Watson, Sonia Child Minding Penicuik

Transcription

1 Watson, Sonia Child Minding Penicuik Inspected by: Isobel Reilly Type of inspection: Announced (Short Notice) Inspection completed on: 12 September 2012

2 Contents Page No Summary 3 1 About the service we inspected 4 2 How we inspected this service 5 3 The inspection 8 4 Other information 16 5 Summary of grades 17 6 Inspection and grading history 17 Service provided by: Watson, Sonia Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS Contact details for the inspector who inspected this service: Isobel Reilly Telephone enquiries@careinspectorate.com Watson, Sonia, page 2 of 18

3 Summary This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change after this inspection following other regulatory activity. For example, if we have to take enforcement action to make the service improve, or if we investigate and agree with a complaint someone makes about the service. We gave the service these grades Quality of Care and Support 5 Very Good Quality of Environment 5 Very Good Quality of Staffing 5 Very Good What the service does well Mrs Watson is committed to ensuring that the families using her service have a positive experience of childcare and are comfortable in expressing their views. She is aware of the importance of open communication and has developed ways to ensure that families can express their views. Mrs Watson confidently described the needs and interests of the children in her care and of how she met them. What the service could do better Mrs Watson should continue to develop her existing good practice with minded children and their families. What the service has done since the last inspection Since the last inspection took place Mrs Watson has continued to develop her service by review her policies and procedures and by attending relevant training courses. Conclusion In conclusion Mrs Watson is an experience childminder who is committed to her professional development and to using feedback from families using her service to ensure continual improvement. Who did this inspection Isobel Reilly Watson, Sonia, page 3 of 18

4 1 About the service we inspected The inspection was carried out by Isobel Reilly, SCSWIS Inspector. We wrote this report after a short notice announced inspection on Wednesday 5 September We sent three Care Standards Questionnaires to Mrs Watson to give to families before the inspection took place. During the inspection we gathered evidence from a number of sources including the relevant sections of policies, procedures, records and other documents including the following: Certificate of Registration Information from the self evaluation and the annual return Information pack for families Questionnaires Children's Information Photographs Observation of the parts of the family home used by minded children Observation of the interaction between Mrs Watson and the minded child present Medication records Accident and incident records Risk Assessments Based on the findings of this inspection this service has been awarded the following grades: Quality of Care and Support - Grade Quality of Environment - Grade Quality of Staffing - Grade This report and grades represent our assessment of the quality of the areas of performance which were examined during this inspection. Grades for this care service may change following other regulatory activity. You can find the most up-to-date grades for this service by visiting our website or by calling us on or visiting one of our offices. Watson, Sonia, page 4 of 18

5 2 How we inspected this service The level of inspection we carried out In this service we carried out a low intensity inspection. We carry out these inspections when we are satisfied that services are working hard to provide consistently high standards of care. What we did during the inspection The Care Inspectorate regulates care services in Scotland. Prior to 1 April 2011, this function was carried our by the Care Commission. Information in relation to all care services is available on our website at This service was previously registered with the Care Commission and transferred it's registration to the Care Inspectorate on 1 April Mrs Sonia Watson is registered to care for a maximum of 6 children under the age of 16 years, of whom a maximum of 6 children will be under 12 years 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 the children of the childminders own family. Mrs Watson lives in a two storey semi detached house with garden in a residential part of Penicuik. The Aims and Objectives of her service include the following: "My aim is to provide quality childcare in a safe and secure environment where each child is nurtured and treated as an individual. I will work with parents to promote good manners and social skills helping each child to reach his or her potential. I will provide safe stimulating play which is appropriate to the age and developmental stage of each child. I will work with parents to promote healthy eating. I will provide a good range of indoor and outdoor toys. I will strive to be a good role model and promote personal and social skills, encourage positive behaviour and respect for the environment." Grading the service against quality themes and statements We inspect and grade elements of care that we call 'quality themes'. For example, one of the quality themes we might look at is 'Quality of care and support'. Under each quality theme are 'quality statements' which describe what a service should be doing well for that theme. We grade how the service performs against the quality themes and statements. Watson, Sonia, page 5 of 18

