Holy Family Nursery Unit

/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Education and Training Inspectorate
Report of a Short Inspection
Knocknagoney Nursery Unit
Belfast
Inspected: May 2003

1.Introduction

1.1Knocknagoney Nursery Unit is situated in Knocknagoney Primary School in EastBelfast. The children come mainly from the areas of private and public housing near to the school. Approximately 35% of the children are entitled to free school meals.

1.2The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care included the completion of questionnaires by parents as well opportunities for the parents to speak to the inspector. Just over 50% of the parents returned the completed questionnaire. The vast majority of the comments from parents indicated a very high level of satisfaction with the nursery. The parents praised particularly the progress made by the children, the range of activities, the awareness promoted of different cultures and the quality of the teaching; the inspection confirms these comments. No major issues were raised in the questionnaires.

2.Summary of Main Findings

2.1Throughout the nursery there is a caring, family ethos. The children and their parents are welcomed warmly at the start of the sessions; the staff take time to talk to the children and settle them to play.

2.2The entrance hall and playroom are bright and colourful. The activities are laid out attractively at the beginning of the day; a good range of activities stimulates the children’s interest and promotes concentrated play. Good use is made of the children’s art and commercial materials to brighten further the playroom.

2.3The children are relaxed, well-behaved and welcoming to visitors. The members of staff have established appropriate rules to promote good behaviour. The rules are applied consistently and in a quiet manner which helps the children to settle into the routines of the nursery.

2.4The vast majority of children settle quickly and confidently to their chosen task and co-operate well with the other children. The staff deal sensitively with any children who find it difficult to settle; they guide them skilfully to an activity and support them until they are engaged in play. During the inspection, many examples of sustained and imaginative play were observed, particularly with the large construction materials and during the creative activity; the children used the materials with assurance and independence.

2.5The parents are welcomed into the nursery; when necessary, the parents take the opportunity to speak to the staff at the beginning or end of the sessions. A helpful monthly newsletter keeps parents informed about the curriculum of the nursery and special events; other relevant and important information is displayed on the parents’ notice board in the main entrance hall. There are more formal meetings with parents twice per year, when they have the opportunity to discuss their child’s progress with the teacher.

2.6The nursery staff are hard-working and committed to the children; a strong sense of teamwork pervades the life and work of the unit. The children are at ease with the adults and turn confidently to them to meet their needs, to share in their play and for reassurance and support. The staff promote well the children’s confidence and self-esteem by celebrating their successes, and by showing them that they value their achievements.

2.7The staff, through their observations of the children’s reaction to the activities, know the children very well and are aware of their particular needs. This detailed knowledge of the children’s needs is used appropriately to inform the planning for the activities and to influence the way the staff interact with the children. The interaction between the adults and the children promotes appropriately the children’s learning.

2.8The organisation of the daily routines helps the nursery day to flow smoothly and allows appropriately for long periods of uninterrupted play; the routines adopted at lunchtime, however, means that some of the children are unoccupied for lengthy periods of time.

2.9The curriculum is broad and balanced and fosters all aspects of the children’s learning and development. The planning is based around appropriate themes and topics related to the time of year and the interests of the children; it outlines appropriate intended learning outcomes and progression in the use of the equipment.

2.10An attractive and spacious veranda area has been added recently to the building to extend the area available for play. During the inspection this area was used well, on occasions, to provide the children with opportunities for physical activity and sufficient space for them to use the large construction materials. Further consideration now needs to be given as to how the children can be encouraged to use safely all the available space throughout the session.

2.11The children have good opportunities to develop an interest in books. There are good displays of books related to the class activities or their interests; they enjoy browsing through these reading materials during play. Parents are encouraged to borrow books to share with their children at home. Through the play activities a few of the children are beginning to make good use of writing materials in role play situations. At story time the vast majority of children listen attentively and join in with familiar parts of the story, discussions, rhymes, games and jingles.

2.12Elements of mathematics and science are introduced appropriately into the children’s play activities. When suitable, the staff encourage the children to count, discuss shapes and make patterns. The early skills in technology are developed through the use of construction materials.

2.13The art work created by the children is bright and interesting. During the inspection, the work in this area was enhanced further, by the use of spring flowers as a creative stimulus for the children. The staff encouraged them to observe closely the colour and structure of the flowers and the paintings they produced were of a high quality.

2.14The nursery unit uses the procedures for Pastoral Care and Child Protection as outlined in the policy for the primary school. Further development of the policy is required immediately for the nursery to meet the particular needs of these younger children. The nursery staff need to produce the appropriate documentation, and implement the agreed procedures, for aspects of pastoral care, such as toileting, and to inform parents formally, in writing, of these procedures.

2.15The staff maintain appropriate profiles of the children’s development and their needs. They are very aware of those children who need additional support with learning; the education plans for these children are detailed and outline appropriate areas for development.

2.16The unit is well organised and managed effectively. The teacher in charge of the nursery is dedicated to the children and the development of the unit. She is ably supported by the nursery assistant and the principal of the primary school.

2.17The resources are well maintained and the teacher in charge is making good use of the available finance to create an interesting and stimulating environment; the children use the equipment with care.

2.18The strengths of the nursery unit include:

the caring, family ethos;

the developing confidence and independence of the children;

the well-behaved and welcoming children;

the hard-working and committed staff;

the good range of activities which stimulate the children’s interest;

the awareness of the children’s particular needs, and the procedures put in place to address them;

the examples of sustained and concentrated play;

the interaction between the adults and the children which is effective in promoting learning.

2.19The inspection has identified a small number of areas for further development. These include the need to:

make more effective use of all the space available for play, throughout the session, to promote further the children’s independence and sense of responsibility;

continue to develop the pastoral care and child protection documentation to meet the particular needs of the younger children in the nursery.

2.20Overall, the quality of education provided in this nursery unit is good but improvements are needed in the areas identified if the needs of the children are to be met fully.

APPENDIX

Health and Safety

The entrance to the nursery unit is shared with the children in year 1 from the primary school. At certain times of the day the doors to the outside area are left open for use by the year 1 children or their parents. The children in the nursery unit could gain access to these open doors. There is a need for the nursery unit to have its own entrance which can be secured and monitored during the nursery day.

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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: