Care service inspection report

Transcription

1 Care service inspection report Full inspection Oakwell Children's Nursery Day Care of Children 5 Pardovan Holdings Linlithgow Inspection completed on 09 May 2016

2 Service provided by: Oakwell Children's Nursery Ltd Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Inspection Visit Type: Unannounced Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and set out improvements that must be made. We also investigate complaints about care services and take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. Contact Us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com page 2 of 38

3 Summary This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following other regulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to make the service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someone makes about the service. We gave the service these grades Quality of care and support 3 Quality of environment 4 Quality of staffing 3 Quality of management and leadership 3 Adequate Good Adequate Adequate What the service does well Oakwell Children's Nursery provides a welcoming service for children and their families. Staff know the children in their care well and interaction with children is nurturing. Systems are in place for families to be able to share relevant information with staff about their child. What the service could do better Oakwell Children's Nursery should: - Develop and promote further participation opportunities for parents and children to give their views and suggestions throughout the year. - Take action to address the areas for improvement, recommendations and requirements as outlined in this report. This includes:- - Improving upon the storage, record keeping and auditing of medication held on the premises. - Improving upon formal assessment systems to monitor and quality assure the service in line with best practice. page 3 of 38

4 What the service has done since the last inspection Inspection report This was the first inspection for this service. The new entity, Oakwell Children's Nursery Ltd was registered to provide the service on 18 December Conclusion The nursery provides children with a flexible, caring and welcoming experience. Information about the nursery is displayed and shared with parents through newsletters and noticeboards. Attention is now required by the provider to make improvements as outlined in the report and in line with best practice guidance. The manager and staff are committed to continue to make improvements to the nursery to support positive outcomes for children. page 4 of 38

5 1 About the service we inspected Inspection report The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it right for every child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by Scottish Government, GIRFEC is a national approach to working in a consistent way with all children and young people. It is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention. The approach helps services focus on what makes a positive difference for children and young people - and what they can do to improve. GIRFEC is being woven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children, young people and their families. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it right for every child. They are: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. They are often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. We use these indicators at inspection, to assess how services are making a positive difference for children. From April 2016, we will carry out a quality audit, to gather information relating to 'How Good Is Our School Aged Childcare'. The audit will focus on the quality of children and young people's play experiences and how their rights to play and have fun are promoted and protected. The Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) framework - SHANARRI, Playwork Principles and Article 31 will underpin a list of outcome-focused questions developed for inspectors to work from when inspecting. The information gathered will form the basis of an end of year report 2017, along with information on service demand for school aged childcare throughout Scotland. Further information can be found at The Hub at Oakwell Children's Nursery Ltd registered with the Care Inspectorate on 18 page 5 of 38

6 December 2015 to provide a service to a maximum of 112 children at any one time aged from six months up to and including primary 3. Within this maximum number no more than 30 children can be under the age of two and no more than 15 can be attending primary school (Primary one-three). The service accommodation is provided in two buildings. The main building consists of the baby room, tweenie room, dining area, kitchen, staff room and office space. The adjacent building provides accommodation for pre-school children over three years of age and a room for school age children that currently attend after school only. The nursery has access to 12 acres of surrounding land which provides a variety of different experiences. The baby room, toddler room and pre-school rooms also have access to their own garden areas directly from their playrooms. Eighty-four children were in attendance on the first day of the inspection including:- Fifteen children in the Baby room Twenty children in the Tweenie room Thirty-five children in the Pre-school room Fourteen children were in the after school club room. The main aims of the service as stated at registration are:- We aim to: Inspection report - Provide a happy, caring and safe environment where children can become successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors. - Provide indoor and outdoor activities to promote health and well-being. - Provide nutritious and healthy home cooked meals and snacks. - Provide stimulating activities to promote physical, intellectual, language, emotional and social development. Recommendations A recommendation is a statement that sets out actions that a care service provider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service, but where page 6 of 38

