Nursery standards 'must improve'

Inspectors found standards at the nursery needed to improve

The standard of learning for children at a Stirling nursery needs to improve, government inspectors have said.

Of five areas examined at Whitecraigs in St Ninians, three were rated as "weak" by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education (HMIe).

They included child experience, meeting learning needs and improvements in performance.

The nursery, which is run privately in partnership with Stirling Council, was inspected in September.

In the report, HMIe, who carried out the inspection on behalf of themselves and the Care Commission, said that overall children were happy and confident in the nursery.

However, inspectors called for improvements in the range and quality of learning for all the children at Whitecraigs and to provide more choice for children aged three to five years.

'Continuous improvement'

In addition, they want assurances that children will make good progress in all aspects of their learning and development and that systems for monitoring and self-evaluation focus on improving learning and teaching.

Inspectors have also called for better leadership to support staff in taking forward the required improvements.

In particular, the report found that staff did not provide sufficient activities for children to explore, investigate and solve problems.

HMIe said that nursery workers needed to involve children more in talking about their learning and to share details of that learning with parents.

They said that staff needed a "better awareness" of legislation designed to meet the needs of the children in their care.

The report said: "The management team needs to work closely with representatives from the local education authority in order to improve the quality of provision.

"They also need to develop a clear vision for developing the nursery and share this with staff, parents and children."

In response, a spokeswoman for Stirling Council said: "The council will work with the nursery to ensure continuous improvement."

At the time of the inspection, Whitecraigs, which caters for pre school children aged from birth to five years, had a total roll of 74 children.