6 Details of what we found are in Section 3: The inspection Inspection Focus Areas (IFAs) In any year we may decide on specific aspects of care to focus on during our inspections. These are extra checks we make on top of all the normal ones we make during inspection. We do this to gather information about the quality of these aspects of care on a national basis. Where we have examined an inspection focus area we will clearly identify it under the relevant quality statement. Fire safety issues We do not regulate fire safety. Local fire and rescue services are responsible for checking services. However, where significant fire safety issues become apparent, we will alert the relevant fire and rescue services so they may consider what action to take. You can find out more about care services' responsibilities for fire safety at Watson, Sonia, page 6 of 18

7 The annual return Every year all care services must complete an 'annual return' form to make sure the information we hold is up to date. We also use annual returns to decide how we will inspect the service. Annual Return Received: Yes - Electronic Comments on Self Assessment Every year all care services must complete a 'self assessment' form telling us how their service is performing. We check to make sure this assessment is accurate. Mrs Watson completed a self assessment document and returned it to us before the inspection of her service took place. She had identified strengths and areas for further development. We were satisfied with the quality of the information we received and found that it reflected our findings on the day of the inspection. Taking the views of people using the care service into account One minded child was present on the day of the inspection. The child was to young to express a view on the service they received however we could see that they were busy with their chosen activities and appeared happy and content in the care of Mrs Watson. Mrs Watson was attentive to the child's needs. Taking carers' views into account Parents who completed out Care Standards questionnaires told us they strongly agreed with the statement "Overall I am happy with the quality of care my child receives in this service." The following additional comment was made: "We are very happy with Sonia's service and will continue to use her as long as we live in the area." Watson, Sonia, page 7 of 18

8 3 The inspection We looked at how the service performs against the following quality themes and statements. Here are the details of what we found. Quality Theme 1: Quality of Care and Support Grade awarded for this theme: Statement 1 I ensure that parents and families participate in assessing and improving the quality of care and support provided by the service. Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided Excellent evidence of how she met this Quality Statement. Families were given a copy of Mrs Watson's Welcome Pack. The pack contained information on Mrs Watson and her family, her Aims and Objectives and the policies and procedures supporting her service. Polices included Participation and Settling In. New families were shown around all of the parts of Mrs Watson's home and garden that their children would use. Activities, safety equipment and steps to minimize risk were also pointed out to parent at this time. All of this helped families to decide whether the service would meet their needs. Mrs Watson encouraged families to make trial visits to her service before committing themselves to taking up a place. These visits were opportunities for families to ask questions about the service and for Mrs Watson to gather information about children. The Participation Policy encouraged feedback and encouraged parents to get involved in the service. Mrs Watson had developed a number of ways of making sure that parents were well informed about their children's progress. They included daily conversations when children were being dropped of and picked up which gave parents the opportunity to ask questions and make requests. Daily diaries were used for younger children. We looked at a sample of the diaries and found they contained detailed information about children's achievements. Mrs Watson used a daily text update, e mails and photo messaging as ways of keeping parents informed of events and achievements as they happened. Mrs Watson issued a questionnaire once a year. The questionnaire gave parents the opportunity to comment formally on aspects of the service including activities, food, Watson, Sonia, page 8 of 18

9 outings and general comments. Mrs Watson told us that she used the questionnaires as a way of measuring satisfaction and if necessary would make any changes that would improve her service. A questionnaire had also been developed for use by children. Mrs Watson described how she used this information along with her observations and information from parents about children's interests at home to make sure that she provided an environment which supported their interests and development. Mrs Watson issued a regular news letter. The purpose of the news letter included keeping parents informed of forthcoming events including training courses Mrs Watson was taking part in, children starting or moving on and to update activities.the news letter was well presented and illustrated with photographs of play and activities children had been involved in. Mrs Watson told us that she made herself available to meet with parents to discuss the placement at any time. Placements were reviewed once every six months The purpose of the review was to formally review the information Mrs Watson held and to make sure it was up to date. Parents were reminded of their responsibility to keep Mrs Watson informed of any changes which might affect her care of their children. Approximately twice a year parents were given a CD of of photographs of their children at play. Mrs Watson said that feedback on this was positive as it allowed parents to see how their children spent their time and the activities they took part in. Parents who completed our questionnaires told us they received clear information about the service Mrs Watson provided and were able to visit before deciding to take up a place. They also told us they had a positive relationship with Mrs Watson who listened to and acted on their views about their child's development, needs, interests, culture and personality. Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson was maintaining current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. Grade awarded for this statement: 6 - Excellent Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Statement 3 I gather information about the child and their needs. Watson, Sonia, page 9 of 18

