Inspectors praise Balfron nursery

An unannounced inspection of Balfron Primary School Nursery found that the quality of care and support is“very good”and the quality of the nursery environment is“excellent”.

The nursery is registered to provide for a maximum of 20 children aged three to those not attending primary school.

Inspectors said staff interacted and engaged warmly with children and supported them at time of change or transition. Staff respected children and included them on a daily basis.

The new management team was said to have had a positive impact on all staff and in turn had a beneficial impact on the service provided, providing the children with a breadth of learning opportunities which have boosted their self-esteem.

A key strength noted during the inspection was the nursery’s new outdoor play area, which has been developed to a very high standard and leads the way in outdoor play activities, even allowing children to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

As a result children were involved in the local community harvest, which showed a real commitment to children’s involvement in their local community and provided them with a real sense of achievement.

The inspectors said:“Staff spoke to children and encouraged them to share their feelings and opinions.

“Children were given lots of praise when they were kind, for example shared a toy or held another child. Children’s achievements were acknowledged.

“Staff respected children and included them on a daily basis.

“Parents told us they appreciated their children having regular daily access to the outdoors and how their child was provided with suitable outdoor clothing.

“Parents said this helped their child play more creatiely and they appreciated the benefits to their health and wellbeing.

“They also told us that the outdoors, including the pathways, was created with their help. They also contributed to the painting of the outdoor classroom. This showed their continued involvement in the ongoing development of the service.

“We could see the pathway created a real sense of adventure for the children as this supported children to move from place to place and explore their environment. The outdoor classroom provided children with opportunities for socialising and language learning.”

The inspectors pointed to advice on healthy packed lunches for young children, which they said could be useful for families and child carers.

The full inspection report can be found at www.careinspectorate. com/index.php/care-services.