Thorpe, Jacqueline Child Minding

Transcription

1 Thorpe, Jacqueline Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 12 December 2016 Service provided by: Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS

2 The service Introduction Jacqueline Thorpe has been registered with the Care Inspectorate since 14 August The childminder provides a care service to a maximum of 6 children under the age of 16 years, of whom no more than 6 are under 12 years, of whom no more than 3 are of an age not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than 1 is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the children of the childminder's family and no overnight service will be provided. The service is provided from the childminder's family home in the Newton Mearns area of East Renfrewshire. The service is close to local shops, parks and amenities. The areas used to provide the service are on the ground floor, with children having access to the kitchen/dining room, playroom and toilet. The garden to the rear of the property is enclosed and provides opportunities for physical play and environmental projects. The childminder's aims include to provide a safe, healthy, stimulating, educational and not forgetting fun environment when taking care of children. What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection which took place on Monday 12 December 2016 between 9.30am and 12pm. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate early years inspector and feedback was given to the childminder on the day of the inspection. During the inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources. We chatted with the childminder about her practice and observed and spoke with two children who were present during the inspection visit. We considered the service's: - aims and objectives - certificate of registration - range of policies and procedures - personal plans and individual records relating to transition - health and safety risk assessments and hygiene and infection controls - public liability insurance certificate - training certificates for courses that the childminder had undertaken. We issued four care standards questionnaires and received three completed questionnaires from parents. We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it right for every child (also known as GIRFEC). This is 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, active, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. page 2 of 9

3 Views of people using the service During the inspection there were two minded children present. They both appeared happy and confidently interacted with the childminder and each other in the pleasant, homely environment. No parents were available on the day of the inspection. We received three care standards questionnaires from parents prior to this inspection. These showed that all parents strongly agreed they were overall happy with the quality of care and support their child received. Parents made positive comments about the quality of resources, care and support, well-resourced playroom and range of activities and outings. Parents' comments included: 'Jacqui has developed a lovely relationship with my daughter. She make a huge effort to have fun with the children. My daughter has developed excellent language skills while going to Jacqui's and much of her vocabulary has been learned there. I have always felt happy and confident to leave my daughter in Jacqui's care and would recommend her as a childminder to friends and family.' Self assessment We received a fully completed self assessment from the childminder prior to this inspection. The childminder identified what she thought the service did well and gave examples of improvements in health and wellbeing and environment. The self assessment identified some key areas that the childminder believes can be improved and showed how the service intends to do this. What the service did well The childminder knew the needs of children and families very well. Daily communication with parents helped develop positive relationships and informed the planned care and support provided for each child. The childminder provided a caring, homely and nurturing environment for minded children. What the service could do better The childminder should continue to maintain her existing very good practice and access current best practice guidance available on The Hub section of the Care Inspectorate website, and other media, to support outcomes for children and families. 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 page 3 of 9

4 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection From the information and evidence sampled, we concluded the service was operating at a very good standard in relation to this theme. The childminder demonstrated a very good knowledge of current best practice guidance and legislation which she regularly shared with parents, carers and children. This included information about Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) and the associated wellbeing indicators (also known as SHANARRI). The childminder spoke confidently about how her learning had influenced changes to her practice. For example: updating personal care plans to incorporate the GIRFEC health and wellbeing indicators to support the individual needs of children in her care. We looked at personal care plans and found that the childminder had missed opportunities to consistently record children's progress. Following discussion, the childminder agreed to routinely update information recorded in personal care plans. This would further support the childminder to plan and track children's achievements, developmental progress and show outcomes for children when, as identified above, additional supports strategies are agreed. Parents were involved in sharing information about their child's individual needs, routines and developmental stages, prior to starting and throughout their placement. Parents' comments received in the care standards questionnaires confirmed our findings and included: 'Discuss plan for my child and how I wish them to be cared for. Childminder will discuss all activities and things that she intends to teach my child. We discuss and implement a plan which we are both happy with. Childminder has a very good routine and involves my child in my activities to ensure that they are socialising with other children and get plenty of physical exercise.' The childminder knew the needs of individual children and families very well and had developed very positive relationships with them. She spoke confidently about agreed strategies in place to support each child's stage of development, learning and emotional wellbeing. In consequence, we saw the childminder was very responsive. She provided comfort and reassurance when children were upset and she listened and provided time for children to express their needs and ask questions. Children therefore appeared happy and confident in her care. This contributed to the nurturing, approach adopted and supported continuity of care. The childminder respected children's dignity and privacy. She demonstrated she was caring and attentive when responding to meet their personal care and toileting/nappy changing needs. Children were learning to wash their hands prior to eating and after toileting and effective hygiene and infection controls were in place. This contributed to promoting healthy lifestyle choices. The childminder told us that she was aware of the Care Inspectorate publication: Management of medication in daycare of children and childminding services. Following discussion, the childminder agreed to update her paperwork and practice to reflect current guidance. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 4 of 9

