Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club Day Care of Children
Stepps Cultural Centre 10 Blenheim Avenue Stepps Glasgow G33 6FH
Telephone: 07941 624 869 / 07946 605 728
Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 22 September 2017
Service provided by: Service provider number: Cardowan and Stepps Out of School SP2005007450 Club
Care service number: CS2003040540 Inspection report
About the service
Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club is registered to care for a maximum of 40 children attending school. It is provided from the Cultural Centre in Stepps and is available Monday to Friday between 7.50am-9am and 3pm-6pm school term and 8am-6pm during school holidays. This service is one of three services operated by Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club in North Lanarkshire.
The service aims to provide: - high quality childcare for children aged 4-16 years. - children with an environment that is safe, supportive, encouraging and challenging. - a place to be with friends and make new ones, try out new activities, to relax, to have fun and enjoyment. - a service where children can help make the decisions on how the club is run.
What people told us
We issued 15 Care Standards Questionnaires to the service to distribute to parents. We received four completed questionnaires. All responses from parents were positive. Written comments included:-
"We receive no formal feedback on how our child is developing or what individual education and support programme is in place, or not."
We examined this as part of the inspection. Comments are included in Quality of Care and Support. "Both of my children use the after school service and holiday club. They have a wide range of activities, have lots of outdoor physical play and arts and crafts. Staff are always attentive, friendly and clearly enjoy spending the time with the children. I have recommended the service to my friends."
We spoke with a parent who arrived to collect children. She stated that she was very happy with the service and had used it from the beginning. She could see improvements over the years. She stated that the manager was good at responding to suggestions/ideas and you can then see this happening in practice. There is continuity with a core group of staff. There is a very good range of trips and outings during holidays.
Self assessment
The service had not been asked to complete a self assessment in advance of the inspection. We looked at their own improvement plan and quality assurance paperwork. These demonstrated their priorities for development and how they were monitoring the quality of provision within the service.
From this inspection we graded this service as:
Quality of care and support 4 - Good Quality of environment 4 - Good Quality of staffing 4 - Good Quality of management and leadership 4 - Good
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 2 of 10 Inspection report
Quality of care and support
Findings from the inspection At this inspection we considered Child Protection and staff knowledge of children's individual needs in relation to Scottish Government Guidance, Getting it Right for Every Child, (GIRFEC).
Staff had a good understanding of how to protect and safeguard children. A child protection policy was in place which informed and supported staff in their roles. (See recommendation 1). Staff attended regular child protection training which kept them up-to-date with current best practice and refreshed their knowledge and understanding of child protection. There was a designated Child Protection Co-ordinator.
We sampled children's care plans and also considered how information about children's learning and development was shared with parents. We found that each child had a personal development plan which was reviewed six monthly. This included records of discussions with parents about children's needs and progress. An 'All About Me' document was completed for younger children. We discussed how key staff gathered information about children's learning and development and next steps. We asked the manager to consider ways in which staff could record information obtained by observing children and use this to assess learning, development and next steps. (See recommendation 2).
We looked at Big Books, recently developed by children and used to record their feedback, views and comments about the service. We found that the books were a very effective way of sharing information with parents about children's experiences in the service. Children had used the SHANNARI wellbeing indicators from GIRFEC to chart their discussions from children's meetings, monthly activities, achievements and photographs. The service had recently sought comments from children about the summer holiday programme. A very good response was achieved with children providing very positive comments about the trips, outings and activities.
In sampling care plans we considered the service policy and procedure on medication. (See recommendation 3).
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 3
1. The manager and staff should review the service child protection policy to clarify when restraint may be used and provide specific examples of this. This information should also be reflected, where appropriate, in children's care plans, relevant consents should be in place and staff should be appropriately trained. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3, Health and wellbeing.
2. The manager and staff should review children's care plans to include records of observations to evidence children's learning and development and next steps. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 6; Support and development.
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 3 of 10 Inspection report
3. The manager and staff should review the service medication policy. This should include a record of when a child spits out or refuses medication. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3; Health and wellbeing.
Grade: 4 - good
Quality of environment
Findings from the inspection At this inspection we considered a safe environment and active, healthy lifestyles.
We found that a safe environment was maintained for children and staff, both indoors and during trips and outings. Relevant risk assessments were developed and children were aware of safety following discussions with staff during children's meetings and when planning outings. New T-shirts had been purchased for children to wear on outings to assist with easy identification. taffS also had new T-shirts displaying their names to wear on a daily basis in the service. Children had recently completed the 'Glitter Challenge' to highlight safe hand washing procedures.
Active, healthy lifestyles were promoted for children. Children who had attended the summer out of school club enjoyed a full range of daily trips and outings. This included visits to Wellfield Farm, Heads of yrA Farm, Five Sisters Zoo, Almond Valley, Kelvingrove Park, Soft Play, Fun Days at the local parks and Cinema. Children excitedly told us about these activities and it was obvious that the summer programme had impacted very positively on outcomes for children. Children had access to daily outdoor play at the service including the use of the school football pitches. They also enjoyed physical activity in the indoor gym where the service was accommodated. Recently, coaches had been employed on a weekly basis to engage with children in sports and dance.
Experiences for children had been enhanced by the recent purchase of a range of new resources. We saw children enjoying using these and they told us that they were asked for suggestions for these. We asked the manager to continue to obtain feedback about the environment for children and to evaluate the new resources.
