Scotland’s best and worst nurseries, based on Care Inspectorate gradings, have been revealed in a new league table by The Times and The Sunday Times.
The regulator awards grades ranging from six points for excellent to one point for unsatisfactory. The grades are applied across four categories - setting, staff, leadership and quality of care, and play and learning.
Using official data published by the care regulator, The Times and Sunday Times have published a full Scottish childcare league table.
Under the gradings system, the maximum combined points achievable is 24, and the minimum is 4 - which would mean the nursery was graded unsatisfactory in every category.
You can find out the top ranked nurseries here.
Touch Trust in Dunfermline was the only childcare provider that received unsatisfactory grades across the board. A spokesperson for the Care Inspectorate on June 24 said its recent inspection had “identified serious and significant concerns” about the quality of care experienced by children.
Its inspection report highlighted concerns about medication not being safely managed, children playing where there was dog faeces and moving vehicles, and the unsafe transportation of children.
The regulator issued an improvement notice threatening the provider with closure if it did not make urgent changes.
The Times reported that Touch Trust has complied with most of the improvement notices - and has been granted more time to deal with one outstanding concern.
Based on the league table, here are the worst rated nurseries in Scotland:
1. Cardenden Primary School Nursery, Lochgelly
Score: 5. Cardenden Primary School Nursery, run by Fife Council, was also issued with an improvement notice. It highlighted concerns around the use of restrictive practice, medication procedures and staff deployment | Google Maps
.jpg?crop=4:3&trim=&width=800)
2. Kirkintilloch Nursery, Glasgow
Score: 6. Kirkintilloch Nursery in East Dunbartonshire was issued an improvement notice after an inspection raised concerns about safe sleep routines for children and staffing, while mealtimes were described in the report as “rushed and stressful” | Getty Images
3. Bearsden Before and After School Service, Glasgow
Score: 6. Bearsden Before and After School Service provides an out-of-school care service from the Bearsden Ski Club building. It was given an improvement notice which included concerns around medication procedures and staff training | Google Maps
4. Sgoil Àraich Gàidhlig Loch Abar, Fort William
Score: 6. Sgoil Àraich Gàidhlig Loch Abar is operated by Highland Council and provides a day care of children service to children aged from three years to primary school age. A follow up inspection in February found that while improvements had been made from the previous year, there were still concerns around personal planning for children, quality assurance and resources for service management | Google Maps