Brown, Joanne Child Minding

Brown, Joanne Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 3 August 2017 Service provided by: Brown, Joanne Service provider number: SP2005953012 Care service number: CS2005109671

The service Introduction This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011. Joanne Brown, referred to as the childminder throughout this report, is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of eight children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than six will be under 12, 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. As part of the conditions of registration, the parts of the premises not to be used are the front garden and the bedrooms. The childminder provides the service from her home in the Whitburn area of West Lothian which is close to local amenities and public transport. The areas of the property used for the purpose of childminding included the living room, dining area, kitchen and playroom. There was also access to the garden to the rear of the property. The aims of the service as stated were included; 'To provide a safe and stimulating environment in which the children can feel happy and secure.' 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. GIRFEC 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 GIRFEC. 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 following an unannounced inspection. This was carried out by a Care Inspectorate inspector. The inspection took place on Thursday 27 July 2017 in the morning. We gave feedback to the childminder on Thursday 3 August 2017 on the phone. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed annual return and self assessment forms that we asked the childminder to complete and submit to us. We sent three Care Standards Questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to relatives and carers of people who used the service. One completed questionnaire was received following the inspection and we emailed the parent of the children present during our visit. page 2 of 10

During this inspection we gathered evidence from a number of sources, including the following: We spoke with: - the two children who were present - the childminder - the childminder's children. We observed and viewed: - the environment - the childminder's practice and interactions with children - the children as they played and took part in a baking activity. We looked at the following evidence: - evidence from the most recent self assessment - children's records - accident and incident records - written policies and procedures - information for parents - questionnaires - children's thank you letters and compliment cards to the childminder. We took account of all of the above information when we evaluated this service and wrote this report. Please note that parents and carers will be referred to as parents throughout the report. Views of people using the service There were two minded children present during our inspection who were both school age. They were very happy, confident and friendly. The children chose to sit with us and happily answered our questions about the care and support they received from the childminder. This gave us reassurance that the children were having a very positive experience within the service and were thriving in the childminder's care. In the returned Care Standards Questionnaire the parent strongly agreed that overall they were happy with the quality of care their child received in this service. Comments included; 'We have constant communication through a good, open relationship.' We emailed a parent to ask for their views on the service. They told us they had used the service for many years and were very happy with the care their children received. Comments included; 'We pretty much know how each other works and for sure each stage the girls have been at we have always discussed and agreed on how we can deal with it so that we are being consistent in our approach. I know that any issues I might have I can discuss with Joanne and work out a way that we are both happy to deal with. I have no issues with our communication and we are always both honest in our approach with each other. She is always helpful and I feel that I can go to her with any issues if I had any. page 3 of 10

The girls love going to Joanne's and both girls have a great relationship with her, they give input in to what they would like to do during the holidays, they make lists each of crafting ideas, games, outings and the girls are always encouraged to have opinions on anything they do. They sometimes don't want to come home! The aspect that I would improve, quite honestly I struggle with this question as there is genuinely not anything that I can think of to improve. We are happy with everything the way it is at the moment.' Self assessment We received a fully completed self assessment from the childminder. We were satisfied with the way this was completed and with the relevant information included. We advised the childminder that this form could be adapted throughout the year so a current self assessment remained available. The childminder identified what she thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes she had planned. She told us how the people who used the care service had taken part in the self assessment process. What the service did well The childminder continues to provide a high quality care service for children. Here, children are respected and included in everyday decisions which provides them with many opportunities to work together and become responsible. What the service could do better The childminder should ensure her son's disclosure is completed now that he has turned 16. page 4 of 10

