Headstart Nursery School at Leith Day Care of Children 16 Queen Charlotte Street Leith Edinburgh EH6 6AT Telephone: 0131 555 0700 Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 18 July 2016 Service provided by: Headstart Nursery Schools Ltd Service provider number: SP2008009639 Care service number: CS2007167787
About the service Headstart Nursery School at Leith is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 70 children aged between three months to entry into primary school, of whom there should be no more than 30 children under two years of age and of whom no more than 40 children should be between the age of two to five years. The care service operates between the hours of 8am and 6pm on weekdays. The nursery is located in the Leith Links area close to local amenities and is easily accessed by public transport. The nursery consists of two areas, Owls for children over the age of 2 and Owlets for children under 2. Each area has their own toilets and changing areas. There is a dining area where the older children have meals and snacks and take part in baking activities. The area used by the younger children has an outdoor area which is entered directly from the playroom. There is an enclosed garden area which is used by the older children. The aims and objectives of the service are: "To make sure that the children we care for have a happy day. We try to provide them with a safe, bright, colourful environment so that they will look forward to visiting us" What people told us We observed the children enjoying their play. We talked to six of them and they told us that they liked coming to the nursery. They liked playing with the dolls house and outside. Children told us who their friends were. We spoke to four parents when they came to collect their children and we issued thirty questionnaires for parents before the inspection and nineteen of these were returned. Parents confirmed that they were very happy and happy with the care their child received at the service. Parents told us: "I am confident my child is very happy here. My child has been supported to develop strong positive relationships with other children and staff. Staff are always very positive about my child and seem genuinely interested in my child's development" "My child absolutely loves going to nursery and has such a brilliant time" "Staff are friendly and the nursery is a lovely welcoming place to go into. All staff make time to listen to any concerns and are very approachable" "My child looks forward to going to nursery." "I feel happy leaving my child as the staff are fantastic" People we spoke with during our visit told us: "The staff are kind and they work hard. We gain feedback via the cloud and Internet. The enthronement is better now for the younger children with the changes which have took place." "There is more open play and the nursery is now less structured and there is a need for both." The staff are brilliant with my child. I see this with the experiences they are learning at nursery. My child has page 2 of 15
made good friends." "My child has a lot of allergies and the staff have been brilliant with this. " Self assessment The provider submitted a self assessment to the Care Inspectorate but this did not provide evidence of the use of quality assurance systems or improvement plans to develop the service in a systematic way. The provider's assessment of the service showed that they were not aware of or had not fully reflected on the quality of service they provide. These issues are reflected in the report below. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good 4 - Good 3 - Adequate 3 - Adequate Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection For this quality theme we looked at how the service used care planning to support a nurturing environment for the children. We also looked at Child Protection. The majority of the staff responded to children kindly and respectfully. We saw some lovely interactions between staff and children, who maintained good eye contact and gave cuddles when needed. Staff praised children and encouraged them to celebrate their own achievements. We saw how pleased very young children were when they successfully blew bubbles. Some of the older children were chatty and told us about what happened at their nursery. Children had made friends and were using their imaginations as they played. Children had coped well with recent changes to their daily routine and the layout of the nursery, which tells us that they generally feel secure. Staff knew the children well. They made some use of their knowledge to meet children's needs. They had yet to create formal plans with parents for each child, which stated how they would meet their identified needs. The service had previously used a keyworker system, where a member of staff has particular responsibility for a child's care. Management were aware that it would be good practice to re-introduce this. Personal plans and a keyworker would support consistency and continuity of care for each child. See recommendation 1. Staff used their knowledge of children's needs and interests to plan activities in the nursery. We found that planning was for activities and areas of the nursery rather than for nurturing the individual development needs of each child. The service were using electronic journals so that they could share information with parents. Staff now need to put children at the centre of their own learning and involve them, and their parents, in setting their own next steps in a more systematic and meaningful way. See recommendation 2. page 3 of 15
Staff understood their responsibilities for keeping children safe and told us what they would do if they were concerned about a child's wellbeing. Staff had some knowledge of Getting it Right for Every Child and the wellbeing wheel but this was not yet fully embedded in their practice. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 2 1. Management should continue to develop the system for planning children's care so that there are clear plans for all children. These should be developed in partnership with parents and reviewed within the legal timescales, consistently for all children. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 4 - Engaging with children. 2. Children should experience a balanced programme of activities and opportunities which are planned by staff who have taken local and national guidance into account. Activities should be flexible and take account of ages, development needs, interests and hours and patterns of attendance of each child. Progress in each child's development should be regularly monitored and the information used to improve the programme and plan for children's next steps. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 5 - Quality of experience. Grade: 4 - good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection For this quality theme we looked at how safe children were and we looked at outdoor learning. Staff had worked hard to improve the layout of the play spaces. They reported that it was a much more calm environment. We thought that children used the space better and were able to move more freely around their areas. Staff were developing the variety of natural resources available to support children's curiosity and interest in the world around them. Younger children were able to make choices about where they wanted to play and this included going outside when they wanted to. Older children making better use of the dining room for snack and baking activities. Staff used shelves to provide small world play activities well. These gave children the opportunity to use their imagination, solve problems and make choices safely. Staff were aware that the opportunities for the older children to play outdoors could be improved. We discussed improvements which were needed to make the area more secure and enable children to choose when to go out. The provider was aware of this issue and was looking to improve outdoor security. We observed that the outer gates were not always well enough supervised when children were playing outside. Parents had told us that there were times when they had been able to enter the building without challenge. A sign had been displayed to advise parents not to allow anyone else to enter the building. See recommendation 1. page 4 of 15
