2-7 Information about The English Nursery. 8 Systematic Quality Work review Process. 9 Targets for 2014 at The English Nursery

Transcription

1 Contents Page No: 2-7 Information about The English Nursery 8 Systematic Quality Work review Process 9 Targets for 2014 at The English Nursery Parent Questionnaire Results (Oct 2013) Evaluation of Parent Questionnaire Results (Oct 2013) The English Nursery Staff Self Review (May & Nov 2013) 1

2 The English Nursery The English Nursery is part of the Tanto Brf, which also includes The Tanto International School. The preschool is located in Södermalm, near Tantolunden, on the south side of the island. The nursery has 30 places available to children ranging from 1-6 years in age. The nursery employs 5 full time staff to work alongside a Förskolechef. This year the groups have been divided, for safety as well as educational and development reasons, into 1 group of 2-3 year olds, 1 group of 4-5 years olds and 1 group of 5-6 year olds. The pre-school is lead by 2 Directors and a Förskolechef. The educational work is evaluated and monitored by the Senior group which consists of the Förskolechef and a Senior Teacher. This is done in conjunction with the regular self-review process on many different levels, including all stakeholders: children, parents and staff. The English Nursery is a pre-school, with an English profile, that follows the Lpfö curriculum. The aims, norms and values as well as the curricular goals are central to the work environment that each child and parent experiences whilst being part of the The English Nursery. At The English Nursery, we believe that all children are unique and should be treated as individuals. Children should be treated equally, not so that they can become the same, but so that they can become different- to realize whatever unique potential they possess. All children can achieve- just not all with the same things at the same time, in the same place. Balance and variety are fundamental to a successful learning environment and opportunities given. In order to enable this, we ensure a supporting, stimulating and encouraging environment where children feel safe and secure. The learning environments are arranged so that there is a balance of opportunities related to the curriculum. We want to ensure that all children can explore their world and begin to make decisions about all aspects of the ever-changing lives. All of our staff work hard to ensure our children are happy, interested and motivated by the environment. The English Nursery educational environment is organized in a flexible and open plan environment where children can make choices and decisions for themselves. This flexible environment approach allows our children to influence and develop areas of interest, such as construction, language and listening, role play, reading, music, mathematics or science. Children can see different areas, be exposed to different elements of learning and opportunities on a daily/weekly basis. This has been arranged so that all children get equal access to the curriculum. The curriculum emphasizes learning and development; related to areas of socialization, personal growth, language and communication, movement, creativity, mathematics and science and technology. At The English Nursery we aim to ensure that all children receive the great opportunities in all of these areas. We ensure that all children in our nursery receive have opportunities to further develop these, each and every day, through play and learning - individually and in interaction with others. We have created educational environments that stimulate curiosity, creativity, and knowledge acquisition in children and adults. Our educational activities encourages participation for all - children, parents and educators. Everyone who comes to The English Nursery should feel welcomed and greeted by an educational and enjoyable environment with dedicated and attentive staff. This is immediately recognizable when people enter the entrance halls and cloakrooms which are filled with examples of learning, goals and information to support children and parents. 2

3 Kitchen Area The English Nursery Moons (1-3yrs) and Planets (4-5yrs) Educational Environment Focus Group & Creative Learning Zone: Moons Reading Rainforest/ Rest Time/ Music Area Role Play: Shop Restaurant Counter Service Centre Construction/ Construction Play Area Art/Project Building Area Focus Group & Creative Learning Zone: Planets Circle-Time/ Discussion Reading/Speaking and Listening Area Dress-Up/ Role Play 3

4 Library Books The English Nursery- Systematic Quality Review 2013 Role play & Dress Up: Shop Restaurant Counter Service Centre ICT Area Art/Craft/ Building Area Art/Craft/ Building Area The English Nursery Suns(5-6 Years) Educational Environment Focus Group & Creative Learning Zone Suns Construction/Construction Play Area Children s Creative Whiteboard Area Reading Forest/ Rest Time/ Music Area Focus Group & Creative Learning tables: Suns Library Books Circle-Time/ Discussion Reading/Speaking and Listening Area Language & Communication Zone 4

