MacPherson, June Dingwall Inspection completed on 09 October 2015
Service provided by: MacPherson, June Service provider number: SP2004929944 Care service number: CS2013322808 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 13
1 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 was registered with the Care Inspectorate on 21 October 2015. Requirements and recommendations Childminder inspection report If we are concerned about some aspect of a service, or think it could do more to improve, we may make a recommendation or requirement. - A recommendation is a statement that sets out actions the care service provider should take to improve or develop the quality of the service, but where failure to do so will not directly result in enforcement. Recommendations are based on the National Care Standards, relevant codes of practice and recognised good practice. - A requirement is a statement which sets out what is required of a care service to comply with the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and Regulations or Orders made under the Act or a condition of registration. Where there are breaches of Regulations, Orders or Conditions, a requirement must be made. Requirements are legally enforceable at the discretion of the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of all children receiving a care service. We want to ensure they have the best start in life, are ready to succeed and live longer, healthier lives. We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it right for every child (also known as GIRFEC). Set up by Scottish Government, GIRFEC is a national approach to working in a consistent way 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. Getting it right for every child is being woven into all policy, practice, strategy and legislation that affect children, young people and their families. There are eight wellbeing indicators at the heart of Getting it right for every child. They are: safe; healthy; achieving; nurtured; active; respected; responsible; page 3 of 13
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. June MacPherson is registered as a childminder to care for a maximum of 6 children at any one time under the age of 16, 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. June MacPherson provides a childminding service from her home in a quiet, residential area of Dingwall. She made use of the kitchen, lounge, hall and bathroom. There was a small enclosed garden to the front of the house which the childminder made good use of. The childminder also made regular use of the local park, walks and other local resources to offer the children the opportunity to be healthy, active and have access to fresh air and exercise. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following a short notice announced inspection. This was carried out by one inspector. The inspection took place on 9 October 2015, between 9:30am and 11:15am. We gave feedback to the childminder on the day of the inspection. We sent Care Standard questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to parents and carers of children who attend the service. Two parents and carers completed and returned the questionnaire. During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources including the following: discussion with the childminder talking with the children present observation of interaction between the childminder and the children children's records policies and procedures information folder made available to parents and carers certificate of registration and public liability insurance examination of the premises. page 4 of 13
Views of people using the service There were two pre-school age children present on the day of the inspection. They were very relaxed and happy in the care of the childminder. The children were very happily engaged in a range of activities of their choice. The children enjoyed telling us what they liked to do when they were at the childminder's. The parents who completed and returned the care standards questionnaires were very positive in their comments about the standard of care provided by the childminder. They both strongly agreed with the statement 'Overall, I am happy with the quality of care my child receives in this service'. Comments made included: 'Very happy with my childminder, I couldn't ask for a better one, and my daughter gets to excited to see June. We both have a fantastic relationship with her.' 'June creates a lovely family environment. She goes beyond the call of duty on numerous occasions. My little boy is very happy with her as am myself.' 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. The childminder explained that due to technical difficulties with her laptop she was unable to submit a self assessment. What the service did well The childminder was very attentive to the two young children throughout the inspection. She was very nurturing and offered lots of attention and reassurance. There was lots of positive interaction, eye contact and chatting. She made sure that there were appropriate toys and activities available to the children. The childminder provided a flexible, child orientated service which was very much appreciated by both the children and their parents and carers. She was committed to working in partnership with families to meet the needs of the children attending. page 5 of 13
The childminder offered the children the opportunity to take part in a range of fun and enjoyable activities both indoors and outdoors. The childminder made very good use of local walks, playgroups, parent and toddler groups, activities at the local library and other community resources. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to keep up to date with current best practice and access any relevant training. She should routinely update her policies and procedures to ensure that they reflect and take account of current best practice. The childminder should register as a food provider. Childminder inspection report 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 We found that the childminder provided very good care and support for the children. We were able to see that the childminder's practice supported very good outcomes for each child and we were able to gather information to support this. Establishing positive working relationships with parents and carers, which page 6 of 13
allowed for open communication and information sharing was important to the childminder. She explained that she had friendly and open relationships with the families she worked with. This was confirmed by the comments parents made in the completed Care Standard questionnaires. Parents were of the opinion that they had positive relationships with the childminder and that she listened to and acted upon their views. It was important to the childminder to work with parents and carers to ensure that she met the individual needs of the children attending. She used the information she received from parents and carers to individualise the service for each child attending. The childminder asked parents and carers for background information about their child's interests, activities, food preferences, toilet training etc. to ensure continuity of care and ensure that each child was safe, healthy and nurtured. From our observations and discussions with the childminder, it was very evident that she knew each of the children in her care extremely well. We discussed with the childminder the need to have this information recorded in individual written personal plans for each child. We also discussed the importance of routinely reviewing and updating these plans to ensure that they continued to appropriately support the child's on-going development. The childminder shared information with the parents informally on a daily basis at drop off and collection times. She explained that she routinely met with parents and carers to discuss their child's progress. The childminder stated that she offered to complete daily diaries for the younger children attending her service however none of the families she worked with requested them. She did however complete daily communication sheets. The childminder also made use of the telephone, text messaging and social media to share information and to keep in contact with parents. Involving the parents and carers, and the children, in the on-going evaluation of the service was important to the childminder. She explained that she tended to get most feedback informally when talking to parents and carers at the end of the day when they came to collect their children. The childminder explained that she respected and included the children through encouraging them to express their feelings and by listening to them and taking account of their suggestions. She stated that the children, especially the older page 7 of 13