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 4 - good
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 4 of 10 Inspection report
Quality of staffing
Findings from the inspection At this inspection we considered staff training, knowledge and skills in supporting children and supervision/ appraisal and support to staff to meet Scottish Social Services Council conditions for registration.
We found that staff had completed training since the last inspection. This included GIRFEC, Child Protection and First Aid. All staff employed in the service were now first aid trained. We observed staff to be motivated and professional. They engaged very well with children and used their skills to support children to achieve positive outcomes. Comments from parents about staff were very positive.
Appraisals were conducted annually for staff with opportunities for supervision with the manager at regular intervals. We observed and sampled records relating to this process. We also observed the induction experience for a recently appointed staff member and found that a checklist and induction booklet was completed. New staff were supported by the manager and other staff to ensure a smooth transition into the service. Staff meetings were held monthly and minutes were recorded.
The manager used the appraisal process to ensure that staff who were in process of obtaining relevant qualifications were on course to meet conditions for registration with the Scottish Social Services Council. We asked the manager to continue to support staff in their roles by providing regular support and training to ensure positive outcomes for children.
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0
Grade: 4 - good
Quality of management and leadership
Findings from the inspection At this inspection we considered support provided to staff by the manager and the provider/manager's response to regulation.
We found that a good level of support was provided to staff by the manager. This included induction, supervision, appraisal, team meetings, training opportunities and support to meet Scottish Social Services Council conditions for registration. Staff we talked to told us that the team was working well and the manager was open and approachable. They told us that they were included in discussions about the service and had access to regular meetings and training.
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 5 of 10 Inspection report
The manager/provider's response to regulation was positive. An action plan had been returned following the previous inspection and a requirement and recommendations recorded at this inspection were either met or in process of being met. A number of improvements had been made in the service since the last inspection. These included updates of certain service policies, the development of Big Books by children, the purchase of T-shirts and a new large, portable pin board to aid communication, sports and dance coaches employed. Parents who provided comments spoke very positively about the manager. (See recommendation 1).
Overall, we found that the manager responded positively to the inspection process and the suggestions/ recommendations made to further develop the service.
Requirements Number of requirements: 0
Recommendations Number of recommendations: 1
1. The practice of staff signing into the service had recently ceased. We asked the manager to ensure that records of all adults and children in the service were maintained at all times. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 14; Well managed service.
Grade: 4 - good
What the service has done to meet any requirements we made at or since the last inspection
Previous requirements
Requirement 1
Children and young people using the service should receive quality support and supervision at all times. In order to achieve this the service must; ensure that effective management procedures are in place to monitor and address staff absences, ensure that all staff members have appropriate understanding of those procedures, provide evidence to the Care Inspectorate that those systems are effective and can respond to staff absences. This is to comply with The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011 (SSI 2011 No. 210) Regulation 15 (a) - Staffing. Timescale: to be started on receipt of this report and completed within four weeks.
This requirement was made on 17 November 2016.
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Action taken on previous requirement Absence monitoring systems are in place. A recommendation relating to signing in/out for staff has been recorded in this report.
Met - within timescales
What the service has done to meet any recommendations we made at or since the last inspection
Previous recommendations
Recommendation 1
The provider should consider how children's care plans could reflect the principles of Scottish Government guidance, Getting it Right for Every Child (GIRFEC). National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 6; Support and development.
This recommendation was made on 17 November 2016.
Action taken on previous recommendation This had been partially addressed. We discussed this during inspection and the provider agreed to review care plans. A recommendation relating to this has been included in this report.
Recommendation 2
The provider should ensure that new staff in the service are familiar with children's care plans to enable them to fully support children and help them to achieve. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 6; Support and development.
This recommendation was made on 17 November 2016.
Action taken on previous recommendation Staff were familiar with existing care plans, however, the provider should ensure that following the review of care plans staff again familiarise themselves with them. A recommendation relating to this has been included in this report.
Recommendation 3
The provider should ensure that children are offered healthy snack choices in accordance with NHS Health Scotland guidance, Setting the Table. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 3; Health and wellbeing.
This recommendation was made on 17 November 2016.
Action taken on previous recommendation We observed children enjoying healthy snack and observed snack menus.
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 7 of 10 Inspection report
Recommendation 4
The provider should continue to support staff in the service to ensure that children experience positive outcomes. National Care Standards, Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16, Standard 12; Confidence in taffS .
This recommendation was made on 17 November 2016.
Action taken on previous recommendation The provider was providing appropriate support to staff.
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
Date Type Gradings 14 Sep 2016 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 3 - Adequate Management and leadership 3 - Adequate
13 Jan 2014 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good
27 Feb 2013 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 3 - Adequate Staffing 4 - Good Management and leadership 4 - Good
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Date Type Gradings 28 Feb 2012 Unannounced Care and support 3 - Adequate Environment Not assessed Staffing Not assessed Management and leadership Not assessed
20 Oct 2010 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment Not assessed Staffing 3 - Adequate Management and leadership 4 - Good
22 Dec 2009 Unannounced Care and support 4 - Good Environment 4 - Good Staffing 2 - Weak Management and leadership 2 - Weak
Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 9 of 10 Inspection report
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This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website.
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Inspection report for Cardowan and Stepps Out of School Club page 10 of 10