An Inverness nursery has been praised for its “caring staff” while a newly refurbished Aberdeen daycare has benefitted from an upgrade in the latest care reports.
The Press and Journal has looked at this week’s raft of inspection reports issued by The Care Inspectorate.
These cover the Highlands, Moray and Aberdeenshire.
The organisation is the watchdog for the care industry and inspects providers such as care homes and childcare services to ensure they meet standards.
The watchdog grades services on areas including wellbeing, leadership and staffing on a six-point scale where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent.
Here is a look at some stand-out reports from this week.
Busy Bees, Inverness
Ratings: Wellbeing – 3, Setting – 3, Leadership – 3, Staff – 3
Inspection date: November 20/21, 2024
The service provides a daycare for a maximum of 82 children at any one time aged from birth to not of an age to attend primary school.
Busy Bees daycare was praised for making children feel happy, settled and confident in the setting.
The report stated that staff were kind and had developed positive relationships with children and their families.
One parent said: “Lovely practitioners and managers, my child has a great relationship with them.”
Another added: “They know me, my partner and extended family well. They are friendly and approachable at all times.”
However, inspectors said deployment of staff across the day was inconsistent and was “not always effective” in meeting the needs of children.
Aden House, Inverness
Ratings: Wellbeing – 3, Setting – 4, Leadership 4, Staff – 4, Care – 4
Inspection date: December 2-December 5, 2024
Aden House is registered to provide a care home service for up to 24 older people.
The home is a large Victorian style house in Inverness which has been converted and extended.
Inspectors praised the fact that people reported they were “comfortable” and “happy” with staying at the care home.
They added that there were many positive comments about staff and the manager.
However, inspectors noted that arrangements for people’s medication support needs as well as the service’s quality assurance measures could be improved and developed.
The report said: “People living here were appreciated for themselves.
“Their individuality was respected.
“We saw warm and caring interactions between staff and people supported.
“People were relaxed and comfortable with their staff members. People were valued.”
SAMH Housing Support Service, Elgin
Ratings: Wellbeing – 5, Staff – 5
Inspection date: October 23-October 25, 2024
SAMH Moray is a combined housing support, support service and care at home provider registered to provide a service to adults with mental health problems.
The service offers short-term support, a 12-week programme and longer-term support for those who require it. At the time of inspection, the service was supporting around 100 people.
The inspection found that service users felt the staff were incredibly “supportive” and “helpful”.
One person said: “They treat me like I matter and speak to me like I’m on their level” whilst someone else said, “I can talk to my worker about anything, they don’t judge me.”
The report praised staff members and said: “People had meaning in their lives.
“Staff supported people to take part in things which gave them purpose.
“Someone was now using public transport, who had previously been unable to leave their home.
“This meant they could enjoy shopping and visiting family again.”
Stronsay Junior High Nursery, Stronsay
Ratings: Wellbeing – 4, Setting – 5, Leadership – 5, Staff – 5
Inspection date: September 18, 2024
The Orkney day care provides service to a maximum of 20 children from two years to not yet attending primary school.
The Inspectorate said children felt safe, loved and secure in their attachments with staff.
Open ended resources were also utilised well to “enrich children’s play.”
They added that children experienced nurturing support from staff who knew them all very well.
Inspectors noted that continuous improvement was supported by good quality assurance systems.
Greyhope School Nursery, Aberdeen
Ratings: Wellbeing – 3, Setting – 3, Leadership – 3, Staff – 3
Inspection date: October 7-October 9, 2024
Inspectors noted several positives with the Torry nursery, including their new build facility that had been “thoughtfully designed”.
Greyhope School Nursery was praised for “strong leadership” and commitment from staff members.
This meant that, the inspectors noted, children were settled, happy and enjoyed their time at nursery.
However, inspectors did note that the nursery should “provide more challenge to children” in their learning.
Staff members were praised for their respect towards one another, including their communication to support children’s needs.
The inspectors noted that this was sometimes inconsistent which meant children were not always receiving the support they needed.
Though, a supportive induction process for new members of staff was in the process of being implemented.
You can find the full inspection reports on the Care Inspectorate website.
You can compare and monitor care home performance using The Press and Journal’s care home tracker.
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