Childminder inspection report Thrussell, Gaynor Livingston Inspection completed on 21 June 2016
Childminder inspection report Service provided by: Gaynor Thrussell Service provider number: SP2006959983 Care service number: CS2010247962 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 12
1 Introduction Childminder inspection report The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Prior to 1 April 2011, this function was carried out by the Care Commission. Information in relation to all care services is available on our website at www.scswis.com This service was registered as a day care of children's service on 1 April 2011. We are committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. The Care Inspectorate has an important role to play in supporting this approach in inspecting care services for children. The Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) approach is underpinned by the principles of prevention and early intervention. It is a consistent way for people to work with all children and young people. The approach helps practitioners focus on what makes a positive difference for children and young people - and how they can act to deliver these improvements. Getting it Right for Every Child is being threaded through all existing policy, practice, strategy and legislation affecting children, young people and their families. The childminder is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 6 children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom a maximum of 6 will be under 12, of whom no more than 3 are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than 1 is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. The childminder's service is provided from a mid terraced two storey house in Livingston. The service is close to local amenities and served with good bus links. Children had the use of an enclosed rear garden, where they could engage in active play experiences. The written aims and objectives of the service included the following statement: 'I aim to provide a safe and fun environment for children in my care. Parents will be encouraged to inform me of their children's likes and dislikes to allow me to cater for their individual play as well as encouraging joining in with other activities. I aim to have a quarterly feedback form for parents to complete to page 3 of 12
Childminder inspection report inform me of any likes and dislikes and how their children are either enjoying or not enjoying their time in my care.' What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection on Tuesday 3 May 2016. One Inspector undertook this inspection. The visit took place between 9:30 am and 11:15 am. We gave feedback to the childminder about our findings during the inspection. As part of the inspection, we looked at the self assessment, which is what we ask services to complete and submit to us. During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: - Children's personal information - Accident and medication records - Discussion with the childminder and observations of the interaction between her and the child present at the time of inspection - We also looked at the toys and equipment which were available to the children and the environment. Views of people using the service There was one child present during this inspection. The child appeared comfortable in the childminder's care. The interaction between them both reflected a warm and nurturing relationship. parents made the following comments: "Gaynor is a fantastic Childminder, very caring and has a great relationship with daughter. My daughter shouts for Gaynor and her kids especially first thing in the morning and weekends when she is not even going to Gaynor's which is great!" "She is caring toward the children and provides a homely environment for them." page 4 of 12
Childminder inspection report 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. A good self assessment was submitted. For future inspections the childminder should take into account the national well-being indicators, to demonstrate how she is improving outcomes for children using this model. What the service did well The childminder had continued to provide families with a high standard of care and support. Children were provided with a wide range of play experiences to promote their learning. Parents sent us their views on the service they received, we have included these in the body of this report. Responses from parents highlighted that they valued their childminder very much. What the service could do better The childminder needs to remember to ensure that any information held on children is reviewed by parents six monthly or sooner. 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 not assessed 4 - Good page 5 of 12
3 Quality of care and support Childminder inspection report Findings from the inspection We found the childminder to be performing well in this area. We confirmed this after observing the interaction between the childminder and the child in her care. We also took account of the comments made by parents who used this service. The childminder had very good methods in place for settling children into her service. For example she encouraged prospective parents to visit with their child for the first few times to enable the child to become familiar in their new surroundings in the company of their parents. This helped the child to feel secure because they could explore their new environment from a safe base. Gathering relevant information, such as routines, likes and dislikes ensured that in the first few days the childminder could meet their specific needs and provide activities to support the settling in process. Mirroring daily routines further contributes to children feeling safe because the care they received was similar to the way their parents cared for them. A parent told us: "Gaynor makes sure I'm updated with everything and love to read her diary each day I come home to find out what she has ate and been up to all day!" Chatting to parents at drop off and pick up times allowed them to pass over information that they felt was important to their child's care needs. For example if a parent told the childminder that their child had ate very little for breakfast then the childminder was mindful that the child may need a little extra food at snack time. This practice demonstrated to the child that the childminder cared about them and this made them feel nurtured. Children were supported to achieve because the childminder worked closely with parents to promote their development. Supporting particular areas of the child's progress, such as potty training meant that the child experienced consistency of care because the childminder had the same expectation as their parents. A parent made the following comment: "Gaynor has taught my child a lot she is coming on great with her words and her walking up and down to the nursery!" page 6 of 12
