Simpson, Allison Claire

Inspection report for early years provision

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260128 Unique Reference Number 28 February 2008 Inspection date Joanne Baranek Inspector

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Childcare Type of inspection Childminding Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder has been registered since 2001. She lives with her husband and family including two children aged six years and 18-months-old in a newly built house.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

All areas of the home except the main bedroom and the study in the childminder’s home is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The family have a tropical fish tank with several fish.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder drives and walks to the local schools and playgroups to take and collect children.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

She attends a parent and toddler group and takes the children to the local library and parks.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is registered to care for four children at any one time and is currently minding four, children all of whom attend on a part-time basis.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is inadequate. Children's hygiene is maintained because of the procedures the childminder has in place to ensure the children wash their hands at appropriate times. The school-age children are reminded when they use the toilet to wash their hands to prevent germs being spread and the younger children use a step to help them to reach the sink to start to wash their hands' independently. Before eating and after playing outside the children are encouraged to wash their hands to clean any germs or dirt off and as the childminder uses liquid soap and paper towels there is limited cross-contamination. The sick child policy ensures children who are ill and contagious are not admitted into the childminder's home enabling the spread of infection to be limited and as the parents are all requested to read this when they register they are all fully aware of the need to follow this procedure. The childminder has additional information about all

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Helping children to be healthy

contagious illnesses available for parents with the exclusion periods stated. The health of the children is compromised by the childminder's lack of current first aid procedures. Her first aid certificate has expired and she has not yet updated this knowledge. Her medicine policy states she will not administer medication without prior written permission and this is supported by her practice. All medication is logged and signed by the parents before she will administer, ensuring the children receive the correct dose at the required time.

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Helping children to be healthy

The childminder provides the children with nutritionally balanced meals for lunch, tea and snack times. They eat meals such as sandwiches or soup for lunch and shepherds pie, curry or roast chicken for tea. At snack time the children eat fruit, biscuits, cheese and crackers or toast and the childminder ensures that parents are aware of what they have eaten during the day. All dietary and religious requirements are requested on the admission form and this ensures the childminder has all the knowledge she needs to provide food suitable for all children. The childminder talks to the parents about food that is suitable for their child's needs and if necessary the childminder will store the food separately. The children are provided with regular drinks throughout the day with the younger children having bottles of juice or water through the day and the school-age children receiving drinks when they arrive home from school and later when

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Helping children to be healthy

they request it. All of this ensures the children remain hydrated and nourished whilst within the care of the childminder.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children's physical development is supported through the variety of activities and resources the childminder provides. The school-age children are taken swimming and ice skating on a weekly basis and the younger children are taken to mother and toddler swimming sessions once a week. The garden provides a secure area in which the children have plenty of room to run and play in safety. The garden has a swing and slide to play on, a playhouse for imaginative play, bats and balls and skipping hoops to learn new skills with. The children are taken to the local parks on a regular basis where they are able to play on large equipment such as climbing frames. Children are driven half the distance to school and are encouraged to walk the remainder of the way, due to the long distance to the school. Overall the children are given plenty of opportunity to develop different physical skills and exercise daily in the outdoors.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are kept safe and secure in the childminder's home as she puts precautions in place to protect the children, for example, she locks all the outer doors to stop the children from

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 leaving without her knowledge or people entering unseen. The keys are left in an accessible area for the childminder to reach in the case of an emergency evacuation. Electric sockets are either covered with furniture, plugs or plug sockets throughout the house ensuring children are unable to play with them and a stair gate prevents the children accessing the stairs or the upstairs rooms unaccompanied. Although the gas fire in the front room is not guarded the childminder does not have this fire on whilst the children are present and the fire guard was more a hazard than a safety feature as the children wanted to climb on it. The childminder assessed the situation and decided it was safer to have no guard. This shows her ability to risk assess situations and alter them to keep the children safe in the environment.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The childminder has a good variety of equipment suitable for all ages of the children she cares for. All toys available for the toddler children are age-appropriate and show no choking hazards and the resources provided for the school-age children are suitable for their needs. All resources are cleaned on a regular basis and all plastic toys are washed in the dishwasher to rid them of germs and dirt. Equipment such as high chairs that attach onto the kitchen chairs enables the childminder to care for the children safely within her home and the use of pushchairs and reins enable her to keep the children safe while they are out walking. The use of the comfortable settee together with a blow up bed provide plenty of areas for the children to relax and rest should they need to.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The childminder's car is insured correctly and the use of the appropriate fitted booster seats and harnesses or seat belts ensure the children are safely sat within this vehicle. The childminder also has appropriate liability insurance which is displayed so parents can see it freely. Whilst the children are out of the childminder's home they are kept safe through procedures and policies the childminder has in place. The lost child policy states the procedure she will follow in the case of a child becoming separated from the group including precautions she will put in place to prevent this from happening, such as avoiding busy places, children having key rings attached to them with the childminder's phone number on and teaching the children about the dangers of wandering off and strangers. This policy has been written by the childminder and is designed to put the parent's minds at ease. The children are kept safe from the danger

