/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
© CROWN COPYRIGHT 2001
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Copies of this report may be obtained from the Inspection Services Branch, Department of Education, Rathgael House, 43 Balloo Road, Bangor, Co Down BT19 7PR. A copy is also available on the DE website: / FOLLOW-UP INSPECTION
OF
MOSSLEY NURSERY SCHOOL
NEWTOWNABBEY
MAY 2001
Chair of Board of Governors
Mossley Nursery School
Newtownabbey
Co Antrim
BT36 8NAAugust 2001
Dear Sir/Madam
FOLLOW-UP TO THE SHORT INSPECTION OF MOSSLEY NURSERY SCHOOL, NEWTOWNABBEY (311-6162)
The short inspection in February2000 highlighted strengths in the school including the friendly and supportive staff, the well behaved and mannerly children, the opportunities for energetic play, the well-developed links between the nursery and the neighbouring primary school and the supportive team approach. The inspection also identified the need for improvement in the following key areas:
  • the organisation and resourcing of the sessions to ensure that all the time is used more effectively for learning and that the children have suitable opportunities for free play with a good choice of materials;
  • the planning, and the use made of the observations of the children’s achievements and differing needs to inform the play programme.
In the interval since the inspection, the following action which affects the work of the school has taken place:
  • an assistant teacher has been appointed for the part-time sessions;
  • the staff have
visited a number of pre-school settings;
worked collaboratively in planning, monitoring and evaluating the programme;
reviewed, compiled and are implementing new formats which are used to plan the educational programme;
reviewed the daily timetable to incorporate a more flexible informal approach; / attended in-service training and appreciate the on-going support and guidance provided by the Assistant Education Officer in the NEELB.
The Education and Training Inspectorate carried out a follow-up inspection on 10May2001. The following are the most important improvements since the short inspection:
  • there is more opportunity for informal contact between the parents and staff;
  • the daily timetable is planned more thoughtfully to promote a smoother organisation of the sessions;
  • the sessions are organised to provide a suitable period of uninterrupted play; more effective use is made for all the time available for learning, particularly in the creative and science areas;
  • the children are given more opportunities to develop their own ideas in a productive manner;
  • the environment is enhanced by a greater variety of materials which are more easily accessible to the children and encourage their investigation and exploration;
  • the staff are linking their observations of the children’s responses to the play activities and the planned programme.
The approach adopted by the staff in developing the work of the nursery has been both positive and professional. The centre has made very good progress in addressing the key areas for action. The parents and the broader community can have confidence in the school’s commitment to improvement and the effectiveness of its action in response to the findings of the short inspection.
Yours faithfully
MARION J MATCHETT (MISS)ccMrs D L Johnston
Chief InspectorPrincipal