Care service inspection report - Cheeky Monkeys...

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Care service inspection report Full inspection Cheeky Monkeys Day Care of Children Abbey Road Auchterarder Inspection report for Cheeky Monkeys Inspection completed on 25 May 2015

Transcript of Care service inspection report - Cheeky Monkeys...

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Care service inspection reportFull inspection

Cheeky MonkeysDay Care of Children

Abbey RoadAuchterarder

Inspection report for Cheeky MonkeysInspection completed on 25 May 2015

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Service provided by: Ashley Craik trading as Cheeky Monkeys

Service provider number: SP2008010131

Care service number: CS2008180295

Inspection Visit Type: Unannounced

Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with theCare Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and set out improvements thatmust be made. We also investigate complaints about care services and takeaction when things aren't good enough.

Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have anyconcerns about a care service.

Contact UsCare InspectorateCompass House11 Riverside DriveDundeeDD1 4NY

[email protected]

0345 600 9527

www.careinspectorate.com

@careinspect

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SummaryThis report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas ofperformance which were examined during this inspection.

Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following otherregulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to makethe service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someonemakes about the service.

We gave the service these grades

Quality of care and support 5 Very Good

Quality of environment 5 Very Good

Quality of staffing 5 Very Good

Quality of management and leadership 5 Very Good

What the service does wellCheeky Monkeys nursery provided a very welcoming and homelyenvironment for the children and families using the service, children's healthneeds were understood very well and knowledge of every child by staff andmanagement meant that good plans were in place and had beenimplemented to support them to reach their potential.

Parental involvement in the care of the children when at nursery was very high.Parents told us that they felt involved in their children's care and learning andthat staff listened to them and responded to their views and opinions withrespect and sensitivity.

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The staff team were observed as kind and supportive, they cared about thechildren they looked after and they worked well together to meet carestandards and legislation. Through discussion with staff they evidencedknowledge of best practice guidance and had begun to review systems andpractice to improve the quality of children's experiences. We were particularlyimpressed with the service's commitment to improving health outcomes forchildren and their involvement of everyone in developing further their approachto meal and snack times and their use of best practice guidance, "Setting thetable".

The service had developed very good connections within the local communitywhich had developed children's knowledge of others living within thecommunity and of respect for them and the environment.

The service had a supportive management team who work well together tomonitor progress, identify areas for improvement and put plans into action.Support from the local authority was welcomed by the service and used to helpimprove practice and to develop greater insights into child development,children's learning and care.

What the service could do betterWe identified some areas for improvement throughout the inspection. Theseincluded:

- Further development of staff understanding of "active learning" to enable playexperiences that facilitate a greater sense of enquiry, curiosity and challengethroughout the different stages of development.- Continued development and understanding of the importance of focussed anduninterrupted play so that children have the opportunity to extend theirlearning, planning and organisation more.

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- Greater use of observations to inform planning for activities. Staff should alsocontinue to develop their skills when recording observations for the children'sfiles. By capturing more meaningful observations parents, staff and otherrelevant people as appropriate will have better knowledge of the children's skillsand abilities and about the plans staff have to facilitate and enable furtherdevelopment.- To further develop staff understanding of children's behaviours and strategiesthat support children to understand and manage their emotions well and tolearn skills that help them to resolve conflict with peers independently.

What the service has done since the last inspectionThe service has continued to improve since the last inspection. The managers,provider and staff used feedback to consider, plan and implement changefocussed on achieving better outcomes for children using the service. Forexample, changes to the layout of areas for children aged two to three yearsand for the babies; further development of the children's lunches and snacks;greater community involvement.

Staff were observed as more confident and motivated at this inspection, theyshared examples of practice and discussed monitoring tools that had also beenintroduced to help ensure continued quality improvement and planning forchildren using the service.

