A NURSERY in the Wee County has passed its latest inspection with flying colours.

Flying Start Nursery in Sauchie has received straight fives, the second highest rating possible, in all areas following an unannounced visit by the Care Inspectorate last month.

The quality of care, play and learning, the setting, the leadership and staff team all received grades of “very good”, just short of the top mark of “excellent”.

Children and staff, who were praised by management for their ongoing efforts, came together to celebrate the achievement a few weeks ago (pictured).

Jodie McCutcheon, nursery manager, told the Advertiser: “The nursery is just like a big family for us really, we've got great working relationships with all our families.

“The girls [staff] have worked very hard to maintain a consistently high standard of care and we always go over and above to ensure we get the right care for every child.

“I just couldn't be more proud of what we've achieved – especially after Covid, it was just quite daunting because it was a new way of inspecting as well so we are just extremely proud of the outcome.”

According to inspectors, the positive ethos within the service meant that a culture of respect and inclusiveness was embedded.

The nursery was praised for its effective communication with families, which meant partnership working with parents was well established throughout the nursery with children's changing needs regularly updated.

The inspection report added: “Children benefited from a well organised environment where a range of activities supported their learning and development.

“We saw that children use their imagination, curiosity and investigation. Staff used questions to support children to talk about their learning and used their ideas to develop their play.

“As a result we saw that children were busy and fully engaged in a wide variety of learning experiences, both indoors and outdoors.”

The environment was deemed “warm, welcoming and well organised” with appropriate resources that suited children's development and learning in each room.

Leadership was also praised thanks to a clear focus on self-evaluation and quality assurance with a shared vision for the development of the service.

The full report is available on the Care Inspectorate's website.