Satisfactory report

The Nursery pre-school setting is based within the Parish Centre adjoining St Teresa’s Church in the town and has been in the pre-school expansion programme for approximately two years.

In most all of the areas inspected, the quality of education provided in this pre-school setting is satisfactory; the strengths outweigh areas for improvement in the provision. The inspection has identified areas for improvement in provision and leadership and management, which need to be addressed if the needs of all of the children are to be met more effectively.

At the time of the inspection the pre-school team had been working together for a very short period. The inspection evaluations are based on evidence gained from observations of the children at play and from a range of documentation provided by the setting.

The views of the parents and staff were sought through a confidential questionnaire prior to the inspection. Five of the parents (33%) responded to the questionnaire; a small number of these parents made additional written comments. All of the responses from the parental questionnaires indicated a high level of satisfaction with the quality of the provision within the setting. In particular, the parents expressed their appreciation of the caring and supportive learning environment. The responses from the management group were all positive and supportive of the work of the staff. All of the responses have been shared with the proprietor and with the leader and staff of the preschool setting.

The inspection team concluded the quality of education provided in the nursery is satisfactory; the strengths outweigh areas for improvement in the provision. Areas for improvement identified included provision in leadership and management, which need to be addressed if the needs of all of the children are to be met more effectively.

The Education and Training Inspectorate will monitor and report on the setting’s progress in addressing the areas for improvement. The areas for improvement include the need for: the staff to develop further the methods of planning and assessment to meet the needs of all the children more effectively and to review the organisation of the day to ensure there is adequate time in the planned activities to allow the children to develop their play.