Introduction

1.Donagh ‘WeeFolk’ Playgroup is a pre-school centre under voluntary management. At the time of the inspection, a total of 17 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.

The Quality of the Educational Provision

3.There is a happy family atmosphere in the centre. The staff work hard to create an attractive playroom in order to stimulate the children's curiosity and to arouse their interest in their environment. The playroom is brightened and enhanced by displays of the children’s own art work, posters and an interest table. The children and their parents are welcomed on arrival and the children settle quickly to play. Relationships between the staff and the children are good; the staff provide a secure and supportive environment in which the children can explore and experiment freely. The children are settled and well-behaved.

4.The communication with the parents is effective. Parents are encouraged to play a role in the education of their children through the formal and informal opportunities provided to share information with the staff. Before the children start attending, an informative booklet provides details of the pre-school programme and the organisation of the playgroup. The monthly newsletters and items displayed on the parents’ noticeboard are designed to inform the parents about the work of the group. Recently, a ‘Parent Information Evening’ was organised with the support of the centre’s early years specialist; this event provided additional information and an open forum for parents to discuss the pre-school programme. Some parents provide suitable resources to extend the centre’s supply; for example, one parent provided a range of wooden blocks which enhanced the children’s opportunities to develop early technological and mathematical ideas. Although the staff seek information about the children before they start attending the playgroup, they need to review the settling-in arrangements in order to ensure that all the children’s individual needs are met. The staff are encouraging the parents to be more punctual in order to minimise interruptions during the session. The inspection provided opportunities for the parents to express their views about the centre. The majority of the parents who responded were satisfied or very satisfied with the centre’s provision. One issue raised about the resources is addressed in the relevant sections of the report.

5.The centre has a suitable written policy on child protection which is shared with the management committee and the parents. The staff have attended child protection training and have discussed and developed appropriate procedures to safeguard the welfare of the children.

6.The staff have made a useful start to planning a broad educational programme. The staff regularly evaluate the planned programme and, as a team, they are consolidating their shared understanding of the developing pre-school curriculum. Themes are used to provide a range of interesting activities throughout the year. Recently, the staff have begun to take account of the children’s responses, differing needs and interests to inform their planning. The planning should now be extended to include more detail of the learning which the staff intend to promote through the activities and the progression expected over the year.

7.The organisation of the earlier part of the session provides a suitable period of freely chosen play and ensures that the children have opportunities to choose from a range of activities, and to develop sustained and concentrated play. The snack routine is incorporated effectively into the daily timetable, promoting the children’s independence and social and conversational skills, and developing their awareness of healthy eating. The staff need to improve the organisation of the latter part of the session in order to ensure that all the time, particularly towards the end of the session, is used effectively for learning.

8.The many instances of quality interaction between the staff and the children foster successfully the children’s thinking and oral development. The staff often engage the children in valuable discussion about their play and experiences, and encourage their interest in making close observations during the activities.

9.The centre’s programme promotes effectively the children’s personal, social and emotional development. The range of activities provided offers many good opportunities for learning in all the other areas of the pre-school curriculum. The points which follow illustrate specific aspects of the programme.

  • Many of the children appear confident and display high levels of concentration in their play, particularly in the imaginative, constructional and investigative areas. Most of the children are well-motivated, co-operate well with one another, and are learning to share materials agreeably as they choose freely and explore the wide range provided.
  • The children have good opportunities to gain control of small tools during art and water play activities. When the weather permits, there are opportunities for outdoor play when the staff provide ball games and some energetic play. During the inspection, some of the children participated in music and movement activities which were limited in their potential to generate and sustain the children’s interest. The staff have identified appropriately the need to develop further the physical play programme.
  • The wide range of creative activities encourages the children to explore and experiment with different materials and tools. During the inspection, the children painted pictures and created a group collage of birds and lambs; the staff helped the children to talk about their work. There are good opportunities for informal singing and for listening to recorded music.
  • High priority is given to developing the children's language through skilful talk and discussion, and the introduction by the staff of a rich vocabulary and range of ideas; as a result, many of the children freely express their ideas to one another and to the staff. The staff provide strong encouragement for the children to develop an interest in books by ensuring that the children have access to a good selection displayed in an attractive area, and that stories are read at the children’s request. During play, books and magazines are incorporated into the activities to extend the children’s interest. The children show an interest in early writing arising as a natural part of their imaginative play.
  • There is good promotion of early mathematical ideas when, for example, as part of a water play activity, the children sort funnels and match them to different sizes of tubing. The staff make effective use of imaginative play and activities involving the use of constructional materials to promote early mathematical ideas. They encourage the children to count, match and make comparisons and to recognise shapes as they play with the materials and equipment. There are opportunities to handle money during role play in the “post-office”. Some children recite number rhymes spontaneously during play.
  • Early scientific ideas are developed effectively through well-planned play with natural materials and exploration of items on the stimulating interest table; the provision of magnifiers and models of various creatures stimulates the children’s interest and discussion about animals. The children have good opportunities to learn about the living environment by growing bulbs and seeds. During the inspection, some children made thoughtful observations about the properties of water and talked freely about sounds and textures during play. The children have good opportunities to gain technological skills when they work with the wooden blocks and a variety of other constructional materials.
  • There is good use of seasonal and farming themes to extend the children’s knowledge of, and interest in, the world around them. The children’s experiences have been extended by a visit to the local fire station and to the library.

10.The staff operate a key-worker system and make regular written observations of the children’s play. They have begun to arrange formalised meetings with the parents in order to share information about the children’s progress. The assessment system needs to be implemented more fully in order to establish a comprehensive approach to monitoring, recording and reporting the children’s progress.

11.The centre has established useful links with appropriate professionals and with a local primary school and another playgroup in the area.

12.The leader manages the centre effectively and brings a high level of interest and enthusiasm to her work. She is a good role model for the other staff and is well supported by her deputy. The staff are hard-working, dedicated and committed to the development of the centre and to the educational programme. Weekly meetings ensure that all the staff share in decision-making, planning the programme and evaluating the work. The centre has an appropriate development plan. The staff report that they benefit from the advice, guidance and support provided by the early years specialist and from the support provided by the management committee.

13.The playgroup is located in a former school building which has been adapted to provide a spacious playroom. The staff work hard to brighten the environment and to make the best use of the space available; they are aware that the location of some equipment belonging to other users of the premises restricts the floor space. There are toilets off the playroom and the entrance has recently been secured. The centre has access to an outdoor play area.

14.There is a good range of resources which are arranged attractively in the playroom. Many areas of play are enhanced by authentic items, such as kitchen equipment; the staff supervise carefully the children’s play with these resources.

15.The strengths of the centre include:

  • the happy family atmosphere and the good relationships at all levels;
  • the attractive and stimulating learning environment;
  • the effective communication and links with the parents and their support in providing resources for the centre;
  • the interesting activities and the staff's imaginative use of a range of resources to promote productive and concentrated play;
  • the good opportunities provided for the children to explore and investigate, and the promotion of their language development;
  • the well-organised leader and the commitment and co-operation of all the staff;
  • the action taken by the staff to address the areas identified appropriately for improvement.

16.Overall, the quality of the educational provision in this pre-school centre is good; the needs of the children are being well met. The staff should plan to address the few areas which require attention.

APPENDIX

Health and Safety

On the day of the inspection, the room was too cold.

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