Childminder inspection report The childminder gave very good examples of why it was important to monitor the progress children were making as it enabled her to identify any regression in their development. She told us that she intended to use the wellbeing indicators to track the progress children were making. This had been identified as a recommendation at the last inspection. This has not been met and is carried forward within this report. See recommendation one. Healthy lifestyles were promoted well within the service and we noted that children had opportunities to play football, go swimming and play on bikes and scooters. Planting vegetables and looking after them gave the children a sense of responsibility and helped them to understand where their food came from. A parent made the following comment: "My child, has attended Gaynor's for 3 years now. Gaynor offers an excellent standard of care. She provides lots of activities for the children such as baking, gardening and outdoor play." Children were safe because the childminder had very good systems in place to protect them. For example if she had child protection concerns she knew that it was important to seek advice from her local social work department in order to reduce the likelihood of further harm to individual children. Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 1. We recommend that the childminder keep more detailed records of the children in her care. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16. Standard: 3 - Health and Wellbeing. 4 Quality of environment page 7 of 12
Findings from the inspection The childminder's home was welcoming and she described how she tried to promote a home from home environment where children felt part of her extended family. On the day of the inspection, the child who was present seemed very much at home and comfortable in her surroundings. Children were kept safe and healthy because the childminder had very good systems in place to prevent the spread of infection. For example if a child was sick or suffering from a contagious illness the childminder asked parents to keep them at home until the infectious stage had passed. This minimised the likelihood of other children becoming ill. Chatting to the children about the importance of washing their hands helped to raise their awareness of their responsibility for keeping themselves healthy. We noted that children had lots of access to outdoor play and exercise. The childminder made very good use of local parks and woodland. She described the need for children to get out and about frequently as it helped to keep them fit and healthy. We saw that children had opportunities to climb trees and explore their natural environment, which allowed them to take positive risks. The childminder demonstrated a very good understanding of why it was important for children to experience an element of risk in their play. When the childminder administered medication she had further reviewed her policy and practice in this area to ensure that she was up-to-date with best practice guidance. This meant that children were better protected because the childminder now ensured that parents always gave the first dose of any prescribed medication. This had been identified as a recommendation at the last inspection, we were satisfied that this had been met Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Childminder inspection report page 8 of 12
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 Through discussion the childminder demonstrated a good understanding why it was important to undertake training relevant to her role, because she knew it helped improve outcomes for the children in her care. The childminder told us that she had glanced at 'Building the Ambition' (this is best practice guidance for all staff working in the field of early learning and childcare). We advised the childminder that moving forward she needed to become more familiar with this document and begin to refer to it when planning the service. The childminder told us that she would do this. Looking through individual children's files, we saw that they contained all relevant information including emergency contact and G.P details. We discussed, why it was important to ask parents to review this information six monthly or sooner to reflect any changes in their child's needs. This had been identified as a recommendation at the last inspection, we have carried this forward in this report. See recommendation one. The childminder showed a good understanding of why it was important to seek parents and children's views in her service evaluation. Parents who emailed us said: "Top service and would recommend to anyone!" Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 4 - Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Childminder inspection report page 9 of 12
Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Childminder inspection report 1. We recommend that the childminder ensures that all children's files be reviewed in line with legislation. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16. Standard -3 : Health and Wellbeing. 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 1. It is recommended that Ms Thrussell enhances the records she keeps about the children's individual development progress. This is to include achievements and identified goals. Records should include plans of how Ms Thrussell will support the children's learning and development. Also records should be developed for all children attending the child minding service and should be shared with their parents. National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16. Standard 4.4: Engaging with children. This recommendation was made on 19 February 2013 This recommendation has not been met. Please refer to quality of care and support for further information. 2. It is recommended that Ms Thrussell review and update the information recorded regarding the administration of medication. Further guidance on the information to be included can be accessed from the Care Inspectorate website. page 10 of 12
Childminder inspection report National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16. Standard 14.2: Well-managed service. This recommendation was made on 19 February 2013 This recommendation has been met. Please refer to quality of environment for further information. 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 19 Feb 2013 Announced (Short Notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership 4 - Good 5 - Very Good 5 - Very Good Not Assessed 17 Jan 2012 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 5 - Very Good Management and Leadership Not Assessed page 11 of 12
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 12 of 12