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Care service inspection reportQuality themed inspection (day care for children)

Rocking Horse Nursery - AberdeenDay Care of Children

49 College BoundsAberdeen

Inspection report for Rocking Horse Nursery - AberdeenInspection completed on 14 June 2016

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Service provided by: Rocking Horse Nursery - Aberdeen

Service provider number: SP2003000341

Care service number: CS2003001766

Inspection Visit Type: Unannounced

Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with theCare Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and set out improvements thatmust be made. We also investigate complaints about care services and takeaction when things aren't good enough.

Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have anyconcerns about a care service.

Contact UsCare InspectorateCompass House11 Riverside DriveDundeeDD1 4NY

[email protected]

0345 600 9527

www.careinspectorate.com

@careinspect

Inspection report

Inspection report for Rocking Horse Nursery - Aberdeen[DRAFT] page 2 of 16

1 About the service we inspectedRocking Horse Nursery operates from a purpose-built environmentally friendlybuilding within the campus of Aberdeen University. The nursery is registered toprovide a care service to a maximum of 78 children at any one time aged frombirth to those not yet attending primary school of whom no more than 21 maybe under 2 years of age.

The nursery operates between the hours of 8.00 am and 6.15 pm Monday toFriday. In addition the care service may operate for a maximum of 20 weekendsin a 12-month period between the hours of 9.30 am and 5.00 pm. The agerange of children attending at weekends will be:

- A maximum of 12 children aged 0 to under 2 years.- A maximum of 10 children aged 2 to those not yet attending primary school- A maximum of 8 children aged 5 to under 8 years.

The nursery aims and values include:

- to use innovative approaches which meet the needs of individual children- to promote overall health and wellbeing- to respect the needs of individuals and encourage creativity- to provide regular opportunities for outdoor play- to provide challenge through play- to work in partnership with parents- to provide staff with opportunities for continual professional development.

The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of allchildren receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start inlife, 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 the Scottish Government, GIRFEC is anational approach to working in a consistent way with all children and youngpeople. It is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention.The approach helps services focus on what makes a positive difference for

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children and young people and what they can do to improve. GIRFEC is beingwoven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children,young people and their families.

There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of GIRFEC. They are: safe,healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. Theyare often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. We use these indicators atinspection, to assess how services are making a positive difference for children.

The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about allcare services is available on our website at www.careinspectorte.com.

This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferredits registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011.

What we did during the inspectionWe wrote this report following an unannounced inspection carried out by twoinspectors. The inspection took place on 14 June 2016 between 8.15 am and 4.15pm. Feedback was given to the head teacher, deputy head teacher and nurserystaff at the end of the inspection.

As part of the inspection we took account of the completed annual return andself assessment forms that we asked the service to complete and submit to us.

Before the inspection we sent the service 35 Care Standards Questionnaires(CSQs) to give to parents and carers who use the nursery. Fifteen parents/carers sent us completed questionnaires.

During the inspection process we gathered evidence from the following sources:

We spoke with:

- the manager- staff- four parents

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- the children.

We observed:

- staff practice- the children's experiences- the environment for the children.

We looked at relevant documents and records:

- aims and objectives- displays and photographs- children's records and profiles- planning- infection and control procedures- complaints policy- child protection policy and procedures- improvement plan.

Taking the views of people using the care service into accountChildren appeared very happy, settled and engaged with the activities on offer.The younger children gave us lots of smiles and cuddles. Older children told us:

"This is my wobble car."

"Help me make a house."

"Red and orange mixed. We can't get it back to one. I am going to make amagic potion." (play at the water tray)

Taking carers' views into accountEighteen parents and carers returned completed care standards questionnairesand we spoke to four parents during the inspection. Responses indicated thatmost parents were happy with the service, commenting positively about thecare and support their child was given.

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"The nursery is absolutely brilliant. The new building is so clean and well-lit andthe kids are clearly enjoying their new environment."

"The staff are outstandingly friendly and bright, and always enthusiastic abouttaking the kids out and trying new activities."

"An excellent nursery, I entirely trust the staff for taking excellent care of mychildren in a nurturing environment."

"Highly competent manager."

Comments on Self AssessmentEvery year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling ushow their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment isaccurate.

The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self assessment documentfrom the provider. The provider identified pointers to what the service did well,some areas for development and any changes planned. The staff talked abouthow they promoted a healthy lifestyle and their ongoing improvements tooutdoor learning experiences. The told us how they involve parents and staff inmaking improvements to the service.

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2 The grades we awardedWe grade the quality of care and support, quality of the environment, quality ofstaffing and quality of management and leadership. In each case, we award agrade on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent.

