursery Class was inspected in
June 2006 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.
It was registered for 20 children attending at any one session. At
the time of the inspection the total roll was 17.
The environment
Standard 2
The nursery was accommodated in a recently-renovated
classroom within the primary school. Staff had created a safe,
bright, welcoming and friendly environment for children and their
parents. They had attractively decorated the playroom and
corridor with displays and photographs of children’s work. They
had also created interesting low-level displays which children
could explore and investigate. The nursery was well resourced.
The nursery had its own fully-enclosed outdoor area within the
school playing field which gave children regular opportunities for
energetic physical play. There was limited space within the
playroom for indoor energetic physical activity. However,
children had very regular access to the school gym hall.
An appropriate range of health and safety measures was in
place. Staff implemented good hygiene practices and carried out
daily risk assessments and safety checks. However, they had
not sufficiently reviewed risk assessments for preparing hot
drinks within the playroom.
Quality of children’s experience
Standard 4 & 5
Staff knew children very well and were caring and responsive to
their needs. Their interactions with children were very good.
They valued children’s efforts and achievements and had formed
very positive and supportive relationships with them. Children
were enthusiastic and eager to learn. Staff made very effective
use of discussion, dialogue and questioning to help children
develop their ideas and think more for themselves. They were
calm and consistent in managing children’s behaviour. Despite
planning for a balance of free play and more structured activities
for children, staff had not sufficiently reviewed the pace and
balance of the children’s day to ensure that all of their needs
were fully met. Their practice of all children having snack
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together every day interrupted children’s play and did not take
sufficient account of their differing needs.
Staff had good arrangements in place for planning children’s
learning and involved children in this process. They ensured that
daily activities were well organised and sufficiently flexible to
develop children’s interests. Their written plans showed clearly
how and what children were expected to learn. Staff observed
children and used this information to create detailed assessment
records for each child. However, these records did not yet clearly
identify next steps for their learning. Children had made
attractive folders which contained examples of their work and
shared these with their parents. Parents received an informative
annual written report on their children’s progress which staff
discussed with them at an annual parents’ evening.
Features of the programmes for children included the following.
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•
The programme for emotional, personal and social
development was very good. Children were cheerful and
confidently chose activities by themselves. Staff encouraged
them to persevere at these activities. They had settled well
into nursery routines and were comfortable with simple rules.
Staff used praise very well to develop children’s confidence
and promote their self esteem. They provided good
opportunities for children to play cooperatively and to share
resources. A few children worked very well together building
a train set. Others concentrated for long periods, creating
imaginative clay models. Staff encouraged children to take
responsibility for personal hygiene, changing shoes for
outdoor play and helping with snack. Children were
becoming more independent, were making and expressing
choices and beginning to develop friendships.
•
The programme for communication and language was good.
Children listened and talked confidently to adults and to each
other. Staff encouraged children to ask questions and to use
language to predict and describe events and experiences.
Children enjoyed recalling their participation in a recent
performance and talked about animal sounds they had made.
They listened very well at group storytime. Staff had created
an attractive, well-resourced library area. However, they
needed to encourage all children to handle and look at books
by themselves. A few children consulted recipe books in the
house corner to create ‘meals’ for their friends. Children
enjoyed regular visits to the mobile library where they chose
books for the nursery. They recognised their name in print
and a few wrote it. Despite staff creating a writing area, this
was not sufficiently well organised or resourced to encourage
children’s interest in early writing.
•
The programme for knowledge and understanding of the
world was very good. Staff planned well for children
throughout the year. They made very good use of outings
and visitors to the nursery to help children find out about their
own and the wider community. Children had effective
opportunities to learn about their own and other cultures
through celebrating various festivals. They were developing
simple science and investigative skills using a wide range of
materials. Children had enjoyed taking photographs using a
digital camera and were developing observation skills
through using a digital microscope. They were becoming
skilled in recognising colours, shapes and numbers. Staff
provided very good opportunities for children to understand
simple mathematical process such as counting, sorting,
matching and measuring.
•
The programme for expressive and aesthetic development
was very good. Children had used a wide range of materials
to create models, paintings, drawings and collage works. A
few children created very imaginative, clay mini-beasts.