7 failure to do so would not directly result in enforcement. Recommendations are based on the National Care Standards, SSSC codes of practice and recognised good practice. These must also be outcomes-based and if the provider meets the recommendation this would improve outcomes for people receiving the service. Requirements A requirement is a statement which sets out what a care service must do to improve outcomes for people who use services and must be linked to a breach in the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (the "Act"), its regulations, or orders made under the Act, or a condition of registration. Requirements are enforceable in law. We make requirements where (a) there is evidence of poor outcomes for people using the service or (b) there is the potential for poor outcomes which would affect people's health, safety or welfare. Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of care and support - Grade 3 - Adequate Quality of environment - Grade 4 - Good Quality of staffing - Grade 3 - Adequate Quality of management and leadership - Grade 3 - Adequate This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. You can find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our website or by calling us on or visiting one of our offices. page 7 of 38

8 2 How we inspected this service The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a medium intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections where we have assessed the service may need a more intense inspection. What we did during the inspection We wrote the report following an unannounced inspection. The inspection took place over two days by two Care Inspectorate Inspectors. The first day was on Thursday 5 May 2016 between 9.05 am and 6.20 pm. Feedback was given to staff and the manager throughout the day. The second day was on Monday 9 May 2016 between the hours of 9.45 am and pm to conclude our inspection, view paperwork and provide a summary of feedback to the manager along with the grades to be awarded. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed annual return and self-assessment forms that we asked the provider to complete and submit to us. We sent 37 care standards questionnaires to the service to give to parents and 21 of these questionnaires were completed and returned to us. During the inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources:- We spoke with:- - The manager. - Some staff in each of the playrooms. - Some children during their play - Some parents that were collecting their child from the service during the inspection. We looked at:- page 8 of 38

9 - A sample of children's records. - A sample of staff recruitment files. - Staff training information. - Planning documentation. - Medication system. - Accident records. - Staff meeting records. - Risk assessments. - The 21 care standard questionnaires returned to the Care Inspectorate. - The service's self-assessment document that they submitted to us following the inspection. - Observing how staff work and their practice. - The environment and equipment. - A sample of policies and procedures. Grading the service against quality themes and statements We inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. For example, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care and support'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describe what a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the service performs against the quality themes and statements. Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs) In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during our inspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones we make during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality of these aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined an inspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant quality statement. Fire safety issues We do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible for checking services. However, where significant fire safety issues become page 9 of 38

10 apparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services' responsibilities for fire safety at Inspection report page 10 of 38

11 The annual return Every year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make sure the information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decide how we will inspect the service. Annual Return Received: No Comments on Self Assessment Every year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment is accurate. The Care Inspectorate did not receive a self-assessment document from the provider prior to the inspection as requested. We discussed this with the manager during the inspection and she agreed to complete this. Following the inspection, we received a fully completed self-assessment document on 12 May We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this and with the relevant information included for each heading that we grade services under. The provider identified what they thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes it had planned. The provider told us how the people who used the care service had taken part in the self-assessment process. Taking the views of people using the care service into account We observed the children to be confident and settled in their environment. Due to their age and stage of development, some children were unable to give their views about the nursery. However children were observed having a positive relationship with staff. Some older children were happy to talk to us about what they liked to do at nursery or when attending the after school club. Children were enjoying a variety of experiences and activities including outdoor play experiences, arts and crafts and general access to the resources and activities provided in their individual playrooms. page 11 of 38

