Mixed report for playgroup
Praise but room for improvement
Inspectors have praised aspects of St Ninians Playgroup, while suggesting some areas for improvement.
The playgroup is held in St Ninians Old Parish Church and has 24 children aged 2½-5.
A newly published report following an inspection in March shows leadership and ensuring wellbeing, equality and inclusion to be good, with learning, teaching and assessment and the securing of children’s progress deemed satisfactory.
The inspectors said key strengths of the playgroup included “happy, safe, confident children who are increasingly successful in their learning” as well as strong partnerships with the parents’ committee and with Stirling Council.
They added: “Caring practitioners have developed strong, positive relationships with children and families which ensure wellbeing needs are met.”
The inspectors also identified areas for improvement which were discussed with the playgroup manager and Stirling Council.
They were advised to implement use of the national self-evaluation framework to drive improvements and monitor practice, further embed opportunities for more literary and numeracy experiences both inside and outside the playroom and develop further approaches to learning and teaching to ensure children are suitably challenged in their play and given more opportunities for outdoor play.
The playgroup was also advised to identify clearer next steps in learning for children and refine approaches to planning for children’s learning and tracking the progress they make.
The inspectors added: “All practitioners are highly committed to delivering a high-quality service that meets the needs of children and families.
“Practitioners are aware of the individual circumstances of almost all the families attending and make good use of this information to ensure everyone is treated equally and makes good progress. Families speak very positively about the supportive relationship they have with practitioners.
“The annual improvement plan includes relevant priorities for the setting which have led to improvement. The plan for 2015/16 has had a positive impact on improving the quality of experiences for children.”
The playgroup was said to be “very proactive” in seeking appropriate help at an early stage from other agencies for children with additional support needs.
The inspectors said: “We are confident the setting has the capacity to continue to improve so we will make no more visits in connection with this inspection.”
Families speak positively about the relationship they have