A Lanarkshire nursery has been given a thumbs up from inspectors following a recent unannounced visit.
ACE Place Riverside Nursery, in Carluke's Lanark Road, received ‘good’ ratings in all four categories involving leadership, setting, staff team and care, play and learning.
Care Inspectorate staff noted that all children were happy and settled in the environment and they experienced kind and warm interactions from staff.
The report continues: “Staff knew children well and each child had a personal plan that contained important information to help meet their needs. They had comprehensive additional support plans for children who may face challenges.
“The environment was bright, clean and well ventilated. Children’s work and photographs were displayed around the space, giving a message to children that they mattered.
“A system for reporting accidents and incidents was in place and these were audited to help ensure a safe environment for children.
“Effective infection prevention and control measures were in place. The cleaning of surfaces, regular handwashing and use of gloves, aprons and a wipeable mat helped reduce the spread of potential infection.
“Team meetings took place regularly, which provided opportunities for sharing of important information and ideas. The staff team spoke positively about the management team.
“Staff worked well as a team and communicated throughout the day. They told us they were happy at their work and felt supported and included in any changes and improvement planning.
“This meant that staff were comfortable to share their ideas and felt valued. A flexible staffing model helped to ensure staff absences were covered.”
Although the report was very positive the inspectors outlined a number of slight improvements the nursery could make.
“We discussed the outdoor play area for younger children, could include resources to ensure these supported children’s learning and stimulated their natural curiosity and creativity,” the report states.
“Whilst younger children did not have direct access to the garden, staff ensured they had regular opportunities for outdoor experiences and made best use of local green spaces.
“We discussed with management the benefits of reviewing the equipment and summer house available to two to three year olds outdoors.
“Access to more large toys and materials would help to maximise younger children’s play and learning. Management agreed to review this.
“On the day of the visit the babies did not experience any outdoor activities. The management team agreed to review and monitor outdoor experiences for all children.”
A spokesperson for ACE Place, which owns the Riverside Nursery, said: “As a new service, with a new manager on board we are delighted that the Care Inspectorate have recognised the improvements we have made to the service in the past year.
“With no recommendations or requirements, the report graded us as good/very good and we will build on that naturally as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.
“We were inspected just a few days later at our Out of School Care Service; this was graded as very good across the board, another fantastic result for our dedicated staff team.”
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