Houston, Alice Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 21 February 2018 Service provided by: Alice Houston Service provider number: SP2003902379 Care service number: CS2003004276
The service Introduction This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011. Alice Houston provides a childminding service from her home, an upstairs flat, in a residential area of the town of Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire. The accommodation used for childminding is on one level and comprises of a living room, a playroom, an area for craft activities, a bathroom and a garden. The childminder is registered to provide a care service for a maximum of six children at any 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. At the time of this inspection, two minded children were present. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection that took place on Wednesday 21 February 2018 between the hours of 9.30am-11.30am. We provided the childminder with feedback on the 21 February 2018. To assess how well the childminder had been providing care to the children using the service we gathered information from a range of sources. Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC) quality indicators were used to ensure a holistic approach. More information about the GIRFEC approach can be found at www.hubcareinspectorate.com. During this inspection process, we looked around the areas of the childminders' home used by the minded children and we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: We spoke with: - The childminder - Two children present during inspection. We looked at: - Children's information records - Children's personal plans - Children's photographs - Service policy and procedures - Risk assessments - Parental permissions - Accident recording forms - Registration certificate - Insurance certificates - Medication records - Training records. page 2 of 10
Views of people using the service We sent out three care standards questionnaires and asked the childminder to give them to families who used her service. Prior to inspection, we received three completed questionnaires. Responses in the care standards questionnaire told us that the parents agreed that they were happy with the overall quality of care their child received. Comments made included: "Lillian is a very caring and considerate childminder, whom my daughter loves." "Our childminder has helped provide care and guidance to our child who has thrived in her care. We would not change anything about the care of our child who loves going to this childminder." "The service provided by my childminder is excellent and I am more than happy to leave my child in the childminders care." Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self-assessment document from the provider. We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this 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. What the service did well The childminder provided a warm, welcoming and homely environment for the children she minded. She was friendly and approachable and the children present were seen to be relaxed and comfortable in her care throughout our inspection. The childminder knew the children well and she planned and delivered good play experiences for them. What the service could do better During this inspection we have made three recommendations to the childminder and asked her to address these. 1. The childminder should continue to develop written personal plans for each child in her care. These should show how the children's health, welfare and safety needs are to be met and in consultation with the parents must be reviewed at least once every six months. 2. The childminder should ensure that she records administration of medication to minded children in line with the current health guidance on the 'Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services'. 3. The childminder should undertake a child protection awareness course. She should then use this knowledge to update her child protection recording format. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support 3 - Adequate page 3 of 10
Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good not assessed 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection 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. The parents who returned our care standards questionnaires told us they agreed that the childminder asked for their view about how they wanted their child to be cared for. The childminder gathered a range of information on each child. This information was used to plan how she would care for each child in her care. We found the childminder used this information to plan her daily routines around the individual needs of the children. Parents contributed to this through discussion with the childminder. We discussed how the childminder should further develop the children's personal plans to ensure that they reflect the current legislation (recommendation 1). We observed interaction between the childminder and the children present and saw that she was responsive to their care needs. During the inspection, we saw the children to be happy and relaxed in the care of the childminder, confident that their needs would be met. 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, this did not reflect the current best practice 'The Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services' (recommendation 2). Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 4 of 10
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 2 1. The childminder should further develop the personal plans for each child in her care. These should show how she will meet individual children's health care needs. They should also be reviewed at least once every six months. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to age 16 - Standard 4.4: Engaging with children. 2. The childminder should ensure that she records administration of medication to minded children 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. Grade: 3 - adequate Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The childminders home was homely for the minded children. The childminder used her living room for the children to play in. She had two large sofas available for the children to relax on and a small table and chairs where they could sit and play games or eat their snacks. The childminder had a playroom with a range of toys easily accessible to the children, in addition, there was an area where the children could do messy play including arts and crafts. We felt that the childminder had considered the layout of the rooms, creating an environment that made good use of the space available. We saw that children could choose to play by themselves or with others. A range of toys and resources were available. We found these to be accessible and appropriate for children's individual stage of development. On the day of inspection, we saw a child choosing toys they wanted to play with allowing them to make choices and to promote their independence. To ensure that she provided a safe environment for the children, the childminder told us she cleans her home environment on a daily basis. To ensure the safety of the children within the service, the childminder told us she used daily visual checks to make sure her home was hazard free, safe and child-friendly. 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 access to fresh air and energetic play. We found the back garden could be secured by the use of a large gate. The back garden had a good range of toys and equipment. During our inspection we saw that the childminders bathroom was clean and suitable for use by the minded children. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 5 of 10
