Binnie Street Children's Centre Day Care of Children 26 Binnie Street Gourock PA19 1JS

Transcription

1 Binnie Street Children's Centre Day Care of Children 26 Binnie Street Gourock PA19 1JS Inspected by: Morag Kelly Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 10 June 2013

2 Contents Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 5 2 How we inspected this service 7 3 The inspection 12 4 Other information 26 5 Summary of grades 27 6 Inspection and grading history 27 Service provided by: Inverclyde Council Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Morag Kelly Telephone enquiries@careinspectorate.com Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 2 of 28

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 4 Good Quality of Environment 4 Good Quality of Staffing 4 Good Quality of Management and Leadership 4 Good What the service does well We found staff have created a friendly and welcoming environment for children and parents/carers (parents/ carers will be referred to as parents in this report). The children were happy and relaxed and were seen to have good relationships with the staff. Staff demonstrated sensitive and respectful approaches towards helping children to learn through play. What the service could do better The provider should ensure that the recommendations made at this inspection are addressed. Details of these are contained this report. What the service has done since the last inspection This was the first inspection. Binnie Street Children's Centre is an amalgamation of three services. The local authority has fully renovated the Binnie Street building in order to create an improved environment for the new service to operate from. Some of the staff and children, who were previously part of the other services, have now come together in Binnie Street Children's Centre. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 3 of 28

4 It is acknowledged that there have been a number of changes to the management team in this first year of operation. However, at the time of inspection the acting manager, the acting depute and the staff team were enthusiastic and committed to the continued development of the service. Conclusion At the time of inspection the acting head of centre had been in post for a very short period of time. Since taking up her post she had worked hard to develop positive relationships with children, parents and staff. The staff had worked together well to establish a supportive team. Parents' feedback in our questionnaires was mixed and referred to the number of changes in the management team. However, all of the parents indicated that overall, they were happy with the service. All of the parents we spoke with during our inspection told us they were very happy with the care their child received. Who did this inspection Morag Kelly Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 4 of 28

5 1 About the service we inspected The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information in relation to all care services is available on our website at This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 16 August Requirements and recommendations If we are concerned about some aspect of a service, or think it needs to do more to improve, we may make a recommendation or requirement. - A recommendation is a statement that sets out actions the care service provider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service based on best practice or the National Care Standards. - A requirement is a statement which sets out what is required of a care service to comply with the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 ("the Act") and secondary legislation made under the Act, or a condition of registration. Where there are breaches of Regulations, Orders or conditions, a requirement may be made. Requirements are legally enforceable at the discretion of the Care Inspectorate. Binnie Street Children's Centre is located in a renovated listed building in Greenock. The children have access to a large open plan playroom upstairs and one playroom downstairs. The service also has two outdoor play areas. Binnie Street Children's Centre is registered to provide a daycare of children service to a maximum of 60 children from 3 years to children not yet attending school and 32 children of school age. Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of Care and Support - Grade 4 - Good Quality of Environment - Grade 4 - Good Quality of Staffing - Grade 4 - Good Quality of Management and Leadership - Grade 4 - Good 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 Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 5 of 28

6 or by calling us on or visiting one of our offices. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 6 of 28

7 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 this report after an unannounced inspection. This was carried out by Inspectors, Morag Kelly and Jane MacLeod. The inspection and feedback took place on 10 June 2013, from to 9.20am to 6.10pm. 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 25 care standards questionnaires to the head of centre to distribute to parents of children who used the service. Parents returned 15 completed questionnaires before the inspection. During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: We spoke with: - 13 children in the nursery - 5 children in the out of school care - 5 parents of children in the nursery - 4 parents of children in the out of school care - the acting head of centre (the acting head of centre will be referred to as the head of centre in this report) - the acting depute head of centre (the acting depute head of centre will be referred to as the depute head of centre in this report) - 7 members of staff. We looked at: - evidence of how staff involved the children and parents - children's records and profiles/plans - parents' questionnaires - staff training information and certificates - minutes of staff meetings - newsletters - complaints procedure Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 7 of 28