5 INFORMATION FOR PARENTS The English Nursery: What we do and why we do it. At The English Nursery, we believe that all children are unique and should be treated as individuals. Children should be treated equally, not so that they can become the same, but so that they can become different- to realize whatever unique potential they possess. Organization At the English Nursery, we make sure that children are able to develop through a balanced and thoughtful educational methodology. Play-based learning as well as teacher guided learning activities form the basis of our everyday work. We have our learning areas set up in zones so that children can explore the different skills that they may be interested in, at what ever part of the day, week, month or year it is. This helps us identify interests and skills of each individual which in turns helps us develop each individuals next steps in their learning journey. We have created a secure and successful environment where children learn to communicate positively. Circle Time: Every day we meet each other and share experiences, thoughts, ideas and challenges. Lots of this is done through fun and music so that we all start the day in a positive way. This is done straight away in the morning. At the end of the day, we have Reflection Time where children share their feelings about the day. Circle Time and Reflection Time are great opportunities for us to find out what interests our children and use their ideas to influence and develop learning opportunities. Show and Share: On Fridays, we spend a longer amount of time on each individual s interests, as they share something they have brought in to nursery, with the rest of the group. This can be anything from a picture, toy, book, item of interest or something else. We call this Show and Share! Free-Choice and Play-based Learning Each day children explore their own interests and take part in independent challenges or activities that relate to learning areas such as, construction, reading, communication & language, drama, science and the natural world, mathematics or games and puzzles. This time is important for all individuals and allows children to develop independence, decision making, sharing, ideas and thoughts about their environment or activities. During this time, they have guidance and support from their teachers so that they can question, explore and develop effectively. Focus Groups Whilst some of the group choose what activity they would like to do, during free-choice and play-based learning, a teacher will work with a small group of children or 1:1 encouraging, discussion and supporting them in their next steps of development in language and communication, mathematics, science or other such activities. These can be done through games, craft, sharing, playing etc. It is a great time for each child to get that special time with a teacher that they all need on a daily basis. Each teacher is a Key Worker for 6 children and they keep an individual portfolio on each of those 6 children. All children have access to first steps reading books (Oxford Reading Tree). Please ask a teacher if you feel that you want to help your child with reading resources at home. We can help you with this. Reading at home, telling a story, role-playing or just sharing ideas about pictures or events ( such as recounting the day using Twitter) can be extremely helpful in developing each individual s language skills. 5

6 Outside play-based learning Children take part in a variety of activities; some are guided and related to co-operation, science and the natural world, mathematics, language and communication or motor skills. Other times the children play and explore together; enjoying each others company whilst being observed or guided by the adults. Many wonderful conversations, ideas and thoughts are expressed during these moments. Teachers take inspiration form these to plan future activities, interactions and ideas. Movement and Motor Skills Each week children explore their bodies through movements activities in the dance studio. Here children can listen to music, explore shapes, balance, co-operation and have fun with themselves and others whilst improving their spacial awareness, social skills, rhythm and body control. Swedish As we all live in Sweden, we have a moral responsibility to ensure that all children living here can be immersed in high quality Swedish on a regular basis. We are a nursery that has an English profile so most of our work is done in English, however it is important to place a high value on the mother tongue language of Sweden. Mrs Bergstrand and Miss Danielsson lead the more structured and planned side of this through some Swedish sessions with the groups. Throughout the week other staff support children through everyday conversational Swedish when it is instigated by the child or interpretation is needed. Some of our environmental print can be found in Swedish as well as English to support reading of important information. Themes We like to encourage themes in our nursery and use opportunities in the seasons and interests from some children to develop some themes that can carry on for longer periods of time. Please speak to a member of staff about the theme to see if you can offer suggestions or help in any way. Often children s thoughts, interests and ideas are the reasons for choice, change or further explanation in themes. We love everyone to be involved in the ideas building part of our work. Parents, please get involved if you feel you have some good ideas. Open Fridays- come and see what your child has been doing! We open the doors to parents every last Friday of the month so that we can all share in an activity together. This is such a wonderful time for all of us and especially the children. This is a great time to look through the documentation and monitoring of your child s development with them. We keep an individual portfolio with things, such as: photos, comments, description of activities all with reference to a goals from the Lpfö You can come in and look at your child s development in their portfolio on these Fridays or take it home that weekend when you pick up so you can chat about things at home. They are for us to share with you and your child whenever. On other Fridays, you can come and give a little talk about a language, culture, job, hobbies or another country from 8:30-9:00. Please sign up! The children (and adults) love it! Comment Book Please make comments on a regular basis in our comments book- we love to read them and get some welcome feedback from the parents. The teachers would love to see more! Twitter All teachers use Twitter at The English Nursery so it is vital that you check it regularly so that you can see all the wonderful activities and special moments the children have whilst they are with us. We really take great pride in sharing them with you and hope it helps with your discussions on the way home or at home. It always brings a smile to our faces when we look back at them. We have a truly special job and want you to see these moments too. 6

