Portlethen nursery rated 'good' across all areas

A Portlethen nursery has received a ‘good’ rating across the board following a visit by the Care Inspectorate.

Hillside Primary School was commended by the inspection team finding:

• Children were nurtured and supported throughout their day by staff who were caring and knew their needs very well. 
• Personal Plans reflected staff practice and children benefitted from effective personal planning. 
• Children benefitted from good access to the outdoors which supported their overall health and wellbeing. 
• The service had identified relevant key improvements and staff confidently discussed the impact of these. 
• Quality assurance processes could be developed to influence continual improvement of children's outcomes and experiences. 
• At busier times of the day, staff deployment should be considered to ensure to keep children safe and provide the care and support they needed.

The report is broken down into four main categories covering care, play and learning; the setting; the leadership; and the staff team, and rated from one to six, with the Newlands Drive school receiving ‘four’ across all categories.

The report said: “Children were happy, settled and having fun with their peers. They experienced warm and nurturing care from staff which supported their health and wellbeing. Staff provided reassurance and comfort when children were upset, supporting children to feel valued and secure in the nursery. A parent told us, ‘The staff are welcoming and amazing’ whilst a child commented, ‘The teachers are very nice’.”

With regards to the leadership at the nursery, the report said: “The service's vision, values and aims were displayed at the front entrance of the service. They had been recently reviewed with children and families, supporting them to feel valued and included. 

“Communication with families had been well considered. The staff team were using an online platform to communicate key messages to parents, as well as handovers at the end of the session.”