Staff were beginning to introduce more opportunities for children to learn about risk and to keep themselves safe. We saw that younger children were being offered an activity which involved cutting up fruit by themselves. We thought that this activity could have been better presented because children were not given enough guidance about cutting and supervision was limited. See recommendation 2. We identified some areas for improvement in relation to infection control. Older children were using a communal bowl for washing their hands rather than running water. Children were not being reminded to wash their hands after blowing their nose. Good infection control practice keeps children safe by reducing the risk of infection spreading. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 2 1. The provider should complete a written risk assessment, with the assistance of management, staff, children and parents, which enables children to play outside safely and ensures that access to the building is monitored and controlled. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. 2. Children should be supported to develop independence in a safe way. The provider should develop risk-benefit assessment procedures which encourage staff to assess risk effectively and provide proper safeguards before introducing activities, like cutting and woodwork. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. Grade: 4 - good Quality of staffing Findings from the inspection For this quality theme we looked at staff training and we looked at Child Protection. Most staff were keen to improve and provide a quality service for the children in their care. Most staff engaged well in professional dialogue with inspectors. They felt well supported and part of the nursery team. Some staff had found the recent changes challenging and had been slow to adapt. Staff used their monthly room meetings to discuss their observations of children and planning. They were not yet using them for self-evaluation and quality assurance. Staff had few opportunities to meet as a whole staff team. See recommendation 1. Some staff talked enthusiastically about the training they had attended. Some of the training had enabled staff to support the needs of individual children, for example training on sign along and autism. We found that some of the staff were keen to put their learning into practice and improve children's experiences. Staff had found the opportunities to visit other centres beneficial and had been motivated by the experiences. We thought that all staff would benefit from more opportunity to visit and share practice with colleagues both in other areas of their nursery and at other services. page 5 of 15
The programme of annual appraisals had been reintroduced. Some staff had had an annual review of their practice at the time of the inspection. Staff had limited opportunity to reflect on their practice and consider how their own learning had improved what they were doing. They did not have a regular opportunity to discuss their own progress formally during the year. See recommendation 2. The programme of staff training included Child Protection and this training was refreshed from time to time. Staff would benefit from more regular opportunities to reflect on different scenarios and real life case studies. This would enable staff to discuss their own procedures, learn lessons from actual situations and improve their practice in the nursery. There were induction procedures for new staff and students in the nursery, which provided them with information about the service and nursery policies and procedures. These did not include specific training on Child Protection so that new staff were familiar with the service procedures from the outset. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 2 1. Children should be cared for by a competent and confident staff team, who have regular opportunities to share and challenge practice. Management should improve opportunities for all staff to be involved in the selfevaluation procedures for all aspects of the service and particularly for their own practice. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12, - Confidence in staff and Standard 13 - Improving the service. 2. The provider should develop a training plan for the service, which: - is based on information gathered from staff monitoring, appraisals and self-evaluation; - is regularly monitored to ensure that staff are making progress and are supported; - ensures that all adults working in the nursery are aware of Child Protection procedures from the outset; and - ensures that all staff have a confident understanding of good practice and are using their learning to improve children's experiences. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12, - Confidence in staff and Standard 13 - Improving the service. Grade: 3 - adequate Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection For this quality theme we looked at how self-evaluation was being used to improve practice. We also looked at Leadership. page 6 of 15
Several areas for improvement had been identified at our last inspection and management had focussed their attention on those areas which directly concerned the children attending the service. Management and staff had worked hard to improve the way they used the building and children's learning opportunities. The management team now need to work together to develop quality assurance procedures within the setting so that they lead to improvement systematically and effectively. Some monitoring of staff practice had been reintroduced however this was not yet systematic or rigorous enough. Staff had some opportunities to meet to plan activities but were not yet using meetings to evaluate practice in all areas of the nursery. Whilst there were records of the agenda for meetings, we found that decisions were not recorded, consequently making progress harder to track. See requirement 1. Self evaluation was at a very early stage in the service. Management had encouraged staff to take responsibility for developing their areas and now need to enable staff to reflect on the impact of their work in a more meaningful way. Staff did not have a confident knowledge and