7 Questions If you have any questions, please speak to any member of staff. Mrs Bergstrand is the Senior Teacher at The English Nursery but all staff are always on hand and willing to chat to you about anything you may wish to discuss. Communication is key in education so please feel free to ask. Your feedback is always welcome. Our Values Our valuesare based on Care, Co-operation and Courtesy. Care We want to show all children that caring for others and the natural environment as well as receiving care is an integral part of our daily lives. We display this in all we do as a group of staff and ask children to share in the joy and fun that can be had from learning to care for things, people and our environment so that we can all work together to make our lives better. Co-operation- working together and valuing everyone is especially important to us. It runs throughout the curriculum and is something that all staff work hard to share with the children and parents. It is through this common goal of teamwork that we can continue to listen, understand, have empathy and develop, so that we can always be open to others. We want to offer children an environment that requires all individuals to see the benefits of belonging to a group and co-operating. Courtesy- This is an aim that relates directly to respecting others and showing it through actions. We demonstrate that allowing people space, time, thanks and kindness is fundamental to everyone s successful lives! This is an integral part of the work at The English Nursery. We aim to ensure that all children and parents understand the need for equality and respect, related to areas such as, gender and culture. We live in a diverse world which is full of wonderful opportunities. It is our goal to allow all children to explore,who they are and who they will become, in an environment that is respectful of individuals for their similarities and differences. We believe that a safe and organized environment, filled with fun, care and understanding, allows our children to develop and learn in a positive way. All of our staff are focussed on encouragement and support and this is clear in all they do. In order to ensure that standards are regularly evaluated for the benefit of the children and parents, a procedure has been put in place to enable all stakeholders to have a voice in the improvement and development of The English Nursery. The following document includes the procedures and results of these procedures in fundamental areas of the Lpfö On Page 9 is a clear set of targets drawn out from all of the feedback obtained during the Annual Systematic Quality Work review process. The targets will influence the work that the Förskolechef and staff will undertake as well as developments related to the learning opportunities that ned to take place in order to ensure The English Nursery continues to improve and offer children and parents a quality experience and opportunity. 7

8 Systematic Quality Work Process The Systematic Quality Work reviews the work in the nursery and influences change and improvement for the benefit of all children and parents. The English Nursery uses the Kvalitetsindikator för Förskolans Verksamhet 2013 to form part of our self- review process. All staff use these a guidelines to identify areas that are working well and areas that could be improved. This is done in conjunction with the regular self-review process, which takes place throughout they year, and includes the following: 1) Staff Meetings which are held once a month 2) Leadership meetings each week The English Nursery- Systematic Quality Review ) Parent Questionnaire analysis- twice a year 4) Child Interviews which are to reflect on their developmental activities, interest and feelings- twice a year. 5) Systematic Quality Work Plan,which is held twice a year after Parent Questionnaire Results have been collated. All staff have their individual input into the quality work based on the Kvalitetsindikators (Stockholm Stad) before meeting together to discuss their findings as team. 6) A review of previous targets is made, evidence of current situation and goals for the next 6 months are set as a team. This is then shared and published on the website in the form of this document. The previous review took place in May 2013 and the following aspects related to the Lpfö where evidenced from the Kvalitetsindikators (Stockholm Stad). This 6 monthly review allows the leadership to keep a focus on areas for development, standards and document information form staff and parents in order to ensure continual progress. A full report is published each year in December. Background Information The English Nursery has gone through a period of transition during the past 12 months. Staff changes and reorganization of leadership within the nursery have taken place during this time. The leadership and management of the nursery has been working towards improving areas that have been identified by the Utbildningsförvaltningen, the Förskolechef and the staff. The results from those parents (10 out of 30), Förskoleundersökning 2013, that completed the online questionnaire were disappointing, and not a reflection on the general levels of work at The English Nursery. They have led to a number of changes and strict self-review procedures to ensure that some areas improve within the nursery. The disappointing results were a reflection of some parents feelings, during a period of many changes that the nursery was required to make, a School alongside staff and leadership changes. In response to the Förskoleundersökning 2013, The English Nursery has been working hard to develop areas that were highlighted by the parents who responded. In October 2013, parents were sent a questionnaire, using the same questions, to give an indication of areas that The English Nursery has improved and those that they should aim to improve over the next 6 months before the next Förskoleundersökning. The results can be found on pages 6-8. The following page is a clear outline of targets for The English Nursery 2014, which has been taken from the information outlined in the rest of the document.. 8

