A private Stirling nursery has had to cut provision due to staffing issues.
Parents whose children attend the Corner House Nursery in Kings Park got in touch with the Observer last week to say that they had to look for alternative provision for children at short notice after being informed last week some rooms would be shut down for a month.
An inspection had been carried out by the Care Inspectorate on Monday, February 20 and Tuesday, February 21.
A spokesperson for Corner House Nursery Stirling said this week: “We are sorry to have to take this action, and that we could not give parents more notice, but the safety and wellbeing of the children in our care is our top priority.
“Along with many day nurseries across the UK, we have faced significant challenges in recruiting and retaining qualified nursery staff. We have developed a focused campaign to recruit and train new staff, but we have also had to take actions, including merging rooms together, to continue to provide a safe and caring service for the children.
“Following a recent unannounced inspection from the Care Inspectorate, we have been advised that combining rooms is not a viable option to meet the needs of children of different ages.
“Temporarily reducing our operational capacity is the only other viable solution until these staffing issues have been resolved.
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“Therefore, we have made the extremely difficult decision to close each of the four rooms in the nursery for one day per week for the next four weeks.
“After this, the situation will be reviewed again, and we aim to fully re-open as quickly as possible.
“We are working closely with the local authority to implement these improvements.”
A Stirling Council spokesperson said: “Our early years team are supporting Corner House Nursery to work on necessary improvements following recent inspections.”
And a spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate said: “We are aware that the service has been having staffing issues and is taking action to address this.
“Every child in Scotland has the right to good quality, safe care which meets their needs and respects their rights.
“Anyone with a concern about a service can contact us on 0345 600 9527.”
■Last autumn the nursery’s performance had been described by councillor Susan McGill as “disappointing”, with officers suggesting the days could be numbered for Stirling Council’s contract with the facility.
Corner House Nursery is one of 13 privately funded providers within Stirling which deliver funded early learning and childcare on the authority’s behalf.
The nursery is registered to care for 88 pre-school children.
At a meeting of the council’s children and young people committee councillors were briefed on the results of an inspection report earlier in 2022 and a follow-up report.
They heard that when the facility was visited by the Care Inspectorate in January, it received grades of “adequate” for care and support, environment, staffing and management and leadership, with one requirement being made as a result of the visit.
The nursery was given until March 11 to ensure children receive care in a safe environment, with “as a minimum” ensuring safe collection and drop off procedures; that materials in the garden were suitable for the age and stage of young children; safety checklists to identify and reduce risk; and for attendance registers to reflect the children in the building.
While staff were said to be warm and reassuring, they were said to be “stretched at times” according to the inspection report.
Five recommendations also focused on mealtime experiences, staff training and deployment and communication with families.
A July 2022 follow up inspection found, while there had been some progress, some recommendations had yet to be met, with care play and learning, setting and staff team deemed “adequate” and leadership “weak”.
