Childminder in Hillingdon

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY378366 Inspection date 02/10/2009 Inspector Glenda Pownall

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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 registered in 2008. She lives with her husband, grown-up child and two children who are aged seven and eight years, in West Drayton in the London borough of Hillingdon. The childminder uses the whole of the ground floor of the house for childminding. There is an enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder makes use of local facilities such as parks and toddler groups.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She may care for a maximum of four children at any one time. She is currently minding two children who attend part- time in the early years age group and one child in the older age group.

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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

The childminder is warm and welcoming to children and their parents. However, she has insufficient knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and as a result does not meet the individual needs of each child. There are a number of breaches of regulations relating to safety, resources and learning and development. The childminder’s capacity to improve is limited because she has no systems in place for self-evaluation.

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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?

 conduct a risk assessment and review it regularly. Ensure the risk assessment identifies aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis. Determine the regularity of these checks according to the significance of individual risks and maintain a record of when and by whom these particular aspects have been checked (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) 30/10/2009

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further?

 take all reasonable steps to ensure that hazards to children are kept to a minimum, in particular with regard to the safety of the back door and the storage of potentially hazardous products and the time take to evacuate the premises in the event of an emergency (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) 30/10/2009

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further?

 undertake sensitive observational assessment in order 30/10/2009 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 to plan to meet young children’s individual needs (Organisation)  plan and provide experiences which are appropriate to each child’s stage of development as they progress towards the early learning goals (Organisation) 30/10/2009

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further?

 ensure there are sufficient toys that are safe and suitable for their purpose taking into account the ages and stages of children's development (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) 30/10/2009

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 develop a robust process for ongoing self-evaluation that covers all aspects of the childcare in order to identify the strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of provision for all children.

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the early years provision

The childminder has an adequate understanding of the procedure to follow if concerned a child is at risk from abuse. However, she does not promote children’s safety because she lacks awareness of risk assessment. There is a risk assessment form in place but this has only been used once, it is not dated and it is not specific to these premises. For example, it records that the childminder has checked that cords on blinds do not present a hazard when there are no blinds. In addition, the childminder has not carried out any action to mitigate the risk to children from the storing of potentially hazardous materials in an unlocked low-level cupboard. The childminder has carried out one emergency evacuation practise with children but she lacks sufficient understanding of the purpose of this procedure. She has not taken any steps to overcome the length of time it took to get the children out of the premises.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides a clean and well-maintained environment for children where they have sufficient space to move around and play freely. Young children occupy themselves with the small range of available resources. However, these resources are not organised effectively as a number are not recommended or suitable for the ages of children present. This does not meet the individual needs of all children or promote their welfare and learning.

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the early years provision

Since registration the childminder has completed first aid training and attended other courses in order to become familiar with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, this has not been sufficient to ensure that all requirements are met. There are no systems in place to evaluate or monitor practice and no areas identified to improve practice. This lack of self-reflection impacts on children’s welfare and learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder is developing relationships with parents. She obtains written parental consents with regard to many aspects of care and she discusses children’s daily routines with parents. This helps to support continuity of care. She gathers This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 information about children’s individual welfare needs but does not obtain information about children’s interests or developmental stages when they first start in order to progress their learning and development. Parents are happy with the care their children receive; they particularly like the childminder’s patient nature and the way she interacts with children. The childminder has adequate systems in place to develop partnerships with other settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder does not undertake observations to assess children’s progress and consequently has not identified learning priorities for individual children. This is a breach of requirements. She does take photographs of children at play but is unable to link these to their achievements or next steps in learning. The childminder spends much of her time involved in children’s play offering praise and encouragement but is uncertain of the learning intentions of these activities. She lacks the confidence to enable children of different ages to follow their own interests. She does plan some activities for children but these do not take account of the understanding or stages of development of individual children. This does not provide children with appropriate challenge. For example, young children wish to explore shakers for themselves but the childminder requests they identify the differences in sound as she shakes the shakers. This is not of interest to them and

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and outcomes for children

Children’s opportunities to make decisions and choose resources for themselves are limited. For example, some resources, such as books, are kept out of their reach and whilst puzzle boards are accessible the pieces are kept in the cupboard. Children enjoy switching on and manoeuvring an electronic vacuum cleaner around the garden but their opportunities to use other electronic toys are limited as they are either not suitable for their age or have no batteries. Children have regular opportunities to be active and experience physical play as they make regular visits to local parks. They move freely between the indoors and the garden playing in the fresh air. However, they narrowly miss trapping their fingers as the back door is not kept secure and other children swing it shut. This does not promote children’s safety. The childminder supports children to develop understanding of effective hygiene routines and has appropriate procedures in place to reduce the

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and outcomes for children

risk of cross-infection. The childminder is aware of children’s individual dietary requirements and provides them with nutritious meals. This promotes children’s good health.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is polite and patient with children. They in turn use please and thank you appropriately and co-operate with routine tasks such as putting toys away and sweeping up oats spilt from a shaker. Children feel secure in the childminder’s care. There is lots of laughter as they instigate a game of hide and seek and take turns to help the childminder find each other. They readily include her in their play such as making cups of tea and cooking for her. The childminder listens and responds positively to what children say. This promotes their language development and self-esteem. 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 4 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 4 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 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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