/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Inspection of Little Folk Playgroup, Rostrevor,
Co Down
(DE Number: 5AB-0336)
A Report by the Education and Training Inspectorate
May 2002
Introduction
1. Little Folk Playgroup is a preschool centre under voluntary management. At the time of the inspection, a total of 30 children attended the centre; 12 were in their preschool 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. All 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. Almost all of those who responded were satisfied or very satisfied with nearly all aspects of the centre’s provision. Some parents included written comments praising the work of the staff and the quality of the provision. The few issues raised by the parents have been shared with the staff and are addressed in paragraphs five and six of the report.
THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION
4. There is a settled and caring atmosphere throughout the centre. The parents and the children are greeted on arrival and are welcomed into the playroom. The children appear happy and settle quickly to play. They are well behaved and relate positively to one another; some firm friendships are developing. The relationships between the children and the staff are very good. The children are at ease with the staff and turn confidently to them to meet their needs and participate in their play. The large, bright playroom is arranged with distinct areas for aspects of play. The play materials and resources are set out attractively at the beginning of the session and are regularly added to or changed throughout the morning to extend the children’s play. There is a wide range of the children’s paintings, photographs and posters around the playroom; however, their use would be more effective if greater consideration was given to their presentation and the height at which they are displayed.
5. The staff are developing an effective programme of liaison with the parents. Prior to the children’s admission, there are opportunities for the parents and the children to avail of “dropin” visits, attend an openday and receive the centre’s booklet. The parents are encouraged to stay with their children during the settlingin period. In addition to the very good 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. A regular newsletter and parents’ notice board help keep the parents informed about the programme and forthcoming events in the centre. The staff should now develop further their partnership with the parents in order to encourage them to become more fully involved in their child’s education and to be aware of the learning potential within the play activities.
6. The centre has a suitable written policy on child protection. The staff have a clear understanding of, and implement, appropriate procedures to safeguard the welfare of the children. The policy and procedures are reviewed regularly by the management committee and have been shared with the parents both in writing and at an organised meeting.
7. The staff work together to plan the educational programme. They have outlined long, medium, and shortterm plans, in which themes and topics are incorporated skilfully to provide a range of interesting activities throughout the year. The mediumterm planning identifies clearly those aspects of learning which the staff intend to promote through the various play activities. The staff are also beginning to use their observations of the children’s individual needs and interests to guide future planning. As they continue to develop their planning, the staff should highlight more fully the learning experiences offered to the children on a weekly basis and clarify how the programme will progress over the year.
8. The daily timetable provides a lengthy period of uninterrupted play and emphasises opportunities for the children to make choices, to explore freely the full range of activities and to develop their play. The children’s snack, and other necessary routines, are organised informally and operate efficiently. The children are provided with daily opportunities for group stories and informal singing. The smooth organisation of the session, and the involvement of all the children in the activities, ensure a relaxed and flexible programme.
9. The staff’s sensitive involvement in the activities with groups and individuals fosters successfully the children’s settled and productive play. They often engage the children in valuable discussion about their play and experiences and participate in many of the activities to provide role models. During the inspection, there were instances when the staff provided sustained support, which fostered successfully the children’s language and learning. This was evident particularly during play at the “travel agency”, floor construction and the dough activity. The staff are skilful at providing additional stimuli to extend the play.
10. The centre’s programme promotes effectively the children’s personal, social and emotional development. The range of activities provided offers good opportunities for learning in most of the other areas of the preschool 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 many instances of good cooperative play when the children share materials agreeably and show consideration for others. The children make independent choices within the play activities and are confident in using a wide range of equipment and materials. The play is purposeful and productive and most of the children sustain high levels of concentration and involvement.
· The children’s abilities to control small tools such as scissors, paintbrushes and pencils are developed effectively. The management committee and the staff have identified the outdoor play area as a priority for future development and are seeking funding to address this. The centre has frequent access to a large hall within their premises, which they use to provide regular energetic play for the children. Although the range of equipment available is limited, the children gain some valuable skills.
