Lhanbryde Primary School Nursery Day Care of Children
Garmouth Road Lhanbryde Elgin IV30 8PD
Telephone: 01343 842649
Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 27 February 2018
Service provided by: Service provider number: The Moray Council SP2003001892
Care service number: CS2003016376 Inspection report
About the service
The service was registered with the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011, having been previously registered with the Care Commission.
Lhanbryde Primary School Nursery is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 35 children at any one time aged from three years to not yet attending primary school. The care service will operate Monday to Friday during school term. A minimum of two adults are to be on duty at any one time. The service is provided by Moray Council to meet the entitlement of 600 hours of early learning and childcare.
The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives.
We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by Scottish Government, GIRFEC is a national approach to working in a consistent way with all children and young people. It is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention. The approach helps services focus on what makes a positive difference for children and young people - and what they can do to improve. Getting it Right for Every Child is being woven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children, young people and their families.
There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it Right for Every Child. They are: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. They are often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. We use these indicators at inspection, to assess how services are making a positive difference for children
What people told us
Children were confident and happy in their play, sharing and taking turns with their friends. They were supported by caring and nurturing staff who recognised their non-verbal cues and responded to their requests. Children told us:
"I like it here" "Outside is best" "Look at our toys. We like reading."
We sent out Care Standards Questionnaires before we visited the service. Parents who returned the questionnaires were generally happy with the service provided. Their comments included the following.
"The staff at Lhanbryde Nursery are fantastic! They create a warm, encouraging and positive atmosphere which is key for learning. The range of activities on offer each week is impressive. The children are stimulated and enjoy learning. At open days, all of the children are excited and proud to show off 'their' nursery."
"I got to learn new skills as a parent, to be a better parent for my child. I got an insight into her learning and was able to share ideas. I am better equipped to carry on teaching my daughter at home. The free play outdoors is excellent when it is available. It is so healthy for them to choose and experience, very impressed. Staff do do an incredible job but there is always room to improve."
Some parents identified the ollowingf areas for improvement in the service:
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- opportunities to discuss their own child's progress and experience after each session - the provision of staff in the nursery to meet children's needs - access to the Family Learning Hub (an organisation delivering educational programmes enabling families to learn core values and principles to gain the best out of family life).
We have considered these comments throughout this inspection.
Self assessment
The service had not been asked to complete a self-assessment in advance of the inspection. We looked at their own improvement plan and a sample of their quality assurance paperwork.
From this inspection we graded this service as:
Quality of care and support 3 - Adequate Quality of environment not assessed Quality of staffing 3 - Adequate Quality of management and leadership not assessed
What the service does well
Children played well together, building friendships with each other and enjoying the experiences they were offered. A focus on developing literacy and numeracy skills was evident and children were able to use these skills in their play. Children were given some opportunities to explore their environment freely and choose their own play experiences in the nursery. Clear boundaries and expectations had been set for children, which developed their sense of respect for others and increased their levels of responsibility over their own behaviour.
Children's needs were being met, especially for those who required additional support. Having additional staff to support these children meant that their specific needs were understood and catered for in a meaningful way. Clear plans were in place for children who worked with other professionals, and staff were involved in creating plans to help these children achieve and remain healthy.
Staff knew individuals well and were able to describe each child's unique personality and needs. They used this information to informally support their development, encouraging them to progress and feel respected. Children's achievements were being tracked against national and local standards, helping the team to communicate with families and management about each child's progress. Relationships with families had been developed and this helped children to feel safe and included. Interactions between children, families and staff were warm and nurturing, showing a level of trust and respect between everyone in the service.
The staff team were committed to improving outcomes for children and keen to learn how they could improve their current practice. They were open and honest in their discussions with us, showing an ability to reflect and recognise areas for improvement. They spent time networking with other professionals to support their understanding of early learning and childcare, and had opportunities to discuss their development with management. In addition, when staff had opportunities to offer family learning sessions, parents felt included and respected by the service in a supportive and informative way.
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What the service could do better
We found that some of the procedures for administering medication were not yet in line with best practice guidance. We asked that the service review this to ensure children remain safe and healthy in the service (see recommendation 1).
While we found that children's basic needs were being met, children's care plans were not being updated regularly in line with current legislation. Ensuring that children's care plans are up to date, and that significant events are logged consistently, will ensure children remain safe and healthy and promote their holistic wellbeing and achievement (see recommendation 2)..
Children were being given some opportunities to engage in free play but this did not yet allow them the opportunity to be challenged, engaged and creative. Routines and activities were mainly adult led and did not yet give children opportunities to be responsible and independent. There was capacity for children to take on further leadership roles and be involved in a greater variety of rich, relevant and real life experiences to help them achieve their potential (see recommendation 3).
