STATISTICAL INFORMATION - NURSERY SCHOOLS

School: Dunclug Nursery, Ballymena
Ref No: 311-6165
Date of Inspection: W/C 8 May 2000
Number of teachers (including Principal and part-time teachers): 2
(Full-time equivalent = 32.4 hours)
Number of nursery assistants (including part-time assistants): 2.05
(Full-time equivalent = 30 hours)
Total Enrolment:
Number of children attending full-time:
Number of children attending part-time:
Average attendance for the previous school year: (this should
be calculated from the date when the intake is complete)
Percentage of children entitled to free school meals:
/
78
26
52
72
11.5%
Duration of sessions:
/
Full-time:
Part-time:
/
9.00 am-1.30 pm
9.00 am-11.30 am
12.30 pm-3.00 pm

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Introduction

1.1Dunclug Nursery School is a two unit nursery school situated in DouryRoad in Ballymena, CoAntrim. The school operates a mixed pattern of attendance with 52 children attending on a part time basis; 26 children attend full time. Twelve percent of the children are entitled to free school meals.

1.2The arrangements for the inspection of pastoral care included the completion of questionnaires by the parents as well as meetings with parents and governors. The vast majority of comments from the meetings and questionnaires indicated a very high level of satisfaction with the school, particularly in relation to the effectiveness and enthusiasm of the principal, the caring and attentive staff and the well organised learning environment. The inspection confirms these comments.

2.Summary of Main Findings

2.1There is a settled, caring atmosphere; relationships between the staff and the children are excellent. The staff provide the children with a high level of reassurance and support; they promote the children’s confidence and encourage them to attempt new activities. They have a consistent approach to discipline and set high standards for the children’s behaviour. The children are well behaved and are constantly involved in purposeful activity. The secure supportive environment helps the children to grow in confidence, independence and self esteem.

2.2The nursery is bright and inviting; the environment is arranged thoughtfully to stimulate the children’s curiosity and sense of wonder. Good use is made of a wide range of the children’s art work to create colourful displays linked to the current themes and topics. The staff place particular importance on making the entrance areas attractive for children, parents and visitors.

2.3The staff have established strong and effective links with parents; through the provision of an open evening, a monthly newsletter, regular meetings, the school encourages the parents to play an active role in the education of their children. There are daily opportunities for informal contact with the parents at the beginning and end of the session. An appropriate settling-in procedure is operated.

2.4The school is working towards implementing the procedures for Pastoral Care and Child Protection as outlined in Department of Education Circular1999/10. The staff need to develop further their understanding in order to ensure that the procedures related to Child Protection are comprehensive. While the principal has attended recent training, she has appropriately identified the need for all of the staff to attend relevant training in this area of their work.

2.5The principal has worked hard in conjunction with the other members of staff to provide detailed and comprehensive written planning. The planning outlines a broad, balanced programme, designed to foster the children’s all round development. The staff are identifying the differing needs of the children and incorporating this information into their planning. The staff work closely on planning and evaluating the programme and it is evident that much has been achieved.

2.6Thoughtful organisation of the daily routines allows the nursery day to flow smoothly. Lengthy periods of uninterrupted play allow the children to make choices and have adequate time to develop their play and explore the range of activities. The children’s snack time and lunch time are organised informally and operate effectively, providing many opportunities to develop the children’s independence and a sense of responsibility.

2.7The quality of the interaction between the staff and the children is of a consistently high standard. The staff encourage the children to observe and to think and they engage them in valuable discussions about their play and their experiences. They spend quality time with groups and individuals, promoting the children’s language, participating skilfully in the play and observing the children’s progress through play. They observe and note any areas where particular children are having difficulty and plan activities to help them make progress in these areas.

2.8The play areas are laid out in an inviting and in an attractive manner; a wide range of activities promotes interesting and stimulating play. The range of activities provided offers very good opportunities for learning in all the other areas of the pre-school curriculum.

2.9The careful attention given to promoting the children’s personal, social and emotional development is evident in their abilities to make independent choices of activity. Many of the children sustain high levels of concentration throughout the sessions and take obvious pride in their achievements. There are many instances of good co-operative play where they work well with one another; some firm friendships are developing.

2.10The children have regular periods of outdoor play, weather permitting. The children have daily use of the enclosed veranda area, adjacent to the playrooms for more energetic play activities. Very good use is made of the space and the children have many opportunities to develop and acquire a variety of physical skills. Good use is made of the garden area; the recently painted “roadway” is popular with the children and is used effectively to introduce road safety. The school have plans to develop the range of large equipment further to provide additional challenge in climbing and balancing. The children are developing good control of small tools as they work on the woodwork bench.