8 - accident and incident records - administration of medication policy and records - risk assessments - repairs and maintenance information - certificate of registration - certificate of insurance - attendance registers for children and staff - quality assurance information - the environment and equipment. Inspection report continued 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 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 Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 8 of 28

9 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: Yes - Electronic 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. We received a completed self assessment document from the provider. The provider had completed this with relevant information for each of the headings that we grade the service under. The provider identified what it thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes planned. Taking the views of people using the care service into account We observed the children who were present during our inspection. We found the children were fully engaged in learning through play. We talked with 13 of the children and all of them told us they enjoyed coming to the nursery. Some of the children were keen to show us their personal profiles and tell us all about what they had been doing. We heard children singing and observed them brushing their teeth, listening to stories and playing in the outdoor area. We also observed children having great fun investigating and learning about snails. Out of school care: We observed the children enjoying their play. We talked with the five children during our inspection and all of the children told us they enjoyed coming to the service. Children told us what they liked to play with, for example one child told us he liked to play badminton at home. We heard staff respond to this and tell the child they would arrange for him to play badminton in the service. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 9 of 28

10 We observed children have fun at the craft table and playing electronic games. Taking carers' views into account Fifteen parents returned completed care standards questionnaires. Parents comments included the following: - "Binnie Street is fantastic in all ways". -"The staff are friendly and positive whilst remaining professional. My child is extremely happy here, finally his keyworker is fantastic with my child. I couldn't be happier". - "I am not aware that the children are taken out to parks and libraries at all. I also don't think they get outside enough which sometimes is due to lack of staff. Overall my child is very happy, the staff and the environment are lovely. The head of centre had already taken steps to address this matter and children now have access to outdoor play on a daily basis. - "Nursery could make better use of the surrounding area e.g. beach, library, animal park for short trips (educational/fun) with children". The head of centre told us plans were in place to provide more outings for the children. - "Regarding snacks I know fruit is on offer but I personally don't agree with crisps and cheap yogurts as snacks. There is no variety". The head of centre told us she had already taken steps to address this matter and now only good quality healthy snacks are provided in the service. - "I am very please with the support and care my child receives in this nursery. The quality is second to none". We had the opportunity to speak with a further five parents during our inspection. All of the parents we spoke with told us their children enjoyed spending time in the service. Nursery parents made the following comments: - "Very happy. Staff are very approachable" - "Very happy, children are safe and well looked after" - "Great nursery. Staff listen to you and they know the children well" - "Staff are fab. The nursery is well organised. We are made to feel welcome". Out of school care parents made the following comments: Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 10 of 28

11 - "Very happy no issues" - "My child is happy and I am very happy about that" - "There are lots of things for the children to do" - "I am very happy. I don't know what I would do without this service". Parents' comments and references to our questionnaires are included throughout this report. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 11 of 28

12 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: 4 - Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the care and support provided by the service. Service strengths The service had a good approach to involving children and parents in assessing and influencing the quality of care and support provided. We gathered evidence from discussions with parents, observing the children at play and information from staff. Staff told us they encourage children to make choices and share their views through daily discussions, group meetings and mind maps. This provided some opportunities for children to influence daily activities. At the time of inspection we found children were interested in learning about the life cycle of the butterfly. Staff had accessed a live butterfly garden. This provided opportunities for the children to observe, first hand the butterfly going through its life cycle and complete metamorphosis. We found the children were excited and curious about this closeness to nature. Children in the out of school care were also encouraged to express their ideas and share their views. For example one child was very knowledgeable about fire prevention. We saw staff encourage this child to deliver a fire safety presentation to the other children and staff. The child had made pictures to demonstrate the different types of fire and safety issues. The child enjoyed using a pointer, he had made, to draw attention to the different parts of the pictures. All of the children took part in the discussion and shared their knowledge and views. We observed staff sharing information with parents and children in a friendly and supportive way. The parents we spoke with confirmed that they had regular meaningful discussions with staff. Parents were encouraged to share their views in several ways. For example, the head of centre had asked parents to complete a questionnaire following the parents' night. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 12 of 28

