Head of Muir Primary School Nursery Day Care of Children
Haypark Road Denny FK6 5JZ
Telephone: 01324 503170
Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 7 March 2018
Service provided by: Service provider number: Falkirk Council SP2004006884
Care service number: CS2003015572 Inspection report
About the service
The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com
This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred its registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011.
Head of Muir Primary School Nursery Class is part of Falkirk Council's early learning and childcare provision. The service is registered to care for a maximum of 34 children aged 3 years to those not yet attending primary school. The nursery is located in the small village of Head of Muir. The nursery currently provides morning or afternoon sessions of 3 hours and 10 minutes Monday to Friday during school term time. The service operates from a spacious and bright playroom within the primary school. There is a secure separate entry for parents and children. The service also has an outdoor learning area adjacent to the playroom and has access to school grounds and a woodland area. Within the school, children also have planned access to the gym hall.
The main aims of the service are aligned with the Curriculum for Excellence in supporting children to become:
• Successful learners • Responsible citizens • Confident individuals • Effective contributors
A full statement of aims and objectives is available from the service on request.
We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection which took place over two days on the 27 February 2018 and 7 March 2018. We inspected two quality themes as part of this inspection: Quality of Care and Support and Quality of Environment.
The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives.
We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it right for every child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by Scottish Government, GIRFEC is a national approach to working in a consistent way with all children and young people. It is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention. The approach helps services focus on what makes a positive difference for children and young people - and what they can do to improve. Getting it right for every child is being woven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children, young people and their families.
There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it right for every child. They are: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible; and included. They are often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. We use these indicators at inspection, to assess how services are making a positive difference for children.
Inspection report for Head of Muir Primary School Nursery page 2 of 7 Inspection report
What people told us
Children were confident and happy in the nursery. They engaged well in a wide range of play experiences that reflected their different needs, interests and choices. They chose whether to play indoors or outside and moved freely between both areas. Some children confidently talked about their learning, explaining that they were learning about shapes, signs and letters. One told us; "I know all the letters in my name." Some children concentrated very well at their chosen activities, for example, making detailed drawings and creating puppets. Staff supported individual children well to engage with learning experiences, for instance using visual timetables. This promoted an inclusive culture where all children were encouraged to achieve.
We received four care standards questionnaires and spoke to three parents during our inspection. Parents strongly agreed that they were happy with the quality of early learning and childcare their children received in the nursery. They were highly satisfied with the quality of staffing, commenting that they were approachable, supportive and "really focused on children as individuals." Parents felt that communication was very good and that their views were taken into account when planning children's care and learning. They talked positively about transition arrangements and about how staff worked with other agencies to meet children's needs where appropriate. Parents thought that children were benefiting greatly from their experiences at nursery, for example, in developing their confidence, independence and social and communication skills. arP ents' comments included:
"Staff are always extremely friendly and ensure every child is acknowledged and cared for."
"The care my child receives is, I think, the best she can get. We are always aware of activities that happen on a daily basis and as a parent I receive lots of information."
"My child has come on leaps and bounds since starting nursery. Staff are all very approachable and it has been a great experience overall."
One parent commented that the cloakroom area was a bit small and cramped and we acknowledged this, however this may be addressed through future expansion plans.
Self assessment
The service had not been asked to complete a self-assessment in advance of the inspection. We looked at the improvement plan which demonstrated clear priorities for improving outcomes and discussed the improvements made since the last inspection of the service.
From this inspection we graded this service as:
Quality of care and support 5 - Very Good Quality of environment 5 - Very Good Quality of staffing not assessed Quality of management and leadership not assessed
Inspection report for Head of Muir Primary School Nursery page 3 of 7 Inspection report
What the service does well
The highly committed and experienced staff team had developed a caring and respectful ethos and put the needs of individual children and families at the heart of their work. They offered flexible and sensitive transition arrangements to enable children and parents to feel confident in the setting and enhanced this further with the use of communication books where appropriate, as well as opportunities for stay and play sessions. This had a positive impact on establishing relationships based on trust within the service and contributed very well to children being nurtured and included.