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 Communicating with parents in agreed ways helped to ensure that the children's changeable needs were met. Texts, calls and face to face chats suited the parents for now and worked well. The childminder had built relationships with the children's school teachers so information could be passed between the professionals when needed. Viewing cards, thank you letters and notes from the children we concluded there was a respectful relationship between the childminder and the children. One note from a child explained why she liked 'Jo Jo', it read, 'I can tell her anything'; 'whenever I am sad she cheers me up or gives me advice'; and 'she makes me smile'. The children clearly felt safe and secure in her care. The children told us about the foods they were offered and we found it was balanced, varied and mostly healthy. There were some treats and home baking which the children loved helping to make. They told us these were special treats and not every day. Being active was important to the children. They relished the time they got to spend outdoors with their friends. They told us about the back garden and how the resources out there had changed over the years depending on what they found interesting. They were able to play outside lots and this contributed to a healthy lifestyle. When we asked the children how the childminder helped them one told us they were getting help and advice about speaking up. The child found it hard to be brave in certain situations and was learning phrases and words they could use to become more assertive. This helped the child to feel secure, strong and safe. Difficult situations in children's lives gave the childminder opportunities to offer support, advice and loving care. One child suffered a bereavement so the childminder got a book from the library and leaflets from the doctors to help her to discuss it with the child so they could begin to process the loss and think about how they wanted to deal with it. This responsive and measured approach helped that child to feel respected, supported and understood. This individualised care was also given to a child who was scared of starting nursery. The childminder took them to another nursery where she was collecting another minded child. She let the child see the room, say hello to the staff and speak with the children. This showed them that nursery was actually not as scary as they had first thought. This helped the child to feel safer and more prepared for the transition to another care service. page 5 of 10

Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The environment was pleasant, safe, secure and stimulating for children. We spoke with the children about the areas they were allowed to play in and they gave us a tour of the home. They explained where everything was in the toy room and how they had to ask for certain games if they were at the back of the cupboards. The older children could also play with their friends at the football pitches within the school. They had rules and boundaries to stick to and the childminder had encouraged responsibility by getting the children to sign an 'agreement' to adhere to. This promoted responsibility and encouraged mutual trust between them. The children had plenty of space to use in the home and garden. They enjoyed sitting at the dining table to chat with us and then decorated some biscuits to take home. They were able to choose where they played, could relax in the living room or be energetic outside. Having the space and freedom to move around helped the children to feel welcome, at ease and secure. Visiting places in the local community helped the children to become familiar with regular routes, become road safety aware and provided opportunities to use their bodies in different ways. The children had written a list of activities and places to visit over the holidays. They were deciding each week what they would do and tick off the list. This helped the children to become responsible for making decisions and would contribute to their feelings of being included and listened to. The childminder had recently got a puppy. All parents and children were asked about it and were supportive of this new addition. There was a pet policy in place and the childminder explained how she was advising the children of safety precautions and how to approach the dog. This helped to ensure both the dog and the children felt safe and secure and would minimise the risk of any incidents. One child told us that her favourite activity was doing lots of drawing, cutting out and sticking. We spoke to her about using scissors and she was able to tell us all about the rules. The children were clearly responsible and aware of how to keep themselves and others safe. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 6 of 10

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 There were very good systems in place to review the service and to keep the childminder up to date. Training attended in risky play resulted in children being giving wider opportunities outdoors. Attending courses, reading information online and speaking with other professionals helped to ensure the childminder was aware of changes to legislation and best practice so she could adapt her service. For example, the childminder had updated medication procedures in line with guidance that was released in 2014. Giving the parents and children questionnaires helped to involve them in the progression of the service. It was a way for the childminder to find out if they were satisfied with what was being offered. The comments made helped her to plan future activities for the children which they would enjoy and resulted in positive outcomes for them. Attending training meant the childminder was knowledgeable in managing risk in play; first aid and GIRFEC. She was aware of her responsibility to act in order to help children when they needed it. The childminder planned to attend a child protection course. Whilst we were satisfied with her knowledge in this area we agreed it is always useful to update training on a regular basis. Creating a personal plan for each child relating to the wellbeing indicators helped the childminder to support children's individual needs. She shared these with the parents and we found them to be relevant and helpful. Noting children's progress and identifying where they need support had helped the children to feel more emotionally secure, especially throughout school when they had to work through issue with their peers. We found the childminder was very motivated and passionate in her work with children. They were keen to work with us and engaged well in improvement conversations throughout the inspection. This reassured us that continued developments would be made in order to continue to provide a high quality service to children. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 7 of 10

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 8 of 10

Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 30 Nov 2015 Unannounced Care and support Environment Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 25 Nov 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 7 Dec 2011 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment Not assessed Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 12 Nov 2009 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 29 Aug 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment 4 - Good Staffing Management and leadership 4 - Good page 9 of 10

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 10 of 10