12 Taking carers' views into account We received 21 completed care standard questionnaires from parents which informed us about their views of the service. All 21 of those parents indicated 'Strongly agree' or 'Agree' to the statement that 'Overall, I am happy with the quality of care my child receives in this service'. Information from the questionnaires have been included in the report as appropriate. Some comments from the questionnaires included:- Inspection report 'I have used Oakwell for (time given) for my children. Excellent nursery, excellent facilities, excellent staff'. 'I would highly recommend this nursery as strongly believe they have a genuine care for kids and I know that if my boy is in need of a cuddle, he would get one. This is very important at his young age of going to nursery. I know my boy is well looked after and is very happy as he almost jumps out of my arms on the way in'. 'My (age of child given) has attended Oakwell for (time given) now and loves it! The staff are excellent. It makes going back to work easier knowing my (child) is happy and being well care for'. 'I would like to say I feel exceptionally privileged to have been able to send our son to Oakwell and have no reservation in stating my son's time there has contributed to him being the well-rounded and fun boy he is at (age given). It's a fantastic environment'. 'Outdoor space is amazing. Great use of active learning. 'Good intro to CFE' (Curriculum for excellence). 'Oakwell benefits from fantastic outdoor space and my children both benefit greatly from this. The staff are loved by both my children and they very much look forward to going'. 'Overall Oakwell Nursery provides an amazing service and I feel my child enjoys page 12 of 38

13 every day at the nursery. Handover from baby room could be more detailed but that is a minor thing as handover is fine. Manager very helpful and provides support'. 'My child loves attending Oakwell. We are delighted with the range of activities, environment and food provided. Her development seems to benefit greatly from her attendance'. 'Love Oakwell, the staff and especially the facility knowing they are in a safe healthy environment where we are all supported and communicated with is very reassuring. Thank you Oakwell'. 'My daughter always seems really happy going into Oakwell Nursery and when I pick her up. She often brings home artwork and seems to be doing lots of activities which is important to me'. 'During his (time given) at Oakwell, the staff have always gone above and beyond to meet his needs and also support me as a parent. In my opinion, you would struggle to find a child care establishment which would even come close to creating such a welcoming, nurturing and positive learning environment'. 'We have been disappointed in lack of response to s. At time it appears that there are no admin staff for management on hand. We also expected a more formal review/update of our child's development which we don't receive'. 'Oakwell is a fantastic nursery. The staff are very caring and attentive, they do lots of creative and outdoor activities and my child is very happy there'. page 13 of 38

14 3 The inspection We looked at how the service performs against the following quality themes and statements. Here are the details of what we found. Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and Support Grade awarded for this theme: 3 - Adequate Statement 3 We ensure that service users' health and wellbeing needs are met. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was adequate for this statement. We looked at children's records, staff practice, medication records and observed the lunch and snack routines to assess this statement. Enrolment forms were completed with appropriate information for individual children. The nursery worked in partnership with other professionals to support children with any additional needs. This included the use of Individual Education Plans to outline how staff supported any targets identified for those children. Staff monitored children in their play and intervened appropriately to support and encourage children's independence. Staff knew the children in their care well and described the action they took to support them. Staff were very respectful in their interactions with children and comforted them when needed. Children were confident in their environment and some talked to us about what they liked to do. Children were actively engaged in their choice of play and learning with some playing or accessing activities outdoors. Policies and procedures helped to inform the staff's work practice and keep children safe. Staff supported children to be healthy by reminding and page 14 of 38

15 supporting them to wash their hands prior to eating. The majority of staff were trained in child protection and were aware of their responsibilities and the action to take if they had any concerns about a child. Healthy eating was promoted in the nursery and children's dietary requirements were catered for. A designated cook was employed and she along with key staff had been trained in Food Hygiene. Information about the lunch menu and the 'eat well plate' were displayed in the nursery for parental information. The manager told us how a parent had given feedback to them to support minimising tooth decay. Areas for improvement The nursery did not take part in the National Toothbrushing Scheme for children. The nursery should contact Child Smile to discuss the progression of this programme. The Child Smile Guidance 'National Standards for Nursery and School Toothbrushing programme' should be consulted and staff should have training prior to this being implemented. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Staff informed us of the system of monitoring sleeping children every 10 minutes and that a record of this was kept. Documentation did not demonstrate that these checks had been carried out for individual children. We discussed the importance of accurate record keeping. Staff and the manager agreed to address this. We directed the manager to the Scottish Cot Death Trust for further advice and guidance. We will follow this up at the next inspection. We viewed the medication recording system. We found that one child's medication had expired and that some medication did not have a care plan or instructions associated with it. Whilst staff told us parents provided them with the information needed in advance, there was no signed parental permission or instructions kept. We were told that records were completed when medication was administered. We were told that the medication policy was due to be reviewed. We directed the manager to best practice document 'Management in Daycare and Childminding Services' to ensure that the nursery's policy, procedures and record keeping were kept in line with this. (See requirement one). page 15 of 38