Quality of care and support 5 - Very GoodQuality of environment 5 - Very Good

Quality of staffing 5 - Very GoodQuality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good

3 Quality of care and supportFindings from the inspectionWe found this service was performing at a very good level in helping children achieveand keeping children safe.

Helping children achieve their full potential

Children were motivated and engaged in all areas of the nursery. In the green room,we observed children making potions in the water tray and volcanoes in the sandtray. Both activities promoted discussion, co-operation and supported early scienceskills. We noted their play had been influenced by their previous learning aboutvolcanoes which was displayed on a wall. Their ideas were further developed in theweekly plans which were responsive to the interests of the children. The childrenwere independent learners and were able to choose from a variety of resourcesstored in trolleys and clear plastic boxes.

In the pink and yellow rooms, children had access to a range of age appropriate toyswhich encouraged their curiosity and creativity. Continuity of care was supportedwith a child's achievement book shared between home and nursery. We noted thechildren enjoyed taking part in yoga sessions which supported their interests andcreativity.

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Keeping children safe

Staff worked well as a team to supervise and keep the children safe whilst ensuringopportunities were given for independent investigation. Opportunities were availablefor older children to explore a wooded area and look for bugs and plants. Thissupported their understanding of the world around them. The children weresupported to wash their hands after outdoor play, helping to keep them safe and welland free from infection.

The younger children were encouraged to go outside and enjoyed splashing andjumping in the puddles and wet grass. The children wore wet weather suits whichhelped keep them dry, warm and safe.

To support sleep patterns from home, the younger children were given opportunitiesto sleep and rest either in a cot or on mats on the floor. To keep the children safe andwell, each child had their own separate bed-clothes and blankets.

In order to safeguard children, staff had a good understanding of possible childprotection issues and appropriate systems were in place if any concerns were raised.

A previous requirement was made to ensure incidents and accidents were recordedappropriately. We found appropriate documentation was kept and parents wereinformed of any accidents which had occurred at nursery. Therefore this requirementhad been met.

A previous requirement was made to ensure nappy changing procedures followedbest practice guidelines. We observed very nurturing behaviour with lovely interactionbetween the staff and the children during nappy changes. Staff followed procedureswhich kept children free from cross contamination and infection. Therefore thisrequirement has been met.

GradeThe quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good

RequirementsNumber of requirements - 0

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RecommendationsNumber of recommendations - 0

4 Quality of environmentFindings from the inspectionWe found this service to be performing at a very good level in promoting outdoorplay and learning, and helping children to be independent and responsible.

Outdoor play and learning

We observed the children participate in a range of activities outdoors whichsupported creativity and physical play. The children enjoyed an opportunity to playoutdoors in very wet weather. As a result they found snails and slugs crawling on thewet grass and used magnifying glasses to look at them. Their learning was extendedas staff encouraged the children to draw pictures of the creatures. The youngerchildren splashed in the puddles and had fun walking on the wet grass. Staffexplained further development of the outdoor areas were ongoing with parents andchildren involved in the process.

The older children had opportunities to visit and explore the University's botanicalgardens as part of the Wee Green spaces project. This provided opportunities fortaking part in risky activities which supported physical development and improvedconfidence.

Promoting independence and responsibility

The younger children could crawl, toddle and explore their surroundings safely andfreely in the spacious rooms. We saw the children in the pink room work together tomake a house and train using the large waffle bricks. In the green room, children hadopportunities to choose from a wide range of creative materials and toys stored inclear plastic boxes. All the toys were age appropriate, clean and well maintainedwhich encouraged the children to play with them.

Children's self-help skills were developed at snack time and they used tongs and jugsto serve themselves. The younger children were encouraged to dress themselves forgoing outdoors and to put on their own wellies and suits. All the children were

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encouraged to keep their playrooms safe and tidy and we noted everyone wasinvolved at tidy up time.

Children could choose which rooms they wanted to play in as they arrived in themorning. This helped siblings feel secure and safe before finding their own friendsand moving into their own playrooms.

GradeThe quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good



5 Quality of staffingFindings from the inspection

We looked at professional development and effective engagement with children andfamilies, and found the quality of staffing very good.

Professional Development

Management used their skills and knowledge to provide in-house training to meetthe needs of their staff. All staff spoken to described how this supported theirpractice by understanding how children learn and helping them to progress. Trainingin child protection and infection control helped safeguard children and keep themsafe and well. Staff had attended other training opportunities for example WweeGreen space training and we saw photographic evidence of the children climbingtrees and playing outdoors.