5 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 5 - very good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection From the information and evidence sampled, we concluded the service was operating at a very good standard in relation to this theme. We saw the childminder's home was bright, clean and well-maintained. The childminder demonstrated a very good understanding of maintaining a safe environment for minded children. She explained that she carried out daily safety checks for her home and car. She provided copies of completed risk assessment checklists to show daily and weekly checks undertaken including hygiene, car tyres, car seats, fire safety and fridge temperatures. We highlighted that written records must be maintained to record when actual or potential risks are identified and to show actions taken to reduce hazards. The childminder agreed to review her recording systems to meaningfully track checks undertaken to maintain a safe environment for children in her care. We saw that the playroom provided a wide range of age appropriate resources and equipment. However, we saw that the majority of resources were stored on top of each other and children could not safely access or choose resources independently. Following discussion, the childminder agreed to reorganise the storage of resources and layout of the playroom. This would help maintain a safe learning environment, provide additional floor space and support children's interests and independent choices. The childminder was aware of her roles and responsibilities to keep children safe from harm. We saw appropriate information and consent from parents was recorded in personal care plans to enable children to safely participate in a variety of learning experiences. In addition, children were developing an understanding of assessing their own personal safety within the childminder's home. For example, children walking down the stairs told us to 'Hold onto the banister, take one step at a time and be careful you don't fall and split your head.' We observed hygiene and infection controls and found the service to be visually clean and well maintained. We informed the childminder of the reviewed Health Protection Scotland Infection Prevention and Control in Childcare Settings (Day Care and Childminding Settings, September 2016) and nappy changing guidance, available on our website, to inform her practice. We discussed safe sleeping practices and directed the childminder to the current Scottish Cot Death Trust safe sleeping guidance which should be shared with parents and used to inform her practice. page 5 of 9

6 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 The childminder regularly attended local training events organised by the Eastwood Childminders' Group, Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) and East Renfrewshire Council. She demonstrated her commitment to her professional development and used her Individual Learning Account to undertake certified training courses. Recent training undertaken had included paediatric first aid, child protection, GIRFEC and Building the Ambition. The childminder was very motivated and told us how she welcomed the opportunity to discuss and share best practice guidance with other childminders, parents and children. For example, following training on outdoor learning and Building the Ambition, children had daily opportunities to participate in active physical play experiences in the local community. Parents commented in the care standards questionnaires: 'Children go to toddlers group in mornings and often go to park, soft play and play in garden.' 'Parks, toddler group, museums, Glasgow Resource Centre, beach (weather permitting).' The childminder described the variety of methods used to obtain children's and parents' views and suggestions. She highlighted that daily chats at drop off and pick up times were most effective, although text, phone and questionnaires provided more opportunities for parents to receive and respond to information at a time suitable to meet their working lives. Throughout the inspection, we have directed the childminder to current best practice guidance and legislation available on The HUB (hub.careinspectorate.com) and other media. The childminder utilised her membership of the SCMA and demonstrated her commitment to independently seeking training, including e-learning courses to consistently update her knowledge and understanding of early education and childcare practices. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 6 of 9

7 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 There are no outstanding recommendations. Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. page 7 of 9

8 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 25 Jan 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support 5 - Very good Environment 5 - Very good Staffing 5 - Very good Management and leadership Not assessed page 8 of 9

9 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 Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Find us on Facebook 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 9 of 9