'Unloved' Edinburgh nursery where kids had outgrown beds handed 'weak' verdict

Children at an Edinburgh nursery were put at risk of infection due to an 'unloved' setting, a watchdog has found.

The Care Inspectorate visited The Murrayfield Nursery in November before rating its performance 'weak' in a scathing inspection report which raised concerns over staff numbers, security and children sleeping in beds which were too small for them. Owned by CC Nurseries and run through a partnership with City of Edinburgh Council, the facility is registered to care for up to 90 youngsters.

"Maintenance systems required improving as some parts of the environment not only looked unloved and uncared for, but also increased risk of harbouring germs and transferring infection", the report reads.

"This was particularly applicable to the nappy changing areas and children's toilets. We highlighted that management should consider replacing or cleaning stained rugs and soft furnishings within the children's playrooms.

"The service's domestic staff member had recently resigned, which resulted in staff undertaking cleaning tasks until this position was filled. We noticed areas of the service that were not sufficiently clean or tidy, such as staff toilets. This compromised people's health and wellbeing and sense of worth."

The safety of youngsters was also found to be 'compromised' by the entrance door, which was left unlocked during the day and watched by a member of the management team from their office.

"This was not effective in ensuring that children do not come into contact with people that could pose a risk to them", the report continues. "As per the Care Inspectorate's SIMOA campaign, the risk to children leaving the service unattended and unnoticed was increased. Swift action now needed to be taken to ensure children's safety."

Inspectors highlighted that the number of workers on duty at certain times of the day fell foul of legal requirements on child-staff ratios.

The report adds: "During the inspection, 24 children under the age of two years of age were left with seven members of staff during staff lunch breaks. This was for at least a period of one hour.

"Staff shared that this was common practice. The minimum staff to child ratios for children under the age of two should be one staff member to every three children.

"We learnt that when children from the baby unit were taken out for walks in the community, the minimum staff to child ratios were not met. On the first day of the inspection, two staff went for a walk with eight children under the age of two years. This meant that staff were not able to fully meet children's needs and the value of the experience for children was limited."

Some children were discovered to have grown too big for their beds, which meant they were sleeping with 'half of their bodies on the ground'. That, said inspectors, compromised their 'dignity and comfort'.

The nursery was ordered to make a series of improvements to the problem areas. A spokesman for the service said bosses 'accept' the report and are 'using it as a motivation to improve'.

Anita Wilden, chief operating officer at the CC Group, said: “We have put an Action Plan in place which we have shared with parents and much has already been achieved.

"We are confident this will bring the nursery to the standards expected by parents, children and the Care Inspectorate. We are under no illusion that there is work to be done however we are sure that when the inspectors visit again they will experience a very much improved nursery.

“We have new leadership in place and that is having a real positive impact. I want to thank the staff team for their efforts and they remain fully focussed and committed.

"The team is benefitting from the advice and expertise of early years professionals from our other nurseries and everyone is pulling together to deliver the plan. We continue to work closely with both the Care Inspectorate and City of Edinburgh Council and are keeping them and parents updated on our progress.”