13 This provided opportunities for parents to express their views about how they would like the service to operate. We found parents had made positive comment in their responses and also made some suggestions for improvement. One such example was where parents' views had been included in the booklet about healthy lunch choices. A 'suggestions box'' was available on a daily basis for parents to give written feedback. The parents' meeting provided opportunities for parents to get together with each other and with staff to share their views. This provided an additional way for parents to influence improvements. Ten parents who completed our questionnaires strongly agreed and four parents agreed, that staff share information with them about their child's learning and development. Our questionnaires included very positive comments such as: - "When my child first started at Binnie Street Children's Centre he found it hard to adapt to his new environment. This was a difficult time for both him and for us as parents. The staff at the centre offered support and advised us on a consistent approach on how to deal with his transition to settle into his early years education. The staff at the centre are very approachable and my child now enjoys his time and learning within the nursery". Areas for improvement The following areas for improvement are in relation to nursery and the out of school care. The head of centre should continue with plans for developing ways of seeking the views of children and parents, about the quality of care and support. The head of centre agreed to continue to look at ways to demonstrate to parents and children how their ideas and suggestions for improvement have been taken forward and how this has impacted on the service. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 13 of 28

14 Statement 3 We ensure that service users' health and wellbeing needs are met. Service strengths Not all parts of this statement were assessed during this inspection. We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. The service met the health and welfare needs of the children effectively. At this inspection we focussed on children's personal files and plans, medication records, accident and incident records and discussions with parents and staff. Nursery: We found staff knew the children well. Each child had a personal profile. The profiles included settling in assessments, some information about children's personal preferences and learning stories. Staff had recorded observations of the children and some information about the children's next steps in development and learning. All of the parents had completed child registration forms, detailing personal information about their child. This also included information about allergies and any health issues. In the sample of the personal records that we looked at, we found children's personal details were recorded. This provided staff with important information about the children. Out of School care: We found staff knew the children well. Each child had an individual tray which included samples of their work. All of the parents had completed child registration forms, detailing personal information about their child. This also included information about allergies and any health issues. In the sample of the personal records that we looked at, we found children's personal details were recorded and available to staff. This provided staff with important information about the children. The service had a policy and procedure on the administration and storage of medication. We found staff had been advised about the medication procedures and asked parents to sign consent forms before they administered any medication. Most of the children's medication was stored in line with service's procedure. The parents we spoke with confirmed they were happy with how staff managed medication in the service. We found the service had systems in place for recording accidents and incidents. In the sample of records we looked at, we found parents had signed these. This resulted in the parents being kept informed of any issues. The parents we spoke with confirmed they were happy with how staff managed accidents in the service. Areas for improvement Inspection report continued In the out of school care we found the children's personal plans did not include information about their likes and dislikes. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 14 of 28

15 In the nursery we found there was scope for improvement of how staff used observations to plan for children's individual next steps in development and learning. Although the head of centre told us the children's personal plans were discussed and reviewed with parents, the review dates had not been recorded (see Recommendation 1 below). We found one bottle of mediation was not stored in the original box and did not have the child's name on it. A clear procedure was detailed for staff to follow regarding one child who had particular medical needs. However, we found there was no written consent for this procedure to be carried out. We found long term medication had not been recently reviewed (see Recommendation 2 below). Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 2 Recommendations 1. Nursery: The head of centre should continue to develop systems for using observations to plan for each child's next steps and include this information in the personal plans. The six monthly review date should be recorded and any updated information agreed with parents should also be included in the plans. Out of School care: The head of centre should continue to further develop children's personal plans to include children's likes and dislikes. The review date should be recorded and any updated information agreed with parents should be included. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3: Health and wellbeing. 2. The head of centre and staff should continue to make improvements to how medication is managed and reviewed within the service. She should ensure written consent is in place for any individual procedures parents ask staff to carry out. Care Inspectorates health guidance on - The Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services. This can be found on our website. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 years. Standard 3: Health and wellbeing. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 15 of 28

