McCulloch, Leigh Cumnock Inspection completed on 28 January 2016
Service provided by: McCulloch, Leigh Service provider number: SP2014986443 Care service number: CS2014332515 Inspection Type: Unannounced 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 14
1 Introduction The Care Inspectorate (CI) regulates care services in Scotland. Information about all care services is available on our website at www.careinspectorate.com Leigh McCulloch registered her service with the Care Inspectorate on 31 March 2015. Leigh McCulloch provides a childminding service from her family home in the town of Cumnock, East Ayrshire. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children under the age of sixteen years, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than one is under twelve months. Numbers are inclusive of children of the childminder's family. The childminder states her main aims are: Childminder inspection report - To provide opportunities to allow the children to reach their full learning potential - To encourage equal opportunities, individual approaches and give opportunities for creative and imaginative play to help develop children's confidenc. - To provide a safe and homely environment to provide a high quality of care. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection that took place on Thursday 28 January 2016 between 2:10pm and 4.45pm. We provided the childminder with feedback on Thursday 28 January 2016. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed self-assessment form that we asked the provider to complete and submit to us. We sent out three Care Standard questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to families who used her service. Parents/carers returned one completed questionnaire before this inspection. During this inspection process, we looked around the areas of the childminders page 3 of 14
home used by the minded children and we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: We spoke with: - The childminder - Six minded children present during inspection - One parent. We looked at: - Children's information records - Children's personal plans - Service attendance register - Daily diary - Service policy and procedures - Risk assessments - Parental permissions - Various communications from parents - Care Standards questionnaire - Accident recording forms - Training certificates - Registration certificate - Insurance certificates - Medication records. Childminder inspection report Throughout our inspection, we observed the care provided to the minded children. Views of people using the service We sent out three Care Standard questionnaires and asked the childminder to give them to families who used her service. Prior to inspection, we received one completed questionnaire. Responses in the Care Standard questionnaire told us that the parent agreed that they were happy with the overall quality of care their child received. During our inspection, we spoke with a parent who told us that they were "very happy with the care Leigh provided, my child is settled and loves to come". page 4 of 14
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 Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self-assessment document from the provider. We were satisfied with the way the provider completed this and with the relevant information included for each heading that we grade services under. The provider identified what it thought the service did well, some areas for development and any changes it had planned. The provider told us how the people who used the care service had taken part in the selfassessment process. What the service did well The childminder provided a safe and happy environment for minded children. She had developed good relationships with parents and children to ensure that her service met the needs of the families who used her service. The childminder knew the children well and she planned and delivered good quality care and play experiences for the minded children. The children who were present during our inspection told us they enjoyed their time with the childminder. What the service could do better We have made three recommendations to the childminder during this inspection and asked her to address these: 1. The childminder should update her administration of medication recording procedure to reflect the current best practice guidance. 2. The childminder should undertake a trampoline risk assessment. 3. The childminder should obtain written consents for minded children's use of the trampoline and for their contact with the family pet dogs. 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 page 5 of 14
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 4 - Good 3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminder provided good opportunities for children and parents to be involved in the continued development of the service. We saw that children and their families are regularly included as active participants; listened to and offered choices. The childminder had daily discussion with the minded children's families to ensure that their child's needs were properly met. This meant that important information was considered and care decisions made in partnership with families. There were good opportunities for children's involvement within the service. We observed conversations between the childminder and the children present that encouraged and supported the children to give their views and make decisions. We asked the children to tell us how they helped to decide what they did whilst they were with the childminder. The children told us that they choose activities and toys they wanted to play with. We could see this supported the children to feel included in their care, offered them choices and allowed them to feel that their views were listened to. Throughout our inspection, we observed the childminders practice. We saw that she had developed very good relationships with children. The children present were observed to be confident, relaxed and comfortable in her care. The childminder told us she encouraged children to express how they would like to be treated and how they should care for others. We saw that this encouraged children to be responsible and to show respect and compassion for others. page 6 of 14
Some of the children attend the local school and nursery. The childminder told us she mainly used her car for school pick-ups, but that she preferred to walk to and from the local schools whenever possible. The childminder told us when walking with the children they talk about road safety and use the green cross code when crossing the road. This enabled children to learn about their own safety whilst receiving appropriate protection, care and guidance from the childminder. The childminder had developed children's personal plans. These identified children's individual achievements and the next step goals for the children. We saw that the childminder obtained information she needed to provide suitable care for the children and kept this information up-to-date. We asked the childminder to tell us what she did when she had to administer medication to a child in her care. The childminder showed us her medication policy and her recording procedure, which she had shared with parents. We felt that the childminder had considered how she would manage the administration of medication to the minded children. However, we have asked the childminder to expand her medication recording forms to include the time the medication was last administered and the reason she was administering the medication and if it was to be administered on a when required basis (see recommendation 1). Grade The quality of care and support is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 1. The childminder should update administration, recording and storage of medication policy in line with the current health guidance on the 'Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services'. National Care Standards, early education and childcare up to the age of 16, standard 3: health and wellbeing. page 7 of 14
