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Forest nursery for children in Wester Ross given glowing report by Care Inspectorate


By Alasdair Fraser

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The nursery gives opportunities for outdoor learning.
The nursery gives opportunities for outdoor learning.

The Kinder Croft Outdoor CIC offers day care to pre-school youngsters from the age of three upwards in a large woodland setting.

The Care Inspectorate’s unannounced inspection, leading up to a report completed in June, focused on how the facility at Leckmelm Woods near Ullapool had coped during the pandemic.

It rated the service provided as “very good” in all areas, at level five on a scale of one to six where six indicates excellence.

Using a blend of virtual and on-site scrutiny, inspectors found the large outdoor site offered a very wide range of opportunities for exploration and learning.

A large wooden shelter is also used for a range of activities, while there are separate toilets and changing buildings.

Inspectors found children were “extremely happy and relaxed” in the care of staff and enthusiastically relayed the fun things they could do at Kinder Croft, which caters for up to 16 youngsters.

They clearly enjoyed the freedom of surroundings and were “confident and eager to learn”.

Parents and carers also gave extremely positive feedback, with parents describing how their children had thrived and made tremendous progress since first attending, with self-confidence and self-esteem growing.

Care and support provided to families during periods of the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown was also rated as very good, with the emotional well-being of children “very much a priority”.

Children all had individual personal plans which were updated during lockdown to ensure their changing needs were met.

Staff were proactive in maintaining contact and offering support during the pandemic and all were fully aware of, and confident in, their roles and responsibilities in protecting children.

The inspection report also found infection prevention and control measures to be very good, with the outdoor nature of the facility contributing to reducing the risk of infection significantly.

Clear risk assessments were in place and routinely updated with changing Government advice.

Hygiene standards were also praised with youngsters having a good understanding of why hand-washing was important.

Inspectors compiling the report also found the small staff team were “very committed and motivated to provide children with “an opportunity to have freedom to play, investigate, develop and learn” while properly supervised.


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