McKenzie, Leigh Aberdeen Inspection completed on 13 October 2015
Service provided by: McKenzie, Leigh Service provider number: SP2003900546 Care service number: CS2003001924 Inspection Type: Announced (Short Notice) Care services in Scotland, including childminders, cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and set out improvements that must be made. We also investigate complaints about care services and 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. Contact Us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 www.careinspectorate.com @careinspect page 2 of 12
1 Introduction Childminder inspection report The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com. This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred its registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April 2011. Mrs McKenzie provides her childminding service from her detached home in a residential area of Portlethen in Aberdeenshire. Children have access to a living room, dining room, conservatory/playroom and secure outdoor area. Mrs McKenzie 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 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. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following a short notice announced inspection of the service. This took place on Wednesday 14 October 2015 between 2pm and 4pm. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed annual return form that we asked Mrs McKenzie to complete and submit to us. We sent three care standards questionnaires to be distributed to parents of children who used the service. All three questionnaires were returned before the inspection. During the inspection process, we spent time with Mrs McKenzie and the child she was caring for in her home. We observed and discussed how Mrs McKenzie cared for children and worked with their families and observed the environment and resources that children had access to. Views of people using the service The child who was being cared for during the inspection was happy and confident in the environment and had a very good relationship with Mrs McKenzie. When we arrived the child was having a nap and she then enjoyed a healthy snack and played happily with the range of toys and resources available. page 3 of 12
All three parents who returned questionnaires confirmed that they were happy or very happy with the quality of care provided. Parents commented that their children enjoyed attending and that they had close bonds with Mrs McKenzie. We have included parents' comments within the relevant sections of this report. Self assessment Every year all care services complete a 'self assessment' telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this is accurate. We did not receive an up to date self assessment. Mrs McKenzie's last self assessment gave us some information about what she thought she did well and areas that she planned to develop. She was however able to tell us much more about this in discussion during our inspection. We discussed how to further develop the self assessment in the future and how to reference the SHANARRI (safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included) wellbeing indicators. What the service did well Mrs McKenzie provided a clean, welcoming and homely environment with lots of space for children to play and a very good range of toys and resources for them to choose from. She was warm and nurturing and had developed very good relationships with the children. Mrs McKenzie was very active in the local community and made good use of resources to extend the range of experiences available to children. What the service could do better We discussed how Mrs McKenzie could further develop children's personal plans to incorporate the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators and methods of working in partnership with parents to plan for children's care and learning. page 4 of 12
2 The grades we awarded We grade the quality of care and support, the quality of the environment and the quality of management and leadership. If the childminder employs an assistant, we also grade the quality of staffing. In each case, we award a grade on a scale from 1 to 6, where 1 is unsatisfactory and 6 is excellent. 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 3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminder was very good at providing effective care and support for children. She was warm and nurturing with the child being cared for during the inspection. She knew the child well and was responsive to her needs and interests. Children enjoyed a child centred, relaxed and homely environment with lots of outings in the local community. The childminder had developed very good relationships with parents and communicated well with them to meet their child's individual needs. This showed that the childminder respected parents' views and provided continuity of care to promote children's health and to support their achievements. The parents who completed questionnaires told us that the childminder was responsive to children's non verbal communication and offered children choices where possible. The childminder told us about how she discussed activity and outing options with older children, and gave them lots of choice. We saw that children had recently been consulted regarding the choice of foods and that the childminder had respected their wishes, whilst promoting healthy food. page 5 of 12
The childminder encouraged children to eat healthily and offered a variety of nutritious meals and snacks. During our inspection, the child present enjoyed a healthy snack of fresh fruit. The childminder told us about how she prepared lots of homemade food and worked with parents to help their children develop good eating habits. We discussed providing information about allergens to parents. The childminder had previously displayed information on a weekly basis. We agreed that this was good practice but agreed that providing parents with information about all of the food generally provided, and updated as required, would suffice. Lots of opportunities for energetic play indoors and outside helped children to be healthy and active. Children enjoyed playing actively in the well resourced garden and had lots of visits to a range of parks and indoor play resources. This helped children to be active, healthy and included in the local community. The childminder recorded personal plans for all children. These had information about children's routines, care and health needs. We found that she was using this information well to provide responsive and individual care for children, which helped them achieve the next steps in their learning and development. Children were safe and protected from harm and abuse as the childminder was clear about what to do if she had any concerns. Regular updates to training and best practice regarding this helped to ensure the childminder was aware of current legislation and practice. Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 page 6 of 12
