An Aberdeen nursery has been criticised by inspectors after staff let a child wander around unsupervised during a recent inspection.
Located in the Torry area of the city, Walker Road Nursery, with a capacity for 65 children, was subject to inspection between June 13-15.
While there were positives to be gleaned from the inspection, several incidents caused concern for inspectors.
In the recently released report, they were particularly critical of the setting, which was graded “weak” while other aspects were deemed “adequate”.
One incident highlighted by inspectors involved a child wandering off unsupervised.
The report read: “An incident took place during the inspection where a child ventured into a room off the corridor from the main nursery playroom unsupervised.
“Staff were unaware that the child was missing for a prolonged period of time.
“There would have been the potential for harm.”
‘Staff needed to be more vigilant’
While inspectors noted the staff usually communicated effectively, in this situation they did not.
The report added: “The Care Inspectorate had been notified of similar incidents occurring within the setting prior to this inspection.
“Where incidents had occurred parents and carers had been notified by the nursery.
“A parent also told us that they felt staff needed to be more vigilant in their monitoring of children due to the layout of the nursery.”
Inspectors also levelled criticism at the nursery building itself saying the layout provided a “significant challenge” to effectively supervise all children.
They also found the nursery to have several unlocked doors which children could access, which were in the process of being fitted with locks.
They issued a requirement for management to make sure staff were effective in assessing risks and children were supervised at all times.
Positives noted by inspectors included a welcoming environment for children, and an improved outdoor play area, with children actively encouraged to be creative and imaginative.
Walker Road Nursery which is overseen by Aberdeen City Council was previously graded “weak” in all four areas, including care, setting, leadership and staff, back in August 2022.
That report highlighted a situation where a bin full of nappies had not been emptied in more than three weeks.
This most recent report shows that while the nursery still has improvements to make, it has managed to address some of the concerns raised by inspectors last year.
An ACC spokeswoman said: “Since the inspection action has been taken to address all requirements in the report.”
