Fox, Andrew

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY337644 Inspection date 01/12/2009 Inspector Loraine Wardlaw

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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 2006. He lives with his wife, who is also a registered childminder and their school aged child, who is aged over eight years. They live on the outskirts of Aldershot close to shops, parks, schools and public transport links. The ground floor of the childminders' home is used for childminding and one room on the first floor is used for sleeping purposes. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is also registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and may care for six children under eight years, no more than three of whom may be in the early years age range. When the childminder works jointly with his co-childminder wife they may care for ten children, six of whom may be in the early years age range. They are currently minding three early years children, full-time. The childminder walks/drives to local schools and pre-

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Description of the childminding

schools to take and collect children. He is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is inadequate.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children feel secure and are welcomed warmly into the safe and clean environment. The childminder meets their welfare needs satisfactorily but children's learning and development needs are insufficiently met. The childminder builds a sound relationship with children but his lack of knowledge of how young children learn and of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) learning and development requirements is hindering children's progress towards the early learning goals. A strength of the provision is the friendly and communicative liaison the childminder has with each parent. Self-evaluation takes place jointly with the childminder's co-childminder wife but it is not accurate and does not bring forth enough continuous improvement.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires significant improvement. The registered person is given a Notice to Improve that sets out actions to be carried out.

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further?

To comply with the requirements of the EYFS the registered person must take the following action by the specified date:

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further?

 improve your knowledge and understanding of the EYFS and the steps towards the early learning goals to be able to provide an educational programme that will enable children to make progress in all areas of learning (Early learning goals) 12/01/2010

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further?

 organise age appropriate toy resources to enable children to initiate their own activities across the 12/01/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 different learning areas to meet their individual developmental needs (Educational programmes)  provide children with appropriate support and opportunities by ensuring observational assessments relate to the EYFS and the steps to the early learning goals and are used to plan relevant, challenging and motivating experiences for each child (Organisation) 12/01/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 use the 'effective practice' column in the EYFS non-statutory guidance to ensure interactions are purposeful, building on what children know and can do, particularly in the areas of problem solving, reasoning and numeracy and communication, language and literacy  devise a system to liase with other providers who share the care and learning of the children to be able to complement each other

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the early years provision

The suitably vetted childminder is confident about implementing the child protection procedure; he has attended advanced child protection training and keeps a log of children's existing injuries. There is appropriate emphasis on keeping children safe; risk assessments have been undertaken on the home and regular outings, to ensure hazards are identified and measures have been put in place to minimise them. Documentation to support children's health and welfare is complete and up-to-date. Overall, the deployment of resources is poor; there is not an appropriate range of activities and toy resources for children to freely access in the home environment. The childminder organises his time so there are regular visits to a local toddler group. When they are at the home, children go with the childminder to a front storage area and point to a box of construction from a selection of resources. However, this does not meet the developmental needs of all

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the early years provision

the children attending and therefore a young child picks up the drum sticks which are in the construction set and says 'more'. The childminder acknowledges this and gets it out for them, but no other toys or musical instruments are got out or are available to the children, to extend their learning. Although the childminder is aware that each child is unique and he respects and values differences in others, he is not understanding children's unique learning needs and providing adequately for them. A well resourced outside area is available during the week, but this is not always used as part of the morning routine.

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the early years provision

The childminder has attended training courses since his last inspection and is now qualified to National Vocational Level 3; however, his knowledge of how children learn and the EYFS learning and development requirements is weak. The childminder and his wife have completed an Ofsted self-evaluation form; it grades their service and includes strengths and weaknesses but it does not truthfully reflect the setting. For example, it states 'our activities are based on age appropriateness' which is not demonstrated at the inspection, and priorities for improvement, such as developing the learning environment, is not an immediate This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 target. Partnership with parents is a strong point of the provision; parents write praising testimonials of the childminding service through an annual questionnaire. They have preliminary interviews, written diaries for under ones, verbal handovers

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the early years provision

and feedback. The childminder shares their learning and development observations with parents but children's next steps across all areas of learning are not identified because of the childminder's lack of knowledge. There is not currently a system to liaise with other providers who also care for the children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are comfortable, happy and learn a little when they are cuddled up close on the sofa with the childminder looking at a book. They name pictures, talk about what they can see and have a secure sense of belonging, building a positive relationship with the childminder, with whom they see as a play mate. Although kind, sympathetic and encouraging in his interactions, the childminder does not ask open ended questions to encourage older children to think and express their ideas or extend and re-enforce their counting skills, when looking at the book. Books are not freely available for children to choose as there are a couple on the sofa and the rest are stacked on a high shelf. There is a lack of child initiated learning, with very few play resource choices available to the children. Three-year- olds engage happily with a Mechano type construction kit, they have pointed to in the front store cupboard, which the childminder gets out for them and takes to the

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and outcomes for children

lounge. They design models by placing the pieces on the floor, making a plane and car; they are fully engaged for some time designing and building, talking about their models. Two-year-olds play happily with drum sticks and a technological drum set which is got out on their request; they are encouraged by the childminder to switch it on themselves, but the childminder does not demonstrate with clear instructions, to re-enforce the learning when the young child wants to repeat the action. Two-year-olds who become disinterested in the model kit because it is not age appropriate, resort to choosing baby toys to play which, which lack challenge and stimulation. They find it difficult to become fully engaged in purposeful play and run in the lounge.

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and outcomes for children

Children know the routines and tidy up ready for lunch time; they wash their hands before hand and use the same towel to dry their hands which is changed each day. They sit quietly together at the table eating their packed lunch provided by their parents; the childminder does not sit with them to make it a social, interactive, family mealtime. Children are encouraged to be well mannered and to say please and thank you. The childminder operates a hygienic nappy changing routine to minimise cross infection; all children have their own changing mat and he washes his hands afterwards. The childminder understands that he has to observe children and plan for their learning but his observations do not link to areas of learning and the practice observed demonstrates he is not effectively using his observational assessments to provide age appropriate activities. For example, for the adult-led activity two year olds, who are at the circular scribble

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and outcomes for children

stage of mark making, hold their pencil in a palmer grasp and, reluctantly, are encouraged to copy zig zags on a pre-printed sheet. It is way beyond their skill, does not give them a sense of achievement and inhibits learning. Three-year-olds This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 who are at a higher developmental level use a palmer grasp to trace circle shapes on their pre-printed sheet; they say proudly 'circles ' and 'I've won' when they have finished, but are not encouraged to hold the pencil correctly. 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 4 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 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 4

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 4 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 4 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 4

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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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