05 October 2017

Turriff nursery given a 'good' inspection rating

Staff are being praised following a recent positive nursery inspection in Aberdeenshire.

The outcomes of an inspection into Turriff Primary School Nursery has found it has made improvements after putting a plan in place to address previous recommendations. 

The Care Inspectorate said it found the quality of care and support, quality of environment, quality of staffing and quality of management and leadership as “good” during the inspection. Both care and support and management and leadership have improved since the previous inspection carried out in June 2016.

The report said: “The whole staff team had been involved in developing the self-assessment plan provided to the Care Inspectorate and taking forward developments within the nursery.

“An informal improvement plan had been taken forward to address most of the recommendations from the previous inspection.

“Roles and responsibilities had been made clear and tasks divided. As a result improvements had been made to children’s outdoor learning experiences and supportive transition into the primary school.”

Cllr Gillian Owen, Chair of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education and Children’s Services Committee, said: “The inspection into Turriff Primary School Nursery makes for very positive reading indeed.

“Staff at the nursery have clearly acted upon the recommendations in the previous inspection so parents can be assured that this nursery is heading in the right direction.”

Cllr Mark Findlater, Vice Chair of the Committee, said: “It is right and proper that nurseries and schools in Aberdeenshire face rigorous inspections to give parents peace of mind. It is important to recognise where things are going well and where guidance is required to turn things round.

“This inspection shows that Turriff Primary School Nursery is making positive steps to improve and I would like to pay tribute to the teachers, staff and parents.”

The Care Inspectorate regulates and inspects care services in Scotland to make sure they meet the right standard. The inspection was carried out unannounced in May 2017.

Turriff Primary School Nursery provides day care to up to 55 children aged three to those approaching the age where they begin primary school. They currently run morning and afternoon sessions. Aberdeenshire Council currently runs 152 primary schools, 85 of which have a nursery unit. These primary schools serve over 20,000 pupils.