Staff knew the children in their care very well and planned carefully to meet their individual needs. In particular, we found examples of highly effective practice in meeting the additional support needs of children. Staff worked very effectively with other agencies and consistently used a range of strategies, for example, visual timetables and Makaton to support children to participate in learning experiences, express choice and achieve their potential. As a result, children were making progress, for instance, following routines and instructions and developing communication skills. Staff also provided very good support and challenge for children's learning. For example, they encouraged children's literacy and numeracy skills through exploring their interests in temperature and measurement, role play and real life experiences in the community.
Children benefited from a broad and balanced range of learning experiences that promoted their all-round health and health and wellbeing. For example, through well-thought out snack times, children were developing their independence and responsibility through cutting fruit, spreading crackers and pouring drinks. They were learning about food groups and what they needed to keep their bodies healthy. Children were also learning to grow, harvest and prepare food using some practical cookery skills, for instance when making soup. Children benefited from the strong focus on meeting their emotional needs. For example, staff used sensory play and resources as well as transitional objects where appropriate to support children to feel safe, calm and nurtured in the nursery. They made effective use of praise and encouragement to build children's confidence and self-esteem and recognised children's achievements within learning stories and 'star of the week.' Through positive role modelling, children were learning to share, take turns and resolve minor conflicts. This contributed positively to children developing respect for others and being responsible.
Staff had created a warm and welcoming environment. Children moved freely between the indoor and outdoor spaces affording them very good opportunities to follow their interests and to play on their own or with their peers. Staff had worked very well to effectively improve the visual communication environment which was having a direct impact on children's participation, choice and inclusion. Staff had also been working hard to improve the outdoor environment, including the use of more open ended and natural resources. Children were benefiting from this approach, for example, they were developing their balance, co-ordination and problem solving skills when using the crates and wooden planks. They were developing their imagination, creativity and inquiry skills when using the mud kitchen and when investigating the snow. Staff had worked with parents and community partners to fund a new trim trail which gave valuable opportunities for children to develop their physical skills and confidence. ell-establishedW woodland play contributed to high quality learning experiences that supported children's resilience, curiosity and inquiry skills. For example, children enjoyed exploring mini beasts, climbing trees and worked with others to build dens.
Inspection report for Head of Muir Primary School Nursery page 4 of 7 Inspection report
What the service could do better
We discussed ways that the service could build on established strong practice in health and wellbeing. For example, continuing to build links with services to support children on shared placements and continuing to develop approaches to family learning initiatives. The service advised that they planned to continue to evaluate and enhance transitions where possible and discussed a possible 'Big Cook Little Cook' initiative. We also discussed ways in which staff could further embed the use of wellbeing indicators in planning and in recognising children's achievements.
Staff used small group times and naturally forming groups to effectively support children's learning. We suggested that they now continue to evaluate the purpose and quality of large group times to ensure the most positive outcomes for children. We agreed that the service should, as planned, build on good practice in observing and assessing children's learning and continue to support children in developing skills for life, learning and work through high quality interactions.
We discussed how expansion plans would positively impact on developing the indoor and outdoor space, for example, outdoor learning and staff were enthusiastic about taking new ideas forward. We discussed, for example, continuing to develop risk and challenge in play through woodwork experiences and developing creativity through expressive arts.
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0
Complaints
There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com.
Inspection and grading history
Date Type Gradings 16 Dec 2014 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good
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Date Type Gradings Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good
21 Dec 2011 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 5 - Very good
25 Sep 2009 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good
Inspection report for Head of Muir Primary School Nursery page 6 of 7 Inspection report
To find out more
This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website.
Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough.
Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service.
You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com
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Other languages and formats
This report is available in other languages and formats on request.
Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas.
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