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

of fire because the childminder has smoke alarms on all levels of her house and practises fire drills with the children on a monthly basis.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are safeguarded within the care of the childminder because of her good understanding of child protection and how to identify if a child is being abused either physically or emotionally. She recognises the need for confidentiality and to refer any suspicions to the appropriate authority immediately. She has collated information about child protection and uses this to refer to if she needs to and has produced a child protection policy for the parents asking that if they have existing injuries when they arrive at the house they tell the childminder so she can log them. This helps to identify accidental injuries and potential child protection issues. As she has attended a child protection training course recently she has up to date knowledge that she can use to safeguard the children.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children are progressing well within the care of the childminder because of the varied curriculum she plans. The children attend a playgroup weekly where they are able to socialise with children of a variety of ages and backgrounds and access further activities that support their intellectual development. The playgroup offers different creative activities such as paper mache modelling and groups activities, for example, singing, group physical games and socialising over snack.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 There are varied resources supporting the children with the diversity of the world with positive images from different cultures and beliefs and activities they can access to learn about festivals such as Chinese New Year. The children are also taken on trips out to the local animal petting zoo where they are able to be introduced to a variety of different animals and feed certain ones. The zoo offers good hygiene procedures to keep the children safe with the use of frequent hand washing stations throughout. School-age children are given the opportunity to go on trips to parks, farms and local sports areas such as swimming and skating.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Within the childminder's home she provides varying activities to support the children to develop in a rounded manner such as physical development in the garden and focused activities where she sits with the children and a specific activity and teaches them new skills or reinforces knowledge they already have. The focused activities include sitting with jigsaws and supporting the children to complete the puzzle or start to place pieces in the correct place, or sitting with individual children and reading books together supporting their literacy development. The childminder provides opportunities for the children to cook and bake, paint, colour, and make specific creations around a topic such as Mother's day cards. The older children are able to relax when they come back from school either by watching television, doing creative activities or playing board games such as Operation or Pop up Pirate. The childminder plans activities

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

throughout the week to support the children she cares for including areas in which she feels they need to be challenged in order to progress further. All outings are planned with the children she cares for in mind to ensure they are supported fully and the destination is suitable for their care.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is satisfactory. All children are included into the childminder's house because of the inclusive practice she uses. The childminder talks to the parents about their cultural and religious background but this is not currently recorded on their child's admission form impacting on the consistency. There are some resources that reflect the diverse world we live in, such as dressing up clothes including a sari and books showing positive images of gender and ethnic origin. There is opportunity for the children to taste different foods from around the world, for example, Chinese stir fry and curries, enabling the children to have an understanding of their origins. The childminder's equal opportunity policy reflects the inclusive practice by stating no person will be discriminated against for any reason and how the childminder will provide a welcoming environment for all and provide positive images around the house for the children to access

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Children with learning difficulties and/or disabilities would be supported sufficiently within the childminder's home as she has a basic understanding of additional needs and how to provide support for all children in order for them to be included in all activities and play. The childminder talks to the parents about their children, discussing any support or specific care needs they may have and this enables her to gain information about each child's needs. If she had concerns about any child's development within her care she would discuss with the parents initially and seek further support from professional associations if she needs to, enabling the children to receive the care and support they need to progress further.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children are learning to manage their own behaviour because of the consistent methods the childminder uses from the time they start in her care. All methods used are age-appropriate and this supports their ability to understand the difference between right and wrong. With the younger children the childminder uses distraction methods to divert their attention onto another

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 toy or area of the room, for example, two children are having a disagreement over a toy so the childminder explains that the other child was playing with this and then encourages them to play with another toy diverting their attention away from the situation. The behaviour management policy reflects the need for different methods for the different age of child and supports her practice by informing the parents of the procedure she will follow to discourage unacceptable behaviour.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Parents work well with the childminder within this environment and the childminder has a good relationship with them ensuring they are able to communicate successfully about the care of their child. With regards to how the children are progressing and what they are doing during the day the childminder verbally updates the parents ensuring continuity of care between the two areas of the child's life. If a child still requires milk feeds the childminder ensures she feeds back the amount of fluid the child has taken during the time within her care. There is a parental complaint policy showing the different ways in which they can complain including to Ofsted as a regulator, however, the phone number does need updating in order for parents to be connected to the people they need to speak to.

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Organisation

The organisation is inadequate. The childminder was found to not to be compliant with National Standard 1: Suitable Person (supporting criterion 1.5) in that she did not have in place a current first aid certificate. This impacts on her suitability as a childminder as she has not updated her knowledge of current first aid procedures. As she is still minding a wide age range of children this was deemed to be inadequate as they require caring for in different ways in case of a medical emergency and this knowledge needs to be updated without haste. The childminder has a caring attitude towards the children and although she has no childcare qualifications she has experience in caring for a variety of children of different ages and is able to adapt her routine to suit the children on a daily basis.

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Organisation

The children are cared for within the designated numbers and the childminder has a good understanding of how to ensure their individual needs are met through remaining within the ratios set. Although the childminder cares for children over the age of eight-years-old that are not required to be within these numbers she has ensured that the provision of this care does not impact on the children under eight-years-old. The space within the house and garden suit the children cared for and is ample room for the children to run and play in safely.

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Organisation

The documentation the childminder is required to keep is all up to date and stored safely to prevent confidentiality being broken. The register is up to date and shows the times the children attend, and the medicine and accident books are up to date with all details required for the care of the children. The admission forms the parents fill out contain all emergency details such as contact numbers for parents and a secondary source in case of an emergency and these are stored with any other paperwork relating to the child or family. Contact details are taken out with the childminder whenever she leaves the house to ensure she is able to contact the parents in the case of an emergency enabling them to be in contact. However because of the lack of a current first aid certificate overall children’s needs are not met.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the childminder agreed to establish a written agreement with parents that sets out the expectations of both parties as to the care of the child and activities provided.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 She now has a written contract showing what she will do with the children and what she expects from the parents including requesting for them to tell her if the child is ill or arrives with a pre-existing injury. The details the childminder gives the parents states what activities she will provide for the children including creative and physical play.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made to parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are inadequate - notice of action to improve. The registered person does not meet the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care, the registered person must take the following actions: • complete an appropriate first aid course that includes training in first aid for infants and young children These actions are set out in a notice of action to improve and must be completed by the date specified in the notice.

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The quality and standards of the care

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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