The Stronsay Junior High Nursery provides daycare for up to eight children aged 3-5 every morning. Based in Stronsay Junior High School, the nursery aims to encourage learning and develop skills through a welcoming environment. A recent inspection found the nursery's quality of care, environment, staffing, and management to be very good. Parents were satisfied with the activities, staff support, and community involvement provided. The nursery environment was bright, with indoor and outdoor play areas. Staff were qualified and engaged in ongoing training. Leadership involved parents and self-evaluation to further improve the service.

1. Stronsay Junior High Nursery
Day Care of Children
Stronsay Junior High School
Stronsay
Orkney
KW17 2AE
Telephone: 01857 616246
Type of inspection: Unannounced
Inspection completed on: 19 September 2016
Service provided by: Service provider number:
Orkney Islands Council SP2003001951
Care service number:
CS2003016052

2. About the service
Stronsay Junior High Nursery is part of Stronsay Junior High School and offered places for up to eight children
every morning from 9.00am to 12.10pm. The aims of the nursery included encouraging all children to maximise
their natural learning abilities and develop a wide range of skills. They aimed to provide a welcoming and
stimulating environment where each child was recognised as an individual and partnerships between home and
nursery were fostered and valued, to ensure the development of the whole child.
We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (also known as GIRFEC).
Scotland's national approach to improving outcomes and wellbeing for children by offering the right help at the
right time from the right people. It supports them and their parent(s) to work with the services that can help
them.
There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it Right for Every Child: safe, healthy, achieving,
nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. They are often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators
What people told us
The children who were in the nursery were engaged in a variety of activities throughout the inspection. They
especially enjoyed the party games with the early primary class and the outside play. They enjoyed the special
'birthday buns' too and using the torches in the cave.
Two parents were spoken to on the day of the inspection and they were very happy with the nursery and the
activities that were on offer. They felt their child looked forward to coming and the opportunities they had
during the session.
Three Care Standards Questionnaires (CSQs) were received from parents at the end of last term and though
overall they were all happy with the quality of care their child received, one did not agree that they and their
child had been involved in developing the service by giving ideas and feedback and did not know if staff regularly
assessed their child's learning and development and used this to plan their next steps. Otherwise all the parents
were very positive about all aspects of their child's care and in particular the quality of the staffing.
Self assessment
The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self assessment document from the provider. The provider
identified what it thought the service did well and gave examples of areas they had developed such as the
outside space.
The self assessment clearly identified some key areas that they believed can be improved and showed how the
service intended to do this. The provider told us how the views of children and parents were taken into account
in the self assessment process and how their feedback influenced the development of the plans for improving
the service.
From this inspection we graded this service as:
Quality of care and support 5 - Very Good
Quality of environment 5 - Very Good
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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3. Quality of staffing 5 - Very Good
Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good
Quality of care and support
Findings from the inspection
The nursery worked closely with parents, finding out from them their children's likes, dislikes and interests
before they started. This helped staff to provide resources and activities children enjoyed and responded to
during their settling in period. Children's ideas and interests were then taken forward in the planning, such as
lighthouses and then dinosaurs. Information was recorded in children's learning stories showing how activities
were meeting their needs and how to progress their learning. Ideas were discussed with parents and learning
journeys were shared. However, the links between the children's interests and the planned activities was not
always made explicit, which may explain why one of the three parents who responded to the CSQs, felt they did
not know if staff used their child's views about activities to plan future activities and outings.
In addition to daily conversations with parents, daily diaries with information about snacks and activities were
completed. However, they were discussing with parents a move to using the learning journeys and floor books
to share evidence of activities in more depth. These were more meaningful ways of recording as children were
encouraged to contribute, making them feel included and their achievements valued.
Staff were aware of GIRFEC and support from a multi-agency team was available. A member of the early years
team visited and daily opportunities to mix with the lower primary class benefited both children and staff. There
were joint snacks and activities, shared playtimes and whole school activities such as sports day. During the
inspection a child's birthday celebrations brought the two classes together to share party games in the gym, to
the obvious delight of all. There was a whole school emphasis on emotional wellbeing and staff were helping
children to learn the very important skills of sharing, making friends, understanding differences and taking turns
while they played.
Healthy lifestyles were discussed with children and they helped to plan and prepare healthy snacks. Children
were able to try new tastes, such as greengages, and had suitable knives to take part in cutting fruit and
vegetables. They poured drinks and helped to tidy up.
The importance of recording information about medication in line with the guidelines given in the 'Management
of Medication in Daycare of Children and Childminding' was discussed.
The three parents who responded to the CSQs agreed 'The service makes good use of resources in the
community for example the library and parks', 'My child regularly gets fresh air and energetic physical play' and
'The staff encourage my child to form positive relationships with other children'.
Requirements
Number of requirements: 0
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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4. Recommendations
Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 5 - very good
Quality of environment
Findings from the inspection
The nursery room was bright and welcoming for the children, with direct access to the outside. There were a
variety of learning areas including the home corner, messy play and a dinosaur cave, where the children enjoyed
stories and experimented with torches. Children were able to choose independently from a range of toys and
activities, including water play and clay, mainly based round a dinosaur theme which the children had expressed
an interest in.
Children had daily access to the outside playspace which had been developed over the last year. There was room
for wheeled vehicles and a grassed slope to climb and explore. A tunnel to travel through and a large sand pit,
as well as a mud kitchen and containers for growing flowers and vegetables. From the learning journeys it could
be seen that the children were encouraged to use their imaginations both inside and outside and had enjoyed a
wide range of learning opportunities in the garden.
The children used other areas throughout the school such as the gym and library, they visited other classes and
were frequent visitors to the adjoining early year's classroom. They also made use of the local play park and
visited other facilities in the community to extend their experiences and opportunities for learning. Staff also
provided interesting and inspiring materials to support and develop children's interests.
