It was top marks for pupils and staff at Greengables Nursery School, Niddrie House Gardens after they received a positive report from school inspectors.
Jane Watson, Headteacher said: “All the staff at Greengables are delighted to have received such a positive report and we aim to continue to work together with parents to make sure we have happy, confident and motivated children who enjoy learning.”
There are several other 2011 reports by HMIe including a follow-through report on Tynecastle High School which reports :-
“The following is an extract from the follow-through report on the above establishment.
Particular strengths of the school
• Improved morale and better working relationships between young people and staff.
• More confident young people who engage enthusiastically in their learning.
• Increased opportunities for achievement offered across the school.
• The leadership of senior managers in improving the school.
What happens next?
There is clear evidence of a number of improvements in the school’s work since the original inspection. Aspects of learning and teaching are now better and morale is now higher. More remains to be done to improve attainment. We will request a report from the education authority, within one year of the publication of this report, on the degree to which the school is continuing to improve attainment. Depending on the progress which has been made, we will consider whether or not to carry out any further inspection visits. Parents will be informed about the progress made.”
The HMIe have also visited St Leonard’s Nursery School, Edinburgh and reported:-
“Particular strengths of the centre
• Children’s progress in their learning and development.
• Use of the outdoor area to develop children’s learning across the curriculum.
• The highly motivated headteacher and staff team who work well together to improve learning and teaching.
• Positive partnerships with parents.
• The nursery’s success in gaining recognition for wider achievements.
What happens next?
As a result of the very good quality of education provided by the centre, we will make no further visits in connection with this inspection. The education authority will inform parents about the centre’s progress as part of the authority’s arrangements for reporting to parents on the quality of its centres.
We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the centre and education authority.
• Continue to develop personal profiles as planned to document children’s progress.
• Continue to develop children’s ability to access more resources in certain areas of the nursery.”
The HMIe had also been out to see the nursery run by Careshare – Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh
Particular strength of the centre
• Enthusiastic children who are eager to learn.
What happens next?
• We will carry out a follow-through inspection visit within one year of publication of this report and will report to parents on the extent to which the centre has improved. Following that visit, we may continue to check the improvements the centre has made. We may also carry out a second follow-through inspection within two years of the original inspection report. If a second follow through inspection visit is necessary then it will result in another report to parents on the extent of improvement that the centre has made.
We have agreed the following areas for improvement with the school and education authority.
• Develop a shared understanding of Birth to Three and Curriculum for Excellence and improve the range and quality of children’s learning experiences.
• Improve observation and planning to ensure children make appropriate progress in all aspects of their learning.
• Improve the quality of staff’s interactions with children and ensure children’s learning needs are better met.
• Ensure care routines for toddlers are responsive and flexible to their needs.
• Deploy staff more effectively to ensure familiarity of personnel for children under two.
• Improve security and carry out repairs timeously.
• Develop a shared responsibility for evaluating the work of the nursery and implement planned improvements for children’s experiences.
Requirement
• The provider must introduce more robust cleaning procedures within the youngest baby’s playrooms to control the spread of infection.
This is in order to comply with: Scottish Statutory Instrument 2002/114 Regulation 4(1)(d) – a requirement to have appropriate procedures for the control of infection.
HMIe also reported on Bright Horizons @ Bruntsfield, Edinburgh
The following is an extract from the follow-through report on the above establishment.
Particular strengths of the centre
• Children across the nursery who are enthusiastic, motivated learners.
• The improvements to the quality of children’s learning experiences.
• The teamwork of staff in improving the approaches to meeting children’s learning needs.
• The work of the manager and staff in creating a positive climate of self-evaluation.
What happens next?
There is clear evidence of improvement and the nursery now performs well. The arrangements for improving children’s learning experiences, progress, meeting children’s needs, the curriculum and self evaluation are now good or better.
Photo by D Sharon Pruitt and reproduced here under a Creative Commons License
