Kimberly's Childminding Service Child Minding Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 26 August 2016 Service provided by: Bellamy, Kimberly Service provider number: SP2015986662 Care service number: CS2015334971
The service Introduction The service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 22 September 2015. Kimberly Bellamy runs a childminding service from her family home in a residential area of Campbeltown. The service is provided from a semi detached, two storey house, with children having access to the ground floor and toilet upstairs only. Current registration allows the childminder: To provide a care service to a maximum of six children at any one time under the age of 16, of whom no more than three are not yet attending primary school and no more than one is under 12 months. Numbers are inclusive of the children of the childminder's family. The aims of the service include: "To provide a happy and caring environment encouraging children to learn, play and develop whilst feeling safe and secure in my care." What we did during our inspection We wrote this report following an unannounced inspection, which took place between 1.45pm and 4.15pm on Friday 26 August 2016. The inspection was carried out by a Care Inspectorate Early Years Inspector. During this inspection we spoke to the childminder and the children present. We observed the care given by the childminder and also looked at the following: - Aims and objectives - How the childminder communicated and involved children and their parents in her service - Children's personal plans and records - What training the childminder had undertaken - The childminder's welcome pack and policy folder - The environment and resources - Confidentiality - Complaints - Child protection - Risk assessments - Accident and incident reports - Attendance records - Medication records - Certificate of Registration - The service's public liability insurance certificate. page 2 of 10
We check services are meeting the principles of Getting it Right for Every Child (also known as GIRFEC), 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, achieving, nurtured, active, respected, responsible and included. Views of people using the service There were two minded children present at the time of the inspection all under school age. We observed the childminder being warm, caring and attentive in her approach. As a result, the children were happy and relaxed, enjoying their play and reassured in her care. Three parents returned questionnaires to us. The responses from these demonstrated that they were very happy with the quality of care their child received. Comments we got back included: "Our [child] loves being with Kimberly, [he/she] is happy and confident and always leaves happy. They have done a lot of art and crafts which [our child] loves. They have also planted seeds and watched them grow, we now have a very large sunflower! We feel that Kimberly provides a home from home experience for [our child] to grow and develop in. There are clear boundaries set which [our child] responds well to. We are kept up to date with what [our child] has been up to with a daily diary. Overall we are very impressed with the service that is provided." Self assessment The Care Inspectorate received a fully completed self assessment from the childminder. The childminder had identified what she thought she did well, areas where she felt she could improve and how children and their parents had been involved and were able to contribute to the development of her service. What the service did well This was the childminder's first inspection following registration on 22 September 2015. She was getting to know children and their families well, respected their views and valued their opinions. Children were relaxed and comfortable in a homely setting. They enjoyed trips to different activities in their local area and community for example, the toddler group, book bug sessions and the playpark, as well as walks in the nearby countryside and surrounding natural environment. What the service could do better The childminder agreed she would address the two recommendations and areas for improvement identified in this report and continue to develop in line with her current plans. page 3 of 10
These were in relation to: - Managing children's medication - Risk assessments - Registering with the Information Commissioner's Office, if required. - Developing children's personal plans with their parents (Using the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators) - Refreshing her training in child protection and first aid - Completing the review of her policies and procedures and updating her welcome pack with any changes. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of environment Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good 4 - Good not assessed 4 - Good Quality of care and support Findings from the inspection The childminder was warm, caring and sensitive in her approach and taking the time to get to know children and their families well. Each child was gradually settled into the service at a pace that suited them and their parents best. The childminder was using 'All about Me' forms and a daily diary to link with home and gather the information she needed to support their routines, development and learning. This was enabling the children to feel safe and happy in the new environment, creating an experience where they were being nurtured, stimulated and felt included. The childminder told us how important the initial contact with parents/carers and children was to achieve these positive outcomes along with daily discussions and sending photographs and texts throughout the day. The childminder was in the process of building each child's folder into their personal plan (using the SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators) with photographs of the day and their achievements and developmental progress recorded. Parents would be encouraged to use this along with the daily diary to communicate with the childminder and offer suggestions or comments. This was to ensure parents were included as much as possible in their child's life while they attended the childminder and to enable them to be fully involved in their child's development and learning, help review and support their progress and celebrate their child's achievements. The childminder was clear any strategies to support children with for example, toilet training or their sleep routines should be included as part of their personal plan. We discussed how the Scottish Cot Death Trust's recently updated Safe Sleeping Guide could be used to help review and support safe sleeping arrangements for children. page 4 of 10
