Hendry, Shona Child Minding

Transcription

1 Hendry, Shona Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 15 January 2018 Service provided by: Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS

2 The service Introduction Shona Hendry provides a childminding service from her family home. The premises were a mid terraced house with children being cared for on the ground floor with use of the WC on the mid section of the house. Children had the use of two main areas which were suitable for the purpose of childminding. The home is within easy walking distance of nurseries, schools and parks. Current registration allows the childminder to: To provide a care service to a maximum of six children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom a maximum of six will be under 12, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than one is under 12 months. On Tuesdays and Thursdays between the times of 15:00-17:00, the childminder may care for a maximum of eight children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than four are not yet attending primary school. Timescale until 31 August If any child leaves the service prior of the expiry date the above condition become redundant. Numbers are inclusive of children of the childminder's family. Minded children cannot be cared for by persons other than those named on the certificate. Overnight service will not be provided. An application to vary these conditions is currently pending. The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 1 April What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following a short announced inspection on Monday, 15th January 2018 between the hours of 10:00 and 12:00 noon. We spoke with the childminder and saw how she interacted with the young minded child. We saw where care was offered and the toys and resources available. We sampled some records and looked at the child's personal plan. Before the inspection we sent three parental care standards questionnaires (CSQ's) to the childminder to distribute on our behalf. We received two completed responses which we used to help us evaluate the service. We check services are meeting the principles of 'Getting It Right For Every Child' (also known as GIRFEC), Scotland's national approach to improving outcomes and wellbeing for children by offering the right help at the right time from the right people. It supports them and their parent(s) to work with services that can help them. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of 'Getting It Right For Every Child': Safe, Healthy, Achieving, Nurtured, Active, Respected, Responsible and Included. for Hendry, Shona page 2 of 9

3 Views of people using the service There was one very young child present during the inspection. As she was unable to provide verbal feedback about her experiences, we used our observations to gauge how she was enjoying the childminder's service. She was happy and familiar with where to find her favourite toys. Parents comments included: "I am very happy with Shona. She is kind, caring and very accommodating. (e.g. if late picking up due to work commitments) I do not think there is anything I could suggest to improve her service, she is great." Self assessment We spoke with the childminder about how she could continue to improve her self assessment to benefit her service. What the service did well We found the childminder to offer a safe and comfortable service to minded children. She supported the minded child well and encouraged her during play. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to develop and improve children's personal plans. This should ensure that each minded child's health, safety and wellbeing needs are being planned for and met effectively. We asked that the childminder develops her training plan to ensure core training such as child protection and first aid are renewed on a regular basis. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership not assessed Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The child present was cared for in a sensitive way by the childminder, who was familiar with her likes and dislikes. We saw how the childminder chatted with the child as she played and she helped to extend her play by offering different toys. for Hendry, Shona page 3 of 9

4 Parents using the service told us: "After school, there is limited time, but they often go to the ark on the way home if the weather allows, or play/ watch t.v at Shona's house. Shona also tries to help with collecting and dropping off at after-school clubs my children like to go to. She is very good" "I am extremely happy that my (child) is given a wide range of activities throughout the day with the childminder, from local toddler groups, parks, walking and playing with other children. She has been given many opportunities to thrive" This showed us that the childminder was flexible and wanted to follow children's interests and support family patterns.the childminder told us she listened to what children wanted to do, particularly the older children as they enjoyed arts and crafts which she provided. We saw how the childminder recorded children's information, called Personal Plans. These plans are designed to help minded children be cared for in a way which supports their development. We found there were still areas which could be improved. We spoke to the childminder about how she could develop these records and left her a copy of a sample plan to help with this. The childminder told us she made good use of daily diaries. These helped with communication with home and we found that she encouraged good relationships with parents. Parents told us: "..I have been involved in discussions about my childminder applying for a variation." "She has consulted me on changes, such as increased hourly rate or how often I wanted a more 'formal review' of her services. I am happy with all of that and her approach" We spoke with the childminder about providing healthy nutritious snacks and drinks. She was correctly registered with the Environmental Health department and knew about the best practice document for young children's food provision. When we spoke to the childminder about how she managed behaviour, we found that she used her years of experience to manage this well, using discussions with parents to set guidelines. She took a positive approach to supporting them and helped with simple 'house rules'. The childminder understood her role in protecting children from harm or abuse. She needed to refresher the training previously attended to ensure she maintains this level of knowledge. We have made a recommendation about this in the Management and Leadership section of this report. She had some understanding of the principles of GIRFEC, (see introduction in this report for details) but we suggested she uses this more fully in her work with children. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 for Hendry, Shona page 4 of 9