9 Main Areas to Develop: The English Nursery- Systematic Quality Review 2013 The English Nursery Targets for ) Communication with parents related to the curriculum goals and children s development 2) ICT- in the form of ipads Targets from the Feedback from Parents (Oct 2013) Date Who? 1 Schedule a whole parent meeting for August & Jan as well as an individual meeting in Sep to share information about how each child is settling in to their new group. This will be in addition to the already scheduled Parent Conferences (Nov & Apr). Dec 2013 Förskolechef 2 All parents should be sent documentation related to the following, in August and January each year, as well as having the information available on the website: Organization of The English Nursery, Aims & Mission, Curriculum (Lpfö ) & Documentation & Opportunities to meet the teacher/ share in the nursery & child s work. Nov 2013 Förskolechef 3 Parents should be made aware that they can access their child s portfolio, not only during monthly open afternoons, but at any time and that they can also take the portfolio home to discuss it with their child. Nov 2013 Staff-Parent Conferences 4 A clearer indication to all parents of the weekly activities should be given. This will be done in the form of a Friday Feedback that will be sent to all parents to share what the children have done that week in each department. This is as well as the daily Tweets for parents on Twitter. Nov 2013 Senior Teacher Förskollärare- Weekly 5 Environment and Materials Parents and potential parents should have access to and be informed of information related to how the learning environment is set up so that they can comment on and discuss with staff how things are working for their children. This will be put on the website. Nov 2013 Förskolechef 6 Environment and Materials The nursery needs to allow more access to ipads to develop children s opportunities with ICT as well creating inspiring science opportunities that engage the children in wanting to discover more about different aspects of natural phenomena. Jan-Nov 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 7 Creativity and Other Forms of Expression The use of ICT needs to be implemented more in the daily work at the preschool. ICT should be a natural part of the children's week, but needs to be planned to ensure all children have the opportunity to explore and discover different ways to learn and enjoy themselves through creativity. Jan-Nov 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 8 Communication and Language More print environment labels and displays need to be in each department to better value all languages within our multi-cultural environment as well as encouraging parents to share cultures and festivals with the children. Jan 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 9 Communication and Language Use ICT in creative forms to develop communication and language Jan-Nov 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 10 Mathematical Development To ensure a variety of contexts are used to develop all children s enjoyment of mathematics: outside; practical problems, ipads, songs and games by making it a focus. Jan-Nov 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 11 Science and Technology Development More scientific learning taking place outside will help develop the nursery; themes need to be developed from children ideas related to science and technology. Jan-Nov 2014 Förskolechef/ Staff 3) Outside Learning- Mathematics, Science and Technology *The leadership and staff will review these targets in May 2014 to ensure the quality work is successful. 9

10 Section 1: Parent Questionnaire, Results, Review and Goals The English Nursery Parent Questionnaire Oct My child s development and learning is encouraged 2. The educational environment ( materials and their availability ) encourages the development and learning in a variety of ways. 3. My child is encouraged to develop linguistically (e.g., developing vocabulary, ability to talk, ask questions, express ideas, their ability to listen, reflect, develop their written language ). 4. My child is encouraged to develop their mathematical thinking ( e.g., understanding the amount, number, order, measurement, time). 5. My child is encouraged to develop their understanding of scientific phenomena (e.g., understanding of the relationships in nature between people, plants and animals). 6. My child is encouraged to play by their own creation ( e.g. drama play, image creation, construction). 7. My child is encouraged to do physical activities. 8. My child's development and learning is made visible, documented and monitored. 9. My child feels safe at The English Nursery 10. Girls and boys have equal opportunities to develop and be heard. 11. My child is encouraged to develop their social skills (e.g., developing their empathy, sense of responsibility, tolerance and concern for others). 12. My child is encouraged to take initiative and responsibility. 13. My child's thoughts and ideas are used and talked about. 14. I feel welcome to ask questions and make comments, to the staff, about the nursery 15. The nursery shows/tells me how they support my child's development. 16. Information about the goals, methods and organization are clear in the nursery 17. I feel that the pre-school as a whole is safe and secure. 18. I am satisfied with the cultural experiences that my child is offered in the nursery (e.g., visits to the theater, concerts, museums, the ability to express themselves with music, painting, dance, etc.). 19. I can recommend my child's nursery 20. I have had the opportunity to choose the nursery my child goes to 21. Overall I am happy with my child's nursery 10

11 The English Nursery Parent Questionnaire Results Oct 2013* Chart 1 90,0 67,5 45,0 22, Strongly Agree Agree Unsure Disagree 11

12 Chart 2 This Chart to shows Strongly Agree and Agree together (there were no Strongly Disagree indications made) to give a clearer and easier picture of results Agree Unsure Disagree 12

