Fiddler, Karen Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 26 April 2017 Service provided by: Fiddler, Karen Service provider number: SP2012984031 Care service number: CS2012311478
The service Introduction Karen Fiddler, referred to as the childminder in this report, has been registered with the Care Inspectorate since 2013. The childminder is registered to provide a care service 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 of whom no more than one is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. Minded children cannot be cared for by persons other than those named on the certificate and the childminder cannot provide overnight care. The service is provided from the childminders home in a residential area of Wallyford, East Lothian. The home is detached over two floors. The ground floor of the home and back garden are used for childminding. Aims and objectives for the service have been developed and shared with parents through the information given to them at the start of placement. 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 parent(s) 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. What we did during our inspection The inspection was carried out by an inspector from the Care Inspectorate. The unannounced inspection took place on 26 April 2017. As part of the inspection process we asked the childminder to issue care standard questionnaires to parents using the service. During the inspection we gathered evidence from various sources including talking to the childminder, talking to children, looking at key information kept to ensure that children's needs were met. We walked round the home with the childminder and assessed the suitability of the environment and equipment used for childminding. Views of people using the service There was one child present during our visit. This child was very comfortable with the childminder who responded warmly to his needs. The range of activities were things he was interested in and he was having a very good experience in the childminders home. We asked the childminder to give out three care standard questionnaires to parents using her service. Two of these were returned. Both strongly agreed that they were happy with the quality of care their child received. Comments are included in our report. Additional comments included: 'I am more than happy with the service Karen provides. She engages my child in a whole range of activities from baking to art. I have never had any issues and trust her 100%.' page 2 of 8
'We are thrilled that our child could be looked after by Karen. Karen provides a very personalised style of care and works hard to meet the needs of the kids in her care. Our child loves being outside and the garden is just perfect for them.' Self assessment The self assessment had been completed prior to our inspection. The childminder had given a good overview of her service and the areas of strength and some where she felt improvements could be made. What the service did well The childminder provided a very good home from home environment for children. She had very warm and nurturing relationships with children whom she knew well. What the service could do better We asked the childminder to update some of her procedures to take account of current good 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 childminder had a good understanding of the approach Getting it Right for Every Child and the principles of the well-being indicators SHANARRI. The childminder was beginning to use these more actively in assessing her service. A very good range of written and verbal information was collected about each child to help the childminder meet a child's care and support needs. In addition to registration information the childminder described the discussions she had with parents as part of the settling in process. The childminder shared children's experiences through the use of Whatsapp photos and messages. Parents spoke very positively about the range of feedback they received about their child. All strongly agreed that communication was clear and professional. We spoke to the childminder about keeping track of children's development. This was appropriate for children who were younger and spent significant periods of time with her. This was achieved to a good extent through the use of the daily diary for the youngest children. We talked about how a record of child's development could be easily developed further. page 3 of 8
The childminder had a very good understanding of child development and promoted health and wellbeing through the use of a wide range of outdoor areas for physical play, healthy eating and good hygiene practices. One parent comment that their child had been a fussy eater but the childminders approach to food and allowing him to try some different fruits and vegetables has improved their eating habits. The child present on the day of our visit was very comfortable and confident in their surroundings and in interactions with the childminder. The childminder spoke warmly of other children she looked after and described the impact of different personalities and ages of children on the group showing a good understanding of the need to provider older children with more challenge and responsibility. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The home was clean and well maintained to provide a pleasant environment for children to be cared for in. Children used the garden to the rear of the home daily. It was spacious, safe and provided children with a good outdoor space for energetic physical play. The childminder had developed a number of policies to inform parents what action she took to keep their children safe. She also discussed safety with children and encouraged them to take some responsibility for their own safety to promote responsibility and independence. On the day of our visit the home was safe and secure for the provision of a childminding service. Discussion with the childminder evidenced that she was very aware of hazards and potential hazards and took action to minimise these. All the policies and procedures which the Care Inspectorate deem necessary for the provision of a childminding service were in place. However these needed to be reviewed just to ensure that they were up to date in reflecting good practice. The main area for childminding was the family lounge. There were a good range of resources for children to use when indoors and the childminder had photos of a very good range of activities she had undertaken with children such as crafts and baking. The activities provided for the child present on the day of our visit were linked to an interest in diggers and building works which evidenced a responsive approach to children's activities. Additional outside the home activities included walks to the woods, parks, library, toddler groups and train outings. These provided children with an engaging and changing range of experiences. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 4 of 8
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 self assessment had been completed for our visit. It was of a good standard and gave a good overview of the service and how the childminder met children's needs. We have commented on the responsive nature of the childminders service and parents confirmed that they are asked frequently about their view of the service and if they have ideas or suggestions. This evidences a proactive approach to meeting the needs of children and parents through communication with them. Both parents who responded to the care standard questionnaire commented on the professional nature of the childminders service. On the day of our visit we found her to be enthusiastic about childcare and committed to providing very good outcomes for children in her care. The childminder was sufficiently organised with regard to paperwork necessary for the provision of the service. The range of information about children and the service was not excessive but meaningful and effective. Information needed to meet statutory requirements such as displaying of registration certificate, public liability insurance, regular maintenance of heating systems and car insurance were in place. The childminder had undertaken some training since our last visit and had undertaken some reading and was about attend a play conference. We showed the childminder the Care Inspectorate HUB and discussed further training or information gathering that she could undertake. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good page 5 of 8
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 Recommendation 1 It is recommended that Ms Fiddler continue to develop effective ways to get feedback from parents and children about the quality of her service. She should find a way to record any changes or improvements she makes because of feedback or comments. National Care Standards Early Education and childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 13 - Improving the service. This recommendation was made on 30 April 2013. Action taken on previous recommendation The childminder had continued to take account of parents comments and suggestions with regard to her service. This recommendation had been met. Recommendation 2 We recommend that Ms Fiddler attend child protection training. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16: Standard 3 - Health and wellbeing. This recommendation was made on 30 April 2013. Action taken on previous recommendation The childminder had attended a child protection course. This recommendation was met. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. page 6 of 8
Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 30 Apr 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership Not assessed page 7 of 8
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 8 of 8