Working with the Care Inspectorate

Click on a statement to see more information about providing a high quality childminding service and the role of the Care Inspectorate.

I know and understand the role the Care Inspectorate has in improving my service
Although the Care Inspectorate has a role in scrutinising your service to ensure the best outcomes for children, they also have a role in supporting childminders to improve their service. Your inspector may give you suggestions regarding best practice or local support during the inspection process.

Think about…

• how you can use your inspection report to identify areas for improvement

I know and understand the requirements of The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 and how these relate to the service I provide
These regulations underpin the care you provide. It is important to understand these regulations.

http://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/register-a-care-service

or the full act can be found at:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2011/210/made

Think about…

• how these regulations apply to your unique childminding service

I know and understand my responsibilities with regard to the records I must keep and the notifications I must make.
It is important to keep your records up to date and to make notifications when required to do so. This will ensure you are running a service which not only meets the needs of the children in your care, but also ensures you are meeting legislation. Remember that notifications may include any changes within your household. You will find information about the records you must keep and the notifications you must make here

Think about…

• How you will use and store these records so that they are easily accessible, but also kept confidential

I know and understand the inspection process and how grades are awarded
The role of the Care Inspectorate is to regulate and inspect care services to ensure vulnerable people are safe, the quality of services improves and people know the standards they have a right to expect.

You will find information regarding inspections here and here

Think about…

• your role in the inspection process and how you can demonstrate the quality of care the children receive
• the Health and Social Care Standards and how they set out what users of your service can expect
• The wellbeing indicators and how you can use these to help deliver the best outcomes for children.

I know and understand the conditions which are placed on my registration certificate
Conditions of registration will be written on your registration certificate which should be available to parents and carers. These conditions will detail who is allowed to look after the minded children and how many children you may look after. Childminders are normally registered to care for no more than six children under the age of 12.

Of those six children:

• no more than three have not yet started primary school
and of those six children:
• no more than one is under the age of 12 months.
These numbers include the childminder’s own children.

Think about…

• How the conditions of registration enable you to work in the best interest, and help protect the welfare of children in your care
• Your responsibilities if you want to change any of these conditions and the potential implications for your service
• Why it is important that you comply with your conditions of registration and what may happen if you do not.

I know and understand that if I am planning any changes to my service which will affect my conditions of registration I will need to apply for a variation
Any changes to the number of children you are registered to care for, changes of the people who are looking after the children or the place of business are all examples of changes which require you to apply for a variation to your registration certificate.

Think about…

• The potential benefits to the children before planning any changes
• The potentials benefits to your business of any planned changes

I know and understand the role of childminding assistant (if I employ one)
Information regarding assistants can be found here

Assistants are anyone who assists in the care of the minded children. Your conditions of registration will state that ‘minded children cannot be cared for by persons other than those named on the certificate’. If anyone ever looks after the children or helps you to look after them, even for a short time, they will be classed as an assistant and therefore an employee. This means they will need to meet the requirements for employment (even if they are not paid)

A guide to good recruitment practice can be found here:
http://hub.careinspectorate.com/knowledge/safer-recruitment/

In addition to this, if you employ someone in a paid capacity, there are separate requirements in terms of tax and national insurance you will need to be aware of. Contact HMRC for further information regarding this.

Think about…

• The potential benefits of employing an assistant
• How this could help improve outcomes for children
• How you will support any assistants in their personal development

I know and understand that the Care Inspectorate recognise the unique service I provide and how this differs from other childminders
Your service is unique because you are unique; the children you care for are different and have different needs. Sharing information with other childminders may enhance your practice and give you ideas and support however; the focus of what you do is providing opportunities which enhance outcomes for children. This is the focus of the inspection process.

Think about…

• What makes your service unique, how it may differ from other childminding services and how this may be reflected in your report
• the children’s experiences and how these contribute to their wellbeing

I know and understand that I will be expected to evaluate my own service to demonstrate how well I provide positive outcomes for children.
Self-evaluation is an important aspect of caring for children and running a professional service. By understanding what is expected of you within the Health and Social Care Standards and reflecting on these you will get a good idea of what you are doing well, and what you could improve. Gathering evidence regularly will enable you to demonstrate your practice to others.

Think about…

• How you can use your everyday experiences to gather evidence
• How you can use feedback from others to change, adapt and improve your service.
• The various methods you can use to include children views on your service and how you evaluate these

I know and understand that the Care Inspectorate assess my service based the Health and Social Care Standards and at each inspection visit they will be scrutinising different aspects of the care that I provide.
The inspector will be looking holistically at the quality of care you are providing and will focus on the outcomes for children. Therefore it could be difficult to compare inspection reports with previous reports as the inspector may be looking at different aspects of care. If you are unsure about which aspect of care they are looking at you should ask your inspector. If you are familiar with the content of the Health and Social Care Standards and the Wellbeing Indicators you should be able to discuss your service with confidence with your inspector.

Think about…

• how you can gather evidence as an integral aspect of providing a high quality service for children and parents
• The different methods of evidence you can collect and how you can store this in a way which will be easily accessible when the inspector visits
• How children’s views are obtained and evaluated
• Who else needs to be asked for feedback about your service, methods you can use to do this and how this has helped you make changes

I know and understand where to find information to help me update my policies, procedures and practices.
Keeping up to date with development in childcare can be difficult, especially as a lone worker. However it is essential that you are aware of organisations, networks or resources and can access these to support your own development

Think about…

• Contacting your local authority or a childminding membership organisation such as SCMA or CALA, as a good way of ensuring you get up to date and relevant information sent to you