Childminder inspection report Little Sparkles Childcare Services Lanark Inspection completed on 07 May 2015
Childminder inspection report Service provided by: Davies, Tania Service provider number: SP2014985762 Care service number: CS2014324421 Inspection Type: Unannounced 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 0845 600 9527 www.careinspectorate.com @careinspect page 2 of 14
1 Introduction The Care Inspectorate (CI) regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 27 May 2014. Requirements and recommendations If we are concerned about some aspect of a service, or think it could do more to improve its service, we may make a recommendation or requirement. - A recommendation is a statement that sets out the actions the care service provider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service but where failure to do so will not directly result in enforcement. Recommendations are based on National Care Standards, relevant codes of practice and recognised good practice. - A requirement is a statement which sets out what is required of a care service to comply with the Public Services Reforms (Scotland) Act 2010 and Regulations or Orders made under the Act, or a condition of registration. Where there are breaches of the Regulations, Orders or conditions a requirement must be made. Requirements are legally enforceable at the discretion of the Inspectorate. Little Sparkles (Tania Davis) provides a childminding service from her family home in the village of Kirkmuirhill, Lanark. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children under the age of 16 years, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than one is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of children of the childminders family. The childminder states her main aims are: Childminder inspection report "To provide a high quality of care for working/studying parents. The service will be reliable and organised to provide a secure, loving and caring environment that promotes learning through play." page 3 of 14
The childminder was seen to provide a warm, welcoming and homely environment for child in her care. We found her friendly and approachable. We viewed the one child who was present during inspection to be relaxed, happy and enjoying their time there. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection that took place on Thursday 7 May 2015 between 12.00 and 14.45pm. We provided the childminder with feedback on Thursday 7 May 2015. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed self-assessment form that we asked the provider to complete and submit to us. We sent out three care standard questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to families who used her service. Parents/carers returned two completed questionnaires before this inspection. During this inspection process, we looked around the areas of the childminder's home used by the minded children and we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: We spoke with: - The childminder - Three minded child who were present during inspection. - One parent. We looked at: - Children's information records - Children's personal plans - Service policy and procedures pack - Risk assessments - Parental permissions - Various communications from parents - Care standards questionnaire - Photographs - Accident recording forms - Training certificates Childminder inspection report page 4 of 14
Childminder inspection report - Registration certificate - Insurance certificates - Medication records. Throughout our inspection, we observed the care provided to the minded children. We saw the children interacting and engaged with each other and with the childminder whilst playing happily with a range of toys. Views of people using the service We sent out three care standard questionnaires and asked the childminder to give them to families who used her service. Prior to inspection, we received two completed questionnaires. Responses in the care standard questionnaire told us that the parents strongly agreed that they were happy with the overall quality of care their child received. Comments they made included: "I have nothing but praise for Tania and Little Sparkles. My child is coming on leaps and bounds and I have Tania to thank for that." "Little Sparkles gets 10 out of 10 from us." "Tania and her family provide a lovely home environment and treat my daughter as one of the family." "As a working parent I miss out on a lot of local activities but I know that my daughter does not and that is thanks to Tania." Three minded children were present during our inspection. We spoke with the children and asked them to tell us about their time with the childminder. The children were happy to tell things they liked to do, they also told us that they were included in making decisions about their care. Throughout the inspection, the children were seen to be enjoying playing with a good range of resources that easily were available to them. 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. The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self-assessment document from the provider. We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this page 5 of 14
Childminder inspection report and with the relevant information included for each heading that we grade services under. The provider identified what it thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes it had planned. The provider told us how the people who used the care service had taken part in the selfassessment process. What the service did well The childminder provided a safe and happy environment for minded children. She had developed good relationships with parents and children to ensure that her service met the needs of the families who used her service. The childminder knew the children well and she planned and delivered good quality care and play experiences for the minded children. What the service could do better We have made two recommendations to the childminder and asked her to address these: - The childminder should expand the personal plans for all the children attending her service to include evidence of parental involvement during the review of these. - The childminder should update her administration of medication recording procedure to reflect the current best practice guidance. 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 4 - Good 5 - Very Good not assessed 5 - Very Good page 6 of 14
3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection Childminder inspection report The childminder provided good opportunities for children and parents to be involved in the development of the service. We saw that children and their families are regularly included as active participants; listened to and offered choices. The childminder had daily discussion with the minded children's families to ensure that their child's needs were properly met. This meant that important information was considered and care decisions made in partnership with families. Parents who returned our care standards questionnaire told us they strongly agreed that the childminder listened to and acted on their views about their child's development needs, culture, interests and personality. There were good opportunities for children's involvement within the service. We observed conversations between the childminder and the children present that encouraged and supported the children to give their views and make decisions. We asked the children to tell us how they helped to decide what they did whilst they were with the childminder. A child told us that they choose activities and toys they wanted to play with. We could see this supported the children to feel included in their care, offered them choices and allowed them to feel that their views were listened to. The children were taken to local parks and local community venues where they were able to participate in activities with their peers and learn to take turns and to co-operate with others. For example, the children went to bookbug sessions at the local library and local toddler groups. We saw photographs showing the children taking part in activities. The photographs were arranged into a scrapbook which enabled the children to show and share their experiences with their parents. A parent we spoke with during our inspection told us "Tania is very good at sharing photographs with us; this suits our family." The childminder had registered her service with the Food Standards Agency. She used Setting the Table best practice guidance to direct her practice. We saw that the childminder involved children in the planning of snack and meal menus. This told us that the childminder supported children to make healthy choices regarding food. The menu including information on food allergens was on display for parents to view and the detail of what each child ate was included in the child's daily diary. page 7 of 14
