Childminder in St Helens

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY271859 Inspection date 01/09/2009 Inspector Rachel Ruth Britten

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Type of setting Childminder to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the childminding

The childminder was registered in 2004. She lives with her husband and two teenage children. The family live in St. Helens. The whole of the ground floor is available for childminding purposes although the front room is a designated playroom. There is a secure garden available for outdoor play. There are no pets kept on the premises.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children at any one time. There are currently five children on roll aged from one to five years old, of these, three are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The care for children aged over five is registered by Ofsted on the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder holds an appropriate level three qualification in Early Years, and is a member of the National Child Minding Association.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The childminder adequately provides for each child on roll. Every child is supported to make sound progress in their learning and development, because the childminder is caring and attentive and provides a suitable environment for learning through play and everyday experiences. Children are kept safe and their welfare is adequately supported, although policies and procedures are not well used to best support the childminding. Partnerships with parents and others involved with the children are satisfactory. The capacity for improvement is limited, and the childminder does not prioritise organisation or updating her service.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 conduct a risk assessment of the premises and review it regularly to help ensure that hazards to children are kept to a minimum (Suitable premises, environment & equipment) 01/10/2009

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further?

 ensure that parents give written permission for any necessary emergency medical treatment or advice in the future. (Safeguarding and welfare) 20/01/2009

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 update and organise the policies and procedures required by the EYFS so that they can be used to better support safe and efficient childminding and partnership with parents This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  ensure that emergency plans are devised and practised to ensure that they are suitable and understood by everyone  make systematic observations and assessments of each child's achievements and interests, match them to the expectations of the early learning goals, and use them to identify learning priorities and learning experiences which maximise each child's progress.

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the early years provision

The childminder safeguards children adequately, because she is vigilant and checks the environment and resources regularly. She adopts safe practices, such as using safety gates and keeping entrance doors locked. She maintains necessary first aid training and deals with accidents and illness appropriately, keeping required records. However, parents have not signed consent to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical treatment. The childminder knows what to do if she is concerned that a child is being abused, and has adequate policies for child protection and complaints. Policies and procedures do not support the childminding well day to day, because they are not regularly reviewed or kept up to date and in order for easy reference and sharing with parents. In addition, there are no risk assessments being used to promote safety in the home environment, and the general outings risk assessment is difficult to use as a check before each outing is

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the early years provision

undertaken. Emergency evacuation plans are not clear or practised with the children to ensure that they work and are understood by everyone.

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the early years provision

The childminder has organised the front room with a good range of accessible resources for children to choose and use, either on the table or the floor. There is regular outdoor play in the garden or at local parks. Relations with parents are based upon verbal communication. Suitable parent agreements and child details are in place, although detailed information about children's interests and needs is not obtained at the start of placements, or used to establish priorities for children's individual development. One parent reference indicates a high level of satisfaction with the standard of care and education offered by the childminder. Links with other providers, such as teachers and pre-school key workers, are adequate because messages about health and welfare are shared. However, joint plans to consistently promote and complement individual children's progress are not in place. The childminder does not presently make individualised records or plans for

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the early years provision

each child's progress, and has not seen the records about child minded children made by other providers involved in their care.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a full roll and cares for children of varying ages at any one time. She meets their individual needs adequately and fairly. She concentrates upon her input to the children day to day, and does not attend regular training or meet with other childminders to share good practice. She has taken time to complete the Ofsted self-evaluation form and acts upon the recommendations arising from the last inspection, but she does not prioritise her development or clearly identify her own targets. As a result, the implementation of the EYFS is only satisfactory, and there are few clear priorities for improvement. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The provision for children's learning, development and welfare is satisfactory. The childminder plays with children purposefully, offering them sufficient challenge and helping them to develop confidence, imagination, communication and problem solving skills. For example, she lays on a string painting activity where children create mirror image pictures using pieces of string which they have dipped into paint pots. The childminder supports and explains what to do, and gives children time to create their pictures and they develop their small motor skills too. Children have ample choice from the accessible toys, games and materials around the room and confidently play with the small world figures and cars, fun board games, construction bricks and tools and the shopping trolley and pretend food.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is vigilant and uses safety gates to keep young children safe. She teaches children how to be safe through simple reminders to toddlers not to climb on the dining chairs or throw toys. She encourages children to take turns and help one another by taking different roles in creative play, or remembering that the youngest ones cannot play sophisticated games. Children also learn how to walk and cross roads safely and have regular trips out to the parks and library nearby. They behave quite well and enjoy good levels of fresh air and exercise, although indoors they often play only in the small room where the toys are located. Children's health is adequately catered for. They eat generally nutritious meals, although juice and white toast is preferred at snack time. Wipes are used to clean hands and faces because the only bathroom is upstairs. Towels are shared and children are reminded to wash their hands after using the toilet.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has a sound knowledge of the five 'outcomes for children' and is aware of the six areas of learning. She has started using a format for logging observations of what individual children can do, but is not using this regularly enough to have a clear plan of action to maximise each child's progress. However, she provides a sufficient range of resources and her personal input to meet each child's needs result in satisfactory progress. She understands their interests and preferences, but is not checking that she is providing the whole curriculum in a relevant way according to the ages and stages of each child attending. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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Stage

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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