Kane, Gail Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 18 October 2016 Service provided by: Kane, Gail Service provider number: SP2008971915 Care service number: CS2008186613
The service Introduction Gail Kane provides a childminding service from her home in Dundee. Children have access to a playroom, living room, kitchen, an upstairs bedroom, toilet and an enclosed back garden. The childminder's home is within walking distance of the local primary school and nurseries and close to local parks. This service has been registered since 26 October 2009 and with the Care Inspectorate since 1 April 2011. The care service may be provided to a maximum of 6 children aged under 16 years of age at any one time of whom no more than 3 are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than 1 is aged under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. Other conditions unique to the service: Overnight care will not be provided. The service aim is to provide a safe and friendly home from home environment for children to help them learn through play. What we did during our inspection We completed this report following an unannounced inspection which took place between 2pm and 4:40pm on 18 October 2016. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate Early Years Inspector. During the inspection we spoke to the childminder, the children present and received feedback from two parents. We observed the care given by the childminder and looked at a number of documents including records of children's information, risk assessments, policies and medication records. 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 GIRFEC: Safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. Views of people using the service There were two minded children present and the childminder's own two children at the time of the inspection. The children were observed interacting very positively with the childminder, they engaged in play that they enjoyed and were well supervised. The children were settled, confident and relaxed with the childminder. We received two completed questionnaires from parents by the time of the inspection. The feedback was very positive, it told us that the parent was happy with the care provided for their children by the childminder. page 2 of 11
Self assessment We received a fully completed self-assessment from the childminder which told us how she provided care for children using the service. The use of the self assessment could be further developed to provide more information about identified strengths and areas for improvement. What the service did well We saw that the childminder provided a warm, nurturing and respectful environment for children. Children's routines were based on their stage of development, their interests and information provided from home. The childminder provided very good standards of care and support to the children and their families within an environment that promoted children's safety, health and sense of responsibility. What the service could do better The childminder should further develop quality assurance systems that enable her to identify areas for improvement and review. This included a review of policies and procedures to reflect current best practice guidance and advice. Sourcing and updating training relevant to her responsibilities and where appropriate relevant to the specific needs of children attending the service would ensure that children's needs can be met in an informed way and in accordance with current best practice guidance. 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 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection Children present at the time of inspection interacted confidently with the childminder, they were observed as settled, relaxed and happy. The childminder knew the children well and spoke with confidence about routines that were managed to help provide care consistent with home. The childminder and parents worked together to ensure settling-in was managed with sensitivity and in response to individual needs. For example, the youngest children had blankets from home for their cots, comforters and food prepared at home which the childminder told us helped them to feel more secure when adjusting to a new setting. A range of activities suitable to the needs of young children were provided, including outdoor play, walks and investigative play. page 3 of 11
Older children had been attending the service for some time. Their care and support needs were met very well based on knowledge of their individual likes and dislikes, interests and personalities. The older children attended the service before and after school. The childminder described their routines to us. It was evident that she understood their need to relax and have fun after their day at school. This included energetic play at the park on their way back to the childminder's home. Arts and crafts, baking, play in the garden, board games and computer games enabled a range of activities that engaged children's interest and developed new skills. Children's nutritional needs were met well. Children enjoyed home cooked meals based on their likes but also based on knowledge of healthy eating. Vegetables, fruit, milk and water were provided for snacks as well as toast or sandwiches. The childminder had a copy of nutritional guidance 'Setting the Table' to support healthy eating and positive mealtime experiences for children. We discussed behaviour management and read the childminder's policy on behaviour. From parental feedback, discussion and the policy we found that the childminder used positive measures to support children with their behaviour, to assert fair and consistent boundaries to respond to behaviour as a form of communication. There had been no child protection concerns identified by the childminder. She told us that she knew the children very well and that she felt confident that children would feel able to talk to her about any concerns they had. She assured us that she would contact the local child protection team for advice and guidance should a concern arise. Health needs were known to the childminder through regular communication with parents, children currently attending had no identified health issues. We asked how the childminder supported children with their progress. The childminder described knowledge of child development and learning and how she supported this through the range of activities on offer. She talked to us about discussions with parents when she was concerned about their development and how this had been used to support assessments subsequently carried out. There were minimal records to provide evidence of this but feedback from parents confirmed this. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The environment provided very good opportunities for children to play, rest and to feel welcome and valued. page 4 of 11
Areas used by the children were observed as clean, organised and safe. The playroom had space for play and to relax. The living room was organised so that younger children could play there with confidence as well. Toys and resources were organised at levels appropriate to the ages and stages of children allowing the youngest children to explore drawers in the play room that held toys appropriate to their stage of development. Craft materials, board games and smaller items were placed at heights that older children could access. Children's work was normally displayed within the playroom to support a greater feeling of inclusion and belonging. The art work was taken home every term to make space for new creative displays. Outdoors the back garden was fully enclosed, clean and tidy. Sheds and playhouses were colourfully painted which provided a space that felt like it belonged to the children. Parents had given permission for their children to use larger play equipment and risk assessments had been carried out for both indoor and outdoor areas. We advised the childminder to update the service risk assessments to add more detail, for example for use of the trampoline, to remove the guinea pigs and to include her actions to secure blind cords as seen at the time of inspection. By the time of writing the report the childminder informed us that risk assessments had been reviewed and updated. A policy had been written to describe how the childminder managed her care of the family's dog when minding children. The dog was obedient, calm and friendly throughout the inspection. We were reassured that children were never left with the dog and that they were supported to understand risks, to develop respect and caution when around dogs and other animals. Children's knowledge of keeping themselves safe and being responsible was supported through activities, consistent boundaries and on-going discussions. This included knowledge of hand hygiene, road safety and respect for others. The childminder described good knowledge of best practice on infection prevention and control when managing children's nappy changing. 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 page 5 of 11