ConclusionChildren attending Cheeky Monkey's nursery were observed as happy, well caredfor, achieving and respected. It was exciting to observe the impact ofthe changes that had been made at the last inspection and to discuss furtherimprovement planned by the managers, provider and staff. At this inspection wefound that their planning and implementation of improvements reflected adeeper understanding of the importance of space to play and learn. Someexcellent developments, such as the work that had been done to develop ahealthy eating approach within the nursery evidenced commitment to children'shealth and care as well as the service's ability and potential toimprove. Meaningful parental involvement had been maintained and furtherembedded.

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Areas for improvement were identified with the staff and management and wefelt confident that they would continue to develop their own quality assurancesystems and use feedback from us and from all stakeholders to further developthe service.

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1 About the service we inspectedThe Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about allcare services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com.

This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferredits registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011.

Cheeky Monkeys is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 10children 0-under 2 years, 12 children 2-under 3 years, 32 children 3 years andnot yet attending primary school, 13 children attending primary school and upto the age of 16.

Children aged 0 -2 years were cared for in the upstairs accommodation of thebuilding. There was a room available for sleeping and a separate room forchanging children's nappies. Children had a room with plenty of space to moveand play. The sleeping room was used by the children attending the out ofschool club.The downstairs accommodation was attended by children aged from 2 years to5 years. There was a large room divided into separate areas with screens andfurniture. There were integral toilets for the children and a separate changingarea for changing children's nappies. A fully enclosed garden area was accesseddirectly from the nursery.

The nursery aims included to ensure all service users feel welcomed and valuedand the ethos in the centre is relaxed and friendly.

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RecommendationsA recommendation is a statement that sets out actions that a care serviceprovider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service, but wherefailure to do so would not directly result in enforcement.

Recommendations are based on the National Care Standards, SSSC codes ofpractice and recognised good practice. These must also be outcomes-based andif the provider meets the recommendation this would improve outcomes forpeople receiving the service.

RequirementsA requirement is a statement which sets out what a care service must do toimprove outcomes for people who use services and must be linked to a breachin the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (the "Act"), its regulations, ororders made under the Act, or a condition of registration. Requirements areenforceable in law.

We make requirements where (a) there is evidence of poor outcomes for peopleusing the service or (b) there is the potential for poor outcomes which wouldaffect people's health, safety or welfare.

Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded thefollowing grades:

Quality of care and support - Grade 5 - Very GoodQuality of environment - Grade 5 - Very GoodQuality of staffing - Grade 5 - Very GoodQuality of management and leadership - Grade 5 - Very Good

This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas ofperformance which were examined during this inspection.

Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. Youcan find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our websitewww.careinspectorate.com or by calling us on 0345 600 9527 or visiting one ofour offices.

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2 How we inspected this service

The level of inspection we carried outIn this service we carried out a medium intensity inspection. We carry out theseinspections where we have assessed the service may need a more intenseinspection.

What we did during the inspectionWe wrote this report following an unannounced inspection that took place onThursday 21 May and Friday 22 May 2015. Feedback was given throughout theinspection to aid discussion around improvement and collated and given to thenursery manager and depute manager on Monday 25 May 2015.

As requested by us, the manager had sent us an annual return and a completedself- assessment.

We sent thirty Care Standards Questionnaires to the service to be distributed toparents or carers of children using the service and fifteen completedquestionnaires were returned to us. The completed Care StandardsQuestionnaires told us that the parents who had completed the forms were veryhappy with the quality of the service being provided. Comments from the CareStandards Questionnaires have been included under views of parents and carersusing the service and have been used within the report.

During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from a number of sourcesincluding the following:

Observations:- staff supervision and monitoring of children- staff interaction with the children attending the service- staff interaction with each other- the activities on offer for the children- outdoor play- snack- lunch- group time

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We looked at and discussed:- some policies and procedures including child protection, administration ofmedication, infection prevention and control, confidentiality, whistleblowing andcomplaints- accident and incident records- risk assessments including child specific risk assessments- registers- plans of children using the service- the equipment and environment (for example is the service clean, is it well setout, is it easy to access by the children)- the nursery annual return and self-assessments- staff training, qualifications, registration and development- staff induction

Grading the service against quality themes and statementsWe inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. Forexample, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care andsupport'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describewhat a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the serviceperforms against the quality themes and statements.

Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection

Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs)In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during ourinspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones wemake during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality ofthese aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined aninspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant qualitystatement.

Fire safety issuesWe do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible forchecking services. However, where significant fire safety issues becomeapparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may

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consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services'responsibilities for fire safety at www.firescotland.gov.uk

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The annual returnEvery year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make surethe information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decidehow we will inspect the service.Annual Return Received: Yes - Electronic

Comments on Self AssessmentEvery year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling ushow their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment isaccurate.Every year services are asked to complete and submit a self-assessment to us.The self assessment asks services about how they meet the needs of peopleusing the service. The service had completed and submitted a self-assessmentto the Care Inspectorate as requested by us. The service should further developthe use of the self-assessment by explaining how their procedures, policies andpractice has benefitted the children and families using the service. They shouldalso explain what areas for improvement they have identified in more detail andthe actions they have taken to do this.

Taking the views of people using the care service into accountWe spent time in every group within the service observing how the childrenwere cared for and how confidently they were in the nursery and with the staff.Children talked about the activities they were doing. From observation anddiscussion we felt that children enjoyed attending the service, that they feltsecure and confident with staff. Children attending the out of school club wereable to tell us about their experiences of the service. The children told us theyenjoyed coming to the club, they enjoyed the activities, particularly outdoorplay.Overall, the children attending the service were observed as happy, relaxed andconfident.

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Taking carers' views into accountWe received feedback from twelve parents of children attending the nursery. Allparents were happy with the overall quality of care provided. Where any areasfor improvement were indicated as well as areas of particular strength, we usedthis information to help us to inform the inspection.Parents comments of the service included:"Both myself and my husband work full time ...my child attends nursery, I amdelighted at how quickly s/he's progressing in all areas .. we are very protectiveover our child and the staff at Cheeky Monkey's exceeded our expectations withtheir understanding of our needs.""My daughter loves nursery and has come on well since attending.""My children have always loved Cheeky Monkeys and we have had very fewissues, the odd unpreventable bump here and there, we continue to use theafter school club also. I like that the early years framework is worked to closelyand that the early years play manifesto is upheld. I am very happy with theservice.""Cheeky Monkey's is a great place where my child is visibly happy to be. We areable to track his progress with his 'Special Book', a scrap book which the staffkeep updated. They talk to us every day about what he has been doing andkeep a facebook page up to date with general activities and they have twoparents evenings a year and regular parent participation evenings. My childloves the nursery and everyone in it, he has lots of friends and lots of fun and isthriving. Very happy."

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3 The inspectionWe looked at how the service performs against the following quality themesand statements. Here are the details of what we found.

Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and SupportGrade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 1“We ensure that service users and carers participate inassessing and improving the quality of the care and supportprovided by the service.”

Service StrengthsThe service has developed and embedded multiple ways to facilitate parentalparticipation within the service. All parents who had completed and returnedquestionnaires to us told us that they agreed or strongly agreed that the servicehad involved them and their children in developing the service, for example byasking for ideas and feedback. The service was evaluated as very good in areascovered by this statement.

We found that the service had maintained systems such as the use ofquestionnaires, newsletters, parents evenings and information displayed onnoticeboards. We observed evidence that told us about the quality of theinformation sharing and requests for feedback. For example, information aboutthe Getting It Right For Every Child approach and best practice guidance onearly years nutrition.

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The children's daily experiences were written on whiteboards in the children'scloak areas so that parents could see what their children had been doing thatsession and could ask staff and the children about this. By writing the boardsonce the experiences had happened rather than explaining what was plannedtold us and parents that the service was flexible to change and understood thatlearning outcomes can not always be predicted.