16 We discussed the 'Setting the table - nutritional guidance and food standards document for early years childcare providers in Scotland'. We saw that the menu displayed only informed parents about the lunch. Other foods provided were written on the daily sheet at the end of the day. It was the same menu displayed regardless of the age of the child. No information was given to the provision of young children not yet eating solid food or the breakfast or snack menu. We advised that the content and the approach to planning the menus for breakfast, lunch and snack provision should be improved. This would help demonstrate and ensure that children's nutritional needs were met throughout the day. We discussed that appropriate crockery and cutlery should be provided at snack and lunchtime for children. Further opportunities for age and stage appropriate independence should also be promoted with children such as self serving and pouring their own drinks at the table. Drinking water should also be made available to children throughout the day in the playrooms and not just at meal times. The manager should take action to follow the best practice guidance. Key staff involved in the menu planning should attend training about this guidance to ensure that their menus are in line with best practice. (See requirement two). In the 21 care standards questionnaires, five parents indicated 'Don't know' and one parent indicated 'Not applicable 'to the statement 'Staff regularly assess my child's learning and development and use this to plan their next steps'. We saw that planning displayed and information recorded in the folders for children was limited and did not refer to Pre-Birth to three guidance or the Curriculum for Excellence. There was no record of children's next steps for learning or the purpose of the experiences provided to them. There was no evidence that parents had been involved or consulted in their child's development or learning or given opportunities to view or comment on their profiles. We directed the manager to West Lothian Council to seek advice and guidance about planning to meet children's needs and the recording of this to demonstrate how the needs and interests of children are being met throughout the nursery. The use of floor books would help to record children's learning journeys such as 'what do we know, what we want to know and what we have learned'. This should then be monitored by the manager as part of the quality assurance systems. (See recommendation one). page 16 of 38

17 We were told that staff had received GIRFEC training. Information about GIRFEC and the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators were displayed in the playrooms. However there was no evidence to show how these were taken into account to meet the individual needs of the children. We discussed ways to support the promotion of the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators to help make these more meaningful for parents and children. We will follow this up at the next inspection. The manager told us that children's enrolment information was checked regularly and updated when parents provided new information. In line with legislation, all children's personal plan information must be reviewed at least once every six months. This should include medication information and children's profiles. A record of this should be kept. (See requirement three). We saw that in some instances staff could have been more vigilant and responded to support children's individual needs. For example support for wiping noses and ensuring their wellies were on the correct feet. The manager agreed to address this with staff. Grade 3 - Adequate Requirements Number of requirements - 3 Inspection report 1. The provider must ensure that the medication system is reviewed and action taken to ensure that: - written parental permission with instructions is recorded when parents provide medication to the nursery for their child. - medication expiry dates are monitored regularly - where children have medication for specific medical needs or conditions such as inhalers, a care plan must be developed to outline the symptoms to look out for and the action to be taken by staff. This information must be reviewed regularly and a record kept. page 17 of 38

18 This is in order to comply with the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011, Scottish Statutory Instrument 2011/210 Regulation 4(1) (a) Welfare of users - A provider must make provision of the health, welfare and safety of service users. Timescale: - to be completed by 30 June Inspection report 2. The provider must ensure that menus and meal time provisions meet the 'Setting the Table Nutritional Guidance and food standards for early years childcare providers in Scotland' to ensure that the different stages of children's eating, drinking and nutritional needs are met and independence promoted. This must include:- - Having full written information available on all meals including snacks and drinks provided throughout the week with menu information for children not yet on solid foods. - Drinking water must be made available throughout the day to children during their play and not just at mealtimes. - Ensuring that appropriate crockery and cutlery is provided at all mealtimes. - Persons responsible for the planning of the meals attend training and understand the nutritional needs of children as outlined in Setting the Table document. - providing opportunities for age and stage appropriate independence at meal times such as self serving and pouring own drinks. This is in order to comply with the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011, Scottish Statutory Instrument 2011/210 Regulation 4(1) (a) Welfare of users - A provider must make provision of the health, welfare and safety of service users. Timescale:- to be completed by 15 July The provider must ensure that all children's personal plan information is reviewed a minimum of once every six months and a record of this kept. page 18 of 38