The childminder had developed children's personal plans. These identified children's individual achievements and the next step goals for the children. We saw that the childminder obtained information she needed to provide suitable care for the children and kept this information up-to-date. However, we noted that the children's personal plans had not been reviewed with parents. We have asked the childminder to involve parents in the reviews of children's personal plans (see Recommendation 1). We asked the childminder to tell us what she did when she had to administer medication to a child in her care. The childminder showed us her medication policy and her recording procedure which she had shared with parents. We felt that the childminder had considered how she would manage the administration of medication to the minded children. However, we have asked the childminder to further develop her medication recording forms to reflect the current guidance including the reason she was administering the medication if it was to be administered on an as required basis. We left the a copy Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding services guidance with the childminder for reference (see recommendation 2). Grade The quality of care and support is graded 4 - Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 2 Childminder inspection report 1. The childminder should expand the personal plans for each child in her care. These should be reviewed at least once in every six month period whilst the service user is in receipt of the service. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to age 16, Standard 4.4: Engaging with Children. page 8 of 14
Childminder inspection report 2. The childminder should update administration, recording and storage of medication procedures in line with the current health guidance on the Management of Medication in daycare and childminding services. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3: Health and Wellbeing. 4 Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found that the childminder's home environment was child friendly, well maintained, clean, warm and welcoming for children attending the service. There was a well-balanced range of toys and resources available we found these to be clean, in good condition, accessible and appropriate for children's individual age and stage of development. On the day of inspection, we saw the children present choosing toys they wanted to play with, allowing them to make choices and to promote their independence. The children told us that they liked the toys available to them and they told us what activities were their favourites. The childminder had a playroom/sunroom which she used for the minded children. A good range of resources were provided there. Children could also use the childminder's living room which had a television and a comfortable sofas for the children to relax on. The childminder's home had a spacious kitchen where the children could bake and help prepare their snacks. The childminder had considered the layout of her rooms creating a warm, nurturing environment that made good use of the space available. We saw that children could choose to play by themselves or with others. There was space for children to eat and rest when they wanted to. To ensure that she provides a safe environment for the children, the childminder told us she cleans her home environment on a daily basis. We saw that the childminder stored all cleaning products securely in a locked cupboard. The childminder told us how she used daily visual checks to make sure her home was hazard free, safe and child friendly. This told us that the childminder page 9 of 14
was vigilant in her care of the minded children. A procedure for recording accidents and incidents was in place and shared with parents. We felt the childminder had considered the procedure she would follow if a child had an accident. The childminder told us she used outdoor play to encourage children to be active and to develop their physical co-ordination. We found this promoted children's general health, well-being, confidence and risk taking. Children had daily access to fresh air and energetic play. The childminder told us she took the children to local community groups on a regular basis. The children also used the back garden for outdoor play. We found the back garden had recently been improved with the addition of artificial grass. The childminder told us that she found this to be safer, cleaner and that it dried very quickly after rain enabling the children to get outdoors more often. We found the garden offered the children a very good range of toys. During our inspection, we viewed the risk assessments that the childminder had completed for her service. Overall we found that these were appropriate. 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. page 10 of 14
Childminder inspection report 6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection We asked the childminder to tell us how she ensured that she was aware of and up to date with best practice and legislation. The childminder told us she keeps up to date with best practice through a variety of ways, including her membership of the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA). She receives regular newsletters and updates from SCMA, including a childminding magazine which she saves as a reference. She accessed relevant training and support. She used the internet to keep abreast of recent childcare developments. We felt that the childminder had taken a balanced approach to keep her skills and professional knowledge current. The childminder told us that she keeps parents up to date with details on courses she is attending and of any changes she makes to her practice as a result of training. She used a range of methods to do this including verbal communication and her newsletter. Since her registration, the childminder had attended a wide range of courses including pediatric first aid, living with Autism, positive play, bullying is never acceptable and completed her food hygiene training. The childminder also told us that as a result of attending training she updates her practice and policies as required. For example, positive play training had improved her understanding of children's challenges and risk taking; this resulted in the purchase on new toys for her garden. This told us that the childminder was taking positive steps in her own continued development by regularly updating her professional skills, practice and knowledge and sharing her skills where appropriate. The childminder had a complaints policy which was made available to parents and families in her parents welcome pack which is issued to parents when they start using her service. The childminder evaluated her service on a regular basis. She consulted with parents and children through regular discussion and using service questionnaires with them. The childminder told us she used the feedback from parents to develop and improve her service. We saw text communications from page 11 of 14
parents with information that the childminder had responded to. This ensured that parents were actively involved in the planning and review of the service and that the childminder had responded to parents suggestions to improve her service. Throughout our inspection we found that the childminder did not regularly date her paperwork, including questionnaires and feedback from parents. We have asked the childminder to date her paperwork in future this will allow her to track the progress of her service. The childminder told us she will do this. 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 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. page 12 of 14
Childminder inspection report 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 www.careinspectorate.com. 9 Enforcements No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection 10 Other issues none 11 Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 13 of 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 enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 www.careinspectorate.com @careinspect 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?in eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 14 of 14