A NURSERY has been praised for its “warm and nurturing care” after impressing inspectors during an unannounced visit.

Pear Tree Nursery Meadowpark in Haddington received the promising report from the Care Inspectorate last month.

Inspectors gave three ratings of ‘good’ (for care, play and learning; leadership; and the staff team) and one of ‘adequate’ (for the setting) following the visit, which took place last October.

The report outlined a single requirement, calling for action to ensure that nappy changing facilities complied with best practice guidance and protected children from the risk of infection.

The nursery caters for a maximum of 58 children not yet attending primary school at any one time.

The report said: “Children had fun and were happy and relaxed during their time in the setting.

“We saw they were confident around staff and had formed trusting relationships with them.

“Parents spoke positively about the warm nurturing environment and told us: ‘I think they create a great sort of family environment that is close knit’, ‘the staff are a really positive part of my child’s life’ and ‘the staff feel like an extension on the family’.

“This helped children feel safe, secure and loved.”

Improvements to the indoor settings were also highlighted in the report.

The changes were noted by parents and the report added: “In all rooms, staff gave great attention to detail in making sure children had fun and their natural curiosity was stimulated with a range of interesting materials and open ended resources.

“A parent told us: ‘I feel that the facilities are good. I like that there are limited plastic toys and that things are updated and changed regularly.’”

Staff were also praised for their efforts, with many having worked in the nursery for a number of years.

The report reads: “We found staff to be caring and nurturing with a commitment to providing children with a positive experience.

“They were warm and friendly in their approach, which promoted a happy and secure environment.

“Comments received from parents included: ‘The staff are so nurturing and caring and fun! They bring such an enthusiasm to each day and have such a variety of brilliant activities planned which offer learning through play, in addition to free play’, and ‘I feel that the staff really do care for the children and show genuine affection for them all, I don’t get the impression that they’re just doing their job.’

“The staff team worked well together to offer an inclusive environment where children could play and have fun.

“Staff communicated well as a team, helping to ensure that relevant information was shared to meet the day-to-day needs of children.

“Staff were respectful to children and each other, and told us: ‘We are like a family’ and ‘it’s a brilliant place to work’.”

The nursery is one of four in East Lothian owned by Bright Stars Nursery Group which saw their 1,140 hours of funding for free care pulled by East Lothian Council last October after the local authority said it was not meeting the national care standards.

The positive report for the Meadowpark branch comes after its sister branches, on nearby Church Street and West Road, received less glowing reports.

Care Inspectorate staff visited the Church Street branch in September last year and rated all four categories as ‘adequate’.

Meanwhile, a visit to the West Road nursery last October, rated its care, play and learning, and its leadership at the lowest possible level – ‘unsatisfactory’ – and its setting and staff team as ‘weak’. A follow-up visit to the West Road nursery last month continued to highlight issues.