19 This is in order to comply with the Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011, Scottish Statutory Instrument 2011/210 Regulation 5 Personal Plans. Timescale:- to be completed by 15 July Recommendations Number of recommendations The provider should take action to improve upon the planning system and children's profiles. This is to be able to demonstrate how children's individual needs and interests have been taken into account. Children's next steps of learning should be identified in consultation with parents. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to the age of 16 years. Standard 3 Health and wellbeing Standard 4 Engaging with children Standard 5 Quality of experience Standard 6 Support and development. Statement 4 We use a range of communication methods to ensure we meet the needs of service users. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. There were a number of effective ways of communicating with families and involving them in the life of the nursery. These included:- - 'What we did today' sheets to outline the key activities, discussions and news. - Regular newsletters and s to help keep parents informed about nursery life and events. - Parental consultation meetings to discuss children's time at the nursery. page 19 of 38

20 - Older children were consulted throughout the day to give their views through discussion and group activity time. - Younger children's views were gathered through their reaction to activities, body language and staff observations. - Nursery website. - Welcome booklet. - Opportunities for parents to speak with staff at the start or end of their child's session to share and update information about their care needs. - Social evenings for parents - General noticeboards. - A comments box. Following the inspection, through the self assessment document, the manager told us that she planned to involve children in decision making and to develop questionnaires to gather their views on aspects on the service. Areas for improvement In the 21 care standards questionnaires we received:- Inspection report One parent indicated 'Don't know' and one parent did not indicate an answer to the statement 'My child regularly gets fresh air and energetic physical play. One parent indicated 'Don't know' and one parent indicated 'Not applicable' to the statement 'My child can experience and choose from a balanced range of activities'. One parent indicated 'No' to the statement 'I received clear information about the service before my child started using it'. Taking into account the above feedback, the provider should share further information with parents through a variety of methods such as the newsletter, planning displays, daily feedback and the welcome booklet. This may better inform about information they don't know about. Parents should also be informed about where to find the information they need. For example nursery booklet or a particular noticeboard. We will follow this up at the next inspection. page 20 of 38

21 The manager told us there had been an issue with not being able to access electronic documents. She was currently in the process of developing new policies and a welcome booklet. Seeking the views from parents about any additional information they may find helpful in the welcome pack may be beneficial to ensure that information provided to them at the start is clear. The welcome booklet was also to be updated with the most recent Exclusion Criteria for illnesses and infectious diseases. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Grade 4 - Good Number of requirements - 0 Number of recommendations - 0 Inspection report page 21 of 38

22 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment Grade awarded for this theme: 4 - Good Statement 2 We make sure that the environment is safe and service users are protected. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. We looked at the environment, risk assessments and staff practice. The manager described the external maintenance contracts that were in place for the building to ensure safety. In addition, there was an in-house support system whereby staff approached maintenance staff directly to report items that required attention. This demonstrated a commitment to maintaining the safety of the environment. The entrance to the premises was monitored with parents and visitors having to be given access to the building by staff. A record of visitors was kept and visitors were not left unsupervised with children. These systems helped ensure children were kept safe. We found the playrooms to be suitably ventilated, well-lit and well maintained. Staff described how they assessed the environment and about the precautions taken to minimise any risks identified. We reviewed the accident and incident recording systems. These demonstrated that parents were informed when something happened to their child and the actions taken by staff. In self assessment document we received, the manager told us that she planned to involve children in risk assessing their play and activities. This would help them understand how to assess their own safety and make judgements with the support of staff. page 22 of 38

