North-east nursery praised by inspectors for standard of care during pandemic

A north-east nursery has been praised for the standard of care during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Care Inspectorate carried at a virtual visit to Ballater School Nursery at the end of last year.

Officials rated the standard of care and support at Ballater School Nursery during the Covid-19 pandemic as good on their six-point scale.

The service is based at Ballater Primary School and is operated by Aberdeenshire Council and can look after a maximum of 24 children.

A Care Inspectorate team used video call technology to speak to nursery staff and telephone calls to speak to parents.

Officials have now published their findings following the visit over November and December 2020.

The report said: “The staff team fostered a warm, welcoming ethos and were caring and nurturing with children and families. Staff were proactive and responsive to the difficulties that arose for children and families during this changing early learning experience.

“Staff recognised the challenges that existed due to physical distancing between adults and developed a variety of processes to ensure effective communication between families and staff that took account of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

“During lockdown the headteacher and staff team remained in contact with parents and children using Seesaw – a digital messaging system, telephone calls and email. Parents confirmed good communication from staff throughout which supported children and families to be as relaxed as possible during lockdown and the return to nursery.

“The staff team implemented sensitive settling in processes for children and families. This included comprehensive information for children and parents, with the opportunity to ask questions of staff before their children returned.

“Children were given the opportunity to visit with one parent when there were no children in nursery. Children and parents were supported to understand the need for the changes to their childcare experience.

“Staff and parents regularly and effectively shared information about the service and children’s experiences, which promoted continuity of care and support.”