Sharing children's files with their parents electronically in the group for childrenaged three to five years old had been trialled. This meant that every monthparents received an emailed update of their children's individual progress,observations that the key worker had made and photographs of their childinvolved in activities. Parental feedback about the profiles had been positive andtherefore the service was preparing to introduce this to the other areas of thenursery.The nursery had also introduced "Learning Stories" for each child whichpromoted more meaningful partnership between home and the nursery.Evidence of this could be seen in files we inspected, for example, in one file aparent had highlighted difficulties with getting their child to feed themselveswhen at home, the parent and key worker had worked together to developstrategies that could be tried and this worked very well. The outcome was ashared approach and skills that the child used in nursery transferred to home.The service had developed a Facebook page where group updates and photos(without children) were posted at least once every two weeks. Parents had leftcomments or had "liked" the updates. This together with the whiteboards gavefurther information about the themes and topics that children were looking at.

Despite the good use of technology the manager was keen to emphasise theimportance of daily face to face contact as the most important means toassuring a good relationship between staff and the parents so that children'sindividual needs could be met. We observed that parents and children werealways greeted by staff on arrival, updates were shared between staff andparents and that staff were available when children were collected.Having a website was identified as an area for further development by thedepute manager and this was now under construction. She showed us theprogress so far and it appeared to contain a lot of good information.

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An "All About Me" for the staff was discussed so that children and their familiescould learn more about their child's key worker before starting or when movingbetween groups.

Parent participation meetings took place twice a year which enabled staff andparents to get together to talk about the service and for parents to contributetheir ideas and suggestions. At the last event the manager had responded toparental interest in positive behaviour management and had invited the Perthand Kinross improvement officers to attend the meeting to share knowledgeand advice in this area.

One of the most significant pieces of evidence for parental and childparticipation could be seen from the service's recent response to best practiceguidance setting the table, which is about the nutritional needs of children intheir early years. The provider had involved the parents, children and staff teamin promoting the guidance and seeking feedback about the changes that couldbe made. Parents had commented that they were very happy about theproposed changes and why.

Children influenced the programme of activities because staff responded totheir interests and ideas. For example, we observed one child who had broughtslime to the nursery, in response to the children's interest in the slime the staffmade gloop with the children. Floor books were used to capture discussionsevidencing how children had contributed ideas towards the planning of topicsand themes. In the baby room, the staff told us that they used information fromparents to help identify topics and themes.

Areas for improvementThe service should continue to evaluate the systems that are in place to gatherviews from parents about the care and support provided and to ensure thefeedback is considered, collated and that action is taken or that when no actionis taken they know why.

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At times throughout the sessions it was observed that adult led activities andgroup time did not engage or sustain the interests of the children. Staff shoulddevelop their awareness of children's engagement and enjoyment throughobservations and use them to improve the quality of the activities. Due to thelevel of understanding about participation that the service has now reachedstaff should consider identifying a range of approaches to have in placethat encourage, and enable, the participation of every child on their own terms,in ways in which they feel comfortable, and in their own time.Furthermore, staff should ensure that every child has a record of the outcomesof their participation included, for example, in their learning story or theirprofile.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Statement 5“We respond to service users' care and support needs usingperson centered values.”

Service StrengthsTo assess the quality of this statement we looked at how well the serviceresponded to individual children. To do this we made observations of the qualityof staff and child interaction, response to children's health and wellbeing needs,how well the service ensures children's dignity and respect and how well theservice supports children to achieve. Overall we evaluated this statement as verygood.

The service was very good at recognising and ensuring children's health needswere recognised and met.Healthy eating had been a focussed area for development by the service inrecognition of the impact of nutrition on children's physical health, mentalhealth and ability to achieve. The provider took the lead on developing thenutritional standards within the nursery and used the best practice guidancedocument "Setting the Table" to do this. We were impressed by the proactiveapproach and response to the guidance and it's impact on the quality of mealsand snacks. Staff, children, parents and food retailers have been involved indeveloping children's understanding of the relationship between what we eatand how healthy we are. The involvement and learning for children from thispiece of work was excellent.Children's individual health needs were known to staff. Information aboutchildren's health needs had been collected before they started to attend theservice and had been updated on a regular basis. This included updates aboutany allergies the children may have. As a result of the close monitoring ofchildren's changing health needs the service had been able to adapt meals andsnacks accordingly, they had descriptions of signs and symptoms of children'sallergic reactions so that they could recognise them quickly and respondeffectively. Parents had completed permissions that included informationnecessary to safeguard children when medication is required and this was inline with current best practice guidance.

