Fox, Seema

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY303824 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 2005. She lives with her husband, who is also a registered childminder and their school aged child, 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 her co-childminder husband 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

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Description of the childminding

pre-schools to take and collect children. She 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 are happy and are welcomed into a safe, clean and homely environment where they feel included. Although children's care needs are mostly met, the childminder has failed to sufficiently embrace the EYFS learning and development requirements to ensure the learning needs are met of all children attending. Partnerships with parents is a strength of the provision with the childminder building friendly and communicative relationships with them. Although the childminder is aware of her strengths, she has not fully recognised the weaknesses in her provision. She is not pro-active enough to make improvements, including one action identified during a compliance investigation.

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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 different learning areas to meet their individual 12/01/2010 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 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?

 make available to parents a written summary record of complaints and the action taken (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 12/01/2010

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further?

 develop knowledge and understanding of effective ways to manage children’s behaviour, taking into account their age and stage of development (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 12/01/2010

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 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 should she have any concerns. A good written policy and procedure is in place and the setting keeps a record of attendance of visitors. However, during a compliance investigation visit last year it was identified that the childminder does not use age appropriate behaviour management techniques to modify children's challenging behaviour. An action was set, but not adequately met because the childminder has not developed her knowledge in behaviour management. This demonstrates a poor commitment to continuous improvement. Other aspects of children's care and welfare are met, however, with regards to assessing and minimising risk to ensure children are safe in the home and when taken on outings. Records which support children's health are complete and up-to- date, such as medication records and emergency medical consent from parents.

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the early years provision

The childminder organises her time so that with her co-childminder husband there are regular visits to local parent and toddler groups. However, she has not effectively organised the range of toys within the home to ensure children can independently access age appropriate resources, as most of the toys are stored in the front storage area. This has a negative impact on children's learning and development. The childminder is aware of the uniqueness of every child but is not sufficiently catering for their individual learning needs. She respects and values cultural differences as she herself is bilingual and understands how best to support a child learning English as an additional language. She gains information from parents to meet children's welfare needs and has built responsive and supportive relationships with the parents, offering them a flexible service to meet their work and childcare needs. Regular communication takes place with parents, which

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the early years provision

includes written daily diaries for babies and annual questionnaires. However, the childminder has not kept a summary log of complaints received, with action taken to share with parents, which is a regulatory requirement. Since her last inspection This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the childminder has gained a level three qualification in children's care, learning and development. Although she has completed a self-evaluation she has not accurately identified the weaknesses in her provision and implemented changes to rectify the areas for improvement. There is not currently a system in place to liaise with other providers who also care for the children.

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and outcomes for children

Young children are content in the care of the childminder, who meets most of their welfare needs appropriately. She adheres to babies' care routines, ensuring they get sufficient sleep in a cot and cuddles them when giving them their bottle, building a positive relationship with them. She ensures non-mobile babies can stretch out on the floor, developing their physical skills as they learn to roll over and reach out for baby toys. These toy resources are brought into the lounge by the childminder when prompted by the visitor. Young babies are given suitable support and encouragement to reach developmental milestones but older children's learning needs are not sufficiently met. They have very few play choices which means they are not engaged in purposeful play; they pick up baby toys which are not challenging and motivating for them. This leads on to children running on the laminated floor because the childminder has not organised her

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and outcomes for children

home to stimulate children with suitable play opportunities, covering all areas of learning. Children are not encouraged to use the well resourced outside play area in the morning despite the fine weather. Adult-led activities have been planned jointly by the childminder and her co-childminder husband but these are not age appropriate and do not build on what children know and can do. Although the childminder is observing and recording her observations of children at play, they do not link to any areas of learning and they are not used to assess children against the EYFS development matters. Neither are they used to identify and implement children's next learning steps in the six learning areas. The childminder's knowledge of the EYFS learning areas is weak, although she does have some knowledge of child development. When children show an interest in a book she asks some open ended questions to promote their thinking, but does not

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and outcomes for children

role model or re-enforce counting with the children, when one of them shows an interest in counting. Children behave well despite the limited play on offer to them and happily tidy up ready for lunchtime. They are offered praise by the childminder when they do well and are learning to be polite. Children sit together at the table eating their sandwiches provided by their parents, without any adult, social interaction. When behavioural issues arise with regards to eating the crusts of bread, the childminder brusquely tells one of the children they have to eat them without any sympathetic explanation from her. This results in a few tears from the child, who then quickly eats the crusts. When children are told not to do something there is no explanation why they shouldn't, which inhibits their learning. For example, running indoors on the laminate. Children take part in regular fire drills to ensure they know how to evacuate the home safely in the event of a fire.

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and outcomes for children

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 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 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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