13 The Parent Questionnaire- Review of Results and Goals The results show the following indicators from the parents (20 out of 30 parents completed the questionnaire, Oct 2013) A) 100% of the parents who answered the survey indicated that they agreed with the following: Question 9 Question 17 Question 19 Question 20 Question 21 My child feels safe at The English Nursery I feel that the pre-school as a whole is safe and secure. I can recommend my child's nursery I have had the opportunity to choose the nursery my child goes to Overall I am happy with my child's nursery Follow-up and Comment: This is an indication that our parents are very happy with the level of care, ethos and approach to staff, building and environment. This is positive and a reflection of the quality care and attention that each child receives at The English Nursery. B) 95% of the parents who answered the survey indicated that they agreed with the following: Question 1 My child s development and learning is encouraged Question 2 The educational environment ( materials and their availability ) encourages the development and learning in a variety of ways Question 3 My child is encouraged to develop linguistically (e.g., developing vocabulary, ability to talk, ask questions, express ideas, their ability to listen, reflect, develop their written language ) Question 11 My child is encouraged to develop their social skills (e.g., developing their empathy, sense of responsibility, tolerance and concern for others). Question 12 My child is encouraged to take initiative and responsibility. Question 14 I feel welcome to ask questions and make comments, to the staff, about the nursery (5% answered unsure to these questions) Follow-up and Comment: This is an indication that our parents are happy with the level of encouragement, development: linguistically, socially and the way the educational environment encourages the development and learning in different ways. This is positive and a reflection of the quality approach the staff take towards being positive, encouraging, and open as well as their understanding of the need to support young children in developing responsibility, empathy and tolerance. It indicates that parents a happy with the way the staff create a positive educational environment for all of the children. finally, these results are an indication that parents feel welcome to ask questions, make comments to the staff about the nursery which is an indication of our positive approach to working together and encouraging parents to influence and identify things they would like to share with our staff. A clearer indication to all parents of the weekly activities could be given. This will be done in the form of a Friday Feedback that will be sent to all parents to share what the children have done that week in each department. This is as well as the daily Tweets for parents on Twitter. 13

14 C) 90% of the parents who answered the survey indicated that the agreed with the following: Question 10 Girls and boys have equal opportunities to develop and be heard Question 18 I am satisfied with the cultural experiences that my child is offered in the nursery (e.g., visits to the theater, concerts, museums, the ability to express themselves with music, painting, dance, etc.). (10% answered unsure for these questions) Follow-up and Comment: This is an indication that our parents are happy with the level of equality for boys and girls in The English Nursery. Our staff are aware of gender stereotypes and actively challenge them through discussion and images in the nursery. Parents are happy with the level of cultural experiences offered to the children. The staff work hard in identifying opportunities to take the children to galleries, libraries, museums as well as encouraging individual expression through the arts on a weekly basis. A clearer indication to all parents of the weekly activities should be given. This will be done in the form of a Friday Feedback that will be sent to all parents to share what the children have done that week in each department. This is as well as the daily Tweets for parents on Twitter. D) 85% who answered the survey indicated that they agreed with the following: Question 5 My child is encouraged to develop their understanding of scientific phenomena (e.g., understanding of the relationships in nature between people, plants and animals). Question 6 My child is encouraged to play by their own creation ( e.g. drama play, image, creation and construction) Question 7 My child is encouraged to do physical activities. (15% answered unsure for these questions) Follow-up and Comment: This is an indication that our most of our parents are happy with the level of encouragement towards scientific phenomena and understanding of of nature. Parents have indicated they are happy with the level of encouragement to play by their own creation. Our staff understand the need for children to develop their own ideas to foster each child s individuality, creativity and independence. The English Nursery offers lots of outdoor physical activity on a daily/weekly basis. We value high quality movement and physical activity so much that we have a special room and one of our teachers is a dance specialist. This helps us offer physical activities related to movement, dance, balance and other gross motor skills. This also encourages and foster co-operation. The children take part in these activities 2/3 times a week. However, The English Nursery understands that we should always be striving for the best opportunity for all and 15% unsure indicates that we need to be providing more opportunities and/or sharing this information about our activities in a better way. A clearer indication to all parents of the weekly activities should be given. This will be done in the form of a Friday Feedback that will be sent to all parents to share what the children have done that week in each department. This is as well as the daily Tweets for parents on Twitter. 14

15 E) 80% of parents who answered the survey indicated that they agreed with the following: Question 4 My child is encouraged to develop their mathematical thinking ( e.g., understanding the amount,number, order, measurement, time). (20% answered unsure for this question) Follow-up and Comment: This is an indication that most of our parents are happy with the level of encouragement towards mathematical development. However, The English Nursery understands that we should always be striving for the best opportunity for all and 20% unsure indicates that we need to be providing more opportunities and/or sharing the mathematical development opportunities we are offering the children with parents. A clearer indication to all parents of the weekly activities should be given. This will be done in the form of a Friday Feedback that will be sent to all parents to share what the children have done that week in each department. This is as well as the daily Tweets for parents on Twitter. *Areas that need to be prioritized by The English Nursery to support parents during 2014 are on the following page. 15

