STATISTICAL INFORMATION

Name of pre-school centre: / Naíscoil na Móna
Address: / 5 Monagh Grove
BELFAST
BT11 8EJ
Management Type: / Voluntary
Date of inspection: / 22 May 2006
Date of previous inspection: / N/A

1. Details of Children

Total number of children: / am session / pm session
·  attending the pre-school centre / 18 / 16
·  in their immediate pre-school year / 18 / 0
·  funded by Department of Education / 17 / 0
·  qualifying under DE admission criteria 1 & 2 / 15 / 0
·  with a statement of SEN* / 0 / 0
·  without a statement but receiving therapy or support from other professionals for SEN / 1 / 0
·  with English as an additional language / 0 / 0
·  who left in previous school year to attend reception provision within a primary school / 0 / 0
Attendance:
·  percentage attendance** of funded children for the previous school year / 99% / 90%

* 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 / 3 / 0
Staff holding recognised childcare qualifications / 3 / 0
New appointments within previous 12 months / 0 / 0
Number of: ***
Students / 3
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 / 2¼ hours / 198

4. Parental Questionnaires

Number issued to parents:

/ 18
Percentage returned: / 7%
Number of written comments: / 3

REPORT ON THE INSPECTION OF NAÍSCOIL NA MÓNA, BELFAST BT11 8EJ (1AB-0015)

INTRODUCTION

1. Naíscoil na Móna is accommodated in a mobile classroom and is situated in the Turf Lodge area of Belfast. The children come mainly from English-speaking homes in the local area; they experience early immersion in the Irish language as the medium of communication and interaction in the centre.

2. The parents, staff and management group were given opportunities to express their views about the centre through the inspection questionnaires. Those who responded expressed a high level of satisfaction with the quality of the provision.

The Quality of the Educational Provision

3. The centre has a positive ethos based on good relationships between the staff and the children. The children are settled and well behaved; they respond well to the staff’s expectations of appropriate behaviour. The staff have worked hard to create a bright and interesting learning environment within the playroom; good use is made of the children’s art work to enhance the environment.

4. The staff are developing some useful links with the parents. Irish classes are organised for parents in Bunscoil na Móna and more than half of the parents avail of this support. Recordings of songs and rhymes in Irish are supplied to parents to encourage them to become involved in their children’s education. The staff should continue to strengthen the communication with the parents by meeting with them more formally at appropriate times of the year to inform them about their children’s overall progress and achievements.

5. The centre has a suitable written policy on child protection. The staff are aware of appropriate procedures to safeguard the welfare of the children. The parents are given information about the centre’s policy and procedures.

6. The staff have worked hard during the past few months to make good progress in developing the written planning. The planning outlines a broad, balanced programme for the children, designed to foster their all-round development. It identifies many aspects of learning inherent in the various aspects of play. On the day of the inspection, the planned theme and activities were well matched to the interests of the children. The staff have appropriately identified the need to develop a clearer link between the assessment information and the weekly plans in order to ensure that the children’s differing needs are met.

7. The session is well managed to provide a good balance of free play, when the children can explore the full range of materials available, and activities organised by the staff. The children benefit from the opportunities to participate in group activities involving stories, songs and rhymes.


8. The staff all give the children continuous support during play; their involvement is sensitive and purposeful. The leader demonstrates confidence and competence in her use of Irish; she supports the other members of staff, and plans with them to help them work effectively. The staff have identified appropriate classes to develop further their skills in the Irish language. During the inspection, there were many instances when the staff used an effective range of questioning techniques and strategies to promote and extend the children’s language, stimulating their interest and extending their learning. The children are gaining a solid foundation in Irish.

9. The centre’s programme promotes effectively the children’s personal, social and emotional development. The range of activities provided offers good opportunities for learning in most of the other areas of the pre-school curriculum.

• The careful attention given to promoting the children’s personal, social and emotional development is evident in the children’s abilities to make independent choices of activity and to sustain high levels of concentration and co-operative play. The children are well motivated and show a good level of involvement in their activities.

• The staff work hard to provide some daily opportunities for the children to participate in physical play including music and movement sessions. The energetic physical play programme is restricted by the inadequate space and resources available.

• The range of creative activities provided encourages the children to explore and experiment with different materials and tools; some children have begun to make detailed representations of people and objects in their surroundings.

• The staff have created an appropriate environment to promote the children’s language development. The children listen attentively and demonstrate a good level of understanding. They are beginning to produce words and short phrases, which they understand. The children’s language is developed effectively through skilful story-telling sessions, the use of rhymes and songs which the children clearly enjoy. There are opportunities for the children to experiment with writing and drawing; a few children are attempting to write their names independently.

• The staff use appropriate mathematical language as an integral part of the play and of the daily routines and promote an interest in counting, matching and making comparisons. Early scientific ideas are developed through play with sand and water and through more structured activities such as making play dough. Early technological ideas are developed through the use of a good range of constructional materials. Effective use is made of appropriate topics to extend the children’s knowledge of, and interest in, the world around them.

10. The staff know the children well and are beginning to record some thoughtful observations of the children’s responses to play. Further development is needed, however, to ensure that there are effective and consistent arrangements for monitoring, recording and reporting the children’s progress.

11. Valuable links have been established with the neighbouring Irish-medium primary school and with St Martin’s Nursery School. Transition records are completed for the primary schools to which the children transfer.

12. The staff are alert to some children’s needs for additional support. They offer support to the children and liaise with the parents and other professionals when appropriate.

13. The leader is hard-working and is a good role-model in her own work with the children. The staff plan and evaluate the programme together; they work well as a team and display commitment to the centre and to the children’s welfare. Much hard work has been done in recent months to bring about significant improvements in the provision. The staff value the good support and advice given by the centre’s recently appointed early years specialist. The centre has identified some appropriate areas for review and development; the development plan should now be amended in line with the inspection findings.

14. The quality of the accommodation is satisfactory. Good use is made of all the available space in the playroom. The centre has access to a small outdoor area. The staff should review the use of this area to promote a wider range of learning and to ensure the safety of the children. The centre has an adequate supply of equipment and materials. Additional materials and equipment are needed for the development of a challenging physical play programme.

15. The strengths of the centre include:

• the positive ethos which promotes the children’s confidence and self-esteem;

• the thoughtful organisation of the daily timetable which gives a good balance

of extended free play and more adult-directed activities;

• the many examples of effective staff interaction that promote the children’s

language and learning;

• the good opportunities to learn in most areas of the pre-school curriculum;

• the children’s sustained and purposeful play;

• the progress made in developing the written planning; and

• the strong sense of team-work and commitment among the hard-working staff.

16. The inspection has also identified areas for improvement. In addressing the most important of these areas, the centre needs to:

• continue to develop the planning and assessment methods in order to ensure that the children’s differing needs are met.

17. There are strengths in many important aspects of the educational and pastoral provision in this pre-school centre. There are also areas that require improvement if the needs of the children are to be met fully.


APPENDIX

Health and Safety

·  The outdoor area to the side of the mobile needs to be better secured to safeguard the children at play.

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