10 Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided very good evidence of how she met this Quality Statement. A Settling In Policy was in place. The policy described how Mrs Watson spent time with families to make sure they were happy with the service and had enough information to care for children as their parents wished. Parents were encouraged to take as long as they felt their children needed to settle in. Members of the wider family were encouraged to visit Mrs Watson's home, especially if they were likely to be involve in the picking up of children. Parents were required to give signed permission for their children to take part i activities and for the administration of medication. Mrs Watson understood that choosing a childminder could be stressful. She had started to visit families in their own home as part of the settling in process. She told us she found this worked well as families were usually more relaxed in their own homes and were more able to ask questions. She also felt that it allowed her to see children in their own setting which could be useful during the settling period. We looked at the paper work Mrs Watson had developed which met the requirements of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act allowing her to gather information on children's health, development, and interests. As previously stated this was reviewed formally twice a year. Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson was meeting current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. In her self evaluation document she identified the following areas for improvement "Have a training course on specific needs is required." Grade awarded for this statement: Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Watson, Sonia, page 10 of 18

11 Quality Theme 2: Quality of Environment Grade awarded for this theme: Statement 2 My home is safe, hygienic, smoke free, clean and tidy for children using the service. Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided very good evidence of how she met this Quality Statement. We looked around all of the parts of Mrs Watson's home and garden used by minded children and found that they were were clean and well maintained. Mrs Watson's Welcome Pack included information on how she maintained her home in a clean and safe condition so that parents were aware of the steps she took. We saw that Mrs Watson had detailed risk assessments covering her home and garden. They were checked on a regular basis. Mrs Watson had a range of safety equipment in her home. This included smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, fire blanket, safety gate and child safety locks on some kitchen cupboards. A fire plan was in place, fire drills took place regularly and were recorded. Mrs Watson provide meals and snacks based on the Nutritional Guidance Document. Children's food took account of allergies and preferences and parents were informed in advance of the food their children would be offered. Mrs Watson had taken part in Food Hygiene training and followed Cook Safe Guidance. She was registered with Environmental Health for the provision of children's meals and snacks. An inspection of her kitchen had taken place and she had received a pass certificate. Mrs Watson showed us the maintenance contract she had in place which ensured that essential equipment including the central heating system was serviced regularly. Mrs Watson told us she kept families informed about any changes taking place in her home that might affect the care of children. Unless it was unavoidable work was done when no children were present. Parents were asked to complete a permission to proceed form which identified the work to be done and potential risks involved. Families who returned our questionnaires told us they found Mrs Watson's home provided a safe, secure, hygienic, and stimulating environment. Watson, Sonia, page 11 of 18

12 Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson was maintaining current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. In her self evaluation document she identified the following area "To continue to have as many fore drills as possible with new children. Grade awarded for this statement: Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Statement 4 I ensure children have access to fresh air and exercise and make best use of outdoor space available to me. Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided Very Good evidence of how she met this Quality Statement. Mrs Watson's Welcome Pack included information on her Active Play Policy, Safety on Outings Policy and Activity Planning sheet. These document gave families information about the range of activities their children would take part in and how Mrs Watson ensured their safety while out and about. Th Active Play Policy stated "The importance of play is paramount to the child's development. It is through play that they learn and make sense of the world around them and therefore I have a varied routine in in place." Parents were required to given written permission for their children to take part in outings and to travel in Mrs Watson's car. Mrs Watson kept a record of the outing children had taken part in. Information on outings was also included in children's diaries and in the regular newsletters. In conversation with Mrs Watson she was able to describe the range of opportunities for active play in the area near her home and further afield. We saw photographic and written evidence that children were regular visitors to local parks and other places of interests.we also saw evidence of outings further afield for example the recent visit to East Links Family Park and Butterfly World. Mrs Watson's garden was fully enclosed and an area of the garden had been secured for the use of children. This included a covered decking area and a grassy area. Mrs Watson had a rage of toys suitable for outdoor play and the covered deck meant that children could enjoy fresh air and active play in all weathers. We saw examples of completed Activity Planning Sheets and risk assessments for activities. They identified issues including adaptations required, how the activity linked to key documents eg the Pre Birth to Three Document, resources required for Watson, Sonia, page 12 of 18