23 We saw that children's art work and displays were used in the playrooms. Following discussion on the first day of the inspection, staff were now working towards further enhancing displays to ensure that these demonstrated children's achievements and learning and that wall displays were not always adult led. Key staff were trained in first aid. Accident/incident forms were completed as appropriate and parents were asked to countersign these. This meant that they were informed of anything that happened to their child and the action taken by staff. Areas for improvement Staff did not promote handwashing with children after nappy changing. The provider had been informed of the importance of this at registration. There were no procedures to support staff about how they physically go about doing this in the environment available to them. We directed the manager to the best practice document 'Hand hygiene: information to support improvement'. This documents should help review and assess their current environment and highlight the importance of handwashing with children in the baby room. (See recommendation one). We discussed that the provider should consider further security measures at the entrances to the separate buildings. This would minimise the risk if the main door is not secured behind people leaving the building. This would also facilitate the after school room patio door to be opened in warm weather as there are no windows in this room that can open whilst not compromising security. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Completed accident and incident forms were kept in the playrooms. We advised that these should be given to the manager for filing and to monitor as part of the quality assurance systems. (See quality theme four, statement four of this report). We discussed that the manager should keep a record of any maintenance issues raised by staff and the action taken as part of the quality assurance systems for the nursery. (see quality theme four, statement four). In addition, page 23 of 38

24 the manager agreed to consult a gas safe engineer to determine how often the gas cooker should be inspected and maintained. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Grade 4 - Good Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Inspection report 1. The provider should ensure that handwashing is carried out with children after nappy changing. Clear procedures should be developed to outline how this would be carried out by staff in the available environment. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16:- Standard 3 - Health and wellbeing. Statement 5 The accommodation and resources are suitable for the needs of the service users. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. The playrooms, outdoor garden areas and the surrounding grounds provided children with the opportunity to be involved in a variety of activities. Children could move around the playrooms freely with access to the gardens adjacent to the playroom with the support of staff. Regular outings took place throughout the day with groups of children to access the extended outdoor grounds. The outdoor play areas provided a variety of surfaces and experiences including a secret garden, decking, sand, grassy areas, climbing opportunities and the use of bikes. The extensive grounds also provided opportunities for woodland walks, growing and planting opportunities, feeding the birds and collecting eggs from the hens. Pre-school children were currently developing a green house made from recycled plastic bottles. The manager had viewed the recent good practice document 'My World Outdoors - sharing good practice in how early page 24 of 38

25 years services can provide play and learning wholly or partially outdoors. The manager told us about plans for staff training with a local outdoor education centre to help develop staff knowledge and confidence to be able to enhance children's learning in the outdoors. Some information outlined in Quality theme two, statement two was also relevant for this Quality statement. Areas for improvement In the 21 care standard questionnaires, seven parents indicated 'Don't know' and 6 parents indicated 'Not applicable' to the statement 'The staff ask for my child's views and about the activities and outings, and use them to plan future activities'. Taking into account the above feedback, the manager should take action to ensure that parents are provided with information about how children are consulted and the planning process. We discussed the best practice document 'Building the Ambition' with staff. This document provides detailed, practical guidance on experiences and interactions necessary to create a caring and nurturing setting. The manager and staff had not yet used this document to assess and improve upon their individual rooms. The layout of the playroom, the core play provision and activities provided for children under three years of age and for the after school club should be further improved upon. The best practice document Building the Ambition should be used as well as school age provision documents such as Scottish Out of School Care Network (SOSCN) Achieving Quality Scotland document, and the Playwork Principles. Staff should also consider the purpose of the activities indoors and outdoors for all children and take into account planning guidance as outlined in Quality Theme one, Statement one. (See recommendation one). Further information about schemas and how to support these through the play provision should be shared with staff and parents. (Schemas are patterns of repeated behaviour in children. The child often has a very strong drive to repeat actions such as moving things from one place to the other or moving in circles page 25 of 38

