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‘We fell below our expected standards’: Perth nursery criticised by inspectors over Covid guidance

Paint Pots Nursery in Strathview Terrace, Perth.

A Perth nursery has been branded “weak” in some areas of its operation by inspectors – including over coronavirus hygiene.

Paint Pots Nursery in Perth was visited unannounced last month by inspectors.

It provides daycare for children from newborns to the age of 12.

The nursery is operated by Thrive Childcare and Education, and is also known as Corner House Nursery.

The report rated the quality of care and support, the nursery environment, its staffing and the management as “weak”.

‘Did not meet the needs of all children’

Inspectors wrote: “Through our observations, staff feedback and parent feedback, we identified staffing skills, knowledge and experience did not meet the needs of all children.

“We found children who required additional support were not sensitively and effectively supported.

“Some strategies used were not effective or in line with best practice, when children required support to regulate their actions and emotions.

“At times we saw missed opportunities to better support and stimulate children’s play and learning.

“For example, some children appeared energetic and active, however had limited outdoor access during our initial visit.

‘Staff had limited child protection understanding’

“Staff had limited child protection and whistleblowing understanding.

“We did not have confidence around staff’s child protection knowledge and understanding of safeguarding.

“We discussed this with the management team and emphasised the importance of all staff completing child protection training.

“Staff should be confident in how to respond to concerns about the safety and welfare of children and know who to report these to.”

The report highlighted there was no accessible facility for the youngest children to wash their hands in the baby room.

Quality assurance systems were not effective… this meant the service was not fully following Covid-19 guidance.

Inspectors also found some cleaning schedules lacked consistent detail, to reflect what cleaning and monitoring had been undertaken – meaning cleaning “did not consistently promote safety in relation to Covid-19”.

The report said: “Quality assurance systems were not effective and therefore had not identified and addressed areas such as staff practice, poor ventilation, and the lack of handwashing facilities within certain playrooms.

“This meant the service was not fully following Covid-19 guidance.”

However, the Care Inspectorate report did highlight some positives.

Parents’ praise for nursery workers

One parent told inspectors: “We can’t sing the praises of the nursery and their staff highly enough.”

Another said: “The staff are always engaged, and friendly.

“They keep parents well informed on what their child has been involved in, any incidents, trips etc and we have really started to see development progress in a short period.”

One Care Inspector officer noted: “We observed some positive interactions where staff were involved with children’s interests, play and learning.”

Another wrote: “We recognised action was taken by management during the inspection and the action taken improved wellbeing, social skills, independence, and experiences for children.”

‘We fell below expected standards’

A spokesperson for the nursery said: “We are committed to providing safe, high-quality childcare and to training our staff to uphold the highest professional standards.

“We regret that, during a challenging period brought about by staffing changes and the Covid-19 pandemic, we fell below our expected standards.

“We are pleased the inspectors recognised that management were already taking action to address weaknesses identified.

We have appointed an experienced new manager to run the nursery and have already arranged an enhanced programme of staff training which addresses these findings.

“We are working closely with the local authority and the Care Inspectorate to ensure all the requirements of the report are met by the dates specified.”