Deadline for Scots childminder self-assessments

The Care Inspectorate piloted a new approach to inspecting childminding services last year and, from 1 April 2014, they inspect childminders in a different way.

Instead of Quality Themes and Statements there are now just four Quality Themes:

    Quality of Care and Support
    Quality of Environment
    Quality of Staffing
    Quality of Management and Leadership

When the new approach started last March, a number of childminders advised that they had real difficulties completing the electronic PDF self assessment.

The Inspectorate wrote to childminders in March to say that if you had not already completed a self assessment, you did not need to do so and inspectors would discuss the issues with you during inspections.

However, during these inspections some childminders have not been fully able to tell us all about their service because a self assessment had not been completed.

The new self assessment asks you to consider, under each quality theme, how you keep children, safe, healthy, active, nurtured, achieving, respected, responsible and included.

These are known as the SHANARRI wellbeing indicators and this approach is based on the key policy “Getting it Right for Every Child” (GIRFEC).

The Inspectorate now require childminders to complete this self assessment. If you have not completed a self assessment since 1 January 2014 you asked to log on to the eForms system, complete and submit one by 14 November 2014.

If you have any difficulties logging on to the eForms system or completing your self assessment, contact the eForms Help Desk on 0345 603 0890.