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Active outdoor play and exercise has been another area for development withinthe service. The service sought local green space for children to access inaddition to the nursery outdoor space. A local care home for the elderly haskindly agreed to allow the children access to their garden and woodland area.We observed the children manage the different terrain and invent games andactivities themselves. Staff took resources with them to support learningoutdoors and we observed some very good learning experiences. Perth andKinross improvement officers who support partner providers with practicedevelopment also spoke to us about the activities they had supported outdoors.It was recognised by the managers that further development in this area wasneeded so that children could explore their abilities more with less directionfrom staff.

Staff were sensitive to children's privacy, dignity and respect. We observed staffrespond in a sensitive and caring way to children whose behaviourscommunicated that they were having difficulties. Staff worked well with parentsto help identify possible reasons for behavioural changes and to developstrategies that enabled the children to manage feelings and emotions in asecure and supportive environment. The management team had worked withparents and other professions from health and education to support thedevelopment of appropriate strategies specific to individual needs.Staff interaction with children was kind, caring and respectful. One example ofthis could be seen in the baby room when a child had woken after their nap.The baby was held by the staff member until he felt ready to move off to play.When he sought her again she responded to him with more cuddles, the staffmember pulled toys to him and began to play with him, there was no rush orneed for him to move away and she took time to reassure him. They playedtogether, with more children joining the game. The gentle pace andcommunication was calming, sincere and reassuring for the children.

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Areas for improvementThe staff team should further develop their understanding of active learning.We observed times in all groups when children's learning was restricted orhalted unnecessarily. For example, observations of group times in the group forchildren aged three to five indicated that children had been taken from playthat was engaging, interesting to participate in group times where theyappeared disinterested and bored. At one group time a potentially interestingand exciting activity where the children performed using the puppet theatrewas undermined by staff taking the children away from the stories andperformances to brush their teeth. Better planning and a more sensitiveapproach would have enabled the children to enjoy the activity without beinginterrupted.In the baby room the environment had been improved to give children greateraccess to experiences for example, painting resources and sand play, but gatesprevented them from entering and leaving the areas to experiment withmaterials, objects and to challenge and extend their abilities as they could have.Likewise in the group for children aged two where activities for learning weremostly adult directed. See recommendation 1.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0

RecommendationsNumber of recommendations - 1

1. It is recommended that to support and enable children's development andlearning further staff should develop their understanding of child led learning or"active learning" and use this when planning and facilitating activities.National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of16 Standard 5: Quality of experience.

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Quality Theme 2: Quality of EnvironmentGrade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 2“We make sure that the environment is safe and service usersare protected.”

Service StrengthsThe accommodation was observed as clean and safe. Systems such as secureentry to the rooms, sign in for visitors, registers and enclosed outdoor spacewere effective. Staff had a very good knowledge of the service child protectionprocedures. Overall this statement was evaluated as very good.

The toilet and nappy changing areas appeared clean and hygienic. Staff rotasfor cleaning the areas supported the team to ensure regular cleaning andchecking of the areas.The flooring in the baby room had been replaced with new carpet. Staff did notwear outside shoes on the carpet to help keep it clean and fresh for the babiescrawling over the floor. The layout of areas in the baby room had been changedand this had resulted in an improved nappy changing area and access to messyplay.

Most staff had attended external infection prevention and control training andmost staff have attended Food Hygiene training. The staff had used theirtraining to understand the importance of maintaining good standards ofhygiene and to ensure their practice was appropriate.Staff have all attended 1st Aid training and therefore there were sufficient firstaiders to support children when they have an accident.

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Staff monitored children when they were sleeping to ensure they were safe andhealthy. Staff followed practice guidance about the prevention of cot deathwhen placing children to sleep.Observations of staff supervision of children when we went to the woods toplay evidenced good road safety awareness. They shared this with the childrenand it was evident that children had developed their knowledge of road safety.