2.11In the children’s creative work, emphasis is placed on exploring a wide range of media and techniques through an interesting range of art activities in two and three dimensions. During the inspection the children displayed considerable interest in painting stones, some children enjoyed mixing the colours, while others took great effort in selecting and painting the patterns of familiar minibeasts. Their paintings and drawings show both attention to detail and control of tools.

2.12The staff place a high priority on developing the children’s oral skills. Many of the children talk confidently about their play and discuss ideas with their friends. The emphasis which staff place on talking and listening is evident in the progress which the children are making in their use of language and in the way they talk about the current topic of ‘minibeasts’. The children enjoy books and turn naturally to them during play. They are
introduced to text incidentally through captions attached to the wall displays and their early interest in writing is encouraged as they explore the writing materials available. Story sessions are imaginative and enjoyable; the children listen attentively and contribute enthusiastically. The children have a good repertoire of rhymes and songs.

2.13There is good promotion of early mathematical ideas through various aspects of play; for example when children match and count their picnic set, make informal comparisons of weight as they handle and roll out the dough and make reference to the time it takes to bake their ‘pretend buns’. A growing awareness of mathematical ideas is evident through the children’s play; suitable games and puzzles are well used to reinforce early ideas of number.

2.14The children’s ideas of science and technology are developed effectively through stimulating play with sand, water, dough, wood, junk, blocks and natural materials. The purposeful involvement of the staff encourages the children to observe closely, note changes and discover properties of these natural materials. The introduction of real vegetables in the home corner play helps to raise the children’s awareness of their senses.

2.15The children learn about their environment through activities which are integrated skilfully into the sessions of play. They are encouraged to develop their skills of observation, exploration and discussion through the thoughtful presentation of natural displays throughout the school. During the inspection the children talked about the lifecycle of the frog, and were enthusiastic in talking about and caring for the variety of insects and minibeasts. The children’s experiences are extended further by a wide variety of visits to places of interest and by visits to the school by members of the local community.

2.16The school has a Millennium Project which seeks to add large equipment to the garden area to facilitate more energetic play. Funding for this has been secured from a number of sources and parents have been generous in their donations for this venture.

2.17The relaxed beginning and end to the school day encourages parents to come into the playrooms and to discuss the activities with their children; informal opportunities arise at these times for the exchange of information between the teachers and the parents. The principal plans to introduce regular meetings with the parents to discuss their child’s progress and development; the staff provide a written report for each child at the end of the year. The staff are developing an appropriate system of monitoring and assessment; they observe, and evaluate, the quality of the children’s play. Individual booklets record the children’s achievements and include examples of their work; a more systematic approach to observing and recording the children’s progress throughout the year is needed.

2.18The children with special educational needs are given excellent support and are helped to integrate with the other children. The staff have a clear view of the children’s special needs and have developed effective links with external agencies. A thoughtful and purposeful programme of activities has been put in place by the principal and the special needs assistant; additional ancillary support has been provided by the school to enable the staff to address the children’s needs more effectively.

2.19There are valuable links with speech therapists and other professionals. The children transfer to eight local primary schools; the majority of teachers of the year1 classes visit the nursery school, meet the children and discuss the progress with the staff. The current procedures help the children make a smooth transition to school.

2.20The school is organised and managed effectively. The principal has been in post for over two years and brings a high level of skill, dedication and understanding to her work. She is an excellent role model, who promotes a strong sense of teamwork and establishes clear goals for the nursery. She is supported effectively by the assistant teacher, the nursery assistants and the ancillary staff within the school, who are all committed to the welfare of the children. The thoughtful and detailed school development plan is reviewed regularly to ensure that the priorities are being implemented and the aims which have been identified for the school are reflected clearly in practice. The principal has led the staff in developing planning and assessment, improving the environment for learning and developing effective links with parents. Good progress has been made on all the areas identified for development this year, an appropriate emphasis has been placed on staff development. The review of the curriculum, now well established, is making a significant impact on the quality of the children’s experiences.

2.21The playroom accommodation is excellent and much has been achieved by the extension of the veranda into a play area, and by refurbishment and improvements to the furniture and equipment, both indoors and outdoors. Imaginative use of space by the staff maximises the amount of play area available for the children. The school is now well resourced and the equipment is well maintained.

2.22The strengths of the nursery include:

  • the attractive and stimulating learning environment which fosters exploration and discovery; and the thoughtful organisation of the day;
  • the caring family atmosphere, the valuable links established with parents and the excellent relationships at all levels;
  • the skilful interaction which promotes the children’s all round development;
  • the variety and quality of the learning experiences and the detailed and effective planning;
  • the effective and enthusiastic leadership;
  • the attention given to meeting the differing needs of the children; the good teamwork and the commitment of the staff;
  • the consistency in providing similar experiences and opportunities for the children in all sessions.

2.23Overall, the quality of the education provided in this nursery school is very good; the needs of the children are being well met. The staff should plan to address the few areas which require attention.

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