Wendy McCann Childminding Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 10 May 2017 Service provided by: McCann, Wendy Service provider number: SP2012983885 Care service number: CS2012310576
The service Introduction Wendy McCann Childminding was registered with the Care Inspectorate on 21 November 2012 to provide a care service to a maximum of six children under the age of 16 at any one time, of whom no more than three are not yet attending school and of whom no more than one is under 12 months. The service is located in a residential area in Inverurie. The service has an enclosed, well equipped garden to the rear of the house which provides a safe environment for outdoor activities. The childminder has a detailed statement of aims which included a commitment: - To provide a homely and secure environment for a child, encouraging development and learning through play, and communication. - To provide age appropriate, stimulating, thought provoking activities with the use of games, activities and visual aids to encourage interaction, self expression, creativity, and imaginative skills. Story telling and singing will be used as tools to develop language and communication. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection, which took place between 9:30am and 2:00pm on 10 May 2017. We gave feedback to the childminder following the inspection. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate early years inspector. During the inspection the childminder was caring for three minded children. In this inspection we gathered evidence from various sources, including: - discussions with the childminder - discussions with the children - observations of the interactions between the childminder and the minded children - observations of children's experiences and routines - children's records - observations of the childminding environment and toys - record recording procedures - service policies - service risk assessments - insurance certificate - registration certificate. We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by the 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. for Wendy McCann Childminding page 2 of 9
There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of GIRFEC. They are: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible, and included. These 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. Information on SHANARRI can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/topics/people/young-people/. Views of people using the service There were three children, not yet attending primary school, present during the time of the inspection. They were observed to be very relaxed and happy in the childminding environment and enjoyed the resources and activities available to them. They played well together, involving the childminder at times, as well as exploring independently. They were confident about approaching the childminder to request resources or assistance. One of the older children was happy to chat to us and told us: - "I like playing with the puzzles and the buggy. I like drawing and playing on the trampoline. I was playing outside at nursery." The childminder had supported the children to complete pictorial questionnaires to find out what they liked to do in her care and to try to get suggestions for improvement. Some indicated that they liked seeing other children and playing with the toys, especially the trampoline. Others liked playing with the Barbies, dolls and buggies and going to the park and Hoodles Playbarn. We received three questionnaires from parents who indicated they were very happy with the service. They told us: - "Excellent service provided. No concerns or issues. Flexible approach which assists us as working parents." - "We couldn't be happier with Wendy's childminding services. [Child's name] absolutely loves going and is always excited to tell us what he has been doing all day. Wendy keeps us well informed with a newsletter along with a questionnaire and diary." - "Wendy is great with my two kids, always cares for them the way I do with naps for my youngest and fun play time with them both. Wendy is the only person I trust with my kids. They are always happy when it's dropping off and collecting time." Self assessment The childminder provided us with detailed information about how she operates her service. She used the GIRFEC wellbeing indicators to review what she did to meet the needs of children and families. What the service did well The children were busy in their play and stimulated by the variety of activities and positive interactions with the childminder. The childminder continued to provide a relaxed, warm and friendly service which children and parents valued. for Wendy McCann Childminding page 3 of 9
What the service could do better The childminder should continue to develop her awareness of key childcare frameworks, like 'Building the Ambition', and continue to consider how their key principles are woven into her daily practice. She should also continue with her plans to access training. She should also show how any improvements or training impacts on children and families using her service. 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 offered a child-centred approach with a high level of involvement of the children in leading play and learning. Children enjoyed continuity in care as the childminder linked into home routines and followed parent requests for meeting care needs. This supported children to feel nurtured and secure. The childminder provided a range of information for parents to help them at settling in. This meant that they could find out what the childminder offered and how they could be involved in the service. The childminder knew the individual care and support needs of the children in her care very well and had produced a detailed personal plan for each child. Formal reviews, involving parents, took place at least once every six months. This allowed parents to discuss achievements and to agree their child's next steps in learning and development. As a result, parents were included and their views respected in relation to their child's progress. We suggested that future plans could be linked to the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators to make it easier to track children's progress. The childminder told us that parents provided lunches for their children. She did, however, provide snacks. We saw that the childminder had attended food hygiene training and told us she promoted healthy eating. We noted she had accessed a copy of the best practice document 'Setting the Table - Nutritional guidance and food standards for early years childcare providers in Scotland' and planed to refer to it to continue to offer children a variety of healthy options. The childminder ensured that children were safe and protected from harm and abuse. She updated her skills and knowledge relating to child protection, which meant she felt well placed to take appropriate action if she had any concerns. Children were supported to learn about keeping themselves safe through approaches that were right for their developmental stages. for Wendy McCann Childminding page 4 of 9
