Castletown nursery gets positive report from Care Inspectorate
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CHILDREN at Castletown primary school nursery experience "warm, caring and nurturing approaches to their personal care and learning needs."
That is the finding of a report by the Care Inspectorate following an unannounced visit to the nursery over two days last year.
The inspection, undertaken on 6 and 7 September, 2023, was very positive and rated the care, play, learning, the setting, the leadership and staff team all as good. It gave each of these categories a mark of four with six being excellent and one, unsatisfactory. The nursery, which is located in the primary school and is registered for a maximum of 40 children from the age of three, is operated by Highland Council. It consists of a playroom, with direct access to an enclosed outdoor play area. The youngsters can also make use of the school playground, playing field and gym.
The report said the children were "happy, settled and enjoyed their time at nursery. They experienced warm, caring and nurturing approaches to their personal care and learning needs.
"Staff recognised children as individuals and responded effectively to their needs and wishes which provided them with responsive care throughout the day. They communicated with children at their level in a quiet and sensitive way. These supportive interactions developed close bonds between staff and children, contributing to them feeling safe and secure. Staff knew children very well and spoke knowledgeably about children's differing needs. Establishing good working relationship with parents was important to the staff. Mealtimes were sociable and unhurried experiences."
On play and learning, it said: "Children had fun as they experienced good quality play experiences. Play experiences supported the development of children's language, literacy and numeracy. Children were offered good experiences to be imaginative and creative in their explorative play and investigative learning."
Regards the setting, the report found the youngsters "benefited from a stimulating environment."
"The building had direct access to an outdoor play area. However, we observed very limited opportunities for
free flow access between the indoor and outdoor play area, at times outdoor play was adult directed. This should be reviewed and actioned to ensure children have choice around their play and learning experiences.
"A well-resourced play area within the school grounds allowed children to explore a natural environment. The service had developed effective systems to keep children safe."
The manager and staff were "motivated and committed to the ongoing development of the service to secure positive outcomes for the children. Staff practice and professional development was supported through an effective support and supervision programme."
The report said: "Children benefited from a caring and nurturing staff team who knew them well. Staff communicated well and in a respectful manner to ensure children's needs were met consistently across the day. This contributed to children being respected and created a positive ethos within the service."
It added: "The management team recognised the need to promote staff wellbeing. However, effective arrangements had not been put in place by the provider, to ensure that staff received breaks to allow them to rest and be refreshed. This placed additional pressure on staff which had potential to compromise the quality of interactions."
The report said "planning processes needed further development" but pointed out that"all parents agreed that overall they were happy with the care and support their children received."
