Busy Lizzies Buzzy Bees Airdrie Inspection completed on 22 October 2015
Service provided by: Cummings, Elizabeth Service provider number: SP2014986295 Care service number: CS2014330870 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 14
1 Introduction Busy Lizzies Buzzy Bees service is operated by Elizabeth Cummings on her own, from the family home, which is a terraced property in the Calderbank area of North Lanarkshire. The children have access to the living room and kitchen at ground level and family bathroom on the upper level. There is an enclosed back garden used for childminding purposes. The service is close to schools, nurseries and parks. There are public transport and motorway links nearby. 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 children of the childminder's own family. There were four children aged between 28 months and seven years registered with the childminder at the time of this inspection. The children had various patterns of attendance over the week to meet the individual needs of the families. The childminder's aims include: "I aim to be considerate and respectful of other people's beliefs. Consistently improve my practice through self-reflection, feedback from children and parents/carers and by taking part in various training course." The Care Inspectorate (CI) regulates care services in Scotland. Information in relation to all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection. This took place on Thursday, 22 October 2015 between the hours of 9:30am and 11:30am. We gave feedback to the childminder at the end of the inspection. We sent four Care Standards Questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to parents/carers of children using the service. page 3 of 14
The childminder also sent us a self assessment form linked to the 'Getting it Right for Every Child' (GIRFEC) quality indicators - safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. We observed how the childminder cared for and interacted with the minded children. We discussed with the childminder how the following were managed within the service: - meeting children's individual needs - parents' and children's participation in the service - children's personal records and plans - training - medication - child protection - risk assessments - accident and incident reporting - infection control arrangements. We looked at: - Self assessment document, questionnaires parents had completed and returned to us - Registration certificate - Public liability and car insurance documents - training certificates - the environment and the equipment - risk assessments for inside and outdoors. page 4 of 14
Views of people using the service There were two pre-school aged children present during the inspection. We observed that the children were very settled and happy and content in the care of the childminder. Within the childminder's home the children enjoyed the range of play equipment provided and made choices about what they wanted to play with. This included imaginative play and reading a selection of books. The childminder was very attentive to the children's needs and interests. Two parents had completed and returned our questionnaire before the inspection. The response to the questions we asked were positive with parents indicating that they 'strongly agreed' that overall, they were happy with the quality of care their children received in the service. Parents' comments and 'ticked' responses to some of the questions asked are included within the relevant sections of this 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. We received a completed self assessment document from the childminder before the inspection. We were satisfied with the way she had completed this and with the relevant information she had given us for each of the headings that we grade her service under. We discussed the format of the self assessment and explained the inspection approach was based on GIRFEC (Getting It Right For Every Child) and the eight associated wellbeing indicators, sometimes referred to as SHANARRI (safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included). What the service did well This is the first inspection of the childminding service. We found that the childminder provided a very good standard of care, in a relaxed child centred and fun environment. The childminder worked closely with parents to provide a flexible, caring service. Feedback from the families who use this childminding service confirmed that they value the service. page 5 of 14
What the service could do better The childminder discussed a positive approach towards the continued development of her service through continuous personal development and consultation with children and parents. We discussed with the childminder a few different ways to continue to involve parents and children in the development of the service. She was open to the suggestions made and planned to take them forward. 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 5 - Very Good 3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminder offered families very good opportunities to assess and develop her childminding service in a variety of informal and formal ways. This included conversations to share day-to-day information, text messages, phone calls, photographs, questionnaires and mind maps for children. The childminder used a facebook page, in agreement with parents, to share information with them about their child's experiences throughout the day. This ensured that parents were kept informed and included in the child's care and routines regularly, using methods they preferred. In our questionnaire a parent told us: "Elizabeth always keeps me up to date with developments and activities and always takes my advice about how to approach my children's needs. My boys and I are happy." page 6 of 14
The childminder explained to us how the settling in procedures and on-going consultations with parents provided her with opportunities to gather and update personal details and written information about each child. This also supported the childminder in building respectful relationships with parents that took account of their child's needs and interests. In our questionnaire a parent told us: "The girls had settling in visits and we were provided with all information and paperwork beforehand." The childminder discussed the personal plans she had for each child. This included all of the mandatory information about the child as required by legislation. As a result, the childminder had relevant and important information about each child that enabled her to meet children's particular health needs. The childminder also had information about children's interests, likes and dislikes and personal preferences. The childminder explained how she had used the well-being indicators from Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC) to record any specific goals; or areas for development that parents had identified. This process respected, valued and included parents in their child's learning. The childminder confirmed that children's personal plans were updated and or reviewed every 6 months with parents and children. In our questionnaire parents told us: "Elizabeth is a fantastic childminder to both my girls. My youngest child has developed so much since being in Elizabeth's care. It made me feel much better about returning to work and I know she is safe and well in Elizabeth's care." The childminder discussed how she provided healthy snacks that took account of children's preferences and dietary requirements. We observed the childminder responding positively and respecting the child's preferred choice of snack during the inspection. We could see from information displayed for parents that the service had recently been inspected in accordance with food hygiene legislation and had passed. In addition, the childminder had participated in food hygiene training in February 2014, to support her practice in food safety management procedures. The childminder demonstrated an understanding of child protection. She gave an instance of what would give her cause for concern in relation to child protection and how she would report any concerns. Through participating in child protection training in October 2015, the childminder had kept her knowledge up to date on how to safe guard children's wellbeing. page 7 of 14
