Managers at an under-fire north-east nursery, which was threatened with closure, have been granted a stay of execution after inspectors gave them more time to improve their services.
Officials from the Care Inspectorate made an unannounced visit to Peek-a-Boo Nursery in Fraserburgh last month.
They raised serious concerns about the protocols in place to safeguard children against possible risks and served a formal improvement notice. Staff were given until May 31 to meet the requirements.
Now, inspectors have returned to the Buchan Road nursery and have extended the final deadline for improvements after seeing some progress.
A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said: “We have been monitoring progress at Peek-a-Boo Nursery closely, to ensure that the care provided to children improves swiftly.
“Having recently visited the nursery, we have seen some signs of limited progress. The service now has a little more time to ensure that progress is sustained and embedded. We will continue to work closely with the nursery and expect to see improvement continue.”
He added that if inspectors were not satisfied the requisite improvements had been made to keep the children safe, the watchdog would “not hesitate to take further action”.
Ultimately, inspectors can cancel a nursery’s registration which means they could not take care of youngsters on a regular basis including nursery classes, crèches, after-school clubs or play groups.
The deadline for Peek-a-Boo bosses to meet the improvement notice has now been extended until June 16.
A crucial issue flagged up by inspectors was the need for a system to be implemented to ensure child protection concerns were properly reported to the authorities.
This came following reports that a toddler was injured at the Buchan Road nursery in the last 12 months.
Last night, a spokesman for the nursery said: “We have made significant progress in recent weeks to meet many of the standards set out in the Care Inspectorate report and will continue to work hard to address all outstanding issues.
“We are grateful that the extension granted by the Care Inspectorate allows us to make further progress and have been encouraged by the wonderful support of parents whose children attend the nursery and the wider Fraserburgh community.”
Anyone with concerns about a care service can contact the Care Inspectorate on 0345 600 9527.
