3 days ago
Renfrewshire nursery team praised by inspectors in positive report
Education Scotland ranked Kilbarchan Community Nursery as 'good' in the two areas it was assessed on.
A Renfrewshire nursery's 'nurturing and respectful relationships' have been praised by the education watchdog after a recent inspection.
A team of inspectors from Education Scotland visited Kilbarchan Community Nursery in March when they spoke with parents, carers and children, and worked closely with the manager and head of setting and staff.
On a six-point scale where one is unsatisfactory and six is excellent, the Meadside Avenue facility was rated as four – or 'good' – for its learning, teaching and assessment, and also rated as 'four' for its ability to secure children's progress.
During the visit, the inspectors commented on areas of strength which were outlined in their report.
It noted nurturing, respectful relationships 'permeate the nursery and create a gentle relaxed environment.'
A report read: 'This enables children and their families to settle quickly and feel valued.
'The quality of teamwork amongst managers, practitioners and staff and their openness with families creates a strong sense of community.'
Within their report, the inspectors noted and praised the children at the nursery and said: 'Children are enthusiastic and benefit from warm friendships.
'This enables them to play cooperatively and take forward their interests together.
'They choose from a wide range of attractive learning spaces indoors and outdoors in the garden and local area.'
Kilbarchan Community Nursery is a standalone nursery within a building leased from Renfrewshire Council.
A manager and depute manager, who are both new to post, lead the nursery and a board of trustees has oversight of the nursery as a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
The watchdog praised the facilities management team within its report, stating: 'The dedication and willingness of the new management team to collaborate with practitioners and outside professionals to improve outcomes for children.'
The nursery also employs two early years senior practitioners, four early years practitioners and five support workers – all of which were mentioned positively within the report.
The document added: 'Practitioners have created a calm and joyful ethos as a team.
'They demonstrate clearly mutual respect and kindness.
'Practitioners know children and their families very well and dedicate time to getting to know children's preferences.
'They interact with children warmly and support them sensitively as they develop communication skills.'
Following the inspection, areas for improvement were identified and discussed with the manager, the head of setting and a representative from the council.
An area for improvement suggested staff should 'continue to improve further the quality of interactions between practitioners and children to ensure greater engagement, support and challenge for all children'.
And a second area for improvement was noted as: 'With the guidance of managers and local authority representatives staff should continue to improve the quality of observation, planning for learning and tracking children's progress.
'This will ensure all children make the sustained progress they are capable of.'
Education Scotland stated it was 'confident that the nursery has the capacity to continue to improve' and will, therefore, make no more visits in connection with this inspection.