Due to recent circumstances outwith the provider's control, staffing in the service had been challenging. This meant that the pace of change and improvement in the service was not yet sufficient to ensure that children's experiences were in line with best practice guidance. The dedication of staff to maintain quality was evident; however, we found that there were a number of areas for improvement which required attention. We asked the service to further develop staff understanding and implementation of this guidance to improve the service (see recommendation 4).
In order to ensure that improvements in the service are planned efficently and effectively, we asked the service to consider developing shared leadership roles in the nursery. Increasing the capacity of the team to lead on developing key aspects of the service can ensure that improvements are made quickly and embedded more meaningfully into day to day practice (see recommendation 5).
The service had made changes to the ways they recorded their observations of children, showing their progress and achievements online. Although staff had received some training on how to use this system, they were not yet able to use it in a meaningful way which showed children's progress effectively and included children and families in the process. We discussed how this could be improved to show children's significant learning, including increasing the quality of observations taken as well as defining their development needs. These improvements would further support the service's aim to ensure children and families feel included in the learning process as well as respecting their views in their own development.
We were made aware that the service would be undergoing a variety of changes in the near future, including an increase in the number of hours of early learning and childcare some children would receive. These changes will impact significantly on the provision and we discussed how this could be managed to ensure minimal disruption to outcomes for children. It will be important that there is a clear and sustainable vision and direction for the service, where communication between key practitioners is shared, focussed clearly on improving outcomes for children and respecting the community as a whole. Involvement of staff, children and families in developments will ensure they feel respected, included and responsible while also ensuring a smooth transition through change.
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
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Recommendations Number of recommendations: 5
1. We recommend that the service review and evaluate their practice and procedures for the safe storage and administration of medication, in line with best practice. Reference should be made to 'Management of Medication in daycare of children and childminding settings' (http://hub.careinspectorate.com/media/189567/ childrens-service-medication-guidance.pdf).
National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 3 - Health and Wellbeing.
2. We recommend that the service ensure that all care plans are updated at least once in every six months or when there is a significant change in circumstances for children. This will ensure that children's wellbeing needs are met effectively and consistently.
National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 6 - Support and Development.
3. We recommend that the service develop its approaches to providing rich, meaningful and engaging play experiences. Consideration should be given to:
- developing children's creativity and ownership over their own play - encouraging independence and responsibility in their play - providing real and relevant experiences for children, including use of the local community and opportunities for risky play - increasing children's access to free flow indoor to outdoor play - reducing interruptions to children's play to encourage greater engagement and thinking - providing an environment with resources which promote curiosity, creativity and a sense of wonder, including increasing the provision of natural and open ended resources - the purpose and timing of group times.
This will ensure children are given more challenging experiences which enhance their experiences and develop their holistic wellbeing.
National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 4 - Engaging with Children.
4. We recommend that the service increase the knowledge and understanding of staff regarding best practice guidance in early learning and childcare. This will support them to implement these approaches in the service. Consideration could be given to:
- developing child led planning approaches - developing a rich and enabling play environment - increasing children's levels of independence and leadership of learning - promoting opportunities to reflect and evaluate on current practice - identifying areas for improvement in a meaningful way - developing improvement plans to effect change quickly and efficiently.
Specifically, the service could prioritise their reflection and evaluation against the ollowing:f
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- the new Health and Social Care Standards (2016) (www.newcarestandards.scot) - Building the Ambition (2015) (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0045/00458455.pdf) - How good is our early learning and childcare? (2016) (https://education.gov.scot/improvement/Documents/ Frameworks_SelfEvaluation/FRWK1_NIHeditSelf-evaluationHGIELC/HGIOELC020316Revised.pdf).
Referring to websites such as the Care Inspectorate Hub (http://hub.careinspectorate.com/) and Education Scotland's National Improvement Hub (https://education.gov.scot/improvement) will support the service to see recent examples of guidance in practice.
This will ensure children are offered a rich and meaningful experience from staff who understand the most effective ways to meet their needs.
National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 13 - Improving the Service
5. We recommend that the service develop shared leadership roles for staff to increase th pace of change and improvement. This will ensure children have access to high quality experiences quickly and consistently. Areas which could be covered are:
- attachment led practice and the theory behind this - outdoor learning, including use of the local community - loose parts play - risky play opportunities and its benefits - enabling play environments for challenging experiences.
Other areas may be identified through the improvement planning process and these would also give rise to areas for shared leadership. In addition, progress in leadership roles should be closely monitored through the quality assurance processed in the service to measure the impact on outcomes for children.
National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 14 - Well-Managed Service.
Complaints
There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com.
Inspection and grading history
Date Type Gradings 4 Nov 2014 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good
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Date Type Gradings
8 Nov 2011 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership 5 - Very good
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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.
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Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas.
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