Children were able to access resources in the classroom and outside. They were helped to learn about taking
care of their environment through following nursery rules and tidy up routines and looking after plants to help
them grow. They were also developing skills in assessing what clothes they would need and in getting ready to
go outside independently. Outdoor suits had been purchased to ensure the children could access the outside
space throughout the year. More raised beds were planned so that children could be more involved in planting
and growing.
All aspects of the nursery were clean and appropriate infection controls were in place. Children were helped to
be aware of the need for infection control to keep themselves healthy and had learned about hand washing at
appropriate times. Safety was discussed with the children and risk assessments were undertaken.
Requirements
Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations
Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 5 - very good
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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5. Quality of staffing
Findings from the inspection
Staff were recruited and inducted in line with Orkney Islands Council recruitment procedures. They were annual
staff reviews to inform their training and development needs and to ensure these were in line with the priorities
in the school improvement programme. Staff had regular monthly meetings with the head teacher to discuss all
aspects of the service.
Staff engaged in reflective practice and used this to enhance the experiences of the children. Additional advice
was sought from other professionals when needed and put into practice.
There was just one early years practitioner due to the small class size, but she was trained and registered with
the Scottish Social Services Council. She was able to undertake continuous professional development to keep
her practice up to date during in service days and by online learning. She also visited other nursery settings and
took part in regular cluster meetings which aided discussion and sharing of practice with other smaller island
nurseries.
The nursery staff took part in whole school meetings to discuss the needs of the children and was part of any
whole school developments. She had regular meetings with the head teacher to ensure there was open
communication about the needs of any of the nursery children. She also had regular planning meetings with the
lower primary teacher to ensure all areas of the curriculum were being met during the year and that
transition planning was in place.
The staff member was very committed to providing a high quality service to the children in her care. She
interacted well with the children and worked hard to maximise their learning opportunities. Once the children
had time to settle in she needs to stand back and observe the children more and allow them to have time to
build on their play and explore their own creativity. They also need time to be able to devise solutions and try
out their own ideas in order to learn how to problem solve without always relying on adult intervention. Children
should be encouraged to come up with their own ideas and solutions more often.
The three parents responding to the CSQs agreed or strongly agreed 'I am confident that there
are always enough staff to provide a good quality of care', 'My child appears happy and confident with the staff'
and 'I am confident that the staff will protect my child from harm, abuse, bullying and neglect'. They also felt
'confident that staff have the skills and experience to care for my child and support their learning and
development'.
Requirements
Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations
Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 5 - very good
Quality of management and leadership
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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6. Findings from the inspection
There was an open door policy for staff to consult with management and staff frequently consulted with both
management and visiting professionals. Advice was evaluated and adapted to meet the needs of the children.
The head teacher made regular visits to the nursery and would be carrying out formal monitoring visits as part of
the quality assurance calendar for the school. Reciprocal feedback was also being introduced as a means to help
staff evaluate and improve their practice.
All staff were involved in regular self evaluation which informed their weekly planning and were aware of the
need to begin to evaluate themselves against the new 'How Good is Our Early Learning and Childcare'. Early
years staff attended staff meetings and in-service days on a pro-rata basis, which concentrated on discussions
and training which impacted on their service. All staff were consulted in the drafting of the school improvement
plan which was shared with the parent council and targets were used in reviewing staff training needs.
The head teacher was very conscious of the importance of involving parents in all aspects of the school,
especially the nursery. Open days, questionnaires, letters, a suggestion box and regular verbal communication
with parents were seen as vital to building a strong relationship with parents. The nursery handbook had been
updated and there were displays of the children's work in the nursery and at the entrance. Parents had been
involved in the development of the outside area and their ideas were welcomed on any aspect of the nursery.
Further Stay and Play sessions were planned for parents throughout the year. In their self evaluation the nursery
had identified the need to continue to implement evaluative systems which involved all stakeholders.
Requirements
Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations
Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 5 - very good
Previous requirements
Requirement 1
The area outside the nursery door and windows requires to be made a fit place for the children to look out
on, access and enjoy.
This is in order to comply with:
What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at
or since the last inspection
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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7. The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations
2011, (SSI 2011/ 210: regulations 4(1)(a) - Requirements to make proper provision for health and
welfare of service users.
Timescale: Within 3 months from the receipt of this report.
This requirement was made on 17 September 2015.
Action taken on previous requirement
The outside play space had been developed with a grassed slope and tunnel, a paved area and a range of
containers for growing. A mud kitchen had been built and installed very recently and there was a large sand pit
for digging. The area was shared with the early primary class and further developments were planned in line
with children's interests.
Met - within timescales
Previous recommendations
There are no outstanding recommendations.
Complaints
There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are
published at www.careinspectorate.com.
Enforcement
No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection.
What the service has done to meet any recommendations we
made at or since the last inspection
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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8. Inspection and grading history
Date Type Gradings
25 Aug 2015 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good
Environment 3 - Adequate
Staffing 5 - Very good
Management and leadership 4 - Good
24 Jan 2011 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good
Environment 4 - Good
Staffing Not assessed
Management and leadership Not assessed
25 Nov 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good
Environment 4 - Good
Staffing 4 - Good
Management and leadership 4 - Good
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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9. To find out more
This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our
website.
Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award
grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action
when things aren't good enough.
Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service.
You can also read more about our work online at www.careinspectorate.com
Contact us
Care Inspectorate
Compass House
11 Riverside Drive
Dundee
DD1 4NY
enquiries@careinspectorate.com
0345 600 9527
Find us on Facebook
Twitter: @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 cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas.
Inspection report
Inspection report for Stronsay Junior High Nursery
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