A care report has laid bare serious concerns at an Aberdeen nursery, from splintered crates to unsecured doors and looped blind cords.
Copper Pots Day Nursery on Clifton Road was visited by the Care Inspectorate last month, prompting serious concerns raised over safety.
The worries have led inspectors to issue a letter of “serious concern” to make sure the nursery made improvements swiftly.
The nursery says the visit coincided with the manager’s first day back from maternity leave and stressed actions to fix the concerns were taken immediately.
What concerns were raised in Copper Potts report?
Assessing four areas, inspectors rated the nursery as weak on three, including care, setting and leadership.
While noting the children were cared for in a “nurturing environment”, options for playtime were lacking.
The report read: “Children’s play and learning experiences were not stimulating or exciting.
“They did not clearly follow children’s interests or provide sufficient challenge for children’s individual stages of development.”
Some of the children indicated they wanted to play outdoors, however, this went unnoticed by the staff.
Inspectors were critical of the setting the children were in, including some fixtures, which could potentially prove dangerous.
For example, loosely hanging looped blind cords in the baby playroom were not secured and were pointed out to staff, who quickly secured them out of the way.
The report added: “Wooden crates in some of the playrooms were used to display and store resources which children accessed.
“Some of these crates were rough and splintered presenting a risk to children.”
‘Setting did not offer children a range of rich, stimulating play’
The report also noted a parent had gained access to the building via an unsecured door raising security concerns.
As a result, inspectors issued a letter of “serious concern” urging immediate action to address issues at the nursery.
When they returned, a new lock was being fitted to the unsecured door, the blinds had been secured with a permanent fix and the wooden crates had been sanded down or removed altogether.
The report was also critical of the range of activities available to the children.
It read: “The setting did not offer children a range of rich, stimulating play resources to support and develop their learning.
“There were limited sensory experiences on offer, such as paint, water and sand. This restricted children’s opportunities to play and explore.”
In terms of staffing, there were sufficient staff for the facility, however, some lacked experience.
The report noted some parents found the newer staff members “inexperienced” and that “a strong leader is needed downstairs at all times”.
Staff took immediate action address safety concerns
The Care Inspectorate has issued several requirements for the nursery to implement before the next visit to ensure health and safety standards are being met.
A spokeswoman for Copper Pots Day Nursery explained the inspection coincided with the manager’s first day back from maternity leave and was a particularly busy day.
She said: “The team and I are devastated with the grading received by Care Inspectorate, from taking over the pervious setting we have faced many challenges, a lot which were unforeseen.
“As we are a new setting, we were already aware of areas of improvement and are determined to action these quickly. We have already actioned the areas of improvement in our report and will continue to add to these.
“On the day of inspection, unfortunately there were isolated incidents including the one blind cord which were not in reaching distance to the children, it had already been identified on our risk assessment and was actioned as soon as possible. As the report states all areas were actioned immediately.”
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