4 Quality of environment Childminder inspection report Findings from the inspection The childminder provided a very good environment for children. Children enjoyed a homely, clean and well maintained environment inside and had access to a very good range of outings to places of interest and outdoor play opportunities. Children had lots of space to take part in different types of activities in the living room, dining room and conservatory/playroom. They had a very good range of toys and equipment to choose from. The childminder had chosen these carefully to reflect the children's individual interests and learning. During the inspection, the child played with Minions, which she clearly enjoyed, and had access to lots of stage appropriate toys. All of the parents who returned questionnaires agreed that the childminder provided a hygienic, safe and stimulating environment with a suitable choice of resources, enough space and opportunities for outings in the community. Children had direct access from the conservatory to the well equipped garden. This included a cabin which provided a warm and comfortable environment. This was particularly well used by older children and offered them opportunities for less closely supervised play appropriate to their stage of development. This helped children to learn to be responsible for their own safety. The garden also included a pirate ship which had been purchased in response to children's interests. This showed that the childminder respected children's choices and promoted their learning and development through appropriate resources. The childminder's car was well maintained and had appropriate child seats to promote children's safety. The childminder told us that she checked the home and garden for risks every Sunday prior to children arriving the next day. We saw that the house was well maintained and there were no obvious hazards. The childminder did not allow anyone to smoke in the home to ensure that children were not subjected to harmful fumes. page 7 of 12
The childminder had systems in place to record and share information with parents about any accidents or incidents. This meant that parents were kept informed about issues affecting their children. These approaches helped to promote children's health and safety. The childminder had a very good understanding of how germs can spread and referred to best practice guidance to ensure that she minimised the risk of this. Appropriate aprons and gloves for changing nappies would be used as needed. Children were learning to develop good personal hygiene through effective and positive approaches. One of these approaches was providing children with access to a glowbox, borrowed from environmental health, to help them learn about effective hand washing. Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 5 Quality of staffing We only assess this where the childminder employs an assistant. 6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection The childminder was very good at keeping up to date with current best practice and legislation. She did this by making herself familiar with, and implementing, best practice information received from the Care Inspectorate and from the Scottish Childminding Association. page 8 of 12
In addition, the childminder was part of an active local childminding group, which provided lots of opportunities for sharing best practice and accessing training. The childminder had recently accessed training on infection control and first aid and had previously accessed Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) training. These approaches helped to ensure the childminder had the right skills and knowledge to provide a good quality of care. The childminder demonstrated a strong commitment to providing a high quality service for children and their families. As part of this inspection, we looked at the childminder's last self assessment document. This showed us that she was aware of GIRFEC and the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators. We did however discuss developing the self assessment document further and using the process to support quality assurance. The childminder had developed a range of written policies and procedures that she shared effectively with parents. This helped to ensure that parents knew what to expect of her service and how they could raise concerns and be involved in service developments. This helped promote respectful relationships. All of the parents who returned questionnaires confirmed that they were involved in developing the service. Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 Childminder inspection report page 9 of 12
7 What the service has done to meet any recommendations or requirements we made at our last inspection Previous requirements There are no outstanding requirements. Previous recommendations There are no outstanding recommendations. 8 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com 9 Enforcements No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. 10 Other issues No other issues. page 10 of 12
11 Inspection and grading history Childminder inspection report Date Type Gradings 27 Oct 2011 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 6 - Excellent Management and Leadership Not Assessed 12 Aug 2010 Announced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing Not Assessed Management and Leadership Not Assessed 19 Mar 2009 Unannounced Care and support 5 - Very Good Environment 5 - Very Good Staffing 5 - Very Good Management and Leadership Not Assessed page 11 of 12
To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. You can also read more about our work online. Contact Us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 www.careinspectorate.com @careinspect Other languages and formats Childminder inspection report This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is c?nain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 12 of 12