Lafferty, Carol Child Minding Type of inspection: Announced (short notice) Inspection completed on: 15 August 2017 Service provided by: Lafferty, Carol Service provider number: SP2004938844 Care service number: CS2004056439
The service Introduction The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com This service has been registered since 2004. Mrs Lafferty is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of 6 children at any one time under the age of 16; of whom a maximum of 6 will be under 12; of whom no more than 3 are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than 1 is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of children of the childminder's family. The service is provided from the childminder's home in the town of Kilwinning. The family home is situated, within a residential housing area at the edge of the town. The areas used to provide the service were the lounge/dining room, kitchen and ground floor toilet. Children also had access to the rear garden. The service aims include: - To provide a warm and welcoming environment for all children and their parents/carers - To offer a safe environment where children are able to play freely and happy - To provide children with opportunities to participate in group activities to aid their social skills and individual play activities if they prefer - To establish good relationships with parents/carers. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an announced short notice inspection that took place between the times of 9:20 and 11:20 on Tuesday 15 August, 2017. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate Early Years Inspector. During the inspection, we spoke with the childminder and the children attending. We observed the care given by the childminder and looked at a number of documents including; children's folders, risk assessments and childminder training. 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 getting it right for every child: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible and included. Views of people using the service Two pre-school age siblings were attending the service during the inspection visit. Both boys presented as being well settled and relaxed in the care environment. They happily played with the selection of toys provided for them. The older child was keen to show us how the power ranger toy could be transformed into a bird, while the younger child did his best to build "duplo brick" towers. Both boys liked to involve the childminder in their play activities. page 2 of 8
We sent three care standards questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to parents/carers. Two were completed and returned to us. Both respondents indicated that they were happy with the service provided for their children. A respondent comment included: "We are so lucky to have Carol. She is flexible & helpful. (Child) has been with Carol since he was 6 months old & he has a strong bond with Carol & her family." Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a completed self-assessment from the childminder. This identified what the childminder thought the service did well including liaising with parents/carers, following children's routines and offering children choice. The childminder told us how she gathered parents/carers and children's views and how this feedback helped her to evaluate the service. What the service did well Mrs Lafferty provides a comfortable and homely childminding environment. She listens to what the children and their parents/carers have to say and uses what they tell her to plan children's care. Children attending the service are content and well settled in the childminder's care and their parents/carers are happy with the care service their children receive. What the service could do better The childminder should use the guidance provided at inspection to further develop and review personal planning and to improve medication administration recording. 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 discussed with us how she involved parents/carers in the service. This included a combination of; daily discussions, text messaging, personal planning, observation reports and progress notes. This enabled parents/carers to share in their children's experiences. Our questionnaire returns indicated satisfaction with the communication and involvement opportunities provided. page 3 of 8
A respondent comment included; "Carol talks frequently to myself, my mum and the nursery to find out our needs and identify (child's) likes and dislikes. She also uses questionnaires to see what else she can offer. Carol regularly sends information home to be checked and signed. She also discusses care plans with myself and the nursery so that we all work together." We observed warm and supportive interaction between the childminder and the children attending. Both boys were quite at home in the care environment. They freely wandered between the lounge and dining area and happily selected the toys they wanted to play with. They both enjoyed building with the "duplo bricks". The older boy was keen to share his building creations with us. He confidently chatted to us throughout the visit, telling us about his nursery, going to the park and walking the dog. The younger child persevered with his "duplo brick" building for some time. Later he became interested in our writing materials and had a shot of drawing with our pen. These interactions told us that children felt comfortable and secure in the childminder's care. We sampled the children's information gathered by the childminder and found this provided helpful details on children's routines, preferences and developmental stages. This assisted the childminder in her planning of children's care. She had used this information, along with her observations, progress reports and in some cases links with other childcare services, to construct personal plans for each minded child. She had consulted with parents/carers in identifying their children's next steps and on her future plans. We did discuss how personal planning could be further developed to better reflect how the childminder will provide for children's health, wellbeing and safety needs. We also provided guidance on personal plan review timescales. During the inspection we discussed the latest best practice guidance in relation to medication administration recording and advised that further information was available on our web-site. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found the family home to be a warm, homely and comfortable environment for young children. The main indoor play area provided sufficient play space for minded children. They could relax on the comfortable furnishings or engage in floor play. A large kitchen dining table provided additional space for snacks or messy play activities. The childminder told us that she had a travel cot available if required. The childminder had organised the indoor play area to create a fun and inviting play space for younger children. This included a variety of floor toys along with two large toy tubs set at floor level to be easily accessed by small children. This supported children to be independent in making their own activity choices. page 4 of 8
All of the toys viewed were clean and in good order. We observed that minded children enjoyed choosing their play resources. Respondents who returned our questionnaire strongly agreed that the childminder provided a suitable range of equipment, toys and materials for their children. A respondent commented; "All toys are age appropriate and she even caters for children's likes/dislikes while encouraging to try new things". An enclosed rear garden was available for outdoor play. The childminder told us that she was planning to have astro-turf laid, as the rear garden can become muddy in wet weather. She also showed us photographs that indicated that children had gone on a range of outings to a variety of local parks and the beach. The childminder had completed comprehensive risk assessments for the home environment and for outings. She had fitted safety equipment within the home to keep children safe from harm. This indicated to us that the childminder was conscientious regarding children's safety 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 Mrs Lafferty had returned a self-assessment document telling us about her childcare service and of the areas she felt she did well. We found the information contained in the self-assessment reflected in what we found at inspection. She had asked parents/carers to complete an evaluative questionnaire to gather their views on the care she provided. Sampled returns indicated satisfaction with all aspects of the service. She had also asked parents/ carers to update her on what their children liked to do to help her to better provide for children's changing needs. She had encouraged older children to update their "all about me" information so that she was kept updated on the things that were of interest to them. She had involved and liaised with parents/carers and in some cases a local daycare service to support consistency in care planning and in identifying next steps. Respondents who returned our questionnaire both strongly agreed that the childminder asked for their views on their child's care. Please see information in the care and support section of this report. page 5 of 8
A respondent comment included; "Carol sends home a care plan and seeks parent's opinions on targets we want her to work towards with our child". Since last inspection, Mrs Lafferty had completed on-line training in child protection and first aid and had gathered a range of best practice publications to keep her childcare knowledge updated. We discussed some further research areas that the childminder may find useful in caring for young children, including "Schemas". She had annually reviewed her aims, objectives and policy statements and had provided parents/carers with these updates. She had secured permissions for a range of matters including; emergency medical treatment, medication administration, photographs, recording observations, applying sun cream, taking children on outings and transport arrangements. This tells us that the childminder prepares well and plans ahead. 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. What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection Previous recommendations Recommendation 1 The childminder should consider wider methods of consultation to encourage parents and children to participate in and express their views on the quality of the service provided. National Care Standards for early education and childcare up to age 16 - Standard 13: Improving the service. page 6 of 8
This recommendation was made on 17 July 2013. Action taken on previous recommendation The childminder provided an action plan detailing proposed measures to further involve parents/carers in their children's care. We found that the childminder had put in place all of the action outlined. 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 17 Jul 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 25 Feb 2010 Announced Care and support Environment Not assessed Staffing Management and leadership Not assessed 29 May 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and leadership 4 - Good 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