16 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment Grade awarded for this theme: 4 - Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the environment within the service. Service strengths The service had a good approach to involving children and parents in assessing and influencing the quality of the environment. We gathered evidence from discussions with parents, observing the children at play and information from staff. We found the service had started to ask for children's and parents' views about the quality of the environment. The questionnaire the service gave to parents, encouraged parents to feedback their views. We found parents had made positive comment in their responses and also made some suggestions for improvement. One such example was parents had suggested the children should have more access to outdoor play. As a result of this feedback the head of centre had implement a programme of daily outdoor play sessions. In the nursery and out of school care playrooms, staff encouraged children to self select from a range of toys and activities. During our visit we saw children choose the toys and activities that interested. Seven parents who completed our questionnaires strongly agreed and five agreed that the staff asked for their child's views about the activities and outings and use this to plan for future events. Further evidence to support the strengths in this quality statement is as detailed under quality theme 1, quality statement 1. Areas for improvement The following areas for improvement are in relation to nursery and the out of school care: The head of centre should continue with plans to give parents and children opportunities to make comment on the environment and to make some suggestions for improvements. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 16 of 28

17 A further area for improvement for this statement has been identified in quality theme 1, quality statement 1 Four of the parents who returned our questionnaires indicated that they did not know if staff ask for their child's views about the activities and outings. The service should continue to look for ways to keep parents informed about how they are seeking children's views. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 17 of 28

18 Statement 2 We make sure that the environment is safe and service users are protected. Service strengths Not all parts of this statement were assessed during this inspection. We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. The service had good systems in place to help make sure the environment was safe. At this inspection, we focussed on risk assessments, the repairs log and maintenance records, insurance certificates, observations of the premises and discussions with parents and staff. The service was provided from an attractively decorated, renovated listed building. We found the playrooms were welcoming and well organised. Staff had worked hard to create a bright and welcoming environment for the children in the nursery and the out of school care. The areas were organised to create a balance of quieter and busier spaces for the children to choose from. Outdoor play areas were also available to the children. This provided space for children to access outdoor and energetic play on a daily basis. There was a secure entry system in place on the front door. Risk assessments were in place for some outings. Some risk assessments had also been carried out and recorded for indoor and outdoor areas. This helped to maximise safety in the service. As the building was in the first year since renovation, a snagging list was in place that detailed any repairs/maintenance work that needed to be carried out. Plans were in place to for this work to be carried out. The head of centre told us that following this first year, the local authority maintenance reporting system will be implemented. This system will detail when concerns are first reported and any ongoing action taken. Employers' Liability insurance was in place and displayed for parents' information. Our questionnaires included very positive comments such as: - "I am delighted with the staff and facilities at Binnie Street. The environment is well planned and organised for nursery children". Areas for improvement Inspection report continued The head of centre told us staff were currently developing safety checklists for all areas accessed by the children. She had already identified some issues regarding arrival and departure arrangements. The head of centre told us she was not aware of any risk assessments relating to these arrangements or for the security entry system, the cloak room area or the use of drawstring bags (see Recommendation 1 below). Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 18 of 28

19 The head of centre had already identified that space was limited in the cloak room area. One of the parents we spoke with commented "this is a lovely building. The only thing is the cloak room area is very warm and crowded". The head of centre told us she was looking at ways to make improvements to this area. She should continue with plans to seek advice from the local authority about this issue. The head of centre and staff had already identified that the windows in the out of school care were not opened on a regular basis. This had resulted in some ventilation issues in the room. It is acknowledged that staff had opened the windows on occasions however, due the window opening mechanism being located at a very high level the head of centre was concerned about staff safety during this process. The head of centre told us she was looking at ways to make improvements. She should continue with plans to seek advice from the local authority about this issue. The head of centre told us she did not have a copy of the fire risk assessment for the premises. However, during the inspection she accessed this information from the local authority. She agreed to share this with the staff team. One of the parents who completed our questionnaire made the following comment: - "Very little outdoor play. One short session per week per group which doesn't happen every week due to staffing levels. Think 60 children per session is causing issues within the centre, many activities can't happen due to size". As previously mentioned the head of centre had already taken steps to address this matter and children now have access to outdoor play on a daily basis. The head of centre should continue with plans to develop further outdoor learning and energetic play opportunities for the children. We found the head of centre had already identified the need to make improvements in relation to parental consent for outings. She told us about a number of areas she intended to improve. She should continue with these plans. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 1 Recommendations Inspection report continued 1. The head of centre should continue with plans to review the service's risk assessments to ensure these identify any potential risks and detail how these are addressed. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 years. Standard 2: A safe Environment. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 19 of 28

