Fraser, Alison Inverness Inspection completed on 30 June 2016
Service provided by: Fraser, Alison Service provider number: SP2005949052 Care service number: CS2005101607 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 0345 600 9527 www.careinspectorate.com @careinspect page 2 of 13
1 Introduction Childminder inspection report The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred its registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011. 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 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. Alison Fraser is registered as a childminder to care for 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 of whom no more than one is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of children of the childminder's family. Alison Fraser provides a childminding service from her home in a quiet, residential area in the Kinmylies area of Inverness. She made use of the kitchen, lounge and toilet. There was an enclosed garden to the rear of the house which the childminder made very good use of. The childminder also made regular use of the local parks, woods, walks and other local resources to offer the children the opportunity to be healthy, active and have access to fresh air and exercise. page 3 of 13
What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection. This was carried out by one inspector. The inspection took place on 30 June 2016, between 9:30am and 11:00am. We gave feedback to the childminder on the day of the inspection. We sent care standards questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to parents and carers of children who attend the service. Four parents completed and returned a questionnaire. During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources including the following: - Discussion with the childminder - Observation of interaction between the childminder and the child present - Children's records - Policies and procedures - Information folder made available to parents and carers - Certificate of registration and public liability insurance - Examination of the premises. Views of people using the service There was one toddler present during the inspection. She was asleep throughout the visit. The childminder was very attentive to the sleeping child and regularly checked her. The parents who completed and returned the care standards questionnaires were very positive in their comments about the standard of care provided by the childminder. They all strongly agreed with the statement; 'Overall, I am happy with the quality of care my child receives in this service'. Comments made included: 'More than happy with all activities and outings. Varied and fun. Ensures child gets outside if weather allows'. 'Alison is very approachable'. 'I can't thank her enough for everything she has done to date'. 'She keeps a daily diary/communication book which is really useful for me'. 'I trust Alison implicitly and am very happy with the service she provides'. 'I get updates of their day activity. Keeps me reassured'. 'They go out for walks which is an important must for me'. page 4 of 13
'I don't worry and know my child is in good care and safe hands'. 'My child is always happy to see Alison and is still smiling when I go to pick her up'. 'This service is what parents need'. 'Very good communication with both parents over any concerns'. 'Regularly taken on walks, visits to parks etc'. 'Great range of toys and equipment - age appropriate'. 'Would highly recommend her childminding service and will continue to call on her as long as she will have us'. 'She keeps me well informed and I feel my views are respected and my son is well cared for'. 'They go for walks and to the park most days'. 'I feel confident leaving my son in Alison's care'. 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 childminder had completed and submitted a self assessment. She highlighted examples of things she did well and other areas she was proposing to develop. What the service did well The childminder provided a flexible, child orientated service which was very much appreciated by both the children and their parents and carers. She was committed to working in partnership with families to meet the needs of the children attending. The childminder was very attentive to the child throughout the inspection. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to keep up to date with current best practice and access any relevant training. She should routinely update her policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect and take account of current best practice. page 5 of 13
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 3 Quality of care and support Childminder inspection report not assessed Findings from the inspection We found that the childminder provided very good care and support for the children. We were able to see that the childminder's practice supported very good outcomes for each child and we were able to gather information to support this. It was a priority for the childminder to establish close working relationships with parents and carers, which allowed for open communication and information sharing. She explained that she had worked with several of the families for a number of years and they had a very relaxed, friendly and open relationship. This was confirmed by the comments parents made in the completed care standards questionnaires. It was important to the childminder to work with parents and carers to ensure that she met the individual needs of the children attending. She explained that she initially met with parents and their children to talk about the service she provided and to get background information about the child's interests, activities, food preferences, toilet training and so on, to ensure continuity of care and ensure that each child was safe, healthy and nurtured. The childminder used the information she received from parents and carers to individualise the service for each child attending. From our observations and discussions with the childminder, it was very evident that she knew each of the children in her care extremely well. The childminder had in place appropriate written records for each child, which contained relevant page 6 of 13
