Report on the Inspection of the Shell Playgroup, Comber, Co

/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Inspection of The Shell Playgroup, Comber
(DE Number: 4AB-0443)
A Report by the Education and Training Inspectorate
February 2003

Introduction

1.The Shell Playgroup is a pre-school centre under private management. At the time of the inspection, a total of 18 children attended the centre; 14 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 the provision overall. A number of parents included written comments praising the work of the staff.

THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION

4.The centre has a positive ethos based on good relationships at all levels. There is a warm friendly atmosphere; the children and their parents are welcomed on arrival and the children settle quickly to play. The staff work hard each day to create a bright and stimulating environment. The room is arranged thoughtfully with distinct areas for aspects of play. The environment is enhanced by displays of the children’s art work, posters and interest tables. The children are well behaved and relate well to one another.

5.The centre uses a variety of methods to provide the parents with information about the curriculum and seeks their views on aspects of the work. In addition to the informal meetings which occur at the beginning and end of the day, the parents are invited into the centre to discuss their children’s progress with the leaders. The staff should review their settling-in procedures in order to ensure that all the children are given sufficient time to make a smooth transition from home.

6.The centre has a written policy on child protection. The staff are aware of appropriate procedures to safeguard the welfare of the children. Information relating to all of the centre’s child protection procedures should now be included in the written policy.

7.The staff have worked hard to develop the planning. Themes and topics are incorporated to provide a wide range of stimulating learning experiences. The planning identifies some aspects of learning which the staff intend to promote through the play activities. Evaluations of the children’s individual responses and interests are noted by the staff and are used to guide further work.

8.The daily timetable is well organised and provides a balance of free play and activities organised by the staff. There are good opportunities for the children to make choices, explore freely the full range of activities and develop their play. The children’s snack, and other necessary routines, are organised informally and operate efficiently.

9.The staff engage the children in some valuable conversations about their own experiences. They offer support and give praise and encouragement to the children. Often, however, the staff miss opportunities to be involved closely with the children in their activities or to initiate play. The staff need to develop additional expertise in stimulating play of high quality and in fostering the children’s all-round development through more versatile involvement and intervention.

10.The range of activities provides satisfactory or good opportunities for learning in most areas of the pre-school curriculum. Further planning and staff development are needed to ensure that early mathematical ideas are emphasised more clearly.

• The children’s play is settled and purposeful. There are many instances of good co-operative play when the children share materials agreeably. The children appear happy, confident and independent as they select and engage in their own choice of activity.

• The children’s abilities to control a variety of small tools is developed effectively. The children have regular opportunities for indoor physical play using a range of equipment. The staff have identified this appropriately as an area requiring further resources.

• The children’s abilities to express their ideas creatively are developed effectively through the use of a range of materials provided for painting, drawing and model-making. Some of the children draw and paint simple representations of figures and objects in their surroundings. The staff value the work of the children and make good use of the room dividers to display it prominently. There are opportunities for the children to sing and respond to music.

• The children listen attentively to a well-read group story and participate effectively during circle time. A few children browse in the book area. The staff should develop further the quality and range of books available for the children. Good use is made of the various charts and captions around the playroom to promote an awareness of the written word. Some of the children display an interest in early marking and experimental writing. Many of the children play imaginatively together and discuss their ideas with one another.

• The staff occasionally use appropriate mathematical language when participating in the children’s play. Rhymes are used as an appropriate starting point for learning about number. All of the staff need to develop greater skill in recognising the potential of activities, and in developing strategies, in order to promote a wider range of mathematical learning.

• The staff provide an interesting range of natural materials, living things and items of interest for the children to observe and investigate. During the inspection, the children showed sustained interest as they explored a variety of tools and metallic objects. The centre provides a range of imaginative play to extend the children’s awareness of, and interest in, the world around them. The staff make good use of a variety of visitors to the centre to enhance the children’s experiences. The children are encouraged to care for their own environment.

11.The staff have made a useful start in developing an appropriate system of assessment. They use their thoughtful observations of the children’s responses to play to build into individual records of progress which are used as a basis for formal discussion with parents. The observations are also being used to inform the planning. The staff should continue, with the help of their early years specialist, to develop their confidence and skill in monitoring and recording the children’s progress.

12.Valuable links have been made with one of the local primary schools. Information is shared about the children’s progress in order to help them transfer smoothly to year1. The staff give support to those children experiencing difficulties with learning. There is effective liaison with the parents and supportive links with other professionals.

13.The leader manages the centre effectively. There have been recent changes in the staffing. The staff are hard-working and are developing a sense of team spirit. They all contribute to the planning and evaluation of the educational programme. Much has been done in a relatively short period of time to improve the quality of the provision in the centre.

14.The quality of the accommodation is satisfactory. The staff make good use of all the available space. Storage space is limited. The planned development of the secure outdoor area will help the staff to provide further opportunities for learning. The centre has an adequate range of well-presented resources to support the implementation of a broad programme of activities. Authentic and natural items are incorporated to enrich the children’s play.

15.The strengths of the centre include:

• the attractive and stimulating learning environment;

• the good relationships at all levels;

• the good start made to planning a broad and balanced pre-school curriculum;

• the children’s good behaviour and the many examples of concentrated and purposeful play;

• the effective organisation of the daily timetable;

• the hard-working staff.

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

• ensure that the quality of the interaction between the staff and the children is consistently of a high standard and fosters the children’s thinking and learning in all aspects of the play programme.

17.Overall, the quality of the educational provision in this pre-school centre is satisfactory but improvements are needed in the area identified, if the needs of the children are to be met fully. The staff should draw up a plan to address these areas. The Department’s Inspectorate will monitor the progress being made.

1

 CROWN COPYRIGHT 2003

This report may be reproduced in whole or in part, except for commercial purposes or in connection with a prospectus or advertisement, provided that the source and date thereof are stated.

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: