/ 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
Cookstown Nursery School
Inspected: April 2004

STATISTICAL INFORMATION ON COOKSTOWN NURSERY SCHOOL

1. Details of Children

Number of children: / Class 1 / Class 2
Attending full-time / 26 / 26
Attending part-time / - / -
Under 3 years of age* / 2 / 2
With statement of SEN** / - / -
At CoP stages 3 or 4*** / 4 / 1
At CoP stages 1 or 2*** / - / -
With English as an additional language / - / 1

* On 1 July.

** Special Educational Needs.

*** The stages refer to those set out in the Code of Practice for the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs.

Percentage qualifying under DE admission criteria 1 or 2. / 15%
Average attendance for the previous year. / 91%

2. Duration of Sessions

Full-time / Part-time: am / Part-time: pm
4¾ hours

3. Details of Staff

Number of: / Full-Time / Part-Time
Teachers / 2 / -
Nursery Assistants / 2 / 2
Qualified Nursery Assistants / 1 / 2
Number of: ****
Students / 1
Trainees / -

**** Total placements since September of current year

4. Parental Questionnaires

Number issued / 52
Percentage returned / 73.1%
Number of written comments / 15

1. Introduction

1.1 Cookstown Nursery School is situated within the grounds of Cookstown primary and post-primary schools. The children come mainly from the areas of private and public housing surrounding the school.

1.2 The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care included the completion of questionnaires by the parents as well as meetings with the governors on the day of the inspection. The parents and the governors expressed a high level of satisfaction with the nursery’s provision. In particular, they commented positively on the quality of the care for the children and expressed confidence in, and appreciation for, the work of the Principal and the staff. The few issues raised through the written responses are addressed in the body and the appendix of the report. The inspection findings concur with the views of the parents and the governors.

2. The Quality of the Educational Provision

2.1 The nursery’s very positive ethos promotes effectively the children’s confidence and self-esteem. There is a happy, settled atmosphere and the children are very well behaved. Relationships among the staff, the children and the parents are excellent. The playrooms and the outdoor learning environment are thoughtfully and skilfully arranged with distinct areas for aspects of play. The range of activities is inviting, stimulating and challenging for young children and is often enhanced with interesting materials, displays of the children’s art work and books.

2.2 The communication with parents is good; a booklet, regular newsletters, an open day and a variety of educational classes are designed to encourage the parents to play a full role in the education of their children. There are very good opportunities for informal contact at the beginning and end of the day between the staff and the parents; the staff encourage them to appreciate their children’s achievements.

2.3 The school has in place appropriate procedures for pastoral care and child protection which are in line with guidance outlined in the Department of Education Circular 1999/10. The school’s procedures are outlined in the school policy and provide relevant guidelines for the staff. The staff and governors have received appropriate training and they intend to include a separate complaints policy and procedure to clarify methods for raising matters of concerns.

2.4 All the staff work closely together on planning the educational programme. The planning outlines a broad and balanced programme for the children, designed to foster their all-round development. It identifies many facets of learning inherent in the various aspects of play. The staff regularly review and evaluate the children’s responses and as a result amend the programme to ensure progression in the children’s learning.

2.5 The thoughtful organisation of the daily routines, and the good use of the open-plan arrangements, allow the nursery day to flow smoothly and create long periods of uninterrupted play in the indoor and outdoor areas.

2.6 The staff spend sustained periods with groups and individuals, promoting the children’s language and thinking and participating as role-models in the play. The quality of the staff’s involvement with the children is of a very high standard.

2.7 The nursery’s educational programme is broad and balanced and offers excellent opportunities for learning in all areas of the pre-school curriculum. The school is engaged in the process of accreditation for the Health Promoting School Award (HPSA) and this is impacting positively on the children’s physical and emotional health and well-being. During the inspection, the children engaged in lengthy periods of energetic physical play, enjoyed a healthy snack and displayed high levels of co-operation and contentment in their relationships. They are well-motivated to learn, sustain concentration and perseverance and confidently make choices.