understanding of how to use indicators of good practice, like the National Care Standards and the new guidance document How Good Is Our Early Learning and Childcare (HGIOELC). See recommendation 2 in Quality Theme 3. Parents had some opportunities to be involved in improving the service. There had been consultations with parents using questionnaires and management sought parental views verbally as well. The management team should continue to ensure that parents and children are regularly involved in assuring quality in the service and that they audit their comments and provide feedback. The nursery worked in partnership with their local authority to provide funded Early Learning and Childcare. They were supported by visiting staff from the authority, who provided written feedback following their visits. This feedback and inspection reports aided the nursery management to create the nursery improvement plan. Management had identified that it would be good practice to make the improvement plan available to parents so that they were aware of progress in the service. Requirements Number of requirements: 1 1. The provider must ensure that they develop systematic and rigorous procedures for self-evaluation, auditing and monitoring all areas of the service, using local and national guidance and which lead to clear plans for maintaining and improving the service. These should include areas identified for improvement in all themes and should include infection control, children's progress and learning, responsive planning, monitoring of staff practice, training, understanding and resources. The provider should ensure that records are kept as required by the Care Inspectorate, including minutes of meetings. They should ensure that notifications are made following incidents like thefts. This is to comply with the Public Services Reform (Social Services Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. SSI No 210, 10(1) & (2) (a), (b), (c) & (d), 4 (1)(d) and SSI No 2002/114 (19). Timescale for completion: 31 March 2017 page 7 of 15
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 3 - adequate What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at or since the last inspection Previous requirements Requirement 1 The provider must ensure that they develop systematic and rigorous procedures for self-evaluation, auditing and monitoring all areas of the service, using local and national guidance and which lead to clear plans for maintaining and improving the service. These should include areas identified in all themes of this report and should include infection control, children's progress and learning, monitoring of staff practice and understanding and resources. This is to comply with the Public Services Reform (Social Services Inspection)(Scotland) Regulations 2011. SSI No. 210, 10(1) & (2) (a), (b), (c) & (d) and Regulations 2011 (SSI 2011/210) 4 (1) (d). Timescale: six months from receipt of this report This requirement was made on 30 September 2015. Action taken on previous requirement Staff had worked hard to improve some areas of the service. The programme of annual appraisals had been reintroduced but not all staff had had an appraisal at the time of the inspection. Management were aware that they needed to continue to improve on this aspect of their work. Not met page 8 of 15
What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection Previous recommendations Recommendation 1 We recommend that the management team formalise staff supervision and monitoring sessions. These sessions should be documented and this information should be used to inform staff's appraisals, development and training needs. This recommendation was made on 16 July 2013. The systems for monitoring and supervising staff had lapsed in the year before this inspection. Recommendations about staff supervision and training have been made in this report. Recommendation 2 We recommend that the service continue to develop and review its quality assurance systems. These should be developed to ensure the continuous development of the whole service. This recommendation was made on 16 July 2013. Systems were in place, which meant that the management team of the nursery were aware of areas for improvement however systems in place were not systematic and rigorous for self-evaluation, auditing and monitoring all areas of the service. Recommendations and a requirement have been made in this report. Recommendation 3 Staff should review the purpose of wall displays so that they are informative and welcoming and involve everyone using the nursery. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 1 - Being welcomed and valued. Staff had reviewed the way information was displayed in the nursery. They were making better use of the available space and were using walls to show how children had been learning, for example there was a display about bees which had been inspired by the children's curiosity. Staff were beginning to label furniture and areas in different languages, including Scots, to support children's literacy. Recommendation 4 Staff should further develop how they involve and engage children in contributing their views across a range of areas, including planning for their interests indoors and outdoors using talking and thinking floor books in a way which is appropriate for their stage and style of learning. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 4 Engaging with children page 9 of 15
Some staff had been to training on involving children using floor books and talking tubs. They were continuing to use Big Books more appropriately. Recommendation 5 Management should review the deployment of staff to ensure that the balance and structure of the day meets children's needs and interests. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 5 - Quality of experience. Management and staff had reviewed how they were using space in the nursery and had given staff more responsibility for planning areas in the nursery. We found that the structure of the nursery day was better and that children were more able to play with their friends and develop skills. Recommendation 6 Management should continue to develop the system for planning children's care so that there are clear plans for all children, which are reviewed within the legal requirements and consistently for all children attending the service. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 4 - Engaging with children. Staff were using the nursery routines sheet and registration forms to gather information about children. They reviewed the information with parents. They had yet to show how they were assessing children's needs and how they were planning to meet these needs. This recommendation has been repeated in this report. Recommendation 7 Children should experience a balanced programme of activities and opportunities which are planned by staff who have taken local and national guidance into account and who have a confident understanding of children's development and needs. Management should put a training programme into place which ensures that staff have benefitted from relevant training like "Building the Ambition" and Higher Order Thinking Skills. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 4 - Engaging with children and Standard 6 - Support and development. Staff had had the opportunity to attend training and to visit other centres. They had been motivated to improve the experiences offered to children and were becoming more confident in their knowledge of good practice. They had yet to start using assessment of children's development in planning and this recommendation has been repeated in this report. page 10 of 15