16 Areas from the Parent Questionnaire that require action to improve our work. Question 8 Question 15 Question 16 Question 13 My child's development and learning is made visible, documented and monitored. 70% Agreed 20 % Unsure 10 % Disagreed The nursery shows/tells me how they support my child's development. 70% Agreed 10% Unsure 20% Disagreed Information about the goals, methods and organization are clear in the nursery 70% Agreed 15% Unsure 15% Disagreed My child's thoughts and ideas are used and talked about. 60% Agreed 40% Unsure F) There were 4 areas where parents indicated that they were unsure or disagreed with the information in the question. These will form the basis of our action and goals for the next period (6 months) before we evaluate again. Follow-up and Comment: This indicates that many parents are unsure or don t feel they have been given enough information related to their child s development. The English Nursery will improve this through correspondence, displays, documentation, monitoring and meetings. This is something that is going to be a key priority to improve over the coming months. The English Nursery has an individual portfolio for each child. It is updated regularly as the staff look to monitor the development of the children related to the goals set out in the Lpfö These portfolios are online and are printed off regularly and added to the physical copy which is (at child height) available for children and parents to view. The English Nursery acknowledges that clearer information regarding this monitoring should be sent to parents, including parent s opportunities to look at the portfolio, share it with their children and even take it home for the weekend. This will be addressed through information to parents subsequent to this review. It also demonstrates that parents do not feel they have been told enough about how their child is developing. The English Nursery holds parent conferences twice a year (November and April) but this is something that is clearly in need of review. The leadership will hold initial meetings with all parents at the beginning of the terms, in August and January, as well as at the end of September (individually with teachers) so that parents feel informed about the nursery (August) and their child s start to the year (September). This will be in addition to the already scheduled Parent Conferences in November and April each year. It should be recognized that the survey was completed before the November conference so that might have had an impact on the results in these areas. Another area that must be addressed, is information about the goals and organization of the nursery. These are up in each cloakroom for all parent to see each day and online but this process should be reviewed as this information should be given out at a parent meeting in August with all parents. Also the leadership will send an with this information to parents each term so that all parents are informed about focus, education environment changes and the processes and procedures. Finally, we must make it clearer to parents about our educational approach to listening, respecting and valuing each child s thoughts, opinions and ideas. This can be done and supported in many ways: through discussions, meetings, open days (which are held on the last Friday of every month), displays as well as our literature sent to parents via . 16

17 Section 2: The English Nursery Self-Review by Staff Environment and Materials May Results and Goals from Staff Development Day and Meetings The educational environment is organized related to development and learning needs of our children and goals of the curriculum. All work, in both departments, that is carried out by staff has educational its foundation. The rooms are generally flexible and resources are organized in a manner that allows children access to some of the materials- some of the time. This could be an area for improvement for the future. The English Nursery has many quality educational materials for all age groups. New purchases of materials for learning and development related to role play, puppets, construction and games (Feb 2013) have developed the creativity within the nursery. Staff confidence is improving regarding planning these activities and opportunities. At all times, the staff consider the need to take into account cultural diversity and gender equality when purchasing and providing opportunities fro all children as directed in the steering documents. ICT is available through computers in each department. Parents are regularly invited to come and share the environment during our monthly parent open afternoons. Parents could be encouraged more to be involved and influence more during these monthly opportunities as well as sending out internal questionnaires to find out parents views. Having a more free-flowing and flexible work area would be better; enabling more of the resources to be available for children to choose from This is an area the staff feel the nursery can develop. The creation of learning areas focussed on the areas of the Lpfö would lead to a more balanced and child-initiated environment. Goals: Learning areas based on the curriculum to allow opportunity for children to explore more resources and activities should be made. The goal is for the environment to offer children opportunity to make choices and develop interests that have come from their own desire each day. November 2013 Follow Up from Goals set in May 2013 Goal Achievement Play for learning areas, related to areas of the Lpfö , have now been developed to allow more choice and influence where children can explore different skills and develop new ideas and understanding.t Children are given many opportunities to be creative throughout daily/weekly work. Meeting time plays an important role in the daily work; circle time and reflection time at the end of the day. Creativity can be seen in many ways, such as role-play, construction and construction play, reading, drawing, dress-up and puzzle/games. Areas have been set up by re-designing the environment to make it more flexible for the children. This approach to the department design has been seen as a very positive and successful step in ensuring an equal and balanced learning opportunity. ICT is not playing a big enough part in the creative side of daily work. Nursery children have plenty of materials to support all areas during inside learning time however, outside learning through discovery and play could be developed. This will form the one of there priorities of the next budget Systematic spending Quality in Jan Work During Staff monthly Review- meetings, November staff have opportunities to influence by The suggesting following resources/environment pages take into account changes information to improve form children s opportunities interviews for the and children. the results Parents of the have parent been questionnaires informed of these as well changes as the information and have been that sent came copies about of through the plans, the information teacher s professional and goals related review to meeting. this. All information related to this area is now also available in the nursery. Greater clarity may be needed and information should be available on the website as well as discussing our ethos and educational theory during meeting time and conferences with parents. Goals 1) Parents and potential parents should have access to and be informed of information related to how the learning environment is set up so that they can comment on and discuss with staff how things are working for their children. 2) The nursery needs to allow more access to ipads to develop children s opportunities with ICT as well creating inspiring outdoor science opportunities; discovering more about different aspects of natural phenomena. 17

