This is a concern shared by the Care Commission. We are committed to supporting daycare services to help encourage children to be active and healthy. We have recently published the results of more than 2,000 inspections at nurseries across the country, which looked at how they were providing opportunities for active play.
The findings can be seen in the Active Play in Children's Day Care Services Bulletin published on our website. They show that 84 per cent of nurseries in Scotland were meeting the minimum requirements for physical activity set out in the National Care Standards. The majority were providing appropriate safe and stimulating active play opportunities for children on a regular basis, and staff worked well with the children, meeting their needs with skill and confidence.
Our review also found that the majority of children who required additional support to become involved in active play were receiving the necessary support from nursery staff.
However, of the 2,088 services inspected, 19 local authority, 56 voluntary and 65 private nurseries needed to improve staff training in providing adequate active play opportunities. Fifty-nine private nurseries also needed to improve their facilities and equipment for active play.
While we are encouraging many nurseries to keep up this good work and maintain good practice when it comes to encouraging children to be active and healthy during their play activities, we also expect those that need to improve their provision to do so.
The Care Commission will continue to make sure nurseries lead the way when it comes to offering the best possible opportunities for children to participate in active play.