5 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We looked at the areas used for childminding purposes and how the environment supported children's wellbeing. From the information we gathered, we found that the quality of environment was Good. We found that the home was safe and secure and the childminder was attentive to safety risks. We discussed how she could ensure children could experience a risk:benefit approach. This would support them to be able to help make decisions and extend their skills, particularly when playing outdoors. We recommended that she uses the Care Inspectorate document, 'My World Outdoors' with children and parents to explore this more fully. Minded children were free to choose from a range of toys and resources. We saw that the young child was able to influence her play and the childminder helped her to reach stored toys she was interested in. This shows that the child's interests and wishes were respected. The childminder told us that she used the local community to extend children's interests, such as parks and toddler groups. We chatted to the child about what she liked to do. The premises presented as clean and tidy and the childminder encouraged children to help to tidy up which meant that they were encouraged to be responsible. Parents, through their replies to our questionnaires, told us that they were satisfied with the rooms used by minded children. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - good Quality of staffing This quality theme was not assessed. Quality of management and leadership for Hendry, Shona page 5 of 9

6 Findings from the inspection From the evidence gathered during the inspection, we found the service to be performing at a good standard in this quality theme. After speaking with the childminder and sampling some of her policies and records, we found that she had made good efforts to keep up to date with childcare matters. We directed the childminder to the Care Inspectorate online library, The Hub, for continuing her learning about current childcare matters. We shared a copy of our new document, Our Creative Journey to help her explore the topic to benefit minded children. As the childminder was a member of the Scottish Childminder Association, she benefitted from their Public Liability Insurance and record keeping templates. She had attended some training but was unable to say how she had used this training to develop and improve what she does. She had not refreshed her training on child protection so we asked that she attends a suitable course. We suggested that she makes contact with the Dumfries and Galloway Scottish Childminding Association in relation to future training needs. We asked that she complete reflective accounts of her learning and have made a recommendation about this, below. The childminder told us how she encouraged effective communication with families. She used written diaries to share information which was welcomed by some families. Parents told us they were happy with the level of consultation provided by the childminder, but we suggested she includes them and older children in her self assessment process to improve this further. As noted in the 'self assessment' section of this report, we asked that the childminder continues to improve how she evaluates what she does, making it a more reflective account of what she does. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. To ensure that the childminder is working to high professional standards, she should ensure she put learning into practice through reflective accounts. She should attend training relating to Child Protection. Reference: National Care Standards, early education and childcare up to the age of 16. Standard 3 Health and Wellbeing Standard 13 Improving the service Grade: 4 - good for Hendry, Shona page 6 of 9

7 What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at or since the last inspection Previous requirements There are no outstanding requirements. What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection Previous recommendations Recommendation 1 The childminder should introduce a system to ensure she is reviewing the information she has on each child, within their personal plan, at least every six months. This recommendation was made on 27 October Action taken on previous recommendation Although the childminder had worked on improving the personal plans since the previous inspection, there was still an opportunity to develop these further. We spoke with the childminder about how she could achieve this. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. for Hendry, Shona page 7 of 9

8 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 27 Oct 2014 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 5 - Very good 2 Sep 2010 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership Not assessed 11 Jun 2009 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 19 Dec 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership for Hendry, Shona page 8 of 9

9 To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Find us on Facebook Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. for Hendry, Shona page 9 of 9