The Windmills Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 20 September 2017 Service provided by: Sandra Gallacher and Michele Brough a partnership trading as The Windmills Service provider number: SP2009973390 Care service number: CS2009195419
The service Introduction When Sandra Gallacher and Michelle Brough are working together the care service may be provided to a maximum of nine children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than six are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than two is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. When Sandra Gallacher is working alone or Michelle Brough is working alone, the care service may be provided to a maximum of six children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and no more than one is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. The service will be provided at the address detailed in the notice granting registration. Alison McMahon may be employed as a relief assistant to the service. This service registered with the Care Inspectorate in April 2011. The service is provided from a semi-detached family home situated in the east side of the city of Dundee. The house has a fully enclosed rear garden suitable for outdoor play. All areas to which children have access are attractively decorated, bright, light, child centred and inviting. The objectives and aims of the service "is to ensure a safe, warm and secure environment. This will allow the children to develop their own personalities and independence while they are being stimulated throughout the time they are in our care." There were four minded children attending the service on the day of inspection. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection, which took place on Wednesday 20 September 2017 between 9.40am and 11.30am. A Care Inspectorate Early Years Inspector carried out the inspection. During the inspection, we spoke to the childminders and the minded children present. We observed the care given by the childminders, their interactions with the minded children and looked at a number of documents including health and safety records, planning, personal care plans and training information. 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 parents to work with the 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. page 2 of 9
Views of people using the service There were four minded children present during the inspection. They were aged three years, one year, nine months and eight months old. They were all relaxed and confident around the childminders and each other. They happily played with a variety of age/stage appropriate toys during the visit. The oldest child spoke with us about what she liked doing at the service, the foods and snacks they were given and the outings the children went on. We sent out care standard questionnaires to the childminders to distribute to parents. We received two completed questionnaires before the inspection was carried out. The parents strongly agreed that overall they were happy with the quality of care and support their child received in the service. Additional comments included: "(Child's name) has developed in leaps and bounds since starting this service and she absolutely loves going here. I love the fact that they provide details about her development and I am kept updated about what she is doing /where they are every time she is there by pictures of her sent to me and my husband on WhatsApp. It makes me happy to know that (Child's name) is happy and safe in their care." "I honestly can't think of anyone else I trust more with my daughter. (Child's name) is 3 now and has been with Sandra and Michelle since she was 5 months old. She has come on great and I owe a lot of that credit to those two. So much so, my youngest child will also be joining their group. I can't recommend The Windmills enough. And could never thank them enough for all they do." Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a completed self-assessment document from the provider. We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this and with the relevant information included under each heading that we grade the services. What the service did well The childminders provide a welcoming, fun, inclusive and nurturing environment. They have developed very good relationships with children and families and work in partnership with parents to provide quality care and support to children. page 3 of 9
What the service could do better The childminders should continue to involve children and parents in the development of the service. The childminders should continue to identify and access a range of training opportunities to further develop knowledge, skills and practice. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good not assessed 5 - Very Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminders were friendly, caring and nurturing. They knew the children well and were responsive to them. The children were relaxed around the childminders and involved them in their play. We observed sensitive interactions from both childminders with language and vocabulary encouraged. The service was child led with children's needs and interests supported daily. We observed the children choose what they wanted to play with during the inspection. The oldest child was happy to share with us the various activities and outings she was involved in while at the service. The childminders worked in partnership with parents to care for and support the children. Information had been gathered about each child to support the childminders in caring for them. This information was reviewed at least every six months with parents to ensure it was current and relevant to the children. The childminders had introduced the Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) wellbeing indicators into the personal plans. We reminded the childminders to date and sign the information on review or update, as this would help their management of the children's plans. Healthy lifestyles were encouraged at the service through nutritious snacks and lunches and daily opportunities for active play. The childminders provided healthy snacks and lunches, taking into consideration children's likes/ dislikes and nutritional guidance. They were registered as food providers. Children had daily opportunities to access fresh air and physical play, for example, playing in the garden, going to toddler groups, feeding the ducks, running around parks and having walks around the local environment. page 4 of 9
The childminders were very aware of their responsibilities in protecting children and keeping them safe. They had refreshed their child protection knowledge through an online course and were confident in the procedure they would follow should they have a concern about a child. A child protection policy was in place and had the contact details for the local child protection team. This policy was shared with parents to keep them informed and included. The service had an appropriate system in place for the storage and administration of medication. The medication record followed best practice guidance and a policy informed parents of what medication the childminders were happy to administer and the relevant consents that would be necessary before this was carried out. We asked that the medication policy be updated and include parents should give the first dose of all new medication in case of allergic reaction. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found the childminding environment to be warm, bright and child centred. Daily cleaning chores ensured the home was clean and tidy for the minded children. Visual risk assessments were carried out before children attended in the morning to ensure all risks and hazards were minimised. Written risk assessments were in place, reviewed regularly to confirm that the risk assessments were current, and remained relevant to the service. The childminders made good use of the space available to them in the home. The dining kitchen was used mostly for childminding but children also had access to other areas of the home including the playroom. A range of age/stage appropriate resources were easily accessible to the children, who chose independently what they wanted to play with throughout the inspection visit. We observed the children exploring and investigating the toys and resources. Toys and resources we saw appeared well maintained and suitable for purpose. Children had the opportunity to access fresh air and active play in the fully enclosed garden. We saw photographs of the children having fun with the outdoor toys and equipment. Infection control measures were in place at the service. Children were encouraged and supported by the childminders to wash their hands before eating and after toileting, nappy changing and playing outdoors. The childminders also washed their hands regularly. Some of the younger children were at the age/stage of putting toys in their mouths and the childminders were vigilant in ensuring toys/resources were thoroughly washed or cleaned regularly. The spread of infection was also minimised with the childminders wearing disposable aprons and gloves when nappy changing or dealing with bodily fluids. page 5 of 9
Accidents and incidents were recorded and the information shared with parents. Parents signed the record to confirm the information had been shared by the childminders and received a copy of the record for their own information. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of staffing This quality theme was not assessed. Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection The childminders received regular communications from The Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) and Care Inspectorate, which kept them updated with best practice and legislation. They also accessed childminding forums on social media, online research and met regularly with local childminders, which gave them the opportunity to talk about legislation, best practice and childminding topics. Policies and procedures were reviewed regularly and updated as needed to ensure they continued to follow best practice guidance. A complaints policy was shared with parents when children first attended the service. Parents were made aware that complaints could be made to the Care Inspectorate and contact details were included in the policy. The service had not operated fully during the last year due to the serious illness of a family member. The childminders had continued to access professional development opportunities as best they could during this time. Their first aid was in date and they had undertaken training such as, GIRFEC, Child Protection and Building the Ambition. They shared their learning with each other for the benefit of their practice and providing positive outcomes for the children. We encouraged the childminders to continue to identify and access relevant training opportunities, which would further develop knowledge, skills and practice. Parents and children were actively encouraged to evaluate the service and feedback to the childminder's. This was through daily discussions and routine questionnaires. The childminder's told us parents were very happy with the service provided. This was confirmed in the returned questionnaires we received. page 6 of 9
Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good 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 There are no outstanding recommendations. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. page 7 of 9
Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 26 Nov 2015 Unannounced Care and support Environment Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 5 Dec 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 21 Feb 2012 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Not assessed Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 9 Jun 2010 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed page 8 of 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 www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @careinspect 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. page 9 of 9