Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Safety concerns raised as door left open at Cove nursery despite two kids previously escaping

Thrive Childcare and Education Happitots provides care for up to 63 infants.

Happitots Nursery Cove Bay. Image: Google Maps.
Happitots Nursery Cove Bay. Image: Google Maps.

Inspectors raised safety concerns after doors were left open despite children previously escaping at a Cove nursery.

Thrive Childcare and Education Happitots in Cove Bay looks after up to 63 infants up to primary school age.

The Care Inspectorate visited the daycare centre for two days last month and rated it “weak” in supporting well-being, leadership, staff and setting.

Published last month, the report stated: “Children did not experience high-quality facilities. We found significant environmental concerns.”

Inspectors detailed specific incidents which raised serious safety concerns.

“On one occasion, a child was able to reach the front door exit button and leave the building without adult supervision.

“On another occasion, a child was able to leave the front garden, reaching street level.

“Despite the provider giving assurances that these issues had been addressed, we continued to have concerns about children’s safety.

“Robust and effective measures were not in place to ensure the front door and garden gates remained secure.

“On two occasions, we found the front door to be open and unattended. We raised our concerns about the security and safety measures of the front door and gates during the inspection.”

To keep children out of harm’s way, a fence was installed around the perimeter.

Criticism was also levelled at the daycare’s setting.

Cove nursery’s ‘environment looked unloved’

The report read: “Much of the service looked neglected. Some furniture and equipment was drawn on, broken or tired.

“Displays of children’s artwork were not well presented, and borders on these displays were often ripped and damaged.

“The environment looked unloved and did not give children the message that they were valued and respected.”

While toilet facilities were reasonably clean, the daycare was found to be dirty, with dusty skirting boards, visibly dirty play equipment and worn-out rugs and mats.

Staff were praised as “friendly and attentive”, but inspectors noted they needed to be more attentive after an inspector had to alert staff to a child who had climbed up onto a window ledge.

Staff were enthusiastic and friendly, gently soothing young children to sleep and babies comfortably received their bottles.

The Care Inspectorate has issued several requirements for the care home to improve the service.

These include assessing children’s care and support needs and developing and implementing an improvement plan.

Thrive Childcare, which operates the service, has been asked for comment.

Conversation