Smart Kids Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 23 September 2016 Service provided by: Smart, Jane Service provider number: SP2015986956 Care service number: CS2015337601
The service Introduction Smart Kids Childminding has been registered with the Care Inspectorate since 2015 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 family. Minded children cannot be cared for by persons other than those named on the certificate. Overnight care cannot be provided. The service is provided from the childminder's home within a residential area of Kirkcaldy close to local schools, shops, parks and other amenities. The areas used to provide childminding were the lounge, kitchen and bathroom. Children also have access to the rear garden. The childminder's aims included: 'To provide a childminding service from home, in a safe, warm child centred environment allowing opportunities for outdoor play experiences.' What we did during our inspection We completed this report following a short announced inspection, which took place between 10:40am and 12:30pm on 29 July 2016. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate Early Years Inspector. During the inspection we spoke to the childminder and the child present. We observed the care given by the childminder and looked at a number of documents including health and safety records, planning information, children's records and the methods in place for evaluating the service. We also looked at the childminding environment and considered the experiences of the children. 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 services that can help them. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it Right for Every Child: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. Views of people using the service One minded child was present during the inspection. She played happily in the childminder's company and was eager for the childminder to join her play. This showed us that the child was comfortable around the childminder and confident to ask for her support. We sent four care standards questionnaires to the childminder to give to families who use the service. None were returned before the inspection. During the inspection we gave the contact details of the inspector and asked the childminder to share these with parents. Prior to completing this report, no parents had made contact. page 2 of 8
Self assessment The service explained the reasons for failing to submit their self-assessment. We were satisfied by this response, but reminded the childminder for future inspections that she must complete this. What the service did well The child present received a very good level of care and support. The childminder who was getting to know the child, was already showing a high level of knowledge about the child's needs and interest. This allowed her to plan activities to support the child, using child centred approaches. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to embed her current practice, to ensure that parents receive a good standard of service and outcomes for children remain positive. 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 The childminder was performing well in this area and families received a very good level of care and support. Thoughtfully planned settles encouraged children to get to know the childminder in the care and security of their parents. Using this time effectively the childminder gathered information, that, she felt could help her to provide appropriate care and support when the child eventually came into her care. Examples included asking parents what their child liked and favourite toys. The childminder told us that during the first few weeks she offered activities to meet children's likes and interests because it helped with the transition and made them settle quicker. We considered this to be very good practice as this contributed to children feeling safe and nurtured. Very good information sharing meant that children's needs could be met well, because the childminder had an accurate picture of any changes in their care routines allowing her to adapt her practice to reflect this updated information. Changing how she cared for children to ensure that their needs were being met helped them to feel valued and respected. It demonstrated to them that the childminder understood it was important to their wellbeing when the received appropriate care and support. page 3 of 8
Using the national wellbeing indicators the childminder was able to support individual children, taking a targeted approach is essential for helping children to achieve, because they are getting the right type of help at the right time. Providing opportunities for parents to celebrate the progress their child was making, through sharing information increased their child's self-esteem because parents could offer praise and encouragement for their child's efforts, which helped them to achieve. Encouraging children to try new and different healthy foods provided opportunities for engaging discussions about the different food groups required to keep the body healthy. Having these conversations increased children's awareness of what they could do to keep themselves healthy. Routine outdoor play experiences contributed to children's need for fresh air and exercise, which helped to keep them active and fit. Effective boundary setting helped children to learn about respect for others and become responsible for their actions. The childminder told us that it was important for children to take responsibility when they hurt or upset their friends. Promoting positive behaviour was used to reinforce good behaviour and the childminder described how she praised children and would tell them what it was she was praising them for. This increased the other children's awareness of what good behaviour was. This is very good practice. Distraction techniques enabled the childminder to manage situations pro-actively and prevent them escalating. The childminder gave a clear account of the procedures she would follow if she had a potential child protection concern in her service. These included addressing such concerns without delay and inform the relevant professionals. This kept children safe because the childminder could deal with these concerns efficiently and minimise the potential on-going risk to the children in her care. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The childminder offered children a homely experience through ensuring that they had free access to toys and resources, much like they did at home. Providing toys and activities, which were developmentally appropriate promoted children's progress as they had challenge and stimulation in their play. Having these types of play experiences helped children to achieve. Infection control within the service was very good and we noted that the childminder was exploring with children what they could do to keep their bodies healthy. page 4 of 8
For example supporting the less able children in their hand washing routines provided opportunities for the childminder to chat with them about the importance of good hand hygiene. Encouraging children to dispose of handkerchiefs and cover their mouth when they coughed meant that they were developing an awareness of their responsibility for reducing infection within the service. Accidents and incidents were managed very well and we found that the childminder understood why it was very good practice to send parents a text message or give them a call to keep them informed. Involving parents in these ways gave them opportunities to influence they way in which the situation was managed. Which made them feel respected and included. Managing risk was a key strength within the service, the childminder demonstrated a high level of knowledge and understanding in this particular area. The childminder described how she encouraged children to take positive risks in their play and her role for identifying hazards. It is important for children to experience risk in their play as this contributes to them developing the key skills needed for identifying and managing risk in all aspects of their lives. 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 management and leadership within the service was good and we found that the childminder was good at allowing parents and children to influence what was happening within the service. Networking with another childminding service allowed the childminder to keep up-to-date with changes in legislation and best practice. She told us that she used the information gained at these meetings to review what she was providing and ensure that she continued to offer families a good standard of service. Discussion with the childminder confirmed that she had a good understanding of why it was important to accurately maintain information she held in relation to individual children. We informed the childminder that children's records must be reviewed on a six monthly basis or sooner, depending on any changes to a child's care needs. This was acknowledged by the childminder. page 5 of 8
The childminder demonstrated a good understanding of why it was important to ensure that she kept up-todate with new guidance and best practice. She told us that if a child coming into her care had additional support or medicals need she knew she would have to increase her awareness of their condition to ensure that she could offer them the right type of help and support. This commitment respected parents right to have their child cared for by a motivated, caring person. 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 There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. 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