26 or throwing things. These can often be observed running through their play and may vary between on child and another). We saw that staff had taken on board our feedback about the storage and location of the high number of high chairs in the main part of the baby room. They were trialling where to locate these and the number required. This would help improve upon the look of the play room and free up wall space for further displays. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Grade 4 - Good Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Inspection report 1. The provider should take action to improve upon the layout of the playroom, the core play provision and activities for children under three years of age and for the after school club in line with best practice documents Building the Ambition, Achieving Quality Scotland and the Playwork Principles. For all children, staff should be clear about the purpose of the activities provided indoors and outdoors as part of their planning process. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16:- Standard 5 Quality of experience Standard 11 Access to resources. page 26 of 38

27 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: 3 - Adequate Statement 2 We are confident that our staff have been recruited, and inducted, in a safe and robust manner to protect service users and staff. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was adequate for this statement. We concluded this after viewing a sample of staff files and the recruitment policy. The manager was proud of the low turnover of staff as this had enabled continuity of care for the children attending and for staff to build up a positive working relationship with each other and families. An employee handbook had been developed for staff which outlined key policies and procedure. The majority of staff were registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). Other staff were within the six months timescale of starting their employment and being registered with SSSC. The SSSC are the organisation who regulate care staff and decide on the level of qualifications for each post. Prior to starting new staff, the manager ensured that their criminal conviction check (Protection of Vulnerable Groups-PVG) was completed and satisfactory. Areas for improvement We viewed a sample of staff files. Prior to inspection the provider had informed us that references were not always sought for staff if they were personally known to her. We had advised that this was not in line with best practice. We saw that the manager had taken action to address this and references had now been sought. The provider is aware that these must be sought prior to employment for future candidates. The recruitment policy should now be page 27 of 38

28 updated to clearly outline the procedures to be followed. We will follow this up at the next inspection. A checklist for staff recruitment files should be developed to outline the date of key information received during the recruitment process such as the references and the Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) check for staff. These checks must be back prior to employment. We found that two members of staff were coming to the end of their six months timescale to be registered with the SSSC. The manager had not used the information through 'My SSSC' system to be able to monitor staff registration. This this should be monitored regularly as part of quality assurance systems. The recruitment checklist should also outline the SSSC status for staff and the action taken to apply for registration or confirm registration. (See recommendation one). We saw that staff files did not contain evidence of a completed job application form. This meant that there was no way to gather consistent information from candidates applying for a post or to record information such as the names of referees or their position. There was also no appointment of employment letter or a job description. We directed the manager to the best practice guidance 'Safer recruitment though better recruitment' available on the Scottish Government's website (See recommendation one). We were told that an induction was carried out for new staff and that this included sharing information about policies and roles within the playroom. This information was not recorded. We advised that an induction checklist should be developed to ensure consistency of this process for all staff. Child protection procedures should be part of the induction process. A record of the induction carried out should be kept in staff files. (See recommendation two). Grade 3 - Adequate Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations The provider should develop:- Inspection report page 28 of 38

29 - a recruitment checklist for individual staff files to demonstrate that safer recruitment processes have been carried out prior to employment. This should demonstrate the two references received prior to employment and how the referees are known to the candidate with one of them being their previous employer. - checking with SSSC or another professional body to verify if candidates are registered. - developing an application form to consistently gather information about candidates - staff files to ensure that they contain all the relevant information such as start date, job description and appointment of employment. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16:- Standard 12: Confidence in staff. Standard 14: Well-managed service. 2. The provider should develop a formal induction process for new staff. Child protection procedures should be part of the induction process. A record of the induction carried out should be kept in staff files. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16:- Standard 12: Confidence in staff. Standard 14: Well-managed service. Statement 3 We have a professional, trained and motivated workforce which operates to National Care Standards, legislation and best practice. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. The service had a range of policies and procedures which supported the professional approach taken by staff. These included policies about staff training and development and whistle-blowing. page 29 of 38