18 Creative activities and different forms of expression May 2013 Results and Goals The activities in the nursery are varied and reoccurring so children can experience things often and build confidence. We offer creative opportunities on a daily/weekly basis through role play, painting, puzzles, drawing and some construction. Role play has enhanced greatly since the purchase of new costumes and puppets as well as the creation of role play areas. Staff record their planing goals that are met in their planning. Children play with creative activities and create their own stories, images and plays that are sometimes influenced by other activities in the nursery but are often created by their own interests and friendships. ICT is available and used in basic form through limited access to computers. Parents receive daily photos and texts, through class twitter pages, to help them see the daily work at the nursery. It is our aim to ensure that our parents can see what is going on in the daily lives of their children. Children and staff talk about differences and similarities; gender, equality and culturally. This should be explored more through different forms of expression. Role play does offer opportunities to challenge any stereotypes and all staff work to ensure children understand the need for equality and how to achieve it. Circle time takes place on a daily basis. In order to encourage parents to be involved in the nursery, parents have a schedule to come in to the Nursery to share things with the children; life, jobs, hobbies, culture or country. Each parent usually does one visit a year. Alongside this, parents often come to our monthly open afternoons and take part in activities with their children. Staff meetings are taking place on a weekly basis so that all views are valued. Goals: Develop more construction opportunities as well as continuing to improve dramatic and creative opportunities through dance, music and role play. This will be done by a re-designing of the learning areas. November 2013 Follow Up from Goals set in May 2013 Goal achievement: Learning areas have enabled the children to be more expressive and they are deciding which activities they want to explore at different times of the day. Dance, music and role-play are part of our weekly work. We now have a special Dance and Music Room for the children. Construction areas are part of our environments now and are proving to be very popular and successful. Creative materials are available for the children at all times and offer opportunities for painting, drawing, construction. Construction and construction play has become a bigger part of the children's day now and the construction area is used frequently. Children are increasing their influence on the creative activities by suggesting ideas in the daily reflection time. This is something that all staff are very positive about in the 4-6 age groups. Staff will continue working to ensure gender and cultural stereotypes are challenged regularly-role play offers great opportunities to challenge and discuss equality through play and real life contexts. This is done through discussion sharing images and talking with the children so they can form opinions about equality. An openness amongst staff to challenge pre conceived ideas about gender and culture exists and is something that is developing throughout the work this year. It is important that the adults discuss this regularly so any pre-conceived ideas are challenged if they were to arise. Each group is developing creativity and expression through music and dance (2/3 times a week) with a member of staff who is dance teacher. Digital Portfolios document children's experiences and progress in the nursery. Staff are more comfortable with documentation but need to reflect more on the children's choices, and use this information when planning creative activities. The children are becoming more confident when it comes to choosing creative activities. Goals The use of ICT needs to be implemented more in the daily work at the preschool. ICT should be a natural part of the children's day, but needs to be planned to ensure all children have the opportunity to explore and discover different ways to learn and enjoy themselves. 18