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - good Quality of staffing This quality theme was not assessed. 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 using the internet and meeting up with other local childminders. She also told us she was a member of The Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) which allowed her to access relevant training and keep in touch with childminding developments. The childminder evaluated her service on a regular basis. She consulted with parents and children through regular discussion with them. We saw that the childminder had purchased new garden play equipment to accommodate children's interests. This ensured that the children were actively involved in planning the service they received. During our inspection, we asked the childminder if she had undertaken any training since her previous inspection. The childminder told us that she had undertaken a range of online awareness courses including an introduction to GIRFEC, she told us she had used the knowledge gained to update her practice, for example she had introduced a GIRFEC wall in her playroom. As part of our inspection we discussed the childminders child protection procedures. We discussed the information available on the North Ayrshire Child Protection Committee website and made the childminder aware of the child protection self learning available. We have asked the childminder to undertake child protection awareness course at her earliest opportunity (recommendation 1). The childminder told us that some of the school age children she minds sometimes use ipads/tablets and mobile devices whilst they are in her care. The childminder told us that she had limited knowledge of the risks children may be exposed to online. We have asked the childminder to expand her knowledge of online safety. We suggested the NSPCC website as a resource of information. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 6 of 10
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. To ensure that her knowledge and understanding is up-to-date with current legislation, the childminder should undertake a child protection awareness course. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to the age of 16 - Standard 12: Confidence in staff. Grade: 4 - good What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at or since the last inspection Previous requirements Requirement 1 The childminder must ensure the she keeps a record of the information she is required to maintain for each child using the service. This is in order to comply with The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Registration) Regulations 2011/28. Regulation 4. Records, notifications and returns Timescale for implementation: 1 March 2017. This requirement was made on 31 January 2017. Action taken on previous requirement The childminder submitted an action plan to the Care Inspectorate on 8 May 2017. They wrote and told us, a parent eventually returned required information forms after more prompting and which have been added to Care Plan Folder. During our inspection visit to the service on 21 February 2018 we saw that the childminder had introduced personal plans for minded children, however we found that gaps in information that the childminder should record. We have made a further recommendation within the body of this report. Met - outwith timescales page 7 of 10
What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection Previous recommendations Recommendation 1 The childminder should ensure that parents provide written consent before she administers any medication to minded children. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to the age of 16 - Standard 3.6: Health and wellbeing. This recommendation was made on 31 January 2017. Action taken on previous recommendation The childminder submitted an action plan to the Care inspectorate on 8 May 2017, they wrote and told us: Went over child's medicine permission forms and parent duly signed them. Will ensure I get signatures on every form in future. During our inspection visit on the 21 February 2018 we saw the childminder had obtained written consent before she administers any medication to minded children. However, we have asked the childminder to ensure that she records administration of medication to minded children in line with the current health guidance on the 'Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services'. We have made further recommendation within this report. Recommendation 2 The childminder should ensure that the service's information leaflet is accurate and kept up-to-date. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to the age of 16 - Standard 1.2: Being welcomed and valued. This recommendation was made on 31 January 2017. Action taken on previous recommendation The childminder submitted an action plan to the Care inspectorate on 8 May 2017, they wrote and told us: Service leaflet, Policies and Procedures have been reviewed and updated. Thank you for proof reading and highlighting this error. During our inspection visit on the 21 February 2018 we saw that the childminder had update her paperwork, however we asked her to update the Care Inspectorate address. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. page 8 of 10
Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 31 Jan 2017 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 3 - Adequate 7 Mar 2016 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment 3 - Adequate Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership 4 - Good 26 Feb 2015 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 3 - Adequate Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good 2 Mar 2011 Announced Care and support 5 - Very good Environment Not assessed Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership Not assessed 31 Mar 2009 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership Not assessed 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