Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 304671 Inspection date 24/11/2009 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 1998. She lives with her partner and five children, aged two years, and 11 years and three of whom are adults. The family live in the Wistaston area of Crewe. The whole of the ground floor and one upstairs bedroom are used for childminding purposes. There is a secure garden available for outdoor play. Family pets include one cat.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children at any one time, three of whom may be in the early years age range. She operates all year round. There are currently 12 children on roll aged from one to 10 years; of these, three are within the early years age range. The care for children aged over five years is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder takes children to, and meets them from the local schools, and has support from the local authority worker.

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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 recognises that each child is unique and provides adequately for their learning and development needs. She promotes their welfare satisfactorily and adequately safeguards them. Relationships with parents and others where relevant, are satisfactory. She has made satisfactory improvements as required at previous inspections, but her capacity to self-evaluate and continue to improve is limited without continuing support, advice and training.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that the procedures to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse being made against the provider, or any person living, working or looking after children on the premises, are known and understood (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 01/01/2010

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further?

 manage children's behaviour more effectively and in a manner appropriate for their stage of development and individual needs (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare). 01/01/2010

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further?

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

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further?

 provide a more challenging learning and development experience for each This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 child, based upon the expectations of the early learning goals for the child's age  use and review risk assessments regularly and record the aspects that need to be checked on a regular basis, in order to maintain safety and create stimulating play space in the home environment and on outings  use self-evaluation and reflect on practice to identify and make improvements to the quality of the environment and teaching.

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the early years provision

The childminder adequately provides for the safety and well-being of each child in the setting, bearing in mind their varying ages. She uses safety gates, checks smoke alarms and occasionally practises the emergency evacuation procedure so that children know what to do. She has completed risk assessments for the indoor and outdoor environments, and the regular outings which are undertaken, although these are not used day-to-day to remind the childminder to keep play spaces and exits clean and clear. This means that play space is reduced, and sometimes children do not experience as much outside and active play as they need. In addition, young children cannot always find or set out their play choices and disputes occur more often because they feel restricted.

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the early years provision

All members of the household have been vetted, and the childminder has prepared suitable policies covering lost or uncollected child, complaints and safeguarding. Policies are made available to parents in a file in the hall, and they have signed to say that they have seen these policies, along with the inspection report and complaint record. However, the safeguarding policy refers to a separate statement about the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation against the childminder or any adults in the household, and this statement is not provided. The childminder's knowledge of this aspect of the safeguarding requirements is still unclear. Nevertheless, evidence is provided that all adults on the premises are suitable and records, such as child details, daily register sheets, accident records and daily routine sheets are adequately organised. The childminder is using the attendance register and keeping parent contact details updated. She has updated

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the early years provision

The childminder has acted upon most of the actions and recommendations made at the recent inspection and improvement is satisfactory. Policies are more available and communicated to parents; procedures for children's health, hygiene and independence are reported by the childminder to be improved, although these were not seen during the inspection. Observing and planning for individual children is taking place, but the childminder remains unsure what her priorities are for each child's progress. The childminder relies heavily upon the advice and support of the early years advisor, and her own insight into her strengths and weaknesses as a provider is limited. She is willing to undertake training, although personal circumstances resulted in non-attendance at a recent course about the observation and assessment of children's progress in the six areas of learning. She continues to find it hard to verbalise or write down how she wants to improve, although she has

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the early years provision

a quality assurance tool based upon the 'outcomes for children' agenda, and the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Ofsted self-evaluation form.

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the early years provision

She is making a learning record for each child, but has not been successful in engaging parents to make joint initial plans. She is making some observations and periodic assessments of what children can do, but is not matching these to the Practice Guidance statements about what children should be doing for their age. As a result, she remains very unsure about what the next steps in children's development should be and what her priorities for them are. Parents view their child's record, but the childminder is not proactive to suggest areas where adults need to work together to ensure that the child makes appropriate developmental progress. As a result, some children's speech, toilet training, behaviour and self- help skills are under-developed. Nevertheless, the childminder has the confidence to make positive links with other providers, such as reception teachers, so that she knows what children are learning in other environments and can discuss and

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the early years provision

extend this with each child. Parents are said to be happy with the daily routine sheet record and verbal exchanges they have each day with the childminder at handover. However, arrangements for children's attendance are sometimes unclear because parents do not communicate clearly with the childminder.

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and outcomes for children

Children make adequate progress in the six areas of learning because they enjoy a suitable range of resources, activities and experiences. The childminder provides some choices and time for children to pursue their interests. For example, two- year-old boys paint, use play dough and shape cutters, complete jigsaws, and use cars and construction toys. The childminder plays alongside children and provides enough materials for each child to use, but her input provides little challenge for them to make progress. She talks to them, but asks few questions and does not know what she wants them to learn through their play. Resources are plentiful and organised into boxes, but the amount of furniture and effects take up play space and make it difficult for children to choose and set-up their activities. As a result, children's behaviour and concentration are sometimes poor and they find it very hard to share and cooperate together. The childminder's skills to distract and

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and outcomes for children

manage their behaviour and social skills positively are lacking and she accepts what they do, saying that they are feeling unwell and tired.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy some active learning outside because the garden is well equipped with role play, physical and various resources. Children learn about the natural world and their community as they visit toddler groups and parks or collect the older children from school, although the childminder does not always identify the different ways that some children like to play, including the need for boys to have more active and outdoor play. Children learn how to care for and respect the pet cat, and are beginning to use tissues and wash their hands to minimise cross- infection. However, food-and-drink times lack routine, and two-year-olds drink from bottles and eat toast at the same time as playing. The childminder adequately encourages children's knowledge and understanding of the world, problem solving and communication. However, she is not focusing sufficiently on working with parents on children's personal, social and emotional skills; including

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 potty training, eating and drinking from appropriate cups, and learning how to take turns, share, and cope with their emotions.

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and outcomes for children

Children have satisfactory relationships with adults in the household and are adequately settled and confident. The childminder is caring and warm towards them, although she does not effectively praise their successes or reward their good behaviour. A form to find out what parents say their child can do when they first start has not been returned to the childminder. She has not found another way to get this information, but she liaises with reception teachers about what children are doing in school, and remembers the importance of providing care which complements what children do in other settings they attend. She records observations about what children can do and makes simple notes of what activities she wants to offer them next. She makes simple periodic assessments of what they can do under the six areas of learning and shares these with parents. She also shares daily routine information with parents. This includes details of what

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and outcomes for children

children have eaten, and their sleeps and nappy changes. However, children's progress is held back because the childminder has not identified gaps in children's personal, social and emotional development or prioritised addressing this. 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 4 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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