20 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: 4 - Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of staffing in the service. Service strengths The service had a good approach to involving children and parents in assessing and influencing the quality of staffing. As previously discussed this service is an amalgamation of three services. The provider confirmed that during the lead up to the new service being formed, parents had been fully consulted about staff transitions. For example, some parents, who were previous committee members, were involved in the interview process for staff. Open meetings were held to allow the wider group of parents to discuss the staffing structure for the new service. Throughout the year management have shared information with the parents about any staff changes through news letters, the notice board and letters. We found there were opportunities for parents to join in with some staff training, should they wish to do so. This provided some opportunities for parents to comment on staff training. All of the parents we spoke with confirmed that staff always listen to and take on board their views and suggestions. Further evidence to support the strengths in this quality statement is as detailed under quality theme 1, quality statement 1. Areas for improvement This area for improvement is in relation to nursery and the out of school care. The head of centre acknowledged that there was scope for development under this statement. She agreed to continue to develop further systems for consulting with children and parents about the quality of staffing. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 20 of 28

21 Statement 3 We have a professional, trained and motivated workforce which operates to National Care Standards, legislation and best practice. Service strengths Not all parts of this statement were assessed during this inspection. Inspection report continued We found the performance of the service was very good for this statement. The service had professional, trained and motivated staff. At this inspection, we focussed on staff records including training records and staff rotas. The head of centre and staff were registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC). The staff team worked well together and staff were qualified in childcare and education. Three members of staff held professional development awards and the head of centre and the depute head of centre were qualified to degree level. Moreover, the head of centre had gained a post graduate certificate in early childhood studies. The head of centre confirmed that staff took part in child protection training on an annual basis. Some staff had also taken part in food hygiene and first aid training. We looked at a sample of staff training records and found systems were in place for staff training needs to be identified. Staff confirmed that the head of centre supported them in their professional development and that they were given opportunities to take part in some training courses. The service used the local authority system for continuing professional development in order to access training. The management team and staff confirmed they were committed to continuing their professional development and took the opportunity to attend training when this was available. All of the staff we spoke with confirmed they felt supported and work well together. We found clear staff rotas were recorded and staff confirmed they were kept well informed about their work rotas. During our visit we found the staffing levels were in line with the National Care Standards. Our questionnaires included positive comments such as: - "All the staff are excellent, well trained and engaging individuals which has helped settle my child into the new nursery and made me feel confident as a parent that my child is getting the best possible nursery provision". Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 21 of 28

22 Areas for improvement The head of centre had started to detail a record of training that staff had taken part in. She was developing this at the time of inspection. She should continue to review and update training records and make sure information about all training is recorded. The head of centre should continue with plans to record a training plan for the staff team. Three parents who returned our questionnaires made comment about their concerns regarding staffing levels in the service. The head of centre had identified the need to reorganise the arrangements for grouping the children and had plans in place to make improvements. She should continue with these plans. She may also wish to consider giving parents information about the adult to child ratios in the service. This may help to reassure parents. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 22 of 28