A repair book was used to log any repairs needing done and staff managementof broken toys or damaged equipment. We observed the book and the toys andresources and found that they had been maintained well.

Areas for improvementStaff and management should continue to monitor the quality of theenvironment to ensure best practice with regards to children's safety, welfareand health can be maintained.Continued development of outdoor play would support children to learn moreabout risk and to become active in evaluating and calculating risk themselveswith appropriate support.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Statement 5“The accommodation and resources are suitable for the needsof the service users. ”

Service StrengthsThe accommodation and resources were suitable for the needs of the childrenand had been enhanced through changes that had been made to the layout,the decoration and noise levels. Overall the use of the resources andaccommodation was evaluated as very good.

The layout of the group rooms and facilities has been reviewed and updated toimprove children's experiences. This included:- A child sized toilet had been installed into the area for children aged two tothree years. This has impacted positively on the children's ability to managetoilet training more independently but also with staff support as appropriate tothe individual child.- The cloakroom area has been moved out with the area for two year oldsand was now separate. This has resulted in the two year old children having aspace designated specifically to their play and development.- The baby room had been renovated and the layout has been improved toenable the children improved access to creative and messy play. As mentionedin previous statements, staff should consider the use and necessity of barrierswithin this area and the restrictions this places on children's ability and to movefrom one area to another to engage in the resources available and to learn fromthem.

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Children had regular access to outdoor play in the garden area as well as use oflocal woodland. This enabled children to develop their skills and abilities in anever-changing environment, causing them to pause and think about what theywere doing and how they would respond. We observed one of the youngerchildren in the wooded area manage the uneven terrain, she stumbled a fewtimes on her first attempt to go up a small slope and run down it, by the thirdtime we could see that she had learned to lift her feet higher and that sheconfidently and quickly moved up and down the slope. She caught her trouserin a loose bramble and we observed as she looked for some help but thencarefully unpicked the branch herself and put it to the side. Her calculated andcalm approach meant that she did not get scratched or jagged, that she couldmanage to problem solve and help herself. Access to resources such as naturalwoodland areas empower children to become active thinkers and learners.

Children attending the out of school club had established real ownership overtheir space through the layout of resources and displays on the walls. It was a"cool" place we were told by one child. The children told us that they continuedto access outdoor active play by going to the park, sometimes having picnicsthere and that they had an area of woodland too. The children told us that theyliked the resources and equipment they had to play with.

Areas for improvementTo enhance children's opportunity to use resources to explore their abilities,curiosity and creativity staff should continue to develop and provide experiencesthat are rich and meaningful including greater use of natural resources, creativespace and large construction. Staff in the nursery should consider the amountof challenge for children accessing the same resources day after day e.g. theclimbing frame and ball pit. We discussed having resources to hand forchildren, such as lengths of material, clothes pegs, large cardboard boxes etc.that could be used in many different ways by the children to create richer andmore imaginative play to complement and add to the more stationary playequipment.

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We observed that at times children within the area for three to five year oldsbecame tired and agitated. To help ensure a balance between stimulation andover stimulation we advised the depute manage and manager to consider areasof rest and calm where the older children can retreat to and avoid feelingstressed.We were told that the service had identified this as an area for developmentand we agreed that plans should be developed and implemented.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Quality Theme 3: Quality of StaffingGrade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 2“We are confident that our staff have been recruited, andinducted, in a safe and robust manner to protect service usersand staff.”

Service StrengthsSince the last inspection the service had recruited one new member of staff. Wechecked the service staff recruitment procedures to evaluate how safeand robust the service recruitment and induction procedure was. We found thatthe service had a recruitment and induction procedure in place that had beenused to ensure children using the service were protected. This was evaluated asvery good.

Staff applying for a position at Cheeky Monkeys completed an application formwhich asked about their skills, abilities, training and interests. The form alsoasked for information about relevant work experience and previousemployment. We saw that the manager had chosen staff to attend interviewbased on their responses within the application form.Staff were interviewed for the position and notes were made about the qualityof the applicants answers. This evidenced how the managers had consideredthe candidates responses to the questions asked. Two written references weresought from the applicants previous employment. Once satisfactory referenceshad been returned the service undertook a PVG check to ensure the applicanthad not been convicted of crimes that would put children at risk.All staff were registered with the Scottish Social Services Council within therequired timescales.

