Ayrshire nursery rated 'very good' as inspectors praise 'high quality care'

A council-run nursery has been handed fulsome praise following a spot check on the service it provides.Maidens Early Years Centre, in Shanter Road, Maidens, was graded ‘very good’ across four quality indicators.The gradings are the second highest ones possible and have been revealed by the Care Inspectorate, who carried out a spot check last month.Maidens Early Years Centre is registered to provide a day care of children’s service to a maximum of 32 children: 10 children aged 2 years to under 3 years old and 22 children aged 3 years to those not yet attending primary school.

The service is operated by South Ayrshire Council.Among the key messages children experienced “high quality care and support” from staff “who knew them very well.”Staff were also described as “nurturing and committed” to achieving “positive outcomes” for children.And children were “happy, safe and secure” and had access to “high quality learning experiences indoors and outdoors.”The nursery’s care, play and learning, as well as setting, were graded as ‘very good,’ so too was leadership and the staff team.An extract from the Care Inspectorate report said: “Staff were skilled and knowledgeable about child development.

They interacted with children in a calm and supportive manner, listening to their thoughts and ideas. They asked open ended questions and encouraged children to think about solutions and use their problem-solving skills.“For example, a child wanted to fill the water trough outside, and the water lying in the hose had frozen.

Staff encouraged children to think about why this had happened and how they could solve the problem. As a result, children were finding solutions to problems.”It was also noted that children were supported to build