A NURSERY near Helensburgh has made “significant progress” in addressing a number of problem areas, according to a new inspection report.

Care Inspectorate officials made an unannounced visit to Kanga Rhu pre-school in February, following a similar check-up in October 2018.

The details of the new report, which were published online earlier this month, reveal that the quality of care and support and quality of environment at the Smuggler’s Way facility have been graded as ‘good’, while the quality of staffing and quality of management and leadership have been graded as ‘adequate’.

This is a stark improvement on the results of the last inspection almost two years ago, which assessed three of the same criteria as ‘weak’ and another as ‘unsatisfactory’.

READ MORE: 'Significant cause for concern' at pre-school unit near Helensburgh

Nine children were present during the recent inspection of the facility, which is registered to accommodate a maximum of 32 children aged from three to eight years but currently only cares for children from three years to those not yet attending primary school.

The latest report states: “Kanga Rhu pre-school continued to provide a valuable service to parents/carers within the local community with parents/carers indicating that they were happy with the service provided to their children.

“We found that the service provider had made an increased commitment to working in partnership with parents/carers with a focus on improving family engagement and family learning.

“We found that children were happy and settled in the setting. Children were motivated and engaged in play and learning during our visit.”

Feedback from parents, which forms part of the report, included: “The staff are very supportive and make me comfortable to leave my child with them as I know they are competent to look after them and meet their needs.”

Another said: “I have been using Kanga Rhu for many years and the changes that have happened have been wonderful, the staff are happier as are the children.”

Another parent added: “What is crystal clear is the love and care the staff have for the children, and their desire to do the best they can for the children.”

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In the previous report from 2018, inspectors were critical of the lack of management and leadership at Kanga Rhu, while they noted that “the entire building needed to be decorated”.

The latest report said: “Overall, the accommodation was clean and decoration and maintenance had improved since the last inspection.

“The playrooms had been decorated, cleared out, reorganised and re-equipped with improved quality resources.

“Children were safe and secure within the accommodation and in the outdoor play area.

“Since the last inspection issues around the roles and responsibilities of staff had been resolved following the recruitment of an additional member of staff and the return to post of the day-to-day manager.

“We could see that the staff team was more effectively deployed to meet children’s needs.

“We could see that morale had improved since the last inspection and staff were better supported in their roles.

“We found that the management situation within the service was more settled overall. There had been significant progress since the last inspection.”

Eight out of 11 recommendations had been met since the last inspection, with a further four recommendations being made this time.

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