North east nurseries receive Care Inspectorate visits

Staff at Elrick Nursery were praised for giving “nurturing care and support” to youngsters.

Elrick School Nursery in Westhill received an unannounced inspection on November 30.

Two inspectors from the Care Inspectorate visited the Aberdeenshire Council-run facility on Rowan Drive.

They gave the service four ‘very good’ ratings for its care, play and learning, setting, leadership and staff team.

It was noted that children at the nursery were “happily engaged in play and learning”.

Staff were praised for giving “nurturing care and support” to youngsters.

They were commended for having “effective” communication with children and their families.

Inspectors also said that staff were able to reflect on their own practices and could identify any areas that were in need of improvement.

Cults Primary School Nursery was also highly praised by inspectors. The Earlswells Road facility was given a mix of ‘good’ and ‘very good’ ratings across its service.

One inspector visited the Aberdeen City Council-run facility without prior notice on Wednesday, October 26 and Thursday, November 3.

They said that children attending the city nursery were able to develop their imagination and problem solving skills through “high quality” play experiences.

The inspector also noted that youngsters were in the safe hands of “caring and compassionate” staff.

However there was a different outcome at Aberdeen’s Muirfield School Nursery.

The nursery, also run by Aberdeen City Council, received four ‘adequate’ ratings.

Two inspectors held unannounced visits of the Mastrick Drive service on November 1 and 2.

Their inspection came after a child had previously managed to leave the nursery unattended and further incidents occurred where youngsters had been “unaccounted for” by staff.

Inspectors carried out the visit to assess the actions of staff which led to the incidents and the steps that have been taken to prevent any further issues.

While children enjoyed “warm and nurturing” interactions with staff, their learning experiences were not always consistent.

Inspectors said that staff did not always know how to give the correct support to youngsters.

But it was noted that several new members of staff had joined the nursery and they were “enthusiastic” about improving the service for its children.

Inspectors made some recommendations for the service to work towards to improve its service.

This included keeping children’s personal plans up to date, improving mealtimes and upgrading outdoor areas.