Report on the Inspection of Ballymoney and District Community Playgroup, Ballymoney

/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education

Department for Employment and Learning

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure

Inspection of Ballymoney and District Community Playgroup, Co Antrim
(DE Number: 3AB-0355)
A Report by the Education and Training Inspectorate
January 2002

Introduction

1.Ballymoney and District Community Playgroup is a pre-school centre under voluntary management. At the time of the inspection, a total of 43 children attended the centre; 24 were in their pre-school year.

2.The inspection is part of a programme to ensure that appropriate standards of education are provided in centres receiving funding as part of the Government’s expansion of pre-school education. Ten of the centre’s pre-school places are funded through the expansion programme.

3.The inspection provided opportunities for the parents to express their views about the centre. Nearly all of those who responded were satisfied or very satisfied with all aspects of the centre’s provision. A small number of parents were less satisfied with information provided on child protection. Some parents included written comments praising the work of the staff and the quality of the provision.

THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION

4.The centre has a very positive ethos based on good relations at all levels. The staff consider the social and emotional needs of individual children and provide appropriate encouragement and support. They take time, on a daily basis, to set up inviting play areas which encourage the children to observe and investigate. The learning environment is enhanced by examples of the children’s work, interest areas, topical displays and photographs of the children’s experiences. The children relate well to each other and co-operate readily with the centre’s necessary rules and routines.

5.A high priority is placed on developing effective links with parents. Parents are welcomed into the playroom to support their children’s care and development. A monthly newsletter and displays on the parents’ noticeboard provide information about the educational programme and encourage the parents to play a full role in the education of their children. In addition to the good opportunities for informal contact at the beginning and end of the session, the parents are invited into the centre twice during the year to discuss their children’s progress with the staff.

6.The centre has a suitable written policy on child protection which is available for parents to read. The staff have identified this aspect of the work as an appropriate area for further development and staff training.

7.The staff work very hard together to compile detailed written planning. The planning outlines a broad, balanced programme for the children, designed to foster their all-round development. It identifies clearly those aspects of learning which the staff intend to promote through the various play activities. The staff review and evaluate the programme regularly to ensure progression and to provide for individual needs. The daily timetable emphasises opportunities for the children to make choices and to explore freely the full range of activities. The children’s snack, and other necessary routines, are organised informally and operate efficiently. Appropriate time is given to enjoyable story and music sessions.

8.The staff engage the children in valuable discussion about their play and experiences, and participate sensitively in many of the activities to provide role models and to extend the play. The skilful interactions of the staff promote sustained interest and concentrated play. They challenge the children’s thinking and extend their language development. The staff value the children’s efforts and give them much encouragement and praise.

9.The centre’s programme promotes very effectively the children’s all-round development. The range of activities provides good opportunities for learning in all the areas of the pre-school curriculum. The points which follow illustrate specific aspects of the programme.

• The careful attention given to promoting the children’s personal, social and emotional development is evident in the children’s abilities to make independent choices of activities and to relate confidently to one another and to the staff. The children are purposeful in play, respectful of their learning environment, and many display high levels of concentration.

• The children’s abilities to control small tools, such as scissors, pencils and paint brushes, are developed effectively. The children have daily opportunities for indoor physical play activities. During the inspection, the children participated enthusiastically in a well-planned music and movement session.

• The children’s abilities to express their ideas creatively are developed effectively through the use of a wide range of materials. The staff value the children’s creative work and display it prominently around the room. The children learn new songs and rhymes which they clearly enjoy. The staff share the words of new songs and rhymes with the parents in order to help them support their children’s learning at home. The centre has recently acquired musical instruments and the staff plan to develop further this area of the curriculum to extend the children’s enjoyment of music.

• There is strong encouragement for the children to develop an interest in books. They pay close attention during story time and browse frequently in the book corner or explore an information book during their play. Throughout the session, the staff use discussion to promote skilfully the

children’s oral language. They help the children to participate in conversations, to express their ideas and to recount their experiences. There are good opportunities for the children to experiment with marking and writing at the “writing table” and in the role play areas.

• The staff use appropriate mathematical language to good effect when participating in the children’s play and foster an interest in counting, matching and making comparisons. There is effective promotion of early mathematical ideas through various aspects of play; for example, the children compare sizes of boots and gloves at the interest table; they discuss size and shape during block play; and they make informal comparisons of weight at the dough table.

• Early scientific ideas are developed very effectively. There are opportunities for the children to explore materials, observe changes and form ideas about how things work. There are good opportunities for the children to learn about living things by growing bulbs, caring for the centre’s hamster and visiting the local nature trail.

• Good use is made of seasonal and environmental topics to extend the children’s knowledge of, and interest in, the world around them. The children’s experiences are extended usefully by members of the local community who visit the centre, and by visits to places of interest.

10.The staff use their thoughtful observations of the children’s responses to play to build individual records of progress. Close links are maintained with the parents and information on the children’s progress and needs is shared through written reports and individual meetings. The centre intends to begin to make links with the local primary schools in order to help the children transfer smoothly to the year 1 classes.

11.The leader has given long service to the centre and has worked very hard to develop the pre-school provision. All of the staff co-operate well together and bring high levels of skill and enthusiasm to their work. The regular meetings ensure that the staff participate in decision making and in planning and evaluating the programme. The staff report that they benefit from the support of the management committee and the guidance provided by the early years specialist.

12.The quality of the accommodation is satisfactory. Good use is made of all the available space to create appropriate areas for different types of play. There are some shortcomings due to the position of the toilets, which are located outside the playroom in an entrance area. There is a development plan to construct a purpose-built room which will incorporate more appropriate toilet facilities. The staff make good use of their resources to support the implementation of a broad programme of play. The addition of a wide range of authentic items and natural materials enhances the play experiences for the children.

13.The strengths of the centre include:

• the positive ethos which promotes the children’s confidence and self-esteem, and the very good relationships at all levels;

• the broad range of activities which facilitate learning opportunities in all areas of the pre-school programme;

• the effective leadership and the hard-working and committed staff;

• the high quality of the staff’s interaction with the children which promotes effectively the children’s learning in all areas of the pre-school curriculum;

• the planning, and the good start made to assessing and recording the children’s progress;

• the communication with, and involvement of, the parents.

14.Overall, the quality of the educational provision in this pre-school centre is very good; the needs of the children are being well met.

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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, CoDownBT197PR. A copy is also available on the DE website: