Standards, Quality and Improvement Plan
Stanwell Nursery School
Summary for Parents/carers
Parents/carers should note that they can access the full document through the link at the bottom of this page
Leadership and Management
The nursery, at all levels, is very committed to continuous improvement and has a positive attitude to change. We have a clear vision and aims which are rooted directly in our aspiration to deliver the highest quality education and childcare, together with the most relevant and effective supports for families. Stakeholders at all levels contribute to the development of this shared vision, ensuring its relevance to the needs of the local community. All staff show a high level of commitment to the vision, and to the ethos of mutual support and respect which characterises our setting. The nursery has a high local profile; it has close links with many partner organisations and is well known for its warm, welcoming and supportive ethos.
The wellbeing of our children is at the heart of our work. We have successfully supported a number of children with additional support needs, and have received positive feedback about their progress from many other professionals. We work extensively with families to encourage home learning. We encourage the development of self-regulated learning, promoting such skills as cooperation, focus and attention, problem-solving and creativity. All staff are committed to constantly reflecting on and evaluating their practice to identify meaningful improvements. We successfully implemented the Leadership and Management priorities from last year. Additional paid hours were introduced and taken up by many families. This will provide a useful starting point for the coming introduction of full time hours.
Next steps
CPD for staff on observations and interactions.
Consultation with parent/carers around service changes.
Improve use of data to evaluate improvements.
Collegiate work with other head teachers around learning and teaching
Learning Provision
The ethos of our setting prioritises respect and warmth. And children feel confident, secure and valued and their views are taken into account in a number of ways – floorbooks, learning boards, online journals and daily discussions with staff. The curriculum is firmly child-centred and children are purposefully engaged in learning through a wide range of rich and challenging experiences both indoors and outdoors. They are encouraged by staff to develop steadily in independence throughout the session. Staff have a very good understanding of child development, and have developed reliable systems to assess children’s progress and plan next steps in learning. Effective support is given to children and families at key times of transition. Over half of the children at Stanwell are bilingual – we have offered a range of practical supports to families who have English as an additional language.
Very good progress was made in the 2016-17 priority of outdoor play. The enlarged sand area, and the introduction of a wide range of natural, loose materials resulted in a clear positive impact on the richness of children’s play. Progress in the priority of Technologies was more mixed. There were some notable successes eg our 3rd Green Flag, the use by children of digital equipment such as cameras and Ipads. Some tasks remain incomplete, however, and will be carried forward to next session.
Next steps
Introduction of loose parts indoors as well as outdoors.
Forest School work.
Continue to develop technologies.
Increased use of traditional tales in long term planning.
Successes and Achievements
Stanwell Nursery has a reputation in the local community as a warm and welcoming place. We know our children very well and are skilled at initiating high quality interactions, and developing warm, responsive relationships with the children and their families. We fully understand the crucial impact this has on the child’s learning. Our commitment to respecting children and families’ rights is central to our work. Children are encouraged to show consideration for each other and to resolve conflicts through negotiation. Staff teams work very well together and model positive and caring interactions to support each other and the children.
All staff are skilled at meeting children’s emotional and social needs and put these at the heart of their work. Children are encouraged to recognise and talk about their feelings and are supported in learning the appropriate language. As a result, almost all children are confident, happy and settled, and able to make very good progress in their learning across the curriculum.
We have warm and close relationships with parents/carers, and place a high value on supporting children’s wider achievements. Parent/carers are encouraged to record these achievements on the learning journals, and to share them with the nursery community.
The Stanwell community is diverse and inclusive. As well as promoting equity through our curriculum, and through our vision, values and ethos, we have actively offered a range of practical supports which have been positively evaluated by participants.
Innovations in literacy, a priority for 2016/17, have had a significant impact on children’s enthusiasm for books, and on families’ skill in supporting this interest. The take-up of bedtime stories necessitated a significant expansion of the library, storytelling sessions for parent/carers were very positively evaluated, and the re-introduction of storysacks and the creation of writing sacks proved very popular. Oral language was promoted, in term 3, by the introduction of Talking Time groups.
Staff skills in numeracy and maths were consolidated by a SEAL maths refresher session. Staff reported a noticeable improvement in children’s numeracy skills following the incorporation of maths work into toothbrushing time. Staff are also more confident in supporting children’s numeracy work in play across the curriculum.
Next Steps
Increase staff knowledge of agencies and services within the community to improve their ability to “signpost” supports
Staff development opportunities around Additional Support for Learning – Up, Up and Away and autism training
Implement GIRFEC changes
1 in 5 Poverty training for staff
Improvement Plan Priorities for 2017-2018
To improve playroom practice and learning environment
To improve learning provision in technologies and literacy
To improve supports for children with additional support needs and their families
Stanwell Nursery School Edinburgh 