A £3.3m council-run nursery has been placed in the spotlight for its service provision.
Struthers Early Years Centre Day Care of Children, in Castle Stuart Walk, Troon, which opened in April 2023, was graded ‘good’ across two quality indicators and ‘adequate’ across two others.
The gradings come from the Care Inspectorate who made an unannounced visit to the nursery last month and have now published their findings.
Among the key messages the Care Inspectorate said the children were “happy, confident and secure” in the bright environment.
And staff were “friendly and welcoming” and were building “respectful relationships.”
Another plus point was that children had “regular access” to outdoor play to support their wellbeing.
One pointer related to play and learning, with the Care Inspectorate asking that children are “meaningfully involved” in “leading their play and learning.”
They also accepted that the service had recently undergone a “significant increase” in size and numbers of children and staff, while at the same time they had “moved premises.”
The Care Inspectorate has also asked that personal plans are put in place to ensure all staff “know the needs” of all children.
Another area of improvement related to health and wellbeing, with the Care Inspectorate noting that, to support children’s health and wellbeing processes for supervision and monitoring, the quality of the service “must be improved.”
Struthers Early Years Centre is registered to provide a daycare of children service to a maximum of 110 children not yet attending primary school at any one time.
An extract from the Care Inspectorate report said: “Staff knew most children well and were building trusting relationships with them. We observed some warm interactions between staff and children which helped them to feel included. Staff spoke in a kind and respectful way which showed children they were valued.
“We highlighted the importance of nurturing and respectful interactions by staff to ensure all children feel fully included, cherished and unique.”
Children’s overall wellbeing was “supported,” according to the report and “most children” had information collated about them.
The report continues: “This included information about some of their care and support needs including personal care, dietary requirements, allergies and any medical needs.
“However, there was evidence that these were not effectively and timeously reviewed and updated. This meant staff did not have the most up-to-date information about children.
“Managers must ensure that appropriate supervision and monitoring of this is in place. This will assist to promote positive outcomes through reflection of children’s individual changing needs.”
In the quality indicators relating to setting and care, play and learning, the service was graded ‘good.’ But in the quality indicators relating to leadership and staff team, the Care Inspectorate graded them as ‘adequate.’