Children using the service were kept healthy and active by going for walks in their local area and to the play park. Everyone who returned questionnaires to us strongly agreed their child had regular access to fresh air and energetic physical play and the opportunity to sleep or rest if they needed to. The childminder provided a balanced range of healthy snacks for the children, if needed while they were in her care. The childminder promoted positive behaviour using praise and encouragement to build children's confidence and self esteem. She knew the importance of supporting and encouraging children to make their own decisions and take responsibility for keeping themselves safe in the different activities they might encounter. For example, when they were starting to walk, play outside and become more independent. The childminder knew what to do should she have any child protection concerns and who to pass the information on to. She understood the importance of continuing to refresh her knowledge and understanding of this area of her work. As a result, she planned to refresh her training in child protection and attend the next training session available in her local area. Although, no children were being given medication at the time of the inspection, we identified the childminder needed to review her procedures and paperwork to ensure they are in line with current best practice. We have made a recommendation about this below. Everyone who returned questionnaires to us strongly agreed: - The childminder listened to and acted upon their views regarding their child's development needs, culture, interests and personality. - The childminder monitored their child's development and used this information to plan their child's care. - The childminder asked for their child's views about the activities and used them to plan the activities. - They were confident that the childminder would protect their child from harm, abuse, bullying and neglect and deal with difficult behaviour in a caring and sensitive manner. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 page 5 of 10
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. The childminder should review her procedures and paperwork for managing children's medication to ensure the arrangements she has in place are robust and follow current best practice. We signposted the childminder to our guidance: "Management of Medication in Daycare and Childminding Services". National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3.6: Health and wellbeing. Grade: 4 - good Quality of environment Findings from the inspection The environment used for childminding was welcoming, comfortable and safe. Children had space to play within the lounge area which was open plan, had a good source of natural light and was bright, clean and fresh. Risk assessments were in place for the premises and outings. The childminder confirmed all new outings would be risk assessed prior to the children going out. She agreed she would continue to regularly review her risk assessments to monitor their effectiveness. We discussed how risk assessments for individual children's wellbeing should be carried out, in consultation with their parents, when necessary. This is with particular reference to the arrangements for walking children to and from the nursery. We have made a recommendation about this below. Play equipment was cleaned on a regular basis. Toys we looked at were clean and in a good state of repair. We were able to see children playing well together with toys that interested and stimulated them. Everyone who returned questionnaires to us strongly agreed: - The childminder's home was safe, secure, hygienic, smoke free, pleasant and stimulating - There was enough space for their child to play and get involved in a range of activities - There was a suitable range of equipment, toys and materials and that the childminder made good use of resources in the community. A daily record of each child attending the service was available along with a record of any accidents or incidents and a suitable Public Liability Insurance certificate. The childminder confirmed no one was permitted to smoke within the home. The childminder knew the importance of reviewing and refreshing her practice to ensure children were safe and their wellbeing was being protected. For example, she had a range of policies and procedures in place including: - Fire Safety - No Smoking page 6 of 10
- Emergency Procedures - Health and Safety. The childminder was also focussing on supporting children with washing their hands, to further minimise the spread of infection and promote their health and wellbeing. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1 1. Before walking children to and from nursery, the childminder should carry out individual risk assessments for children in consultation with their parents. This is to ensure the arrangements she has in place are safe and children's wellbeing is being protected. National Care Standards Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 2:2 A safe environment. Grade: 4 - good Quality of staffing This quality theme was not assessed. Quality of management and leadership Findings from the inspection The childminder was a member of the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) and using their online resources as well as our website and her local authority early years team to gather new ideas and keep herself up to date with current best practice and legislation. For example, she was going to register with the Information Commissioner's Office; the independent public authority set up to uphold information rights, if required. She knew about the recent SCMA publication Child-Led Participation based on 'The Golden Rules' of participation, developed by children and young people, as well as the Scottish Government's National Practice Guidance on Early Learning and Childcare: Building the Ambition and GIRFEC (Getting it Right for Every Child). She had started to use the SHANARRI Wellbeing Indicators to evaluate her work with the children and their families. As a result, she was developing a good understanding of her role and responsibilities in relation to running a childminding service and making sure children were nurtured, safe and respected. She knew about the Scottish Social Service Codes of Conduct and the professional standards expected of herself. She used Pre Birth to three and our National Care Standards when planning for her service and intended to base her own future training needs on the learning and development needs of the children. She intended to refresh her training in first aid. page 7 of 10
We signposted the childminder to our recently published guidance "My World Outdoors" and discussed how this could be used to further support positive outcomes for children. The childminder had developed a questionnaire to involve children and their families in the ongoing evaluation and review of her service and to ask for their ideas and feedback. She had a copy of our complaints leaflet in her welcome pack along with a procedure where parents could raise any concerns or issues they might have in writing. It was clear she respected everyone's views and valued their opinions. The childminder was in the process of carrying out a review of her policies and procedures. This should now be completed and her welcome pack updated with any changes. Everyone who returned questionnaires to us strongly agreed that they were happy with the quality of care that their child received and that they and their child were given opportunities to be involved in developing the service. They were confident that the childminder would deal effectively with any concern or complaint they may make about the service. Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Grade: 4 - 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. page 8 of 10
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 www.careinspectorate.com. Enforcement No enforcement action has been taken against this care service since the last inspection. Inspection and grading history This service does not have any prior inspection history or grades. page 9 of 10
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 www.careinspectorate.com Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com 0345 600 9527 Find us on Facebook Twitter: @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 cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 10 of 10