/ Providing Inspection Services for
Department of Education
Department for Employment and Learning
Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure
Inspection of Moy Area Playgroup
Moy, Co Tyrone
(DE Number: 5AB-0215)
A Report by the Education and Training Inspectorate
November 2003

STATISTICAL INFORMATION

Name of pre-school centre: / Moy Area Playgroup
Address: / The Mobile
32 Benburb Road
Moy, Co Tyrone
BT71 7SQ
Management Type: / Voluntary
Date of inspection: / 18 November 2003
Date of previous inspection: / 2 November 1998

1. Details of Children

Total number of children: / am session / pm session
·  attending the pre-school centre / 22
·  in their immediate pre-school year / 16
·  funded by Department of Education / 14
·  qualifying under DE admission criteria 1 & 2 / 0
·  with a statement of SEN* / 0
·  without a statement but receiving therapy or support from other professionals for SEN / 0
·  with English as an additional language / 0
·  who left in previous school year to attend reception provision within a primary school / 0
Attendance:
·  percentage attendance** of funded children for the previous school year / 90.6%

* Special Educational Needs

** Calculated from the date when the intake was complete

2. Details of Staff

Number of: /

Full-time

/ Part-time
Staff, including leader / 2 / 1
Staff holding recognised childcare qualifications / 2 / 1
New appointments within previous 12 months / 0 / 0
Number of: ***
Students / 1
Trainees / 0

*** Total placements since September of current year

3. Details of Sessions

Duration of morning session / Duration of afternoon session / Number of days open in previous year
3 hours / N/A / 186

4. Parental Questionnaires

Number issued to parents:

/ 16
Percentage returned: / 56.3
Number of written comments: / 7

INTRODUCTION

1. Moy Area Playgroup is situated on the outskirts of Moy village. The children come mainly from the surrounding area.

2. In their response to the inspection questionnaire, the parents expressed a high level of satisfaction with the centre's provision.

THE QUALITY OF THE EDUCATIONAL PROVISION

3. There is a friendly, caring atmosphere in the centre; relationships at all levels are very good. The children are settled and well behaved; some firm friendships are developing. The environment is attractive and stimulating; displays of the children’s art work and interest areas, supported by appropriate books and pictures arouse the children’s curiosity and increase their knowledge of the environment.

4. The centre has an effective programme of liaison with the parents; the staff use a variety of appropriate methods to encourage them to play a role in the education of their children and the life of the centre.

5. The staff have recently reviewed the written policy on child protection and are aware of appropriate procedures to safeguard the welfare of the children. Information about the centres policy and procedures is shared with the parents.

6. The staff work closely on the planning which outlines a broad, balanced programme for the children. Themes and topics are incorporated skilfully to provide stimulating and varied learning experiences that progress steadily throughout the year. Observations of the children’s individual responses and interests are noted by the staff and used to guide future work.

7. The daily timetable provides a good balance of free play and activities organised by the staff and ensures that the children have adequate time to develop their play. The necessary routines are managed unobtrusively and used effectively to promote learning.

8. The quality of the staff’s involvement and interaction with the children is generally of a high standard. The staff engage the children in valuable discussion about their play and personal experiences, and participate sensitively in many of the activities to provide role models and to extend the play.

9. The centre’s programme promotes effectively the children’s all-round development and provides good opportunities for learning in all areas of the pre-school curriculum. The points which follow illustrate specific aspects of the centre’s provision.

·  The well-organised and orderly environment helps to create a settled atmosphere where the children’s play is both purposeful and concentrated. The children appear happy, they make confident choices and co-operate readily with the staff during activities. The staff encourage the children to be independent and to share materials agreeably.

·  The careful arrangement of activities, and the teaching of safe play, help the children to gain appropriate physical skills and to use a variety of equipment and tools with confidence. Outdoor play is available when the weather permits.

·  The children’s abilities to express their ideas creatively are developed effectively through the use of a wide range of materials. There are good opportunities for singing and music-making which develop effectively the children's abilities to use percussion instruments. During the inspection, some of the children made musical shakers in the craft area which they later used in the music session.

·  The staff make good use of the play opportunities to develop the children’s conversational skills and use appropriate questions to extend and develop language and learning. The children are


encouraged to become interested in books, to experiment with scribbling and marking, and to begin to recognise their printed names and text displayed around the room.

·  Appropriate aspects of early mathematical learning are incorporated incidentally into the play and necessary routines.

·  The children are helped to become aware of the properties of materials through well-planned play with sand, water and scrap materials. The recently developed outdoor garden provides further opportunities to develop the children's scientific and sensory awareness as they observe, explore and investigate the living environment. There are good opportunities for the children to design and build using a variety of constructional materials.

·  Good use is made of seasonal and environmental topics to extend the children’s knowledge of, and interest in the world around them.

10. The staff are developing an appropriate system of assessment. Thoughtful observations of the children’s achievements are noted and used in planning to meet the needs of individuals and groups. Information on the children’s progress is shared with the parents through written reports and individual meetings.

11. The centre has established useful links with some of the primary schools to which the children will transfer in year 1, and provides them with information about the children’s progress.

12. The leader manages the centre effectively; she brings a high level of skill and enthusiasm to her work and is a good role model for the staff. The staff are hard-working and dedicated; they work very well as a team. The staff value the support provided by the management committee, and the advice and guidance offered by the centre’s early years specialist.

13. The quality of the accommodation is very good. The centre has a broad range of good quality resources.

14. The strengths of the centre include:

·  the attractive and stimulating learning environment;

·  the positive ethos that promotes the children’s confidence and self-esteem, and the good relationships at all levels;

·  the organisation of the daily timetable;

·  the many examples of good quality interaction between the staff and the children;

·  the good learning opportunities in all areas of the pre-school curriculum;

·  the thoughtful approach to planning the educational programme and to assessing the children’s progress and development;

·  the effective leadership and dedicated staff who work well as a team.

15. There are major strengths in all aspects of the educational and pastoral provision in this pre-school centre. The needs of the children are being met very effectively.

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ã CROWN COPYRIGHT 2004

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: www.deni.gov.uk