Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services Day Care of Children

Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services Day Care of Children

Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services Day Care of Children 51 Academy Street Hurlford Kilmarnock KA1 5BU Telephone: 07967 115689 Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 23 February 2018 Service provided by: Service provider number: Hurlford and Crookedholm Early SP2003000698 Learning and Childcare Services Committee Care service number: CS2003003423 Inspection report About the service The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred its registration on 1 April 2011. This is a daycare service for children provided by the management committee of Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services. The service has its own premises and is located in the village of Hurlford in East Ayrshire. It is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 30 children aged two years to those not attending primary school, with a maximum of 10 children aged two years to under three years. The service has applied for a variation to remove the condition on the registration certificate elatingr to providing a service to children attending primary school. A full statement of the aims of the service is available for people using the service. The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We check that services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right For Every Child also known as (GIRFEC). This is Scotland's national approach to improving outcomes and wellbeing for children by offering the right help at the right time from the right people. It supports them and their parent(s) to work with the services that can help them. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting It Right For Every Child: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible and included, often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. What people told us There were 23 children in attendance during the morning of the inspection visit, six children stayed for lunch and eight children attended in the afternoon. We observed children engaging in a range of play activities both indoors and out. They played happily in groups, with a friend or on their own and several were happy to tell us about what they were doing. Children confidently approached staff for help when needed and invited them to join with them in their play. Children were happily engaged in the nursery activities and daily routine. They talked about the things they were learning and what was important to them. Children's comments included: "You can turn the wee bricks round and look it's got numbers - it's like a dice. You play a game with a dice and throw it". "We have to take turns and it's my turn". "I like the Weetabix...look I smashed it up". "We were wrapping [child] up in paper...it was funny". "We are pirates burying treasure". "I like to dress up". "I like to play with my friends". We sent out 10 care standards questionnaires to the service to distribute to parents/carers. Six questionnaires were completed and returned to us. We also spoke with seven parents/carers during the inspection visit. Responses received were positive and included: Inspection report for Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services page 2 of 10 Inspection report "An excellent service. I love how they have a lot of outdoor fun and the staff are very friendly" "I feel I am included in her learning and progression and enjoy joining in when I can...a great asset to our community". "The staff are all brilliant. I am able to talk to all the staff about my child. Love how they have adventures outside and have little memories of their own". "[Child] has come out of their shell and speech is coming on". "Great environment. There's a good information board at the front, a 'whatsap' group and a blog to keep us informed". "I like that the menus are displayed. It would be good for that to go on the blog". Generally, parents we talked to and those who returned our questionnaires were very happy with the care and support provided by the service. Two parents we talked to mentioned that they felt group times with the children's keyworker were of particular importance and we discussed this with the manager. Overall, parents/ carers commented that their children were making good progress in various areas of their development with the support of staff; including language and communication, confidence and behaviour. Self assessment The service had not been asked to complete a self-assessment in advance of the inspection. We looked at the service improvement plan and self-evaluation records. These demonstrated the priorities for development and how they were monitoring the quality of the provision within the service. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support 5 - Very Good Quality of environment 4 - Good Quality of staffing 4 - Good Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection We found that children's care and support was very good. Staff were welcoming, caring and friendly and responded sensitively to the children. They worked well with parents/carers to identify how they could support children and involved other agencies when necessary. During the inspection, we found that staff were making good progress in developing how they provided a range of experiences to encourage children to share their thinking, talk about their interests and develop their imagination. For example, following their interest in the story 'The Three Little Pigs' the children had used straw and wood in various areas of the playroom as well as outdoors and had made pictures and models and a 'brick' fireplace for the home area. As a result, children's learning was enhanced including experiencing the properties of natural materials, problem solving and progressing in literacy and numeracy. Inspection report for Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services page 3 of 10 Inspection report Children had opportunities to play and learn together and develop a sense of fairness. We saw that staff skilfully supported them in resolving disputes and sharing resources. During the free flow snack, children had ample time to choose from a good range of healthy options including cereals and fruit. With appropriate support from staff, they were developing independence skills. Snack was an unhurried activity and we were impressed with the children's perseverence and their sense of achievement in preparing and serving their own snack. Children were encouraged to practice good hand hygiene and tooth brushing and staff carried out good hygiene procedures during snack and lunchtime routines. Children staying for lunch enjoyed their healthy packed lunches from home and chatting at the table. Staff told us that parents had access to the 'Setting the Table' best practice guidance for healthy lunches. The younger children had a welcome time with their keyworkers at the start of the session in the library room. This enabled them to settle in a cosy area, look at books, play with a familiar toy and explore the selection of toys and natural materials in the baskets. This was working well and children chose when they were ready to go in to the main playroom. Children had daily opportunities to go outside to the outdoor play area. Twice a week they visited the nearby wooded area or the local park. This was helping to support their wellbeing and extend their physical skills. During the morning of the inspection, initially all children were asked to get ready to go out but when several children wanted to continue playing indoors, staff were deployed appropriately. The children had gone outside later than usual and did not have as long to play before being collected by parents. Following discussion with the manager and considering the service improvement plan, we are satisfied that the service will address staff deployment and the pace and balance of the daily activities to enable children to have a more free flow outdoor experience. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection Overall, we found that the centre provided a good environment for children to play safely, develop independence and enjoy learning. To keep children safe, there was a secure door entry system and visitors signed in and out of the building. The display area at the entrance provided clear information about the work of the centre for parents and visitors. In the playroom, there was good use of space for children playing independently or in small groups. We saw that children accessed craft materials independently and there was a good range of natural materials throughout the playroom which the children could use imaginatively. Inspection report for Hurlford and Crookedholm Early Learning and Childcare Services page 4 of 10 Inspection report The children enjoyed using the climbing frame and chute and were talking about being safe and finding different ways to use the equipment. Staff were involved appropriately but did not disrupt the children's play. Children freely used the sensory room for being pirates and "burying treasure". They used the library for stories and quiet activities. Both were easily accessible from the main playroom. The toilets accessed from the playroom, were in a good state of repair and décor and the nappy changing area was suitable in accordance with best practice guidance. We asked the manager to provide a larger pedal operated bin for the toilets to minimise spread of infection.

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