Improvements started after inspectors found children 'at risk' at Nairn nursery
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THE health and safety of children at a Nairn nursery were put at risk, inspectors have revealed in a critical report.
It was found that children could get out because the premises were not secure and equally concerning was that strangers could gain access to the “portable ageing building” for the same reason.
The Care Inspectorate visited Junior World in Millbank Road on January 24 and 25.
The early learning and childcare (ELC) centre is run by Inverness-based charity Care and Learning Alliance (CALA).
It provides childcare and out-of-school facilities for up to 80 children.
The report stated: “We discussed with the manager and operations manager some serious concerns we had around children’s safety.
“These were the risk of children leaving the service without a responsible adult and the risk of strangers being able to enter the premises.
“We issued the service with a serious concern letter with a requirement to ensure that children were kept safe. This included ensuring the premises was safe and secure at all times and children were effectively supervised.
“We carried out a further visit to the service on January 31 and found significant improvements meet this requirement.”
The ELC had to by the end of January ensure that children are kept safe by implementing effective
systems to prevent children leaving the service without a responsible adult and prevent strangers from
entering. This should include ensuring the premises are secure at all times; children are effectively supervised at all times; and reviewing the risk presented to children by the gate in the front garden of the after school club and making necessary changes.
It was also found that radiator covers were unsuitable for stopping the risk of children’s hands being burned.
Water for washing hands was not hot enough, while there was a lack of fresh drinking water.
And daily checks did not identify the serious risk posed to children from blind cords hanging loose, said the inspectors.
The report added: “We raised this issue with the manager during the inspection and the service took immediate steps to ensure blind cords were secured.”
Key messages from the inspection included:
n Children did not always receive the nurturing care and support necessary to support their wellbeing
n In the out-of-school service, staff were nurturing and responsive to the needs of children which supported them to feel valued and included
n Opportunities to develop literacy, language and numeracy were limited
n Children did not experience a homely, well cared for and welcoming environment
n Children were put at risk as quality assurance processes were ineffective
The report said: "We spoke with the operations manager and offered suggestions for ways in which the service manager could be better supported. This included assigning mentoring support for the manager which was put in place during the course of the inspection."
Inspectors also found "major weaknesses in critical aspects of practice which required immediate remedial action to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of children."
A lack of leadership in the nursery playrooms led to inconsistencies in care and support provided to
children, said the report, and a senior practitioner position was vacant at the time of the inspection. The report added: "The manager spoke about the difficulties in recruiting and retaining staff who were experienced and qualified. The provider was currently reviewing their recruitment procedures to ensure appropriate qualified and experienced staff were appointed moving forward."
CALA chief executive Jaci Douglas said: “We are extremely disappointed that Care Inspectorate found that the service we provided at Junior World did not meet our own high standards of quality and safety and have immediately put in place robust processes to correct any shortfalls and have started an intensive improvements programme for the setting.
“The whole CALA team are working hard to make sure the quality of provision at Junior World is of the highest standard for benefit of the children who attend and we will continuously measure progress against our robust improvement monitoring processes.
“We are working with staff, parents, Care Inspectorate and Highland Council to ensure the children at Junior World receive the best experiences, care and nurture possible to support the development of their full potential.”
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “The Highland Council is committed to providing quality ELC learning environments, experiences and interactions for our pupils.
"We want to reassure the community that considerable improvements have already been made at the ELC. We will continue to work closely with the CALA, and monitor the progress made at the setting to make sure that these improvements are sustained.”