· The staff are developing a creative art area; the careful arrangement of materials and tools encourages the children to explore independently and to express their own ideas. A few children have begun to make representations of people and objects in their surroundings. There are frequent opportunities for informal singing, playing simple percussion instruments and listening to recorded music; the children have acquired an extensive repertoire of rhymes and songs which they clearly enjoy.
· A high priority is given to developing the children’s language through skilful talk and discussion, and the introduction by staff of an appropriate vocabulary and range of ideas. The children are encouraged to express themselves confidently in conversation; as a result, they can talk about their play, share their ideas with others and discuss stories they have heard. There are good opportunities for the children to develop an interest in books; they pay close attention during story sessions, often ask for individual stories to be read and frequently browse through their favourite books in the inviting story corner. The children are introduced to text incidentally through captions displayed around the room and through appropriate use of the children's printed names during snack time. Some children display an early interest in marking and writing during the role play.
· There is good promotion of a wide range of mathematical ideas through various aspects of play. During the inspection, the staff and the children frequently used mathematical language as an integral part of the play; for example, the role play in the travel agency was used effectively to promote early ideas of time and money, as the staff and children engaged in a conversation regarding the dates and duration of the holiday and the final price. Similarly, the play with dough and with the constructional materials helped the children to gain an early awareness of shape, size and positional language.
· The children are helped to become aware of the properties of materials through play with sand, water and scrap modelling. During the inspection, a number of the children were encouraged to observe the different speeds with which the water wheels turned when water was added in varying ways. There are opportunities for the children to learn about living things by growing spring bulbs and watercress, and observing the different stages of development. Early technological skills are developed through the provision of a wide variety of constructional materials and equipment. On the day of the inspection, many of the children engaged in good concentrated play as they made detailed models using a range of constructional equipment. Some use is made of seasonal and environmental topics to extend the children’s knowledge of, and interest in, the world around them.
11. The centre is currently using a variety of systems to monitor and report on the children’s progress; the leader should now implement a more standardised approach to these methods. The development of a keyworker system has helped the staff to gain knowledge of the children’s individual interests and needs. The staff are beginning to use these observations effectively to inform the planning of the programme and to ensure the children’s individual needs are met.
12. Some links have been established with a local primary school. The staff should seek to develop these links further in order to ensure that the children make a smooth transition to year 1.
13. The staff make good efforts to identify and address the learning difficulties experienced by some children. They liaise frequently with the parents and are willing to implement the recommendations of other professionals through the programme, in order to meet the children’s individual needs.
14. The leader has given long service to the centre and promotes a sense of teamwork among her dedicated staff. All the staff have regular opportunities to participate in decisionmaking, planning and evaluating the programme. The staff value the advice and support offered by the management committee and the centre’s early years specialist. The leader has identified appropriate areas within her provision for future development.
15. The quality of the accommodation is satisfactory. The centre is located in a former church lecture hall. The management committee and the staff have carried out many improvements to the building during the last few years, including extending the playroom and providing children’s toilets; effective use is made of all the available space. The large hall used for energetic play displays signs of damp. The outdoor play area has good potential to enhance the children’s learning experiences and physical development. The centre has an adequate range of resources and materials; the staff have identified appropriately the need to develop the resources further in order to provide additional challenge and support the planning of progression throughout the year.
16. The strengths of the centre include:
· the settled and caring atmosphere and the very good relationships between the staff and the children;
· the good behaviour of the children;
· the caring and supportive staff who promote effectively the children’s confidence and independence;
· the thoughtful organisation of the day which ensures that all time is used effectively for learning;
· the good opportunities to learn in most areas of the preschool curriculum;
· the many instances of concentrated and purposeful play;
· the sense of teamwork among the dedicated staff.
17. Overall, the quality of the educational provision in this preschool centre is good; the needs of the children are being well met. The staff should plan to address the few areas which require attention.
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ã CROWN COPYRIGHT 2002
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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: www.deni.gov.uk