Others made sensory pictures in the soft-sand tray. Staff
provided very good opportunities for children to enjoy
role-play. A few children had fun bathing dolls in the water
tray. Others enjoyed following recipes and ‘baking chocolate
brownies’ in the house corner. Staff provided a very good
range of musical instruments which children used freely to
create their own expressive music and investigate rhythm
and beat. Children enjoyed singing along with staff. They
knew the words and actions to a wide range of songs and
had all enjoyed singing for their families in a recent school
concert.
•
The programme for physical development and movement
was very good. Although space within the playroom was
restricted, staff provided very good opportunities for children
to enjoy daily, energetic activity. They used the gym hall well
to develop children’s awareness of space and for them to
explore different ways of using their bodies. Children also
had daily access to the enclosed, outdoor area and staff took
them for walks in the adjacent woodlands. Staff made good
use of the large playing fields where children accessed
stimulating and challenging equipment. They participated
with enthusiasm in running, balancing, climbing, throwing and
catching and kicking activities. Through such activities, staff
were appropriately helping children develop an awareness of
the importance of health and exercise. They provided very
good opportunities for children to further develop control of
their hands and fingers through various activities.
Support for children and families
Standard 6
Relationships between staff and children were very good. Staff
had a good knowledge of individual children and were building
appropriate relationships with their families. They had very good
links with parents and provided effective opportunities for them to
participate in the life of the nursery. Staff encouraged them to
spend time in the nursery and kept them well-informed through
an attractive handbook, regular newsletters, meetings and
informative notice boards. All parents who responded to surveys
were satisfied with all aspects of the nursery provision. Staff
organised a well-planned programme of induction for children
transferring to P1. They provided opportunities for children to
become familiar with other school facilities and to meet with staff.
The school had appropriately implemented a ‘buddy’ system
whereby older children provided support and friendship to those
entering P1.
Staff had created very good links within the community and with
other nurseries in the area. They shared resources, participated
in joint outings and helped children develop friendships. They
had also established effective relationships with a range of
outside professional agencies to support children who needed
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additional help with their learning. However, staff had still to
access training in recent changes to legislation regarding children
who needed such additional help.
Management
Standard 14
The headteacher provided good leadership and management of
the nursery. He had established very positive relationships with
staff, children and parents. He was very enthusiastic about
nursery provision as an integral part of the school and fostered
very good team work between the peripatetic nursery teacher,
the nursery assistant and the nursery auxiliary. The highlymotivated staff team was committed to the ongoing development
of the nursery.
The nursery had an appropriate range of policies and procedures
in place which provided clear guidance to staff and informed
parents on all aspects of nursery provision. Child protection
guidelines were followed appropriately and staff were aware of
their responsibilities for protecting children. The headteacher
planned further training in child protection. He had an effective
system of staff development and review in place which helped
identify and address staff training needs. All staff were
committed to ongoing professional development. Staff had
received copies of the Scottish Social Services Council Codes of
Practice and were aware of its implications for the nursery.
The headteacher had established a programme to monitor and
evaluate the quality of nursery provision and had identified a few
areas for improvement within the school development plan. The
headteacher also consulted parents regularly on the quality of
nursery provision. However, he had still to involve staff in
reviewing practice. With staff, he now needed to build on existing
systems and implement a more rigorous and systematic
approach to monitoring and evaluating the quality of the service.
Key strengths
•
Staff’s interactions with children which were having a positive
impact on their development and learning.
•
Very good programmes in emotional, personal and social
development, knowledge and understanding of the world,
expressive and aesthetic development and physical
development and movement.
•
The very welcoming and friendly atmosphere created by staff
and the very good relationships with children and families.
•
The commitment of the headteacher and the well-deployed
staff team.
Other Issues
Response to
recommendations or to
requirements made at
previous inspection
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There had been no previous inspection carried out by the Care
Commission as the nursery only began operating in
October 2005.
Recommendations for improvement
•
Staff should review the pace and balance of the children’s
day to ensure that all their needs are met.
•
With staff, the headteacher should continue to develop
rigorous systems for monitoring and evaluating all aspects of
the provision.
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 Irons
Care Commission
Carol Campbell
HM Inspectorate of Education
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