4 Quality of environment Findings from the inspection We found that the childminders home environment was child friendly, well maintained, clean, warm and welcoming for children attending the service. There was a balanced range of toys and resources available. We found these to be clean, in good condition, accessible and appropriate for children's individual age and stage of development. On the day of inspection, we saw the children present choosing toys they wanted to play with, allowing them to make choices and to promote their independence. The children told us they "liked attending the childminder and they liked the toys". The childminder used her playroom for the minded children. A range of resources were provided, including a comfortable sofa for the children to relax on. The childminder told us she also used her lounge for the children to rest in. The childminders kitchen was spacious and had a table and chairs the children used to do art and crafts and have their meals at. The childminder had considered the layout of her home creating a warm, nurturing environment that made good use of the space available. We saw that children could choose to play by themselves or with others. There was space for children to eat and rest when they wanted to. Access to the childminders back garden was from the kitchen. The childminder told us she used her back garden to ensure the children had access to fresh air and energetic play. A good range of play equipment was available for the children. The childminder used outdoor play to encourage children to be active and to develop their physical co-ordination. We found this promoted children's general health, well-being, confidence and risk taking. To ensure that she provides a safe environment for the children, the childminder told us she cleans her home environment on a daily basis. We saw that the childminder stored all cleaning products securely in a locked cupboard. Fitted stair gates from the playroom and at the entry to the kitchen prevented children from accessing areas unsupervised. page 8 of 14
The parent who returned our Care Standards questionnaire told us that they were very happy with the childminding environment. They commented "Leigh's home is a clean and tidy place with all the appropriate safety measures, such as stair gates. She has a fantastic selection of age appropriate toys and materials which encourage learning. Her home and garden are very child-friendly with a separate playroom and a quite living room for nap times". A procedure for recording accidents and incidents was in place. We sampled children's accident records and saw information appropriately detailed what the accident was and how the accident had been dealt with. The childminder shared details of the accidents with the parents when they collected their children. To ensure the safety of the children within the service, the childminder told us how she used daily visual checks to make sure her home was hazard free, safe and child friendly. This told us that the childminder was vigilant in her care of the minded children. We saw that the childminder had risk assessments in place for her environment; however, we have asked the childminder to expand these to include a specific risk assessment for the trampoline in her garden (see recommendation 1). Grade The quality of environment is graded 5 - Very Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Childminder inspection report 1. The childminder should complete a specific risk assessment for the minded children's use of the trampoline. This should reflect steps she has taken to minimise the identified risks. National Care Standards, early education and childcare up to age 16, standard 2: a safe environment. page 9 of 14
5 Quality of staffing We only assess this where the childminder employs an assistant. 6 Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection We asked the childminder to tell us how she ensured that she was aware of and up-to-date with best practice and legislation. The childminder told us she keeps up-to-date with best practice through a variety of ways, including her membership of the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA), she receives regular newsletters and updates from them, including a childminding magazine which she saves as a reference. She accessed relevant support through her local childminding development project. She used the internet to keep abreast of recent childcare developments. We felt that the childminder had taken a balanced approach to keep her skills and professional knowledge current. Since her registration, the childminder had attended a range of training courses including, food hygiene and fire safety awareness. The childminder told us that she uses the knowledge and skills gained through training to update and improve her practice. For example, she told us that as a result of undertaking food hygiene, she was more aware of cross contamination sources and she had updated her practice to reflect the guidance. This told us that the childminder was taking positive steps in her own continued development by regularly updating her professional skills, practice and knowledge. The childminder had a clear complaints policy which was made available to parents and families in her parents welcome pack, which is issued to parents when they start using her service. The childminder evaluated her service on a regular basis. She consulted with parents and children through regular discussion with them. The childminder told us she used the feedback from parents to develop and improve her service. We saw text communications from parents with information that the page 10 of 14
childminder had responded to. This ensured that parents were actively involved in planning and reviewing the service and that the childminder had responded to parents suggestions to improve her service. During our inspection, we saw that the childminder had two pet dogs. We asked the childminder how she ensured the children's safety whilst in contact with the dogs. The childminder showed us her pet policy and she told us that she never leaves the minded children alone with the dogs and that she stores animal foods securely in lidded boxes. However, we found that the childminder had not obtained written permission from parents allowing their child to have contact with the pets. We also saw that the childminder had a large trampoline in her back garden. We have asked the childminder to get written permission from parents before letting the minded children use this. The childminder has told us that she will consult with the parents and get written agreement on children's use of the trampoline and their contact with the family pets (see recommendation 1). Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 4 - Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 Childminder inspection report 1. The childminder should obtain written permission for minded children using the trampoline and for their contact with the family pets. National Care Standards, early education and childcare up to age 16, standard 2: a safe environment. page 11 of 14
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 12 of 14
11 Inspection and grading history Childminder inspection report This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 13 of 14
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 14 of 14