30 We observed that staff interaction with children was nurturing and professional. Staff knew the children in their care well and supported them in their play and care routines. They used appropriate questions and general discussion/ interaction to extend play opportunities and learning experiences. Children of all ages were clearly comfortable in approaching staff when they needed support even where children were not old enough to communicate verbally. Photographs of staff were displayed and this helped parents to know who was taking care of their child. Full staff meetings took place regularly throughout the year to discuss and share information with staff. The manager also met with the room supervisors on a weekly basis to discuss the delivery of the service. The manager told us that staff appraisals were due to be carried out and this included looking at staff strengths, and how they could be more effective with the setting of key objectives. In the self assessment document she told us that she planned to provide opportunities for parents to participate in a feedback system as part of staff appraisals. We found that staff were reflective and keen to develop their practice and enhance their playrooms which would further improve positive outcomes for children. Some staff had taken responsibility for developing the garden area and for key fundraising events. Information outlined in Quality Theme three, Statement two is also relevant for this Statement. Areas for improvement The roles and responsibilities of the room supervisors were not formally recorded and we advised that this should be developed to ensure consistency of practice and team knowledge. We also discussed that the manager should consider delegating other key tasks for staff to take responsibility for. For example the viewing of key best practice documents on the Care Inspectorate website and the sharing of the findings with teams. We will follow this up at the next inspection. page 30 of 38

31 The manager told us that staff kept their own record of training as part of their SSSC registration. The manager was aware of when key mandatory training such as child protection or first aid was achieved and due for renewal. However the manager did not have an overview of staff training that they attended during their employment at the nursery or the impact that this had had on the service. A record of this should be kept. (See recommendation one). We have taken into account the issues outlined Quality Theme one, Statement three when awarding the grade for this statement as not all staff demonstrated that they were operating to or had knowledge of best practice guidance. Grade 4 - Good Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Inspection report 1. The provider should ensure that an overview of staff training is kept in order to be able to identify and monitor staff development needs to support positive outcomes for children. A record of this should be kept along with an evaluation of how this has helped improve upon outcomes for children. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16:- Standard 12 Confidence in staff Standard 13 Improving the service Standard 14 Well-managed service. page 31 of 38

32 Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership Grade awarded for this theme: 3 - Adequate Statement 3 To encourage good quality care, we promote leadership values throughout the workforce. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. Information outlined in Quality Theme three, Statement three is also relevant to this statement. There was a staff supervisor who was responsible for supporting the staff within their playroom. In the manager's absence, a member of staff who usually worked directly in the playrooms took on the role as 'acting manager'. There was a commitment from the provider to support and encourage staff training to improve upon their skills and knowledge. Staff were given time outwith the playroom to keep up to date with paperwork tasks that they had to complete for their role. Staff meetings and general daily communication supported and encouraged staff to give their views and take responsibility for aspects of the service. A list or rota duties within the playroom was displayed for staff and staff took turns for key roles such as breakfast cover, door duties, story time and other extra duties as required. A staff handbook had been developed and this outlined key information that staff needed to be aware of as an employee. page 32 of 38

33 Areas for improvement We spent time with staff in the playrooms and with the manager discussing best practice in order to assist in the improvement agenda for the service. We directed the manager to the key documents that will further enable staff to improve upon the service delivered. Such documents were available on our website and should be used as part of the quality assurance systems to be developed. (See Quality Theme four, Statement four, Requirement one). The manager and staff should take into account their personal and professional responsibilities in relation to the Code of Practice for Social Service Workers. They should be clear about their roles and responsibilities including keeping up to date with best practice. Information about the SSSC 'Step into Leadership' programme should be shared with staff to support leadership at all levels. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Grade 4 - Good Number of requirements - 0 Number of recommendations - 0 Statement 4 We use quality assurance systems and processes which involve service users, carers, staff and stakeholders to assess the quality of service we provide. Service Strengths We found the performance of the service was adequate for this statement. We looked at how the quality of the service was assessed and the processes used to involve service users, carers, staff and stakeholders. The manager described and demonstrated the quality assurance systems and processes used to assess, support and maintain improvements to the nursery. These included:- - Member of external organisations such as the National Day Nursery Association (NDNA) which held regular meetings. Inspection report page 33 of 38