13 the activity and evaluation and extension of the activity. This made sure that parents were well informed not only of the activity but of the benefits to their children Before outings took place Mrs Watson talked to the children about where they were going and we could see that she had taken account of safety by, for example talking about road safety with the children. Photographs showed children enjoying active play in all weathers. As previously stated parents were given copies of photographs. Families who returned our questionnaires told us that Mrs Watson made good use of resources in the community and made sure that children had regular access to fresh air and energetic physical play. Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson was maintaining current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. Grade awarded for this statement: Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Watson, Sonia, page 13 of 18

14 Quality Theme 3: Quality of Staffing Grade awarded for this theme: Statement 3 I offer flexible activities, within a planned routine, which take account of the individual needs and interests of the children. Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided very good evidence of how she met this Quality Statement. Parents were given written examples of some of the activities and outings their children could take part in while in Mrs Watson's care. They were encouraged to add their own ideas to the list and to keep her informed of places or activities their children particularly enjoyed. Weekly activity plans were in place. Mrs Watson said that in most cases these were not fixed but acted as a guide. They could be affected by changes in children's interests and in some cases the weather. Children who were able to take part were included in making decisions about activities. Mrs Watson's diary contained evidence of activities that had taken place. We saw very good photographic evidence of the children at play in Mrs Watson home, garden and further afield. Many of these photographs were used to illustrate children's folders. As previously stated photographs were also given parents. Mrs Watson told us their were times when children did not get their first choice of activity and had to compromise. Where this happened she made sure that the children affected were given first choice of the next planned activity. In discussion we found that Mrs Watson was able to describe the current interests of the children in her care and how she met them. Families who returned our questionnaires confirmed that Mrs Watson asked for their children's views about activities and used them in her planning. Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson met current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. Watson, Sonia, page 14 of 18

15 Grade awarded for this statement: Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Inspection report continued Statement 6 I actively encourage positive behaviour in my service. Service strengths We found that Mrs Watson provided very good evidence of how she met this Quality Statement Policies on Behaviour Management, Bitting and Anti Bullying were included in Mrs Watson's Welcome Pack. The policies included information for parents on how challenges would be dealt with if they arose. Older children had been involved in developing house rules illustrated with drawings which they were encouraged to follow. The rules were clear, simple and based on respect and consideration for one another. Mrs Watson told us that where children were displaying challenging behaviour she would work with them to solve the problem. She said in most cases she found children responded well to distraction and clear consistent expectations. If those techniques did not work parents would be involved and Mrs Watson would discuss mutually agreed strategies to be used in her home and in the child's home. Mrs Watson was able to give us confidential examples of how she had worked closely with families to support children. Parents who returned our questionnaires told us that Mrs Watson had a clear code of behaviour for children and worked with them to make sure they understood it. They also told us they were confident that Mrs Watson would protect their children from harm and bullying. Areas for improvement We found that Mrs Watson was maintaining current good practice in relation to this Quality Statement. Grade awarded for this statement: Number of requirements: 0 Number of recommendations: 0 Watson, Sonia, page 15 of 18

16 4 Other information Complaints No complaints have been upheld, or partially upheld, since the last inspection. Enforcements We have taken no enforcement action against this care service since the last inspection. Additional Information Action Plan Failure to submit an appropriate action plan within the required timescale, including any agreed extension, where requirements and recommendations have been made, will result in SCSWIS re-grading the Quality Statement within the Management and Leadership Theme as unsatisfactory (1). This will result in the Quality Theme for Management and Leadership being re-graded as Unsatisfactory (1). Watson, Sonia, page 16 of 18

17 5 Summary of grades Quality of Care and Support - Statement 1 Statement Excellent Quality of Environment - Statement 2 Statement 4 Quality of Staffing - Statement 3 Statement 6 6 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 14 Jul 2010 Announced Care and support Environment Staffing Not Assessed Management and Leadership Not Assessed 24 Jul 2009 Announced Care and support 6 - Excellent Environment Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 12 Aug 2008 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership All inspections and grades before 1 April 2011 are those reported by the former regulator of care services, the Care Commission. Watson, Sonia, page 17 of 18

18 To find out more about our inspections and inspection reports Read our leaflet 'How we inspect'. You can download it from our website or ask us to send you a copy by telephoning us on This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can get more copies of this report and others by downloading it from our website: or by telephoning Translations and alternative formats This inspection report is available in other languages and formats on request. Telephone: enquiries@careinspectorate.com Web: Watson, Sonia, page 18 of 18