19 Children s Language and Communication Development May 2013 Results and Goals Language plays an important role in all the children do at the nursery. Staff are all aware of their role in developing children s access and understanding of language. Children tell stories, read stories and have stories and other texts read to them. Other opportunities for language development come through games and creative activities which are planned into the weekly work. Children also develop understanding of initial sounds and letters through games and music each day. Sharing, trust, co-operation and respect are foundations of good communication. The linguistic environment is done in English and Swedish and the balance is displayed in a positive way around the environment. The resources related to language and communication are very good in English but more resources are needed to support Swedish. Trips to the library happen but are not frequent enough. Children are supported to develop their mother tongue and parents are encouraged to support the mother tongue when they have regular parent visits each month- although the parents prefer to use English at the nursery as that is why they have chosen the English profile nursery. More could be made of the mother tongue language in the environmental print to help develop each child s feelings of identity. During small group or paired activities, children s own experiences lead to constant opportunities for dialogue and children are questioned and encouraged to explain and describe feelings and thoughts throughout all aspects of daily work. All staff are aware of gender perspectives, equality and intercultural approaches. Their method and communication ensures children treated equally and that they are encouraged to develop, care and respect for all individuals in the group. Parents receive daily photos and texts, through class twitter pages, to help them see the daily work at the nursery. Plans that teachers use, highlight specific activities and to which learning goal they are developing which includes communication and language. Goals: Increase visits to the library; include reading and borrowing mother tongue texts and Swedish texts. More print environment examples to support mother tongue and sense of identity. November 2013 Follow Up from Goals set in May 2013 Goal Achievement Monthly visits are now arranged for each department to visit the library and these are proving successful. More print environment labels and displays need to be in each department to value all languages. This has not been achieved yet and is remaining as a target. Staff are incorporating more individual comments made by the children in documentation (portfolios). However, documentation can still be developed and improved to allow it be part of the daily work together with the children. The aim is to show children the importance of communication and that their words matter. Make them aware of their influence on the daily activities. The children have made visits to the library to find books; some children chose books in Swedish. The books could be better presented. A mother tongue library would be good in the nursery. There has been improvements in the way children use their mother tongue and relate to it but more could be done. They are used to translating words and they use their different languages more than before. Språksamlingar based on Bornholmsmodellen have been implemented. We found that the children responded well to songs and rhymes in Swedish. Theres has been a major development in the quality Swedish communication throughout the nursery and although most of the work is done in English, Swedish language learning is developing very well. Language and communication continuously plays a big role in all activities in the nursery. In some parts reading has become more frequent, but still needs to be encouraged more. Goal: More print environment labels and displays need to be in each department to value all languages. Use ICT in creative forms to develop communication and language 19

20 Mathematical Development May 2013 Results and Goals Children have access to a wide variety of mathematical resources, including: scales, counting lines, colour based activities for sorting. grouping, counting and measuring. Mathematical concepts are part of weekly work in the nursery. Numbers are displayed in many different ways, e.g. number line, dates, grouping games and displays, birthday display. ICT is available and used in basic form through limited access to ipads through planned activities Science and Technology and some groups have access to a computer. Children play counting games on the computer sometimes. Children play outside with counting games such as hop-scotch, counting in sand-pit, parachute games as a group work with the teachers and this leads to children continuing independently with each other. Construction materials and play is available to all groups although is not set out and made clear enough or that it is available at all times. Staff work towards ensuring that all children are made to feel equal in this area of the curriculum. Maths should be enjoyed by all. Gender bias is something that staff are aware of actively work against. Staff plan mathematics opportunities on a weekly basis and this is clear through their documentation. Weekly and daily planning of activities related to the goals of the curriculum. Goals: To improve all children s access and use of construction equipment so that it plays a larger part in the daily activities and learning in the nursery. To ensure staff have the skills and confidence to support children in their development and interest related to construction play and mathematics. November 2013 Follow Up from Goals set in May 2013 Goal Achievement The nursery has created great zones for construction play and work so that all pupils are able to access the skills related to this area. It now has a place in the environment which shows its importance and opportunity to all children, staff and parents. Images related to challenging gender bias are placed around the area to help all children feel inspired. Science and Technology Development Construction play is a popular choice for the children. All of the children seem more engaged in this area now that the zones and areas are been arranged. The staff encourage play by asking children for ideas on what to create relating to their personal interests. This is stimulating some wonderful outcomes and great opportunities of communication. Outside mathematical activities are developing well. A greater variety of resources are now being used. More documentation of the children's work on number concepts and mathematical concept could be displayed in the room to make this more visible to the children. ICT is available and used in basic form through limited access to ipads through planned activities and some groups have access to a computer. Staff are using ipads to work with the children in small groups and 1:1. Children use things around them to measure and compare in different contexts. The staff encourage and challenge the children's ideas. The staff also use baking, building and the natural world as an opportunity for the children to practice these skills. Construction play is a popular choice for the children. Children are asked to construct using mathematical concepts related to concepts, such as length. Staff make sure to encourage all children in to the mathematical and construction areas. Staff use posters, images, displays on walls and discussions, during construction and construction play, to ensure that gender bias is actively challenged. Staff are using portfolios to document children's mathematical development. Observations are recorded in relation to the curriculum. Goals: To ensure a variety of contexts are used to develop all children s enjoyment of mathematics: outside, ipads, songs and games by making it a focus. 20