Findings from the inspection The quality of management and leadership was evaluated as good. The childminder used feedback from parents and from children to inform her about how well she provided care for children using the service. Questionnaires had been used by the childminder which parents no longer wished to complete because of the level of information shared on a daily basis in response to children's behaviours and needs. The childminder was advised to keep records of feedback to evidence parent and children's views of the service they receive. Communication between the childminder and parents included 'whats app' communication which we looked at and 'snap chat'. Photos of activities were sent to parents as they happened and parents shared important events with the childminder from home in the same way. This promoted partnership working, greater understanding of children's interests and abilities and greater consistency between home and the service. Information recorded about children's experiences was limited. We asked the childminder to consider developing records further to capture some of their experiences and views. We also reminded the childminder to date records so that we could be sure they were reviewed with parents at least once every six months. The childminder agreed to do this. Policies and procedures had not been reviewed regularly by the childminder and updated to reflect current best practice guidance. See recommendation 1. We discussed training with the childminder and found that recently she had not undertaken any training. We recommended that the childminder undertakes an update on child protection and that she renews her first aid certificate. This will ensure that her responses to situations reflect current best practice. See recommendation 2. We discussed the inclusion of the childminder's husband as an assistant on the registration certificate so that he could help out as needed to support the service. The childminder told us that parents were happy with this suggestion. We advised the childminder that until a variation had been submitted and agreed by the Care Inspectorate registration team that only persons named on the service registration certificate could care for children using the service. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 2 1. To support self evaluation that maintains good quality care and learning experiences for children the childminder should develop a quality assurance system that seeks and records views from parents and children using the service and that sources best practice guidance to check policies are kept-up-to date. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 14: Well-managed service. page 6 of 11
2. To support the childminder to provide care that meets children's needs it is recommended that she undertakes regular training relevant to the role and responsibility of childminding services. This includes child protection training and first aid training. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 3: Health and wellbeing. 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 Up to date written risk assessments must be kept and reviewed on a regular basis in order to protect children. This is in order to comply with: The social care and social work improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 20111 SSI 2011/210 Regulation 4(1)(a) Welfare of users. This requirement was made on 11 January 2013. Action taken on previous requirement Risk assessments had been updated and overall reflected the risks and management of risks when caring for children. The childminder had two guinea pigs that had died and were still included in the risk assessment, this was updated by the time of writing the report. Met - outwith timescales Requirement 2 The childminder must develop a pet policy. This policy must include information on which area of the garden the dog uses for his toilet and how she ensures that children playing in the garden are not exposed to infection. The policy should include that the dog is never left alone with children and that children wash their hands having petted the dog. This is in order to comply with: The social care and social work improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 SSI 2011/210 Regulation 4 (1) (a) Welfare of users. This requirement was made on 11 January 2013. page 7 of 11
Action taken on previous requirement A pet policy had been written and put in place. Observation and discussion at the time of inspection reassured us that this was being followed by the childminder. Met - within timescales Requirement 3 The childminder must keep written records of when and how her toys and equipment are cleaned. This is in order to comply with: The social care and social work improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 SSI 2011/210 Regulation 4 (1) (a) Welfare of users. This requirement was made on 11 January 2013. Action taken on previous requirement The childminder had a record of dates when toys ad equipment had been checked and cleaned. Observations of toys and equipment led us to believe that the records reflected actions taken by the childminder. Met - within timescales Requirement 4 The childminder agreed that she must ensure that the cords of the blinds in the kitchen are secured in such a manner that they would ensure safety for children. This is in order to comply with: The social care and social work improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 SSI 2011/210 Regulation 4 (1) (a) Welfare of users. This requirement was made on 11 January 2013. Action taken on previous requirement Blind cords were secured at the time of inspection. The childminder explained that she kept them secured when children were attending the service. Met - within timescales 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 she keeps her policies and procedures up to date and that parents are aware of them. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 13: Improving the service. page 8 of 11
This recommendation was made on 11 January 2013. Action taken on previous recommendation Policies had been reviewed by the childminder since the last inspection but we found that some policies and procedures needed further updating to reflect current best practice guidance. We discussed that this is a continuous process as we update our guidance when new research has been released. A further recommendation has been made. Recommendation 2 The childminder should continue to seek the views of parents and children on all aspects of their care and learning. She should use this information to provide evidence of evaluation across the whole of her service. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 13: Improving the service. This recommendation was made on 11 January 2013. Action taken on previous recommendation The views of parents and children were evidently important to the childminder but there was little formal records of this. We looked at feedback from parents on the childminder's mobile phone and from feedback we received from parents about their involvement when making improvements or changes to the service. Parents stongly agreed that they were involved. 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 26 Nov 2012 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership Not assessed page 9 of 11
Date Type Gradings 1 Feb 2012 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment Not assessed Staffing 3 - Adequate Management and leadership Not assessed 2 Jun 2010 Announced (short notice) Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership Not assessed page 10 of 11
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 11 of 11