“SIGNIFICANT weaknesses” have been found at a “neglected” Haddington nursery.

The Care Inspectorate carried out an unannounced inspection of Pear Tree Nursery West Road and raised a number of concerns.

While “most” of the children appeared “at ease in the setting”, the newly-published report described the quality of care and support; the quality of environment; quality of staffing; and quality of management and leadership as “weak”.

In previous inspections, the nursery had received grades of ‘good’ and ‘very good’ in all areas.

A spokesperson for the nursery owners said they were “extremely disappointed” with the findings and were “providing dedicated support” to the nursery team to make the improvements required.

Inspectors said that feedback from parents showed that, while there was praise for members of staff, they were “unhappy with important aspects of the setting”, including “concerns regarding poor communication, children’s safety, staff competency and the leadership of the setting”.

In all four aspects assessed, inspectors said they “identified some strengths [but] these were compromised by significant weaknesses”.

'No interaction or warmth'

A report from the inspection raised concerns over the quality of care, saying that “we saw older children wander around aimlessly with no interactions”, while “an upset baby received no interaction or warmth despite sitting on a staff member’s knee”.

The report added: “Our concerns were echoed by a parent, who told us: ‘The children’s day appears to be simply free play and keeping them alive. Staff appear to have little interaction with the children.’”

Following the inspection in April, a number of recommendations and a total of eight requirements were made to the nursery in the report.

Among the recommendations was that the nursery should “review their approach to keeping children hydrated and ensure they are offering the right portion sizes”. The report noted that “other than pre-school aged children, drinking water was not offered to children outwith meal times”.

Other issues highlighted were pieces of “sharp Perspex and wood” in the garden, as well as trailing and plugged in electrical wires within play areas, with the report adding that “the setting looked and felt neglected rather than safe, warm and welcoming”.

The report read: “We observed some good examples of loose parts play but this was not consistent throughout the setting.

“The overall quality of learning experiences and resources in all playrooms was poor and children were not able to experience high-quality play and learning as a result of the environment.”

'Alone in a playroom'

Inspectors said that “the outdoor environment [was] in poor condition with incomplete, broken and dirty resources” and that they were unhappy with the cleanliness of the nursery, including finding a potty which still had urine in it.

And they added that “a child was alone in a playroom when we were being shown around the setting”.

Concerns were also raised that the setting “relied too heavily on trainee staff, which was having an impact on children receiving the right care and support and being offered quality play experiences”.

The report added: “Some parents were positive about the team, saying staff ‘worked hard’, ‘seem to be caring and nurturing’ and ‘tried their best’.

“However, staffing was a concern for the majority of parents, who told us: ‘As staff are constantly leaving, they are replaced with apprentices straight out of college.’”

Among the requirements are ensuring staff receive appropriate training/guidance to increase their knowledge and confidence in completing personal tasks, as well as ensuring children are not left alone in playrooms.

The report noted that “the manager was very new to their role in maternity leave cover” and they had “welcomed the inspection to help assist them to implement change and to address the significant areas of concern identified”.

'Extremely disappointed'

A spokesperson for Bright Stars nursery group, which purchased the nursery last month, said: “As the new owners of the Pear Tree Nursery West Road, the safety, education and wellbeing of our children is our highest priority, and we are therefore extremely disappointed with some of the findings in the recent report.

“This inspection took place before we acquired the nursery in June and since then we have been working closely with the nursery team to address the issues identified and make changes.

“Our managers are providing dedicated support to the very experienced team at West Road and many of the actions identified have already been delivered.

“We are also working closely with the Care Inspectorate and local council and are providing additional training for all members of the nursery team.”

The latest inspection comes less than a year after another unannounced inspection at the nursery. In July 2021, care and support, as well as staffing, was rated ‘good’, with the environment and management and leadership not assessed.

Pear Tree Nursery has two other branches in Haddington, at Meadowpark and Church Street, both of which were recently named by daynurseries.co.uk among the top 20 nurseries in Scotland.