AN IRVINE nursery under scrutiny after two inspection reports branded it 'weak’ and 'unsatisfactory’ is hoping to transform its fortunes.

Towerlands Cottages Nursery and School’s Out Club has been visited by the Care Inspectorate twice in as many months - performing poorly in most areas.

But after implementing a new management structure and following the recommendations of the Care Inspectorate, owners say they have turned things around.

The nursery and after school club is run by East Irvine Nursery and After School Care Limited - the same providers as the now defunct Learning Tree Nursery, which received a damning inspection report in May.

Towerlands Cottages initially received an unannounced visit from the Care Inspectorate on April 3 this year, which found “serious concerns which need to be resolved to ensure the safety, well-being and quality of experiences of the children attending.” A follow-up 'high-intensity’ inspection was carried out on May 21 - the day after the Learning Tree Nursery was inspected - and while some improvements were found to be made, the nursery’s overall scoring had not changed.

The report reads: “The acting manager and staff members were eager to make the necessary improvements to provide positive outcomes for the children using the service. They had started to do so in the weeks between the previous inspection and this second inspection visit. The service’s grades remain the same at this time and will be reassessed at a third inspection visit.” Within both reports, in the areas of Quality of Care and Support, Quality of Environment and Quality of Staffing, the nursery was graded 2 - “Weak”. While for Quality of Management and Leadership it received a grade 1 - “Unsatisfactory”.

But Jean Owen, nursery and out of schools co-ordinator, said even though the gradings had not changed, the immediate improvements put in place by the new manager had already had a positive impact.

She told the Times: “The last monitoring visit following the poor inspection was very positive and the Care Inspectorate will be coming out again in the near future.

“The previous manager has been replaced and the staff are all working very hard to bring the grades up.

“The place has been transformed and we are working very hard to make it a success and we have the support of the parents which is very encouraging.” A spokesman for the Care Inspectorate said there had been some improvements and they hoped to see more in follow-up visits.

He told the Times: “We are working to support improvement at Towerlands Cottages Nursery and Schools Out Club. We have seen some improvement there recently, and will be inspecting again shortly to ensure our requirements for change are made.

“We have been notified of a new management structure also.” The nursery is managed by a voluntary Board of Directors and registered as a charity with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.