Childminder in Wakefield

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY286254 Inspection date 13/10/2009 Inspector Lindsay Helen Dobson

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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 is registered to childmind from the home of another registered childminder who lives with her partner and child aged 13 years in Pontefract, West Yorkshire. The childminder uses a dedicated playroom on the ground floor of the home and the toilet is situated on the first floor. There is an enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The care of the children is usually shared with the co-childminder. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time when working alone or with another childminder. There are currently ten children on roll, of which, six are in the early years age range. The childminder walks to local schools to take and collect children. The family has two dogs, two guinea pigs, two rats and 12 mice.

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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 provides a suitably warm and welcoming environment for all children and their families. Appropriate systems for gathering sufficient information from parents ensures that the childminder is aware of the children's individual welfare needs. She has an sound understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and interacts appropriately with children to extend their learning, although current systems of observation and assessment are not robust. Overall, children are safeguarded, due to the childminder's understanding of most procedures to keep children safe, however, documentation relating to risk assessments does not meet with requirements and evacuation drills are not practised. The childminder has started the self-evaluation process through discussion with her co-childminder, this begins to satisfactorily identify her strengths and areas for further development, in order

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further?

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

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further?

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

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further?

 raise the children's awareness of what procedure to follow in the event of an emergency evacuation  continue to develop the systems of observation, assessment and planning to consistently track and further promote children's learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder has a clear understanding of safeguarding issues and procedures and has the appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place and shares these with the parents. She has completed a safeguarding children training course which further enhances her knowledge of how to protect children and recognise the signs of possible abuse. Children are kept safe on the premises as the childminder has installed a range of features such as safety gates and socket covers. However, the childminder does not practise evacuation drills with the children to ensure they are fully aware of the procedures to follow in the event of an emergency. The childminder discusses how she conducts daily visual risk assessments on the premises, however, the record of risk assessments carried out is not clear and does not contain sufficient or robust information to fully ensure children's safety and this is a breach of regulations.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the provision of a stimulating play environment, with interesting toys and activities set out on a low table or easily accessible on low shelves or in floor level storage boxes. The childminder makes good use of the playroom and takes children on a variety of outings to offer them a variety of play situations. She spends her time with them, enhancing their play by offering support and suggesting ideas. Children are encouraged to mix with each other and develop friendships, regardless of their backgrounds. Through using resources that reflect diversity, children become more aware of a wider society and learn to respect others.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides clear information about her setting for parents and carers. Parents receive a copy of her policies and complete written contracts and consent forms. She exchanges information with them each day in conversation, and has introduced daily diaries to ensure they are kept up to date with any care issues. She is aware of the need to liaise closely with other providers of the EYFS which children may attend, and children are supported in their transition to school. All children are offered individual attention at times so that the childminder can respond to their individual needs. Parents express their satisfaction with the care provided for their children.

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the early years provision

The childminder is positive about the self-evaluation process, although evaluation systems are in the early stages. She is able to identify some of the strengths of the provision and some areas for improvement and has discussed these with her co- childminder. Some positive steps have been taken to develop the service and promote the outcomes for children, such as, identifying and planning to attend further training. Most of the recommendations raised at the last inspection have been addressed, for example, the childminder has now completed a paediatric first aid course enabling her to care for children in the event of an accident and further safety measures have been taken to prevent unauthorised entry to the premises. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are content and enjoy their time in the childminder’s care. Together with her co-childminder, she has created a stimulating, welcoming designated play room and provides children with sensitive and age-appropriate support. The close relationships between the childminder and the children is a strength of the setting. The childminder offers the children comfort, cuddles and positive praise consistently throughout the day and children's individual needs are well met, with regard to their personal routines for sleep and meals. The childminder has a sound understanding of how children learn and provides resources that encourage an enthusiasm and motivation for learning. Activities are planned according to children’s interests and abilities and she is establishing a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities across all areas of learning. The childminder has started to record her observations of children’s learning and development. However, this

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and outcomes for children

system is in its early stages and is not yet fully developed to ensure that children's individual learning is linked specifically to the early learning goals and that the information is used to track their progress and plan for their next steps in the learning.

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and outcomes for children

The learning environment is conducive to children's learning and development because the childminder provides them with an appropriate range of freely accessible resources. This means they have opportunities to make choices about what they would like to play with. During activities the childminder supports children’s learning appropriately as she encourages them and asks questions to make them think. For example, she supports very young children as they develop their fine motor skills by using large crayons to mark marks and colour. The childminder encourages children's confidence and self-esteem by enthusiastically praising them and making them feel valued. She uses stickers to enhance behaviour management techniques for example, when encouraging children to share. Children learn important social skills and good manners, as they regularly go on outings with the childminder and co-childminder. They particularly enjoy visiting

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and outcomes for children

the local playing field, where they engage in ball games and enjoy the free space to run around. Children also enjoy developing their interest in books; they can self select books to look at alone, or pass these to the childminder who reads to them. Children develop their numeracy and problem solving skills by singing number rhymes, completing puzzles and counting in everyday play situations.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder provides children with support that enables them to begin to understand how to keep themselves safe from harm. For example, they learn about road safety and stranger danger when out with the childminder. Children are adopting healthy lifestyles as the childminder provides them with healthy and nutritious snacks and meals. These are home cooked and contain fresh produce such as meat and vegetables. Children's independence is promoted as they are encouraged to feed themselves from a very young age, using small sized cutlery. The childminder has established good systems to help children stay healthy with regard to keeping the environment clean and implementing procedures to prevent cross-infection. For example, the children are learning that they must wash their hands after toileting and they use antibacterial gel before eating. Nappy change This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

routines are good; the childminder uses disposable gloves and cleans the changing mat after each use. Children are beginning to develop skills for the future as they use age-appropriate information technology. Also as they learn about respecting other people and their differences. Children also have opportunities to care for animals as they help the childminder to look after the guinea pigs. They are beginning to learn about environmental issues as they help to recycle household items such as newspapers, use cardboard boxes to make models and grow their on vegetables such as beans and cress. 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 26/10/2009

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report (Records to be kept) 26/10/2009

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