Nursery served with improvement notice after it was found 'not to be safe'

Childcare facility failing in five areas including safety

An inspection at a Douglas nursery has identified failings which put the safety of children in its care at risk.

Issues with cleanliness, a lack of training - and staff not putting children's needs first - are among the problems highlighted following an assessment at Puddleducks.

But the Department of Health and Social Care says despite this it’s not at the stage of using its regulatory powers to deregister the service.

Puddleducks Nursery is located on Raphael Road in Douglas and – on its Facebook page – describes itself as ‘a place where children aged two to five years can flourish and develop at their own pace’.

The Department of Health and Social Care’s Registration and Inspection Team visited the facility for a two-day announced inspection last month.

It’s now published its Annual Inspection Report for 2022-2023 which you can find HERE.

The inspector looked at five aspects of the nursery - asking whether it’s safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

In all five areas the service was failing.

Concerns were raised about the poor condition of the play resources and equipment, the limited choice of toys and a lack of support for children who have difficulties with communication.

The report lists dust and dirt in sleeping cots, a badly stained toilet seat and a changing mat filled with dirt and sand among the cleanliness issues at the nursey, as well as tiles being splashed with food and liquid and a hand sink covered in dried paint.

Record keeping was also found to be a problem area, with dates not being recorded correctly, out of date nappy cream not being labelled and an attendance register in an illegible condition after being left in reach of children who had drawn on it.

The nursery, which has more than 60 children on its register, had ineffective restrictors on some windows during the inspection, posing a risk, while radiator pipes had not been made inaccessible and trailing wires were found in two playrooms.

The inspectors are calling for more training to be done after it was discovered three staff had not completed safeguarding training, while first aid training and fire awareness training was found not to be up to date.

Those carrying out the inspection found children with communication issues didn't have access to picture cards to express themselves.

When asked how a child tells staff they need the toilet or is hungry, the inspectors received no response.

There were also issues with the service not promoting equality, diversity or inclusion, resources that don't reflect cultural diversity, disabilities or impairment, and a lack of representation of different family groups.

Concerns have also been raised over the manager's understanding of regulatory requirements and responsibilities and a lack of clear leadership or guidance on managing the behaviour of children.

The registered manager told inspectors they did not feel supported by the current responsible person and that there had not been one-to-one supervision since they took up the post.

The report says there has been some change of staffing over the last 12 months - with three new employees starting their roles before all pre-employment checks had been completed.

However it did find staff morale has improved, and the team is getting on well, and there have been no complaints made to the nursery since the last inspection.

The findings of the inspection have been escalated to the Head of the Registration and Inspection Team.

MHK Joney Faragher is the chair of the Quality and Safety Committee.

She’s told Manx Radio: “I do accept that people may not fully understand how providers are held to account by the department.

“I’d like to reassure people that the service in question has been served with an improvement notice with the clear advisory that enforcement action may be taken in the event that the department’s concerns are not robustly addressed within an appropriate period of time.

“I’d also like to reassure parents that, in the event of genuine safety concerns for children in a nursery setting, the department can and will always consider using its regulatory powers to deregister a service. That is not the stage we are at.”

Manx Radio has invited Puddleducks' parent company Adorn Domiciliary Care to respond.