2.8 The well-equipped and challenging outdoor play area is a positive feature of the nursery. The adventurous and imaginative play opportunities provided encourage the children to develop a wide range of physical skills. Safe play is emphasised and the children have access to the range of outdoor play on a daily basis all year round. Fine manipulative skills are effectively developed through play with scissors and construction materials.

2.9 The wide range of creative activities provided encourages the children to explore and experiment with different man-made and natural materials and tools; some children have begun to make representations of people and objects in their surroundings.

2.10 The atmosphere and environment of the nursery provide rich opportunities for the promotion of language. High priority is given to developing the children’s language through skilful talk and discussion, and the promotion of good listening skills. A wide range of information and story books is readily accessible and the children have good opportunities to listen to stories and to develop a love of books. The children are introduced to text incidentally through captions displayed around the room and there are many opportunities to experiment with early writing during play.

2.11 A variety of activities, including imaginative play, are used effectively to promote early mathematical ideas. During the inspection, the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears was used to sustain interest in matching, counting and making comparisons. The daily routines are used effectively to help the children gain an early understanding of time.

2.12 The nursery provides excellent opportunities for the children to explore and investigate a range of materials and to form ideas about how things work. There are good opportunities for the children to design and create structures. The children play with appropriate computer programs and are effectively developing mouse manipulation skills and improving their mathematical understanding.

2.13 Excellent use is made of seasonal and environmental topics, which have extended the children’s knowledge of, and interest in, the world around them.

2.14 There are useful strategies to monitor and evaluate the children’s play and to record their progress and needs; the staff are continuing to refine this process, in order to clearly record progress.

2.15 A valuable programme of liaison has been established with some of the local primary schools allowing the teachers of the year 1 classes to visit the nursery school, to meet the children and to discuss their progress.

2.16 The children with special educational needs are identified early; the staff liaise with relevant agencies and draw up detailed plans containing clear and realistic steps to support the child’s development. The quality of the in-class and one-to-one support is good; the encouragement the children receive is helping them to integrate fully into the nursery and ensures that their individual needs are met.

2.17 The Principal is in her second year in post and has the skill, early years knowledge and commitment to support the nursery in developing further. She demonstrates good leadership and management and sets a realistic pace to the induction of new members of staff. All staff are hard-working and dedicated; they work very well as a team and some have provided many years of service in the nursery. A suitable school development plan and action plans are in place. There is good support from the Board of Governors and the Southern Education and Library Board.

2.18 The quality of the accommodation is excellent. The recent extension to the playrooms and storage facilities ensures that the children have space to develop their play and to use large equipment. The outdoor area substantially enhances the overall provision. The nursery has an excellent range of resources to deliver a rich and stimulating pre-school programme.

2.19 The strengths of the nursery include the:

·  very positive ethos based on excellent relationships at all levels;

·  children’s settled play and excellent behaviour;

·  rich and stimulating planned curriculum which is effectively extending the children’s learning and range of experiences;

·  high quality of the staff’s involvement with the children;

·  good range of approaches and strategies to support the special needs of the individual children;

·  continuing process of review and development;

·  good leadership and management of the Principal and the hard-working and dedicated staff and governors who work as a unified team.

2.20 There are major strengths in all aspects of the educational and pastoral provision in this nursery. The needs of the children are being met very effectively.


APPENDIX

HEALTH AND SAFETY

The volume of traffic from the three schools on the campus is a potential hazard to the children in the nursery school and needs to be more effectively controlled in order to ensure the children’s safe entry and egress from the nursery.

4

ã CROWN COPYRIGHT 2004

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Copies of this report may be obtained from the Inspection Services Branch, Department of Education, Rathgael House, 43Balloo Road, Bangor, Co Down BT19 7PR. A copy is also available on the DE website: www.deni.gov.uk