background information and details of the child's routine. She completed these records with parents and carers and routinely reviewed them to ensure that they were still up to date. The childminder shared information with the parents informally on a daily basis at drop off and collection times. She completed daily diaries which allowed for two way communication. The childminder made use of the telephone, text messaging and social media to share information and to keep in contact with parents. She also shared with parents photographs of their children taking part in various activities. Comments from parents indicated that they greatly appreciated the opportunity to chat with the childminder at collection time and to find out how their child's day had been. Involving parents/carers and the children, in the ongoing evaluation of the service was important to the childminder. She explained that she tended to get most feedback informally when talking to parents and carers at the end of the day when they came to collect their children. She had also previously made use of questionnaires. The childminder explained that she respected and included the children through encouraging them to express their feelings and by listening to them and taking account of their suggestions. The childminder encouraged the children to develop their imaginative play and activities were very much child led. Comments from parents indicated that they were very happy with the range of activities provided. The children learned about how to keep themselves safe, be healthy and active during various daily activities. The childminder encouraged good hand hygiene and spoke to the children about the importance of washing their hands before meals and after messy play and going to the toilet. The childminder stated that the children she care for all loved being outdoors and consequently they were outdoors for much of the time. The children learnt about road safety while out for walks and visits to the local parks and woods. The childminder had attended training to allow her to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to keep children safe. She had previously attended first aid training and knew how to respond in the event of a child having an accident. The childminder had a policy and procedure in relation to the safe storage and administration of medication. We discussed with the childminder the need to page 7 of 13
review and develop this policy to ensure that it was up to date and reflected current best practice. Grade The quality of care and support is graded Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 4 Quality of environment Childminder inspection report Findings from the inspection We found that the childminder's premises were very child friendly, clean, well maintained and welcoming for the children attending. Ensuring the health and safety of the children was important to the childminder. We based this on our observations of the premises, resources and play equipment used and the policies and procedures in place. The childminder ensured that children in her care were safe and healthy by maintaining her premises, equipment and toys to a very high standard. The childminder explained that she checked the equipment on a daily basis as she took it out and then again when she put it away. Toys and equipment were cleaned on a very regular basis. The childminder made very good use of the space available both indoors and outdoors. Comments from parents in the care standards questionnaires indicated that they were very happy with the space available to the children to take part in a range of activities and that the premises were safe and secure. Children attending the service were kept safe through the various systems the childminder had in place including risk assessments, where the childminder identified any risks around the house and putting appropriate measures in place. The childminder routinely reviewed the risk assessments for her premises and garden and maintained written records. The children enjoyed spending time outdoors most days. It was important to the childminder that the children had regular access to fresh air and had the page 8 of 13
opportunity to take part in physical exercise and play. The childminder stated that very good use was made of the garden where there was a range of toys and equipment. The childminder also routinely took the children out for walks and visits to the local parks, woods and the floral hall. When out for walks, the childminder ensured that the children learnt about road safety, how to cross the road safely, use a pedestrian crossing, stranger danger and how to play safe outdoors in a public area. The childminder involved parents and carers in ensuring their children were safe while in her care. She asked parents for their consent for various activities including outings and applying sun cream. She also asked parents to review and sign any accident and incident reports. Grade The quality of environment is graded Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 5 Quality of staffing We only assess this where the childminder employs an assistant. 6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection The childminder managed the service to a very good standard. Childminder inspection report The childminder had in place a range of policies and procedures which she routinely reviewed. These ensured that children were safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included. We discussed the importance of ensuring that all policies and procedures took account of current best practice guidance. The childminder recognised the importance of ensuring that she had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children. The childminder had attended child protection and first aid training. She stated that there were fewer training events being run locally at a time when she could page 9 of 13
attend. We spoke about the different options available to her to access training including online training. We also spoke about directly contacting local training providers including the Scottish Childminding Association, the local authority and Care and Learning Alliance. We discussed with the childminder how she could apply for possible funding to pay for training. The childminder explained that she kept up to date with best practice and got ideas as to how she could develop her service by reading various publications such as SCMA magazine and regular Care Inspectorate publications. We spoke to the childminder about the Care Inspectorate 'Hub' where she could access other useful information, new publications, best practice guidance and keep up to date with any changes to relevant legislation. The childminder routinely met up with other local childminder's. She stated that this was helpful as it allowed them to discuss issues and share good practice and ideas. It was also an opportunity for the children they minded to play with each other. Parents and carers were involved in the assessment and development of the service. The childminder encouraged them to give regular feedback and suggestions. The childminder explained that she routinely spoke with the children and their parents and carers to ask for their comments and ideas. The childminder had in place a clear complaints policy and procedure which she shared with all parents and carers. There had been no complaints at the time of the inspection. Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Childminder inspection report page 10 of 13
Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 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 www.careinspectorate.com. 9 Enforcements No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. 10 Other issues 11 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 22 Jun 2012 Announced (Short Notice) Care and support Environment page 11 of 13
Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 20 May 2010 Announced (Short Notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed Not Assessed 17 Jun 2009 Announced Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 27 Jun 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership 4 - Good 4 - Good 4 - Good 4 - Good page 12 of 13
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 cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 13 of 13