SCMA has been working with other representative bodies from across the childcare sector in Scotland (National Day Nurseries’ Association (NDNA), Early Years Scotland, and Care and Learning Alliance (CALA)) to survey and address the views and concerns of our respective members in relation to the process of inspections.
In our joint report,
Childcare Sector Experiences of Care Inspectorate Inspection we raised the common themes and areas of concerns reported to us and then met directly with the Scottish Government and the Care Inspectorate, to highlight where things were working and also where there was a need for improvement.
As a result of this, the Care Inspectorate has now updated and shared links to two guidance documents to help you prepare for inspections, and advice on what do if you are not happy with any aspect of the inspection process. This was included in last week’s provider update from the Care Inspectorate, but we wanted to highlight this to you again in case you missed it. We also believe that this increased transparency is constructive.
What changes have been made?
How we inspect regulated services: guidance for providers of regulated care settings and the public. This guidance has been updated based on provider feedback that some elements of the previous version were unclear and caused some confusion. It focuses on
what to expect from the process of inspection, to help you understand:
- what is involved
- what to prepare in advance
- what your inspector will look at and consider
- the logistics surrounding the inspection visit
- how the inspector will evaluate the visit
- how to submit feedback or raise a concern if you are unhappy with any element of the inspection process and/or end report
Our approach to scrutiny and improvement: Until now, this guidance has been for internal use only by the Care Inspectorate, however for transparency they are now making it publicly available. We believe this to be a very positive step as it sets out their approach to scrutiny and improvement and provides a useful overview of the
standards expected of inspectors in terms of their conduct and the importance of recognising any health and wellbeing concerns of the person(s) being inspected and responding accordingly.
Your Inspection: A Reminder
Self-evaluation is an important part in the inspection process. Childminders are inspected against criteria set out in the Quality Framework which is designed to support you to evaluate your own performance and the quality of your service.
Childminders should continue to self-evaluate throughout the year as it makes it easier to reflect upon at your next inspection and will demonstrate that you are actively seeking and acting upon recommendations for improvements to your service and your practice.
Remember to keep your
Learning Log up-to-date with any CPL opportunities you undertake, as it will help prompt you to reflect on what you have learnt and how this positively impacts on your practice, which can feed into your self-evaluation.
Shared Inspection Framework: Work Continues
A new Shared Inspection Framework is currently in development to replace the existing
Quality Framework for early learning and childcare services, including childminding and school-aged childcare in Scotland.
SCMA members will remember that in January 2024,
we responded firmly to the first draft of the Shared Inspection Framework, as there were several fundamental problems with the content, and we did not believe it was fit for purpose in its current form.
This view was also shared by others, and it was agreed to re-work the document, to delay implementation and since then the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland have been working to respond to the feedback from the sector. SCMA and others have continued to provide input to inform its development, and this work is continuing. We will share more information with members once we are in a position to do so.
As always, we will keep members updated, and share any further news or updates as they become available.