O'Donnell, Kathleen Edinburgh Inspection completed on 18 May 2016
Service provided by: O`donnell, Mrs Kathleen Service provider number: SP2003906002 Care service number: CS2003012277 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 regulates care services in Scotland. Information in relation to 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. 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 the 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. GIRFEC 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 GIRFEC. They are: safe, healthy, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible 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. Mrs Kathleen O'Donnell, referred to as the childminder throughout this report, operates her childminding service from her home which is located in a residential area of Edinburgh. Her home is close to transport routes and local amenities. The areas used to provide her service are the lounge, downstairs toilet and the kitchen with supervised access. There is an enclosed garden to the rear of the property. The childminder is registered to provide a care service to a maximum of eight children at any one time under the age of sixteen, of whom a maximum of six children will be under twelve years, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and of whom no more than one is under twelve months. These numbers are inclusive of the childminder's family. page 3 of 14
There are four children registered with the service aged between eighteen months old and five years old. One minded child aged two years eleven months old was present at the inspection. The childminder's aims for the service include: 'To provide a reliable quality care service for babies, pre-school children and school children. My objective is to have happy confident children who like coming to see me and like me looking after them. I enjoy caring for children and helping them develop new skills and achievements. To maintain a good relationship with parents where their comments are always welcomed.' What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection which took place on Thursday 18 May 2016 between the hours of 9.20am and 10.45am. We gave feedback to the childminder on the day of the inspection. As part of the inspection, we took account of the completed annual return form that we asked the childminder to complete and submit to us. We sent three Care Inspectorate care standards questionnaires to the childminder to distribute to parents. Parents returned two completed questionnaires before the inspection. During this inspection process, we gathered evidence from various sources, including the following: We looked at: - a sample of children's files - risk assessments - the childminder's annual return - the childminder's policies and procedures - medication system - accidents/incidents records - information for new parents page 4 of 14
- the resources, toys and environment. We spoke with the childminder and observed her interactions with the minded child present during the inspection. Views of people using the service One minded child was present during the inspection aged two years eleven months old. He was engaged in a drawing activity when we arrived and was appropriately supported by the childminder. He happily showed us his memory book which contained photographs of him at different stages and he talked about what was happening in them. He appeared happy and content in the childminder's care and was busily engaged with the activities on offer. He was too young to give his opinion of the service. 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 did not receive a completed self assessment from the childminder. We discussed this with the childminder during the inspection process. What the service did well The childminder offers a service to children and their parents which is flexible and meets their care needs. She is kind, caring and nurturing in her interactions with the children and offers support and encouragement during their play. The childminder offers a variety of activities and outings which are appropriate for the children attending. What the service could do better The childminder should continue her very good quality of care and the positive outcomes for the minded children. She should carry out the recommendations made within this report to help ensure the continual development of her service. page 5 of 14
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 not assessed 4 - Good 3 Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminder shared information about her service with new parents who were invited to her home to allow them to discuss their care needs and their child's routines. She gave them an information booklet which contained information about her and her service and included copies of her policies and procedures. Before children started to use the service the childminder gathered information about them such as allergies, dietary requirements, parents' details and emergency contact details. This information was kept in a file along with development information in a personal plan which was linked to the SHANARRI indicators. However, the childminder did not have a system in place to ensure all information held on minded children was reviewed with parents and updated at least once every six months. We discussed this with her and she agreed to put this into place. We will follow this up at the next inspection. Communication with parents was important to the childminder. She spoke with parents at pick up times to share information about the children and to talk about the child's day. This helped to ensure she was aware of any changes to the child's care needs. The childminder used text messaging and phone calls to keep in contact with parents. She described the different ways she worked with parents to help ensure continuity of care between home and her service. page 6 of 14
Parents told us: 'Kathy writes a daily diary for my child, what they have done, ate, sleeping times, funny stories, concerns' and 'We have regular discussions when I pick my child up to discuss what she had been doing and things the childminder has planned'. Parents provided all meals and snacks for their child. The childminder gave them water to drink which they accessed as required. The childminder has a copy of the National Health Scotland (NHS) nutritional guidance 'Setting the table' and she told us that she discussed healthy eating with the children. A child protection statement was in place and the childminder discussed with us what she would do if she had a welfare concern about a minded child and who she would contact. This helped to ensure children were protected and kept safe from abuse. However, it had been some time since the childminder had attended child protection training and we discussed with her that she should consider attending a refresher course which she agreed to do. We will follow this up at the next inspection. The childminder promoted positive behaviour and had a policy in place which was shared with parents. She discussed with parents the ways they dealt with challenging behaviour at home and worked with them to ensure continuity for the children. She told us that she gave children lots of praise. A medication system was in place. Parents completed a consent form with information about the medicine and the childminder recorded when medication was administered. Parents received a record of when their child was last given their medicine. However, the childminder did not have medication policy in place to share with parents. We discussed with the childminder that this did not meet with latest guidance and referred them to the document 'Management of medication in daycare of children and childminding services' which can be found on our website www.careinspectorate.com. We have made a recommendation about this. See Recommendation one. The childminder set out activities before the children arrived dependent on which children were attending and their age and stage of development. Children were consulted on the activities they would like to do and any plans made were flexible and easily changed. This allowed the children to feel included and to be active participants who were listened to and offered choices. page 7 of 14