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New staff were allocated a mentor who they could ask for advice and guidance,we were told that the mentor was normally an allocated person who worked inthe same group. The service had an induction procedure which we found hadbeen followed, this included the new staff reading policies and procedures andobservation/instruction on practice.New staff told us that they had felt very welcomed and supported whenstarting at the service and that they felt able to talk to other staff or managerswhen they were unsure about anything.

Areas for improvementThe service should continue to develop the recruitment procedure to ensurethey feel confident that staff selection remains safe and robust. Furtherinvolvement of parents, children and other staff would give greater insights intowhat they believe to be the most important qualities in staff for children andtheir views may be incorporated in to the procedures or questions.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Statement 4“We ensure that everyone working in the service has an ethosof respect towards service users and each other.”

Service StrengthsWe considered this statement within the inspection because an ethosof respect towards children, families and each other is indicative of reflectivepractice, staff knowledge, understanding and self-awareness. We made ourevaluations through observation of staff and child interaction, observation ofimprovement to the environment, discussion with staff and feedback fromfamilies using the service. As a result of this we found that the service was verygood in the areas evaluated.

Children were happy, confident and relaxed. They moved with confidence fromone area to another and responded positively to the staff. The children spoke tous and interacted with us with confidence and self-assuredness. The needs ofindividual children, their choices and preferences were respected, includingdietary needs. Staff and children talked to each other about activities andevents, they laughed together and had fun.

The improvements that had been made to the environment and to children'splay and care experiences told us that the team had considered and plannedimprovements based on their observations of the children as well as advice andbest practice guidance. The effort made by the team and their focus on creatinga better learning and care environment evidenced their respect for the children,their needs and their interests. The team valued the views and opinions of thechildren's parents when planning for individual children and for changes to theenvironment.

Staff worked well together. There had been changes to the deployment of staffwithin the nursery and this had been done with consideration to staff strengthsand interests. The manager and staff told us that they were monitoring thechanges and they felt they had been beneficial to the development of children'sexperiences and their own specialisms.

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The staff told us that they felt the management team were very approachableand easy to talk to. One staff member told us that she had felt supported andrespected and as a result felt more confident and competent when workingwith the children.

The provider talked to us about the importance of team work. She describeda comparison she said that she used when talking to the team about individualstrengths and team work. The comparison was a football team and the successwhen talented individuals work together.

Provider, manager and depute manager reinforce and role model supportive,respectful and effective communication. Staff monitoring takes place regularlyand appraisals take place every 6 months.The depute manager and manager spend time in the groups observing practice- this should be further developed and formalised so that planning, assessmentand next steps can be planned for and identified for groups, individuals and thewhole service.

Areas for improvementWe discussed transition between the groups so that children, staff andparents have greater opportunity and involvement in directing change on anindividual basis for the children based on their shared knowledge of the child.Staff should continue to develop their awareness of self and their impact on thechildren, for example, by being more sensitive to the activities and the learningchildren gain from them and by remaining mindful of the impact of talkingacross the room to greet others or to share information and messages.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Quality Theme 4: Quality of Management andLeadershipGrade awarded for this theme: 5 - Very Good

Statement 2“We involve our workforce in determining the direction andfuture objectives of the service.”

Service StrengthsStaff work with the children and know their needs and interests well, they havethe most contact with parents, receive feedback from them and haveknowledge of their expectations and concerns. It is therefore important thatstaff feedback to the manager and provider about the children's experiencesand their analysis on how they can be further improved thereby influencing thedirection and future objectives of the service. The service was very good inareas covered by this statement.

All staff were aware of the service aims and objectives and told us that they feltinvolved in determining the direction of the service. The managers consultedwith staff about changes, they asked for their input into proposed changes andresponded to their feedback - for example when planning the changes to the 2year olds group area and to the baby room.