Effective engagement with children and families

The children and their families felt welcomed and respected by staff. We observedpositive relationships and parents confirmed that staff were very approachable andfriendly. We observed very nurturing interactions between staff and the children with

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lots of cuddles and friendly voices. We noted staff support the children to feelconfident to try new things and help extend their learning. For example somechildren were helped to use a tape measure outdoors, looking for large and smallplants.

GradeThe quality of staffing is graded 5 - Very Good



6 Quality of management and leadershipFindings from the inspectionWe looked at parent and child involvement in making improvements to the nurseryand the nursery self-evaluation. We concluded the quality of management andleadership to be very good.

Parent and child involvement in the nursery

The nursery used a variety of ways of involving parents in the nursery. For examplequestionnaires were used successfully to improve outdoor learning opportunities andto facilitate free flow movement between areas. Parents were involved in fundraisingevents to purchase new resources and some parents volunteered to support earlyscience learning.Events such as play and stay sessions and annual review meetings helped parentsunderstand and become more involved in their child's learning. Children were askedfor their ideas which were recorded in mind maps and Big Books and then used todevelop learning experiences and activities.

Self-evaluation

The nursery used an improvement plan to identify and record on-going improvementwork in evaluation and assessment. An in-house training programme to meet the

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needs of staff had been put in place as a result of self-evaluation and staffquestionnaires. For example Assessment Is for Learning (AIFL) approaches had beentrialled with a 'plan, do, review' approach being the most successful to help children.Further training to help develop staff questioning was ongoing. All staff wereinvolved in weekly planning meeting with evaluation of the weeks learning and theway forward.

Children were very involved in their own learning. We saw individual profiles withtargets and next steps linked to curriculum for excellence outcomes and wall displayswith children's ideas and suggestions for future learning.

GradeThe quality of management and leadership is graded 5 - Very Good



7 What the service has done to meet anyrequirements we made at our last inspectionPrevious requirements

1. The provider must ensure that staff implement appropriate infectioncontrol procedures in relation hand washing and nappy changing. In order toachieve this they must:

a) Review their nappy changing policy to ensure that it reflects clear bestpractice guidance for staff.b) Ensure that staff wash their hands before and after carrying out nappychanges.c) Ensure that staff remove or change gloves at appropriate times duringnappy changes.

This is in order to comply with regulation 4 (1) (a) (d) of The Social Care and

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Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services)Regulations 2011 (SSI /210).

Timescale - with immediate effect.

This requirement was made on 18 June 2014

Staff training had taken place and we found all staff followed best practiceprocedures in nappy changing and hand washing.

Met - Within Timescales

2. The provider must ensure that any incidents/accidents are recordedappropriately. In order to achieve this they must:

a) Implement a suitable template recording template.b) Records incidents/accidents, which involve more than one child separately.c) Carry out audits of accidents and incidents routinely.d) Where relevant, record issues within the child's chronology.

This is in order to comply with regulation 4 (1) (a) of The Social Care andSocial Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services)Regulations 2011 (SSI /210).

Timescale - within two weeks from receipt of this report.

This requirement was made on 18 June 2014

Appropriate procedures were followed in the event of an accident or incident anddetails were recorded using a suitable format.

Met - Within Timescales

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8 What the service has done to meet anyrecommendations we made at our lastinspectionPrevious recommendations

1. The manager should implement an effective system to identify andmonitor staff training and development needs.

This recommendation was made on 18 June 2014

The manager had implemented a staff training programme using both outsideagencies and in-house training. Therefore this recommendation has been met.

9 ComplaintsNo complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection.

10 EnforcementsWe have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the lastinspection.

11 Additional InformationThere is no additional information.

12 Inspection and grading historyDate Type Gradings

18 Jun 2014 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment 5 - Very GoodStaffing 5 - Very GoodManagement and Leadership 5 - Very Good

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30 Aug 2012 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment 5 - Very GoodStaffing 6 - ExcellentManagement and Leadership 5 - Very Good

19 Oct 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment Not AssessedStaffing Not AssessedManagement and Leadership Not Assessed

19 Mar 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment Not AssessedStaffing 5 - Very GoodManagement and Leadership Not Assessed

26 Feb 2009 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment 4 - GoodStaffing 4 - GoodManagement and Leadership 4 - Good

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To find out moreThis inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download thisreport and others from our website.

You can also read more about our work online.

Contact UsCare InspectorateCompass House11 Riverside DriveDundeeDD1 4NY

[email protected]

0345 600 9527

www.careinspectorate.com

@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 c?nain eile manithear iarrtas.

Inspection report
