Childminder inspection report. McNeish, Elizabeth Stirling

Transcription

1 Childminder inspection report McNeish, Elizabeth Stirling Inspection completed on 14 October 2015

2 Service provided by: McNeish, Elizabeth Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Inspection Type: Announced (Short Notice) Care services in Scotland, including childminders, cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and set out improvements that must be made. We also investigate complaints about care services and 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. Contact Us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Childminder inspection report page 2 of 14

3 1 Introduction The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at Mrs McNeish provides a childminding service in a residential area of a large town. She has the local school, nursery, parkland and riverside walks close to her home. The wider town and its surrounding countryside also provide many places of interest she can visit with the children in her care. Mrs McNeish is permitted to care for a maximum of six children at any one time under the age of 16 years, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and no more than one is under 12 months. This includes children in Mrs McNeish's own family. This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 27 October Her service aims include: Childminder inspection report - Providing a happy, caring, warm and friendly environment for your child. - Providing a clean environment in which your child can play and learn. - Encouraging creativity, self-expression and imagination through various games and activities. - Promoting your child's good behaviour through praise, encouragement and guidance. - Providing a healthy diet. - Encouraging and developing language and communication through a range of play, story-telling and activities. - Being a positive role model and promoting social skills, encouraging courteous behaviour and respect for others. The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it right for every child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by Scottish Government, GIRFEC is a national approach to working in a consistent way with all children and young people. It is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention. The page 3 of 14

4 Childminder inspection report approach helps services focus on what makes a positive difference for children and young people - and what they can do to improve. Getting it right for every child is being woven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children, young people and their families. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it right for every child. They are: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible; and included. They are often referred to as the SHANARRI indicators. We use these indicators at inspection, to assess how services are making a positive difference for children. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report after an announced (short notice) inspection. This was carried out by one inspector. The inspection took place on Wednesday 14 October 2015 between 10am and 12:30pm. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed self assessment that we asked the childminder to complete and send to us. We sent care standards questionnaires to the childminder to give to parents and carers of children who use the service. During the inspection visit, we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: - We spoke with the childminder. - We observed the childminder working with the child in her care. We looked at: - The Welcome Booklet and newsletters parents receive. - Information the childminder gathers about children to help her plan and a sample of the personal plans she has developed from that. - Written summaries of children's progress the childminder shares with parents. - Written permissions the childminder asks parents for such as giving medicines. - Evidence of the childminder consulting parents about their child's care and support and service improvements. page 4 of 14

5 Childminder inspection report Systems for recording: - Accidents and incidents involving children. - Medicines the childminder has given children. - Risk assessment records showing action the childminder takes to keep children safe. - Evidence of personal development the childminder has undertaken. Views of people using the service There was a baby with the childminder while we visited. The child was happy, enjoying a mix of cuddles from the childminder and time to explore toys. Four parents sent us back completed inspection questionnaires and they were satisfied with the care and support their child was receiving. Two made some additional comments showing things they considered were particular strengths in the childminder's approach: "The childminder always reports back all the great things that (child) gets up to with the childminder or with the other children." "Elizabeth has also helped child develop her writing skills and she can now write her own name." "I am extremely happy with all aspects of the service and my child is very happy." Self assessment Every year all care services complete a 'self assessment' telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this is accurate. We received a completed self assessment from the childminder about how she cares for and supports children, the environment she provides for them and how she manages her childminding service. The childminder told us relevant information about what she thought she does well, how children benefit and what she plans to further develop. She also told us how she involves parents and children who use the childminding service to help her make improvements. page 5 of 14

6 Childminder inspection report What the service did well Mrs McNeish has worked very hard to establish a professional childminding service. She has already done lots of training and reading which has helped her approach follow current practice standards. She is loving and caring and gives children lots of fun things to do indoors and outdoors. Parents are very satisfied with her service and they are confident their children are happy in her care. What the service could do better Mrs McNeish should continue to monitor and maintain the very good standard of service she is providing, using self-evaluation and the views of parents and children to identify improvements. She should consider introducing more play items made from natural materials as she adds to her stock. 2 The grades we awarded We grade the quality of care and support, the quality of the environment and the quality of management and leadership. If the childminder employs an assistant, we also grade the quality of staffing. In each case, we award a grade on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent. Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good 3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection We consider that the childminder was very good at caring for and supporting children. page 6 of 14

7 Childminder inspection report We decided this on the basis of parents' feedback, our time spent observing and speaking with the childminder and the child with her, from records she kept about children in her care and from information about how they spend their time with her. The childminder's approach promoted her effectively meeting children's individual needs. Children's records showed that she gathered detailed information about each child in her care and we could see that she used this to develop a personal plan of care and support for them. Personal plans usually started with the process each child needed to help them settle into her service. Following routines each child was used to at home was an important element of the plans the childminder made which helped the child feel secure and confident in their new surroundings. Once happily settled, we could see that the childminder continued to develop children's plans based on her observations and parent's ongoing involvement. She routinely noted her observations of children's progress in reaching developmental milestones. She also noted observations about further support they needed towards them having positive health and wellbeing experiences - SHANARRI (safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included). She very regularly shared this information and photographs of what each child had been doing with their parents which gave them very good opportunity to comment. Parents also had further opportunity to comment through regular questionnaires. These approaches promoted the childminder and parents discussing and deciding together the support the child needed next and parents having a say about wider service improvements the childminder could make. All four parents who completed our questionnaires agreed that the childminder listened to and acted on their views about their child's development and asked for their feedback about the childminding service. We encourage the childminder to continue to note and date next plans for each child's care and support agreed with parents during review discussions. Parents told us that their child was happy and confident with the childminder and that she treated them fairly and with respect. We could also see that children's experiences with the childminder were very positive. page 7 of 14