Regular staff meetings were held and staff contributed their ideas and opinionsto them. The managers looked at best practice guidance with the staff and theytalked about how they could best meet this. As a result of identified areas forimprovement the management developed action plans and then each areacompleted a mini action plan detailing how they proposed to achieve identifiedgoals. According to staff and manager this system was working well, theyexplained that it was time consuming but that they had a greaterunderstanding of what they were setting out to achieve and why. As a result,staff had greater ownership over improvement.

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Area audits are carried out by the staff and they had professional discussionwith each other about their area. The evaluations were given to the managerand discussed with her to help determine the need for resources.

Areas for improvementThe management team and staff should continue to embed the systems ofinvolvement that they had been using so that staff confidence and innovativepractice could be further encouraged and used.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

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Statement 4“We use quality assurance systems and processes which involveservice users, carers, staff and stakeholders to assess thequality of service we provide.”

Service StrengthsFeedback from all stakeholders had been sought, considered and responded to.This was important to the development of the service improvement planbecause it meant that improvement had been based on feedback from peoplewho used the service as well as visiting specialists. The improvement plan andactions taken evidenced that the service considered and used stakeholderfeedback very well.

Feedback from parents was sought on a regular basis and involved manydifferent ways of gathering their views and opinions about the service. Thefeedback was collated and used to identify areas for improvement andalso suggestions and ideas of how to make improvements.

Regular bi-monthly visits from Perth and Kinross Council improvement officershad been welcomed and valued by the service. Staff told us about the impact ofthe support and guidance they had received. This has resulted in greaterunderstanding of children's development, play and learning. We spoke to one ofthe improvement officers and she confirmed that their involvement had beenresponded to well.

Good connections with the local primary school where the children attendingthe nursery moved to had resulted in good transition to the school and goodcommunication about supporting children when preparing for school.

Local authority evaluation of the service has been used to help identify areasfor improvement and development. Action plans were used to improve in areasidentified.

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Areas for improvementThe manager and staff should continue to embed the service quality assurancesystem which has been developed since the last inspection.

Grade5 - Very GoodNumber of requirements - 0Number of recommendations - 0

5 What the service has done to meet anyrequirements we made at our last inspection

Previous requirements

There are no outstanding requirements.

6 What the service has done to meet anyrecommendations we made at our lastinspectionPrevious recommendations

There are no outstanding recommendations.

7 ComplaintsNo complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection.

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8 EnforcementsWe have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the lastinspection.

9 Additional InformationNone noted.

10 Inspection and grading historyDate Type Gradings

5 May 2014 Unannounced Care and support 4 - GoodEnvironment 4 - GoodStaffing 4 - GoodManagement and Leadership 4 - Good

20 Nov 2013 Re-grade Care and support Not AssessedEnvironment Not AssessedStaffing Not AssessedManagement and Leadership 2 - Weak

5 Jun 2013 Unannounced Care and support 3 - AdequateEnvironment 4 - GoodStaffing 4 - GoodManagement and Leadership 3 - Adequate

10 May 2012 Unannounced Care and support 1 - UnsatisfactoryEnvironment 1 - UnsatisfactoryStaffing 2 - WeakManagement and Leadership 1 - Unsatisfactory

29 May 2012 Re-grade Care and support Not AssessedEnvironment Not AssessedStaffing Not Assessed

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Management and Leadership 4 - Good

22 Sep 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment 5 - Very GoodStaffing 4 - GoodManagement and Leadership 5 - Very Good

10 Feb 2010 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very GoodEnvironment 5 - Very GoodStaffing 4 - GoodManagement and Leadership 4 - Good

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To find out moreThis inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download thisreport and others from our website.

You can also read more about our work online.

Contact UsCare InspectorateCompass House11 Riverside DriveDundeeDD1 4NY

[email protected]

0345 600 9527

www.careinspectorate.com

@careinspect

Other languages and formats

This report is available in other languages and formats on request.

Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is c?nain eile manithear iarrtas.

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