The service manager of a childcare group in Mauchline says she and her staff were “overwhelmed” by a glowing report from inspectors.

The Burns Bairns under-fives group received a visit from the scrutiny body at the end of last year, which has now led to the group receiving an extremely positive report from the Care Inspectorate.

In their report the inspectors said: “We spoke to children informally about nursery during our visit. We observed happy and relaxed children who were having fun and were engaged in learning through their play.

“Overall, parents were very happy with the level of care and support their children received.”

The report graded the service’s care and support, and also its management and leadership, as ‘very good’, while the environment and staffing were rated ‘good’.

Service manager Clare Dykes said she couldn’t believe how positive the report was, and admitted the inspectors’ findings made it feel like all the hard work put in by staff during the pandemic has been well worth it.

She told the Chronicle: “It was indescribable when we read the report.

“I think because we had worked so hard to make sure the environment was the best it could be, and with Covid making everything more difficult, it gave us a feeling that everything was worth it.

“To get that recognition for the hard work was overwhelming.

“We celebrated with the kids and we shared all the feedback. Some staff were reduced to tears because of what’s gone on.”

The seven-strong team of staff set out to ensure that the kids’ experience was as fulsome as it could be during the pandemic, with some practises remaining even after all restrictions are lifted.

Clare continued: “We’re always trying to do the best we can for kids.

“Covid has been really difficult for the kids. I know they are resilient but some of them haven’t been out to parties or things like that and some of them don’t fully understand what’s going on, so to try and tell them they can’t see one friend was difficult.

“Not being able to have parents and guardians in was difficult as well, but it helped us improve on our social media platforms and our other interactive ways, so I suppose the pandemic hasn’t been all bad.

“I just want to thank all my staff and make sure they get the credit they deserve, because this report was down to a real team effort and we should all be proud of this.”