An appropriate child protection policy was in place to support this, however this did not reference current child protection guidance. National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2010 can be found at: http://www.gov.scot/resource/0045/00450733.pdf (see recommendation 1). There was a medication policy and a recording system to use in the event of parents requesting medication to be administered to their child. We directed the childminder to the best practice document 'Management of medication in daycare of children and childminding services' to help support her develop the service policy in line with best practice. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. To ensure the safety of children, the childminder should ensure she is familiar with current guidance on child protection issues and make reference to this document in her child protection policy. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the Age of 16 - Standard 14: Well Managed Service. Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We could see that children were cared for in a clean, welcoming, well maintained, and child-centred environment where hazards had been minimised. The childminder carried out daily visual safety checks supported by written risk assessments which were updated regularly. These measures had a positive impact on children's safety. The childminder provided a very good range of well maintained, quality toys and resources which children had easy access to. The childminder told us that the play materials were chosen to reflect children's individual interests and developmental stages. This meant that children enjoyed playing with them, and were suitably challenged, which supported their ongoing achievements. Parents felt that the environment was very childfriendly, that there was a very good range of toys and equipment, and that everything was well maintained. They told us: - "There are lots of toys for the kids, also safety stair gates for stairs and kitchen. Very safe, suitable for children." - "Stair gates and safety equipment used. Age appropriate toys and activities given." Children enjoyed variety in their day due to very good use of the local and wider community. This included using local parks, soft play and play days with other childminders and children. This provided opportunities for children to be active and supported them to develop both their social skills. Parents told us: for Wendy McCann Childminding page 5 of 9
- "Continues normal routine we have and regular and varied activities, including social with other children/play barns etc." - "There are lots of local parks that they have attended, community centre with soft play and Wendy will also pay to take them to a play area on occasions." The childminder also encouraged children to think about how to keep themselves safe in relation to road safety, talking with them about the risks and explaining how they could manage this risk. We spoke about the 'My World Outdoors' document and how the childminder could refer to this document to develop more challenging and creative opportunities for the children outdoors. This would help the children to gain skills and develop their ability to assess risk and help them to stay safe (http://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/3091/ My_world_outdoors_-_early_years_good_practice_2016.pdf). The children developed an understanding of personal hygiene as they were reminded to wash their hands after going to the toilet and before meals, using their own towels. Appropriate nappy changing procedures were in place. Parents were required to follow Health Protection Scotland guidance on 'exclusion periods' should their child fall ill. This helped to minimise the spread of infection. Core training in first aid and child protection was regularly refreshed, ensuring knowledge and skills were kept up to date to ensure appropriate action was taken, if required, to maintain children's safety and wellbeing. A procedure for recording accidents and incidents was in place and shared with parents. The childminder told us she recorded any accidents and would share these with the parents when they collected their child. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 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 childminder's commitment to ongoing personal development and training contributed to ensuring appropriate provision and positive outcomes for children. She kept up to date with developments in childcare practice through online research, reading childcare publications, maintaining links with other childminders, and for Wendy McCann Childminding page 6 of 9
attending training opportunities. Since her last inspection, the childminder had gained a professional childcare qualification. The childminder was aware of the Care Inspectorate website and we encouraged her to access this on a regular basis in order to keep up to date with best practice guidance and current legislation. The childminder kept accurate attendance records for the children and this showed she was working within the condition of their registration regarding numbers of children attending the service. She was aware of the records she was required to keep and her responsibility to maintained these. The childminder had a range of policies, procedures and record keeping systems in place which supported her to manage her service in line with current legislation, standards and good practice. These were shared with parents so they were aware of the procedures followed by the childminder. The childminder regularly evaluated her service through daily diaries, talking to parents and children, issuing questionnaires, and through reviewing their personal plans. Parents confirmed that their children's experiences were shared with them and that the childminder consulted them about any changes or improvements, commenting: - "We discussed 'Building the Ambition' and how the document could be used as a self evaluation tool to further improve outcomes for children using the service." We found the childminder to be very passionate about providing quality care and support to the children and ensuring that their experiences were positive. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 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. for Wendy McCann Childminding page 7 of 9
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. Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 29 Jul 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership Not assessed for Wendy McCann Childminding page 8 of 9
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. for Wendy McCann Childminding page 9 of 9