St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class Day Care of Children Linn Avenue Largs KA30 9JU Telephone:

Transcription

1 St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class Day Care of Children Linn Avenue Largs KA30 9JU Telephone: Inspected by: Margaret Speirs Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 25 January 2012

2 Contents Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 5 2 How we inspected this service 6 3 The inspection 10 4 Other information 17 5 Summary of grades 18 6 Inspection and grading history 18 Service provided by: North Ayrshire Council Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Margaret Speirs Telephone enquiries@scswis.com St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 2 of 19

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 5 Very Good Quality of Environment N/A Quality of Staffing 5 Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership N/A What the service does well Parents/carers and children continue to be provided with opportunities to assess the service and be involved in the day to day life of the nursery. A wide variety of effective communication methods are in place to keep parents informed. Staff work well together as a team and enjoy positive, caring relationships with the children attending the service. What the service could do better The manager and staff should continue, as they are doing, to identify areas in which the service could develop/improve. Ideas/suggestions from parents/carers and children could assist in this process. What the service has done since the last inspection The manager and staff members continue to review and develop the service provided. Parent/carers spoke positively about the ways they could be involved in the service and the new opportunity to attend/participate in workshops and coffee mornings. St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 3 of 19

4 Conclusion Inspection report continued St Mary's Primary School Nursery Class provides a service in which the parents/carers are confident and happy. The environment is bright and welcoming and the children can choose from a wide range of activities. Who did this inspection Margaret Speirs St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 4 of 19

5 1 About the service we inspected St Mary's Primary School Nursery Class is based with St Mary's Primary School in the coastal town of Largs, North Ayrshire. Before 1 April 2011 this service was registered with the Care Commission. On this date the new scrutiny body, Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS), took over the work of the Care Commission, including the registration of care services. This means that from 1 April 2011 this service continued its registration under the new body, SCSWIS. The service operates Monday - Friday with morning sessions between 9am and 11.30am and afternoon sessions between 12.30pm and 3pm. Sessions can accommodate 20 pre and ante pre-school age children during term time only. Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of Care and Support - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - N/A Quality of Staffing - Grade 5 - Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership - N/A 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. St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 5 of 19

6 2 How we inspected this service The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a low intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections when we are satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care. What we did during the inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection that took place between 9.20am and 3.30pm on 25 January This inspection was carried out by Care Inspectorate Inspector M Speirs. We sent fifteen of our questionnaires for the service to give to parents/carers. Five were completed and returned to us before the inspection took place. In this inspection we sampled evidence from various sources, including the following: - Supporting evidence from the most recent self assessment - Newsletters - Returned Care Standards questionnaires - Service parent questionnaires - Feedback from events - Displayed information - Individual letters/leaflets to parents - Comments book - Children's 'Record of Achievement' folders - Photographs - Children's artwork - Parental handbook - Policies and procedures - Staff meetings notes - Planning meetings/evaluations - Staff training - Staff resources - Staff development and review - Nursery/home links - Parent workshops information - Registration and Insurance certificates - Discussions with the Head Teacher, staff members and three parents/carers - Observations of the environment and staff/children relationships St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 6 of 19

7 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 report continued 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 St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 7 of 19

8 What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at our last inspection 1. The service should develop methods for informing families of outcomes and actions planned following consultation. Action taken: The service now displays some feedback received regarding nursery events. 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 fully completed self assessment document from the service provider. We were satisfied with the way the service provider had completed this and with the relevant information they had given us for each of the headings that we grade them under. The service provider identified what they thought they did well, some areas for development and any changes they planned. The service 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 Twenty four children in their pre and ante pre-school years attended the service over the morning and afternoon sessions on the day of our visit. They were settled and familiar in their surroundings and confidently chose the activities they wished to participate in. The children were observed to enjoy positive relationships with the staff caring for them. Taking carers' views into account Five parents/carers completed and returned our Care Standards questionnaires. All were happy, overall, with the quality of care their children received. One commented "St Mary's Nursery is fantastic". St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 8 of 19

9 We held discussions with one parent and two carers during our visit. They spoke very positively about the service and were able to tell us of the range of communication methods which were in place. They also felt that there were various ways in which they could be involved in the service and make use of their own skills. Staff were described as being professional, approachable and caring. St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 9 of 19

10 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: 5 - Very 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 grade awarded for this Quality Statement at the previous inspection on 11 December 2009 was 5 - Very Good. The evidence we sampled at this inspection maintained this grade. We concluded this after we read what parents and children had written. We also spoke to the manager and staff and observed the children present during the visit. We looked at how the children and their families were routinely involved in assessing the quality of care and support and found that they did this by: - holding discussions with parents and children on a daily basis; and - seeking feedback through providing questionnaires to parents/carers. These asked for their views on various aspects of the service. Those we looked at contained positive feedback - asking for parents and children's views on events such as the nursery Christmas party, graduation concert and meetings with nursery staff to discuss the children's achievements and progress. Feedback was displayed to inform parents - nursery/home links - informing parents of what the children were learning at nursery and what they could be involved in at home to help - displaying photographs of children and some parents involved in activities within the nursery - encouraging parents to complete the service's comments book. Entries showed that parents and carers were involved in the life of the nursery and had enjoyed their experiences The parent and carers we spoke to confirmed the range of opportunities which were available for them to be involved in the service and to provide feedback and ideas/ suggestions. The five parents/carers who completed our questionnaires felt involved in developing the service by being asked for feedback and ideas. Feedback with regards to the quality of care and support was positive. A parent/carer wrote of the St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 10 of 19

