The leadership of a Paisley nursery – which was last year the subject a damning report by the Care Inspectorate – has praised the team for turning things around.
Rainbow Nursery was branded “unsatisfactory” when inspectors made an unannounced visit to the Shortroods base in September 2023, with those visiting the premises forced to take immediate action to ensure children’s safety.
A subsequent report on the early years centre, run by charity Childcare First, found staff “lacked understanding” of their responsibilities to keep children safe while the outdoor playing environment was also found to be below par in terms of health and safety.
But inspectors, who returned to the nursery last month, found improvements across all areas of assessment with the strict requirements imposed on the early years provider following the last inspection met.
Rainbow Nursery was graded good for its care, play and learning as well as for the quality of the staff team and leadership; the nursery setting was graded as very good.
The report states: “We could see the team’s vision to provide high quality play and learning experiences had progressed since our last visit. The nursery had been upgraded and new resources added to support rich play and learning experiences for children.
“Staff had undertaken a variety of training to support their continuous professional development. We found the team had listened and responded to our ideas and suggestions to improve and actioned them accordingly. This showed us the service had capacity for change.”
It added: “Children in all rooms were visibly happy, content and actively accessing all activities on offer on the days of inspection.
“We could see the emerging impact of staff training on planning and provocations across the day at nursery. Staff were mindful to refresh and reset areas across the day to ensure children remained stimulated and engaged.”
The inspection also found there had been “substantial upgrading to the nursery” over the past year. Inspectors said it now has a homely and calm atmosphere and is furnished to a high standard, with resources matched to children’s interests and stage of development.
Alan Cunningham, manager of Rainbow Nursery, said: “I am delighted with the outcome of the inspection, and I am so very proud of what we have been able to achieve in such a short time since our last inspection.
“I’m pleased that all the hard wvork our team has carried out has finally paid off and been recognised.
“When you have a team that is committed and all working towards the same goal, it makes it so much easier to achieve good, positive outcomes for the children we care for.”
He added: “We’d like to thank all our wonderful families, the board of directors and the staff team that have been so supportive, throughout this journey, we couldn’t have achieved it without them.”
The full nursery inspection report is available at https://www.childcarefirst-rainbownursery.com/_files/ugd/8554d4_87a9d82235304727ae855cfa139050fa.pdf
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