children, offered ideas as to what they would like to do while they were with her. The childminder encouraged the children to develop their imaginative play, and activities were very much child led. The children learned about how to keep themselves safe, be healthy and active during various daily activities. The childminder encouraged good hand hygiene and spoke to the children about the importance of washing their hands before meals and after messy play and going to the toilet. The children learnt about road safety while out for walks and visits to the local parks where they took part in games and active play. The childminder had attended training to allow her to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to keep children safe. She had previously attended first aid training and knew how to respond in the event of a child having an accident. The childminder had a policy and procedure in relation to the safe storage and administration of medication. We discussed with the childminder the need to review and develop this policy to ensure that it was up to date and reflected current best practice. Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 Childminder inspection report 4 Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found that the childminder's home environment was very child friendly, clean, well maintained and welcoming for the children attending. Ensuring the health and safety of the children was a priority for the childminder. We based this on our observations of the premises, resources and play equipment used, the policies and procedures in place and comments from parents and carers. page 8 of 13
The children were kept safe and healthy through the childminder ensuring her home, all toys and equipment were kept clean and well maintained. She explained that she undertook daily checks of the equipment when she took it out in the morning and put it away at the end of the day. The childminder stated that she took into account the ages and stages of development and interests of the children when she took out equipment each day. The children could also access other toys themselves. During the inspection we were able to observe the two young children independently selecting various toys and equipment they wanted to play with. The childminder made very good use of the space available both indoors and outdoors. Comments from parents in the care standards questionnaires indicated that they were very happy with the space available to the children to take part in a range of activities and that the premises were safe and secure. The children enjoyed spending time outdoors most days. They tended to spend a large part of their day outdoors either in the garden or out for walks in the surrounding area. When out for walks the childminder ensured that the children learnt about road safety, how to cross the road safely, use a pedestrian crossing, stranger danger and how to play safe outdoors. There was a fully enclosed garden to the front of the house which contained a range of outdoor play equipment. Children attending the service were kept safe through the various systems the childminder had in place including risk assessments, where she identified any risks around the house and putting appropriate measures in place. The childminder routinely reviewed her risk assessments of her premises and the garden and maintained written records. The childminder also completed risk assessments for any outings. She explained that she was due to attend risk assessment training in the near future. Children were kept safe and healthy through the childminder using safe infection control practices. For example the childminder encouraged good hand hygiene practices and talked to the children about the importance of washing their hands and keeping themselves healthy. The childminder also followed best practice guidance in relation to nappy changing and used disposable gloves and aprons to reduce the risk of infection. The childminder involved parents and carers in ensuring their children were safe page 9 of 13
while in her care. She asked parents for their consent for various activities including outings and taking photographs. She also asked parents to review and sign any accidents and incident reports. Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 Childminder inspection report 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 managed the service to a very good level. The childminder had in place a range of policies and procedures which she routinely reviewed. These ensured that children were safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included. We discussed the importance of ensuring that all policies and procedures took account of current best practice guidance. The childminder recognised the importance of ensuring that she had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children. She had completed a range of training including child protection, first aid and food hygiene. The childminder explained that she had recently joined the Care and Learning Alliance and hoped to access some of their training in the future. She was also on the mailing list for the local authority and Scottish Childminding Association and received information from them about training events. page 10 of 13
The childminder explained that she kept up to date with best practice and got ideas as to how she could develop her service by reading various publications such as SCMA magazine and regular Care Inspectorate publications. She explained that she also met with other childminders in the area and found it helpful speaking to them. We spoke to the childminder about the Care Inspectorate 'Hub' where she could access other useful information, new publications, best practice guidance and keep up to date with any changes to relevant legislation. Parents and carers were involved in the assessment and development of the service. The childminder encouraged them to give regular feedback and suggestions. The childminder explained that she routinely spoke with the children and their parents and carers to ask for their comments and ideas. She stated that the children, especially the older children, had some good ideas, and activities were very much led by them. The childminder had in place a clear complaints policy and procedure which she shared with all parents and carers. There had been no complaints at the time of the inspection. Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 0 7 What the service has done to meet any recommendations or requirements we made at our last inspection Previous requirements page 11 of 13
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 11 Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 12 of 13
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 13 of 13