Report on the Inspection of Peatlands Playgroup, Birches, Co

/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Inspection of Peatlands Playgroup,
Birches, Co Armagh
(DE Number: 5BB-0396)
A Report by the Education and Training Inspectorate
June 2002

Introduction

1. Peatlands Playgroup is a preschool centre under voluntary management. At the time of the inspection, a total of 20 children attended the centre; nine 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 preschool education. All of the centre’s preschool 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. The few issues raised by the parents have been shared with the staff and are addressed in paragraphs 5 and 6 of the report.

THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION

4. There is a caring and supportive atmosphere in the centre. The parents and the children are greeted on arrival and welcomed into the playroom. The playroom is bright and inviting; good use is made of photographs, topical posters and a wide range of the children’s art work to create colourful displays. Thought has been given to creating clearly defined areas for play. The relationships between the staff and the children are good. The staff are caring; they are quick to respond to the personal needs of the children. The majority of the children are well behaved and engage in settled play. However, the play of others is not sufficiently purposeful; occasionally, some of the children misuse the equipment and disrupt the play of others. The staff need to develop more effective strategies for promoting settled play and acceptable behaviour.

5. The staff are beginning to develop an effective programme of liaison with the parents. Prior to the children starting the centre, the staff organise “dropin” visits and an openday; an information booklet is provided for the parents and appropriate settlingin procedures are operated. A termly newsletter and notice board help keep the parents informed about the programme and forthcoming events in the centre and local community. In addition to the informal meetings which occur at the beginning of the day, the staff plan to invite the parents into the centre to discuss their children’s progress. The staff should develop further the links with the parents in order to encourage them to play a partnership role in the education of their children.

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. A copy of the centre’s policy and procedures is available for all parents to read.

7. In recent months, the staff have worked very hard to improve their written planning. Suitable themes are used to introduce a variety of interesting activities and experiences throughout the year. The shortterm planning outlines a broad, balanced programme for the children, designed to foster their allround development, and identifies clearly those aspects of learning which the staff intend to promote through the various play activities. As they continue to develop the planning, the staff should take account of the differing needs of the children and ensure that the longterm planning reflects more clearly the progression in the activities and resources throughout the year.

8. The early part of the session provides a lengthy period of uninterrupted play when the children choose freely from the range of activities provided. The children’s snack provides useful opportunities for them to develop independence and conversational skills. The staff need to improve some aspects of the organisation in the latter part of the day. In particular, the routines for tidyup and the arrangements for the collection of the children should be reviewed to ensure that the opportunities to promote learning are used more effectively and that the children are not waiting for prolonged periods. The staff should also ensure that more suitable time is provided for the group story session.

9. All the staff are caring and supportive of the children. During the inspection, there were instances when the staff joined in the play activities and fostered successfully the children’s language. On other occasions, however, the staff did not participate effectively in the children’s play and opportunities were missed to promote learning. The staff need to work together to ensure that their involvement with the children is consistently of a higher standard.

10. Although the centre provides some interesting learning opportunities, many of these are developed inadequately. The points which follow illustrate specific aspects of the programme.

·  There are some instances when the children share materials agreeably and take account of the wishes of others. The staff often encourage the children to be independent; however, some children move from activity to activity without clear purpose and are not gaining a sense of responsibility in their care and use of the play materials. More attention should be given to promoting the children’s concentration and involvement in their activities.

·  There is appropriate development of the children’s fine manipulative skills as they use small items of equipment and tools such as pencils, glue spreaders and paintbrushes. The centre has frequent use of the adjacent school hall and access to a secure outdoor play area which is used daily when the weather permits. The children gain confidence, and some valuable physical skills, using a range of equipment.

·  The range of creative activities provided encourages the children to explore and experiment with different materials and tools. During the inspection, some of the most sustained play was observed at the scrap modelling activity. The children are introduced to a range of painting and printing techniques. Some of the children have begun to create colourful representations of people and objects in their surroundings. The staff encourage the children’s creative work and display it prominently around the playroom. The children have daily opportunities for informal and group singing and many have developed a repertoire of rhymes and songs. There are also regular opportunities to play simple percussion instruments.