Recommendation 8 Management and staff should improve door security by ensuring that only staff admit people to the nursery, and are fully aware of who is in the building. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. A sign had been installed at the front door asking parents not to admit anyone to the nursery. Parents had reported to us that they had been able to enter the building and we have made a further recommendation about security in this report. Recommendation 9 Management and staff should develop risk assessment procedures so that children are fully involved in discussions about acceptable behaviour and risk. They should be involved in making the rules and supported to have an understanding and take responsibility for their behaviour. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. Children had been involved in making the rules and we observed that children were more engaged in their play at this inspection. We have made a further recommendation about risk assessment in this report and we suggested that management contact other services to find out how they involve children in the risk assessment process. Recommendation 10 Management and staff should involve parents and children in making sure that children's dignity and privacy is respected when any child is in the toilet area of the nursery. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. Changes had been made to the nappy changing area and staff encouraged children to be more aware and shut the door when they went to the toilet. Recommendation 11 Management and staff should ensure that effective measures to control the spread of infection are always followed. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2 - A safe environment. The areas identified in the previous report had been addressed. Further areas for improvement were identified in this report. page 11 of 15
Recommendation 12 Management and staff should review resources and activities so that they meet children's needs, challenge and support their development appropriately and provide opportunities to be creative and explore the world around them. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 11 - Access to resources. Management and staff had reviewed the resources and activities they were providing. A sensory room had been created so that children could investigate a variety of materials, and we observed that additional resources were provided in other areas of the nursery too. Staff planned to continue to improve this. Recommendation 13 Management and staff should review the structure and balance of the day as well as the layout and the use of rooms so that children's needs for rest and energetic activity are appropriately supported. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 6 - support and development and Standard 11 - Access to resources. The layout of the building had been reviewed. Children who did not need to sleep during the day were better supported and were able to play. Space was available for all children in the nursery who needed to rest. Younger children were able to play outside when they wanted to. The pace of the day was no longer determined by the need to use the dining area and staff reported that this was working well. Recommendation 14 Children should be supported and cared for by a competent and confident staff team, who have regular opportunities to share and challenge practice. Management should have confidence in their team and should be supported to deal with staffing issues effectively. They should reinstate the programme of appraisals and monitoring and use information to develop a training programme which meets the needs of staff and supports the service to achieve its aims. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12 - Confidence in staff This recommendation has been partially met. Most staff had had appraisals and some had had the opportunity to attend training. This recommendation has been repeated in this report. Recommendation 15 Management and staff should improve opportunities for all staff to take responsibility for the development of their own practice and improvements in the nursery by implementing good practice initiatives like Building the Ambition, developing leadership skills like the Scottish Social Services Council "Steps into Leadership", team building opportunities and improving the use of self-evaluation systems like Child at the Centre 2. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12 - Confidence in staff, Standard 13 - Improving the service and Standard 14 - Well-managed service. page 12 of 15
Management had enabled staff to take more responsibility for their areas in the nursery. Staff were becoming more confident and were better motivated by their experiences. We have partially repeated this recommendation because management and staff now should work to develop their self-evaluation procedures. Recommendation 16 Management should develop support and induction procedures for staff who change role and are promoted within the organisation so that they are effectively supported into their new role. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12 - Confidence in staff and Standard 14 - Well-managed service. Staff felt supported and were more confident about their roles in the nursery. Management were aware that they should continue to develop more regular opportunities for all staff to discuss their roles in the service. Recommendation 17 Management should develop the written nursery procedures to ensure that all required notifications to the Care Inspectorate are made. Information about the required notifications is available on the Care Inspectorate. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 14 - Well-managed service. Some notifications had been made to the Care Inspectorate however there was evidence that some had not. Management and staff should continue to develop their knowledge of the record keeping and notifications required. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. page 13 of 15
Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 24 Jun 2015 Unannounced Care and support 3 - Adequate Environment 3 - Adequate Staffing 3 - Adequate Management and leadership 3 - Adequate 16 Jul 2013 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 4 - Good 23 Aug 2012 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 3 - Adequate 18 Oct 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership Not assessed 18 Mar 2010 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 3 - Adequate Management and leadership Not assessed 22 Jan 2009 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good page 14 of 15
To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can 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. You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @careinspect Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 15 of 15