Thurso nursery given until Monday to put improvements in place following Care Inspectorate report
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Mount Pleasant Nursery in Thurso has been given until Monday to put a number of improvements in place following a Care Inspectorate report which found leadership unsatisfactory and described care, play and learning as weak.
It also pointed out that several requirements previously requested have not been met.
The nursery is run by Highland Council and provides a day care service for a maximum of 60 children aged three years to those not yet attending school. It is situated within Mount Pleasant Primary School. The children are cared for in a playroom and have access to a large outdoor area.
The unannounced inspection took place on April 25 and 26 and was carried out by two inspectors. "We issued a letter of serious concern on Tuesday, May 2. We visited the service on Thursday, May 4 to assess this and gave feedback," said the report.
Its key findings were:
• A significant lack of progress to make improvements meant that children did not experience high quality care and their safety and wellbeing needs were not met.
• Children were put at risk as child protection and wellbeing concerns were not identified and acted on appropriately. As a result, additional requirements have been made.
• Management did not demonstrate an understanding of their responsibilities as required notifications had not been submitted to the Care Inspectorate in line with guidance; this had the potential to put children at risk.
• Quality assurance processes were ineffective which led to serious concerns regarding infection prevention and control, and personal planning for children's care and support.
• Children's health and safety was at increased risk due to dirty stagnant water lying in outdoor play equipment and ineffective hand hygiene procedures.
But it also found that "overall children experienced interactions with staff who were caring and nurturing" while there had been "an improvement in children's snack time experience which was more relaxed and unhurried".
The Care Inspectorate uses a six-point scale where one is unsatisfactory and six is excellent. At Mount Pleasant Nursery it evaluated leadership as unsatisfactory (one), care, play, learning and setting as weak (two), with the staff team rated as adequate (three).
The report said: "At the last inspection five requirements were made and four remain unmet. At the same inspection three areas for improvement were made. One was partially met and two remain unmet.
"We have significant concerns about the pace of change and ability to make improvements. This places children at risk of poor outcomes. Improvement plans were not yet having a positive impact on improving outcomes for children."
It went on: "The requirement to ensure that personal planning was improved had been in place since September 2021. This requirement was extended twice on subsequent inspections in December 2021 and June 2022. As we had significant concerns about the provider making the necessary improvements to support children's care, safety, health and wellbeing through effective personal planning, we issued an improvement notice to the provider on Thursday, May 4."
The report said "medication was not consistently and safely managed, and auditing was ineffective" while a requirement to ensure that quality assurance was improved also had been in place since September 2021.
The Care Inspectorate said that by Monday, June 19, "all required improvements to children's health, welfare and safety needs must be identified and addressed through effective quality assurance processes. Children were put at risk as child protection and wellbeing concerns were not identified and acted on appropriately."
By August 16, the nursery has to "ensure positive outcomes for the children using the service" and that the manager has "sufficient time allocated to undertake the role effectively".
Highland Council was asked to comment on the report.