·  Aspects of the children’s language development are promoted successfully through the use made of books. There is an inviting book area and stories are read to small groups and individuals on request. The children are introduced to text incidentally through captions displayed around the room and by the appropriate use of their names at snack time. Some children display an interest in experimenting with marking and writing through the imaginative play in the “travel agents”. The staff sometimes engage the children in conversation during play and introduce new vocabulary. More needs to be done, however, to stimulate the children’s interest in, and development of, language as a natural part of their play activities.

·  Although there are some appropriate opportunities for the children to gain an early awareness of number and capacity, overall, they experience too limited a range of early mathematical ideas. The staff should exploit further the learning opportunities inherent in all the activities and daily routines, in order to develop a wider range of early mathematical concepts.

·  There are some opportunities for the children to learn about living things by growing seeds and bulbs, and caring for the goldfish. The staff now need to build on the children’s interests more effectively in order to develop further their early scientific and technological ideas. In particular, they should provide more active opportunities for the children to investigate how things work during their play.

·  The provision of imaginative play in the “travel agents”, and the use of appropriate themes, provide a useful focus for learning about the environment. The children’s experiences are extended usefully by members of the local community who visit the centre, including, for example, nurses, fire fighters and a dental hygienist.

11. The staff have begun to observe the children’s play using a keyworker system. They now need to consolidate, and develop further, their assessment procedures in order to ensure that adequate information is recorded on each child’s progress and that key areas of development are monitored closely. The staff should also link the assessment information to the planning to ensure that the children’s differing needs are met.

12. The centre has established good links with the adjoining primary school and the staff value the support they have received from the school. There is good cooperation between the school and the centre to help ensure that the children make a smooth transition to year1. The centre has also established useful links with a number of local primary schools and provides them with information about the children’s progress. The staff liaise frequently with the relevant social worker and value her advice.

13. The staff make good efforts to identify and address the learning difficulties experienced by some children and encourage their integration in the setting. They are willing to liaise with the parents and other professionals to ensure that appropriate help is provided in order to meet the children’s individual needs.

14. The centre has experienced staffing changes within the past year. Currently the leader is on leave and a temporary assistant leader has been appointed. The staff are very hardworking; they cooperate well as a team and display commitment to the children and the centre. In recent months, they have implemented many appropriate changes in the provision. They recognise that more needs to be done to improve further the programme and have already identified for themselves many of the issues raised in the report. The management committee should ensure that they provide the staff with the necessary time and resources in order to plan and evaluate the programme, implement the assessment methods and undertake the developmental work required. Presently, the centre has not employed an early years specialist. This issue needs to be addressed immediately in order to comply with the minimum quality standards required to participate in the preschool expansion programme.

15. The quality of the accommodation is satisfactory. The centre is bright, attractive and well maintained; storage space is limited. The toilets are situated at a distance from the playroom and require members of staff to accompany the children. The centre has an adequate supply of resources and materials; some additional resources have been purchased recently. The staff have identified appropriate areas where additional resources are required to help them ensure progression in learning throughout the year.

16. The strengths of the centre include:

·  the thought given to creating a bright and inviting environment;

·  the caring and supportive staff, and the sense of teamwork within the centre;

·  the opportunities provided for uninterrupted play during the early part of the session;

·  the value placed on displaying the children’s work;

·  the good links established with the adjoining primary school.

17. The inspection has identified some areas which require action. In addressing the most important areas, the centre needs to:

·  improve the quality of the staff’s interaction with the children in order to promote settled play and acceptable behaviour, and to ensure that the children learn effectively;

·  develop a more consistent and systematic approach to assessment in order to ensure that the children’s progress is identified clearly and that the information is linked to the planning to enable the children’s differing needs to be met;

·  improve some aspects of the organisation in the latter part of the day to ensure that all time is used effectively to promote learning;

·  acquire the services of an early years specialist in order to provide effective support and guidance for the staff.

18. Although there are some strengths which can be built upon, aspects of the educational provision in this preschool centre are not entirely satisfactory. There are shortcomings in important areas which the centre needs to address. The management committee should work with the staff to plan and implement the necessary improvements. The Department’s Inspectorate will carry out a short followup inspection to evaluate the progress being made.

APPENDIX

HEALTH AND SAFETY

Some of the children wear inappropriate footwear when involved in physical play sessions.

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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