Wholesome Children Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 6 October 2016 Service provided by: Mackenzie, Monika Service provider number: SP2015986951 Care service number: CS2015337559
The service Introduction The Care Inspectorate registers care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com. The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure that they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. We check that services are meeting the principles of Getting It Right For Every Child (GIRFEC). Set up by the Scottish Government GIRFEC is a national approach to working 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 affects 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. Mrs Monika McKenzie referred to as the childminder throughout this report provides her childminding service from her home, a first floor flat in an established part of Musselburgh in East Lothian. Her home is close to local amenities and services. Parts of the family home used by minded children are the large living room, the family bathroom and the balcony which opens directly from the living room. The childminder is registered to provided a 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. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection which took place on Thursday 6 October between 11.00am and 12.30pm. We fed back to the childminder on the day of the inspection. We sent three Care Standards questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to families using the service. Two of these were returned to the Care Inspectorate. During the inspection we gathered information from sources including the following: - Discussion with childminder. - Observation of the quality of interaction between the childminder and the minded children. - A walk around all of the parts of the childminders home used by minded children. - Accident and incident recording procedures. - A sample of children's records. - Relevant policies and procedures. page 2 of 8
Views of people using the service The children present were too young to express their views on the service however we saw that they appeared confident and settled in the care of the childminder. The childminder was attentive to the children ensuring that she shared her attention equally between them and supporting them as needed in their play. Self assessment We did not receive a completed self assessment document. We discussed the importance of the document with the childminder. What the service did well The childminder had developed positive and caring relationships with the minded children. Her home provided them with a bright and welcoming environment which supported their ability to make choices about the activities they wanted to take part in. Parents views were respected. Communication with families and an understanding of childrens needs formed the basis of the service provided. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to develop her information gathering systems and ensure she keeps up to date with developments in 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 4 - Good 5 - Very Good not assessed 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection This was the first inspection of the service since its registration. It was apparent that the childminder understood the importance of effective communication with families. Parents who returned our questionnaires told us they strongly agreed that the childminder asked for their views on how they wanted their children to be cared for. One told us: "At every drop off and pick up we discuss the children's needs. Monika is very good at telling me about their day and answers any questions I might have" another said: "She talks to me at handover and feeds back through texts and emails. I can text or call at any time to discuss anything I need." We asked the childminder to consider introducing more formal ways of supporting parents to express their views, she agreed to do this. page 3 of 8
Parents were given information about the service including a copy of the childminder's registration certificate, insurance, qualifications and courses she had attended. The childminder spoke knowledgeably about the needs of the children she cared for. Individual children were well supported and it was apparent that the childminder had developed strong positive relationships with them which supported their general development. However we felt she could improve the quality of the written information she held on them. We asked her to continue to develop "All about me " books and to ensure that this information was formally reviewed at least once every six months in line with legislation. She agreed to do this. Children's nutritional needs were supported through the provision of healthy meals and snacks based on the NHS Scotland book Setting the Table. A parent told us "My child was quite fussy with her food. I believe that Monika's positive attitude to healthy food has helped her to be open to a variety of food," another said "Monika provides healthy snacks and my child regularly makes healthy food when she's there." The childminder was not aware of changes in the ways the administration of medication should be recorded. We made a recommendation about this and told her how to obtain a copy of the document "Administration of Medication in Daycare of Children and Childminding setting." (See recommendation 1). Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. It is recommended that the childminder obtains a copy of the document Administration of Medication in Daycare of Children and Childminding Settings. She should follow the guidance particularly in relation to ensuring that parents confirm that they have given their child the first dose of any medication. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare. Standard 3 Health and Wellbeing. Grade: 4 - good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection Parents who returned our questionnaires told us they strongly agreed that the childminder's home provided their children with a safe, secure, hygienic, smoke free, pleasant and stimulating environment. We found that the childminder provided children with a welcoming and fun environment where they could move around freely and experience a wide range of activities. Toys and resources were attractively presented and placed where children could see them and make their own choices which helped promote their independence and decision making skills. page 4 of 8
The parts of the home used for childminding were the large living room with adjoining balcony, the hallway and the family bathroom. The childminder told us she understood the potential risks of the balcony and had taken steps to minimise them which included daily visual checks, erecting vertical fencing which the children could not climb on and ensuring that children were always supervised on the balcony. Children enjoyed a range of activities in the family home. They included arts and crafts, active games, playing with sand and water, regular cooking and baking and planting and growing plants and fruits. A parent told us: "Monika is attuned to my childrens needs and is keen to follow their interests". The childminder understood the value of regular opportunities to play outdoors. She used the resources in the wider community including the nearby beach, parks and river walks. A parent confirmed this saying: "Monika regularly takes the children to the beach, the park and to Newhailes house. They love exploring the outside world and I make sure they have appropriate clothing so that they can go outside whatever the weather." 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 We found that the childminder was committed to providing an effective service which met the needs of local families. She had taken part in training including First Aid and Child Protection. She had completed an SVQ Level two in child care. She was aware that her Food Hygiene training needed to be updated, we talked about how this might be achieved. As previously stated the childminder had developed positive relationships with the families using her service. We asked her to look for ways to evidence their involvement in the development and evaluation of the service and she agreed to do this. A complaints policy told parents how to take forward any concerns about the service. This included how they could contact the Care Inspectorate. Parents told us they would not hesitate to talk to the childminder if they had any concerns. We spoke about the HUB (this is part of our web site which includes information on best practice, policies and page 5 of 8
procedures and newly published documents relevant to services). The childminder agreed to check this on a regular basis. We felt this would support the ongoing development of her service. Overall families told us they were happy with the quality of the service provided. One told us: "Monika has been a great find for us and has enabled me to return to work confident that my children will be well looked after. They love their Monika days." Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - 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 Please see Care Inspectorate website (www.careinspectorate.com) for details of complaints about the service which have been upheld. page 6 of 8
Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. 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