The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Family centre rated ‘weak’ by inspectors
An inspection of a children’s day care facility in Fife sparked protection, hygiene and infection concerns.
The Care Inspectorate visited Poppyview Family Centre in Methil and gave it a “weak” rating of two out of five.
Concerns were raised relating to cleanliness, staff not knowing children’s names, failure to have the correct medical information for them, and a lack of understanding of protection procedures.
A report said on one occasion inspectors heard one staff member calling a child the wrong name and suggested staff did not always know the children as well as they should.
Despite this, interactions between staff and the children, all of whom are under the age of five, were described as warm and the children were comforted when needed.
Hygiene issues raised included ineffective cleaning and monitoring of cleanliness, poor handwashing practices, a sink being out of order for a long time and the bathroom floor being in a poor state of repair so it could not be cleaned properly.
A lack of awareness of infection prevention and control was also flagged.
Other concerns included that personal plans were not in place for every child.
Some of the plans for preschool children lacked up-to-date information, and there was a need to increase the range of resources and opportunities available for all children.
Inspectors also said improvements should be made to help each child have a relaxed and unhurried mealtime, as they saw children waiting long times after lunch and becoming restless and disengaged.
A basic lack of risk awareness by staff and compromised children’s safety, inspectors said, adding that staff were not always aware where the children were.
The report also pointed to a “basic lack of risk awareness”, saying: “We saw staff had not picked up on the need for children to be wearing helmets while riding bikes.”
There was a lot of positive feedback for the centre’s management team.
Staff were also praised for being “warm and kind” and said they felt supported by their manager.
The report said: “The provider and manager showed willingness to work collaboratively on their improvement journey.”
A spokesperson for Poppyview said the centre is working with both the Care Inspectorate and Fife Council to address the issues raised. The spokesperson said: “The last two years have been particularly difficult.
“The impact of Covid-19 and the introduction of the 1,140-hours initiative across early years centres have had a significant impact on resources.
“Poppyview remains committed to providing the highest level of care to the children entrusted to its care and will continue to communicate with and work closely with all parents.”