In our questionnaire both parents 'strongly agreed' that they were confident that the childminder would protect their children from harm. The childminder confirmed that she promoted and encouraged the children to be active through exploring the outdoors during the time they were in her care. The childminder told us that she regularly took children for outings to the local park and other outdoor areas to encourage them to explore and investigate their natural environment. These experiences gave children opportunities to be active and included. In our questionnaire both parents 'strongly agreed' that there was regular access to fresh air and energetic physical play for their children and that the childminder made good use of resources in the community. This helped to contribute towards children developing healthy lifestyles. The childminder discussed how she would make sure that children were safe when accessing areas in the home and community. For example the childminder discussed the range of resources used to develop children's awareness of crossing the road safely and stranger danger. At times, the childminder used her car for business purposes. We evidenced suitable insurance and associated documents. This information is shared with parents. Parents had signed consent forms allowing the childminder to transport their children on outings. This resulted in parents being kept informed of the procedures the childminder had in place and contributed towards the health and safety of children when traveling. The childminder discussed how she would safely administer medication and make sure that parents completed appropriate consent forms before this was given. The childminder confirmed that she had the Care Inspectorate's best practice guidance on The Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services to support her practice. Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 page 8 of 14
Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 4 Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found the childminder's home to be a warm, welcoming, hygienic and smoke free environment for children. Both parents who completed our questionnaires 'strongly agreed' with this comment. The childminder was aware of the safety of the children and made sure that the rooms used were safe for the children to explore and play. Children had access to the living room and kitchen. The children also had access to a fully enclosed back garden with a range of activities and resources. In our questionnaire both parents 'strongly agreed' that there was enough space for their child to play and get involved in a range of activities. In addition a parent told us: "Amazing service, my boys enjoy going to their childminder and they are always excited to tell me the activities that thy have done and what new things they have learned." Throughout the inspection we observed that the childminder was responsive and encouraging to the individual needs of the children and provided them with a choice of activities. The children happily chatted to the childminder and to us, they played an active part in the inspection process, telling us about their day, this told us they were secure and confident in the environment. The childminder was aware of the importance of appropriate infection control methods being in place to keep children safe and healthy. She confirmed that toys and equipment were regularly cleaned and described how she used appropriate personal protection equipment when attending to children's personal care needs. We observed the childminder and children washing their hands at certain times throughout the inspection. This helped to minimise any infection control issues. The childminder confirmed she had the good practice document 'Infection Prevention and Control in Childcare Settings (Day Care and Childminding Settings') and had attended training in October 2015, to ensure that her home was safe and maintained for the children before they arrived and throughout the day. page 9 of 14
The childminder discussed the regular risk assessments that were carried out for the premises and any outings to maximise children's safety inside and outside the home. This practice helped to reduce the risk to children and to keep them healthy and safe. The childminder agreed to continue to review risk assessments at regular intervals, to take account of areas now accessed by children and to reflect their on-going development and level of understanding. This would demonstrate how she continues to keep children safe and included. The childminder confirmed that she had appropriate records in place to record accidents or incidents. The parents would be asked to sign this information to confirm that they had been told about any accident or incident. This resulted in parents being kept informed of any issues. The childminder had a current first aid certificate, expiry date November 2017, to keep her knowledge up to date and to support her in dealing with emergencies. The childminder had accessed Public Liability Insurance through the Scottish Childminding Association. This was displayed for parents' information. Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 5 Quality of staffing We only assess this where the childminder employs an assistant. page 10 of 14
6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection The childminder had a very good knowledge of child development and learning. She was trained in early learning and childcare and had put this training to use to develop children's personal plans. Also she was participating in a further childcare qualification. The childminder had attended further training, for example on Building the Ambition, child protection, paediatric first aid, infection prevention and control and the importance of play. We asked her about the training and about how this had made a difference to the care she provided. She gave examples of how the training had helped to consolidate her knowledge and how this then impacted on the quality of children's experiences. This demonstrated the childminder's commitment to extending her knowledge and from this developing her service. In addition, the childminder confirmed that she kept up to date with good practice in a number of other ways. Some examples of this included through the quarterly magazines and web site for the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA); and the Care Inspectorate website, The Hub. She was also an active member of her local childminding group which offered support, training and networking opportunities which assisted with the on-going improvement of her service. Further training confirmed included: Getting it Right for Every Child' (GIRFEC), and ADH and Autism. The childminder confirmed that she had developed a wide range of policies and procedures to support her practice and that she had reviewed and updated some of her policies, to ensure that they reflected current best practice and guidance. The childminder confirmed that she had a complaints policy in place and that it was shared with parents when they first started in the service. This created an opportunity for parents to raise any concerns they may have about the service. No complaints had ever been received about the service. In our questionnaire parents told us: "I can relax knowing that they are safe and in good experienced hands. I would and have recommended this service to others. A+." page 11 of 14
Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 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 page 12 of 14
10 Other issues There were no other issues identified at this inspection. 11 Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 13 of 14
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 This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is c?nain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 14 of 14