“Happy” children at St Andrews Nursery “laugh, giggle and have fun”, say Inspectors

Motivated and enthusiastic staff supported by strong leadership, an excellent setting and a positive ethos around learning and play at St Andrews Nursery has led to “happy” children who “laugh, giggle and have fun”.

That’s according to Inspectors from the Care Inspectorate who carried out an unannounced visit to the new upgraded nursery during the week that it reopened following the Easter holidays.

All four areas evaluated – “leadership”, “staff”, “setting”, “care, play and learning” - were rated as “very good”.

Key messages from the Inspectors:

• Children were supported with kindness, care, and nurturing approaches that supported their overall wellbeing.
• Children were offered appetising and nutritious lunches and snacks.
• Children were meaningfully and actively involved in leading their play and learning.
• The indoor learning environment was attractive and structured to support children's age and stage of development.
• The outdoor environment was under construction, however children were able to play outside in a designated safe play area.
• The service was well led and quality assurance, including self-evaluation and improvement plans, were in place to support continuous improvement of the service.

The report included comments from parents:

"Staff are so caring, compassionate, and understanding and really go the extra mile for children".

"My child hugely enjoys nursery, learns a lot, and has fun each day".

Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee, Councillor Gwenda Shearer, said: “To read comments from the parents and Inspectors around the kindness, care and nurturing approaches taken by staff resulting in happy children who laugh, giggle and simply had fun is surely what our early years education is all about.

“The strong leadership within the service has promoted a culture of continuous improvement and motivated and enthusiastic staff support the children.

“To receive an inspection report of this calibre at a time of change given the nursery had just reopened following extensive refurbishment is particularly commendable.”

The full report can be viewed on the Care Inspectorate website https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/inspection-reports