11 nursery "it continues to impress me with the level of care and support from all the staff". Areas for improvement The service had identified in the self assessment: - introducing parent workshops/meetings on a weekly basis (see Quality Statement 3.1) - nursery parents were included in the 'paired reading' meeting with Primary 1 parents. Staff are looking at further ways to meet the needs of parents and to provide opportunities for all - setting up a parents room The service used various methods of gaining feedback from parents/carers and children. Some of this was displayed to inform parents of the views received. Consultation methods should be expanded to include the opportunity to add any suggestions for improvement. Any actions to be taken following consultation should be communicated to parents/carers. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Statement 4 We use a range of communication methods to ensure we meet the needs of service users. Service strengths Inspection report continued The grade achieved for this statement was 5 - Very Good. We concluded this after sampling documents, displayed information and looking at policies/procedures. The service operated a very good range of communication methods. Information displayed included: - children's artwork and photographs. These gave opportunities for parents/carers to view their children's achievements and some of the range of activities they took part in; and - what the children were currently learning in nursery - some relevant service policies/procedures to familiarise parents/carers - service aims - standards and quality report - our grading system - events posters relating to talks/workshops - snack menus - calendar of nursery events The parent handbook contained a wide range of helpful information including the St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 11 of 19

12 ways in which parents/carers could participate in the life of the nursery and communication methods. Newsletters were bright, attractive, well laid out and contained relevant up to date information. Individual invitations to special events were provided. Informal and formal meetings were arranged and the staff made themselves available on a daily basis to talk with parents/carers. The children's 'records of achievements' folders were shared with parents. These contained information on personal learning plans, achievements and progress, photographs, artwork and the child's key worker. Areas for improvement The service had identified in the self assessment to continue to extend opportunities for parents/carers to contribute to the service and encourage them to represent the nursery on the parent council. The service should continue to maintain and develop the very good practices already in operation. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 12 of 19

13 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment - NOT ASSESSED St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 13 of 19

14 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very 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 grade awarded for this Quality Statement at the previous inspection on 11 December 2009 was 5 - Very Good. The evidence we sampled at this inspection maintained this grade. Please see Quality Statement 1.1 for examples of how the service involved children and their families in assessing the quality of their service. In addition: - staff spoke informally with parents/carers on a daily basis which was confirmed by those we spoke to. Formal meetings were also arranged to discuss their children's progress; and - photographs of adults involved in the service were displayed. These included the manager, staff members and the visiting dental hygienist. These, along with information about staff in the parent handbook helped to familiarise those using the service - the service questionnaires sought feedback on staff. They asked if staff knew the children as individuals and supported them well. Views were also sought on staff/ parent partnership. Those we viewed provided positive feedback - the service had recently developed parent workshops and coffee mornings. Staff were fully involved in these, seeking suggestions from parents/carers on the content of workshops and supporting families through informal chats The service's complaints procedure 'Listening and Learning' was clearly displayed to inform parents/carers of the procedure should they wish to raise any concerns. The manager advised that a group of parents had been involved in the self assessment process. Parents/carers who completed our questionnaires were happy with the quality of staffing. Areas for improvement The service had identified in the self assessment to continue looking at ways to further involve parents in giving feedback. St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 14 of 19

15 Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of recommendations: 0 Number of requirements: 0 Statement 3 We have a professional, trained and motivated workforce which operates to National Care Standards, legislation and best practice. Service strengths The grade achieved for this statement was 5 - Very Good. We concluded this after talking with staff and viewing training opportunities, policies/procedures, minutes of meetings and other relevant documents. Staff were observed to work well as a team. Each held appropriate qualifications and had accessed further training relevant to the service they provided. Staff were recruited through the local authority corporate recruitment and selection procedures. They were registered with the appropriate professional bodies such as the General Teaching Council and the Scottish Social Services Council. Regular staff meetings took place where they discussed activity planning, actions for specific children and feedback received amongst other items relevant to the day to day life of the nursery. The nursery staff were included as part of the whole school team and attended in-service days. Staff were guided by best practice documents such as the National Care Standards, Child at the Centre and the Curriculum for Excellence. They had ready access to and made use of a range of additional literature to inform their practice. Staff members were fully engaged with the children with their interaction being kind and purposeful. A staff member introduced us on arrival to all the children to reassure them. Areas for improvement The service had identified in the self assessment to continue to update staff skills and knowledge by attending various courses. Grade awarded for this statement: 5 - Very Good Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 15 of 19

16 Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management and Leadership - NOT ASSESSED St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 16 of 19

17 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 SCSWIS re-grading the Quality Statement within the Management and Leadership Theme as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme for Management and Leadership being re-graded as Unsatisfactory (1). St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 17 of 19

18 5 Summary of grades Quality of Care and Support Very Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 5 - Very Good Quality of Environment - Not Assessed Quality of Staffing Very Good Statement 1 Statement Very Good 5 - Very Good Quality of Management and Leadership - Not Assessed 6 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 11 Dec 2009 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and Leadership 5 - Very Good All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission. St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 18 of 19

19 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 SCSWIS. 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@scswis.com Web: St. Mary's Primary School Nursery Class, page 19 of 19