8 She was very loving and attentive to the young child with her and the child was relaxed and content as a result. She spoke to the child about what they were doing and encouraged them towards taking their interests further. For example, when the child showed interest in the soft toys on the window sill, the childminder handed them down and then offered the child a related story. This showed the childminder very attuned and responsive to the child which meant they had a say in what they did, even at their very young age. The childminder also nurtured the child's very new skills in walking. She praised them and supported their efforts which pleased the child and encouraged them to try some more steps. A parent told us: "Elizabeth has always kept (child) engaged with lots of different activities. If the weather is OK, then the activities are outdoors." We could see from photographs the very good range of experiences children had. Regular craft activities gave children opportunity to be creative with different materials. Small world play with toys including a doll's house helped children use their imagination. Walking to get to school and nursery, riverside walks and play in the park all made a regular positive contribution to children's physical health, development and fitness. Swimming when there were only a few children in the childminder's care gave those children opportunity for a different type of exercise and for learning about water safety. The childminder is still at an early stage of building her stock of play resources and materials. We spoke with her about keeping in mind items made from natural materials when she is sourcing new things for children to discover and explore. We also spoke with her about offering young children different sensory experiences through playdough, gloop made from cornflour and water and finger paints which can all be made at home with the children. Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Childminder inspection report page 8 of 14

9 Childminder inspection report Recommendations Number of recommendations Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The childminder provided a very good environment for children. We based this on parents' feedback, discussion with the childminder and consideration of where children spent their time indoors and outdoors. We could see that the childminder's home was modern, well maintained and spacious. We concluded therefore that children had pleasant surroundings and plenty of space to play and get involved in a range of activities. The childminder had done several things which made her home welcoming. The home office by the entrance had places for the children to leave their belongings and displays of photographs showing the children currently in her care involved in a range of activities. She had also set up one of her upstairs rooms as a playroom. These things gave a strong message to children that they had a place in her household. The childminder's home also gave children choice and variety which helped them stay content and keep their day interesting. As well as the playroom, they were able to use the living room and sizeable dining kitchen. This meant that, across the day, children could have different places for different activities, play on the floor sometimes and at a table at others and, potentially on their own or with a different choice of playmates. In addition, the childminder had an enclosed garden to the back of her property. Children, therefore, had outdoors as an extra play space choice. The childminder told us that she had not used this garden much to date but that she and the children did use the garden to the front of her home. This was not enclosed and when we discussed that this was therefore not as safe an option, the childminder said that she would most likely use the enclosed garden exclusively in future. We looked at written risk assessments the childminder had prepared. We could see from them that the childminder had identified suitable safety measures to page 9 of 14

10 minimise children coming to harm from potential hazards in her home. Should she use her front garden again with children, she should develop a suitable risk assessment to evidence there are effective measures in place to safeguard children. Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 Childminder inspection report 5 Quality of staffing We only assess this where the childminder employs an assistant. 6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection We consider that the childminder was very good at managing her service. We based this on parents' feedback, policies and records we viewed and discussion with the childminder about service development. We could see that the childminder had worked hard to put in place and maintain professional information and systems to support her childminding. For example, her policies were based on current published practice guidance including policies for infection prevention and giving children medicines. Children's personal plans showed her using up to date information and approaches to planning for children's health, wellbeing and development (GIRFEC and SHANARRI). She used many ways to ensure parents received high quality information about page 10 of 14

11 their child's time with her including an easily readable and informative 'Welcome Booklet' and newsletters, children's daily diaries, detailed and relevant summaries of children's progress and accident records. These things helped towards parents' confidence that their child was receiving a reliable standard of care and support to meet their individual needs. The childminder had also taken it upon herself to find different ways of developing her childminding knowledge and skills in her first year of work. She had undertaken training essential for her to have including child protection, first aid and food safety. She had also sourced training to support a child's behavioural needs which she used successfully to help the child manage their own behaviour better. She also kept up to date with childcare practice developments through the internet, professional reading and keeping in contact with other childminder's. We could see from paperwork and practice she had already reviewed that she was making effective use of what she had learned to keep her service up to date and developing. Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 Childminder inspection report page 11 of 14

12 Childminder inspection report 7 What the service has done to meet any recommendations or requirements we made at our last inspection Previous requirements There are no outstanding requirements. Previous recommendations There are no outstanding recommendations. 8 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at 9 Enforcements No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. 10 Other issues None. page 12 of 14

13 11 Inspection and grading history Childminder inspection report This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 13 of 14

14 To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. You can also read more about our work online. Contact Us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY Other languages and formats Childminder inspection report This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is c?nain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 14 of 14