23 Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership Grade awarded for this theme: 4 - Good Statement 1 We ensure that service users and carers participate in assessing and improving the quality of the management and leadership of the service. Service strengths The service had a good approach to involving children and parents in assessing and influencing the quality of management and leadership. Parents had been involved in developing the vision, values and aims statement. For example, as a result of one parents' suggestion, the following statement had been included: - All children's achievements no matter how small will be celebrated. Children had also been involved in developing the vision, values and aims statement. For example, as a result of one child's suggestion, the following statement had been included: - I like learning to make pictures of love hearts and butterflies. The head of centre told us some parents had also been involved in observation sessions in the playroom. This provided opportunities for parents to monitor and feedback about the management of the playroom. Areas for improvement This area for improvement is in relation to nursery and the out of school care. The parents' participation policy was currently being developed. The head of centre agreed to ensure this policy includes all of the ways parents and children can share their ideas and suggestions for improvement. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 23 of 28

24 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 Not all parts of this statement were assessed during this inspection. Inspection report continued We found the performance of the service was good for this statement. The service had systems in place to involve parents and staff in assessing the quality of the service. At this inspection, we focussed on quality assurance systems and records, information about staff meetings, the attendance register of children and staff and the complaints procedure. The head of centre had put systems in place and started to use the quality indicators from the Child at the Centre 2 and the National Care Standards, in the evaluation of the service. The staff team and parents had been consulted to identify areas for improvement for the service. The identified areas were now set out in the improvement plan for the service. The depute head of centre had recently been given responsibility for supporting the out of school care. She told us the service had joined the local and national out of school care networks. This will help staff find out more about good practice regarding out of school care and also help staff link with other services in their local area. The improvement plan also included identified areas for improvement relating to the out of school care. Staff told us there were now more regular opportunities for team meetings. Staff confirmed that they found the meetings useful. We looked at a sample of the attendance registers for children and staff. This information reflected that the service was working in line with the conditions of registration regarding numbers of children. The staff team had reviewed and improved systems for accurately recording children's registers. Staff had recently introduced a signing in and out system to ensure clear records are kept of children in the building. The head of centre gave parents access to a copy of the complaints procedure. This provided opportunity for parents to raise any concerns they may have about the service. Our questionnaires included positive comments such as: - "The centre have done a great job with integrating all the kids across three nurseries". Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 24 of 28

25 Areas for improvement It is acknowledged that the head of centre had already identified some of the areas for improvement highlighted by this inspection. The head of centre agreed to continue to develop and take forward systems for monitoring and evaluating the work of the service. She should ensure she continues to identify any areas for improvement and implements plans to address these. The depute head of centre may wish to access 'Aiming High in Scotland', this is the Scottish Out of School Care Network quality assurance system. The head of centre agreed to ensure monitoring systems are put in place to cover the accident and incident records. This will help to highlight any issues. The head of centre should continue with plans to improve information sharing opportunities for job sharing staff. She should also continue to take forward plans to make sure the out of school care staff and part time staff are involved further in team meetings. This will help to make sure all staff are kept up to date with the operations of the service. One of the parents who completed our questionnaire made the following comment: - "I would have thought by now the centre would have had a permanent head of centre which I think is needed". The manager told us the provider was taking steps to address this matter. Grade awarded for this statement: 4 - Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 25 of 28

26 4 Other information Complaints No complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection. Enforcements We have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the last inspection. Additional Information Action Plan Failure to submit an appropriate action plan within the required timescale, including any agreed extension, where requirements and recommendations have been made, will result in the Care Inspectorate re-grading a Quality Statement within the Quality of Management and Leadership Theme (or for childminders, Quality of Staffing Theme) as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme being re-graded as unsatisfactory (1). Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 26 of 28

27 5 Summary of grades Quality of Care and Support Good Statement 1 Statement Good 4 - Good Quality of Environment Good Statement 1 Statement Good 4 - Good Quality of Staffing Good Statement 1 Statement Good 5 - Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership Good Statement 1 Statement Good 4 - Good 6 Inspection and grading history All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission. Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 27 of 28

28 To find out more about our inspections and inspection reports Read our leaflet 'How we inspect'. You can download it from our website or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning us on This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can get more copies of this report and others by downloading it from our website: or by telephoning Translations and alternative formats This inspection report is available in other languages and formats on request. Telephone: enquiries@careinspectorate.com Web: Binnie Street Children's Centre, page 28 of 28