Welsh nurseries show improved services

Nurseries in Wales have been singled out as having improved the quality of their services, in the annual review by the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales.

The report noted that almost all settings were found to provide nutritious food and that significant year-on-year improvements could be seen in the recruitment processes used by nurseries and their approach to staff training.

The CSSIW also noted that there were 41 more childcare providers in Wales than there had been in the previous year and 1,714 more childcare places. The increases were seen in childminding, full day care, out-of-school care and open access schemes. However, the number of creche settings and places had fallen since the previous year’s review.

Purnima Tanuku, chief executive of the National Day Nurseries Association, said, ‘We are pleased to see nurseries are performing well, and not only making improvements in terms of quality but also growing in numbers. We welcome this report and its recognition of the quality of service offered by nurseries, and we would like to congratulate the sector on this achievement.’