In the two completed Care Inspectorate care standard questionnaire parents indicated either 'strongly agree' or 'agree' to the following statements: - The childminder asks for your views about how you want your child cared for. - The childminder regularly involves me in the reviewing the information they have about my child. Grade The quality of care and support is graded Requirements Number of requirements - 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations - 1 1. The childminder should develop a medication policy to share with parents. The policy should inform parents that they must give the first dose of any new prescribed medicine. This is to follow the guidance given in the document 'Management of medication in daycare of children and childminding services' which can be found on our website www.careinspectorate.com. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 3: Health and well-being page 8 of 14
4 Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The childminder's home was a homely environment for the minded children and had appropriate heating, lighting and ventilation. She ensured the areas used by the minded children were safe and free from hazards. The childminder had a recorded risk assessment in place and also carried out daily visual risk assessments. This helped to ensure that children were cared for in a safe and well maintained environment. Measure to minimise the spread of infection were in place and the childminder's infection control policy informed parents about exclusion periods should their child be ill. Children washed their hands before meals and after using the toilet. An infection control policy was in place which was shared with parents. The lounge was used as an all-purpose area where children could engage in different activities including arts and crafts. Children had access to resources and could choose what they would like to play with. The childminder encouraged them to tidy up once they had finished playing before moving on to another activity. Parents told us: 'Activities are varied and stimulating for my child and are appropriate for her development' and 'Always have drawings and craft items to take home'. The enclosed rear garden allowed children to be out in the fresh air and to engage in energetic, physical play. The childminder made good use of the facilities within the local community including local parks and the library. She also took the children on outings to different places such as Gorgie Farm and the museum. Parents told us: 'Regular visits to local library and park. Also visits to local city farm and museum' and 'Regularly visit local park'. Accidents and incidents were recorded in a book and informed parents about what had happened to their child and the actions taken by the childminder. Parents signed to confirm they had been informed. page 9 of 14
In the two completed Care Inspectorate care standard questionnaire both parents indicated 'strongly agree' to the following statements: - The childminder's home is a safe, secure, hygienic, smoke free, pleasant and stimulating environment. - There is enough space for the children to play and get involved in a range of activities. - The childminder provides a suitable range of equipment, toys and materials for the children. - The childminder makes good use of resources in the community, for example the library and parks. Grade The quality of environment is graded 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 told us about the ways she kept up to date with best practice and legislation. She received copies of the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) magazine and also the Care Inspectorate's 'Care News'. The childminder had also received copies of best practice documents such as 'Setting the Table' and 'Building the Ambition - National Practice on Early Learning and Childcare Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014'. This document provides page 10 of 14
detailed, practical guidance on experiences and interactions necessary to create a caring and nurturing setting. The childminder had not attended training for some time and we discussed with her that she would benefit from attending training such as child protection and GIRFEC. She agreed to source training courses in her local area. We will follow this up at the next inspection. The childminder involved parents in the evaluation of her service by asking them to comment on ways to her improve and develop her service. She told us that she had tried using questionnaires in the past but parents did not give much written feedback to her. She preferred speaking with them to discuss the delivery of her service and the ways she met the needs of the children. Children were asked their views on activities and any other things they would like to do. Parents and children's comments and views were listened to by the childminder and these helped with the development of her service. A complaints policy was in place and informed parents about their right to take forward complaints or concerns about the service. We discussed this with the childminder and she was confident parents would speak with her if they were unhappy with any aspect of her service. However, she had not included that parents could contact the Care Inspectorate at any point. We discussed this with the childminder and she agreed to add this to her policy. We will follow it up at the next inspection. In the two completed Care Inspectorate care standards questionnaire both parents indicated either 'strongly agree' with the following statement: - Overall, I am happy with the quality of care my child receives in this service. Grade The quality of management and leadership is graded 4 - Good Requirements Number of requirements - 0 page 11 of 14
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 There are no outstanding requirements. Previous recommendations 1. Mrs O'Donnell should review the system she has in place for recording accidents/incidents so that parents sign to say they have been informed. They should also receive a copy of the report. National Care Standards early education and childcare up to the age of 16 Standard 3: Health and wellbeing Standard 14: Well-managed service. This recommendation was made on 30 April 2012 The childminder has made the changes to the way she informs parents and they sign to confirm they have been told about what happened to their child. Therefore this recommendation has been met. 8 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at www.careinspectorate.com. page 12 of 14
9 Enforcements No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection 10 Other issues Not applicable. 11 Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 30 Apr 2012 Announced (Short Notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 18 Dec 2009 Announced Care and support Environment Not Assessed Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 5 Feb 2009 Announced (short notice) Care and support Environment Staffing Management and Leadership Not Assessed 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 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