Childminder in PeterboroughOfsted inspection, 20 Dec 2010

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY312787 Inspection date 20/12/2010 Inspector Sandra Hornsby

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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 assesses 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 0300 123 1231, 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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T: 0300 123 1231 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 and four children aged 15,14, 13, and eight years on the outskirts of Peterborough. The whole of the childminder's house is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. Access to the property is via a path up to the front door.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early year's age range. She is currently minding four children in this age group on a part-time basis. She also offers care to children aged over five years to eight years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register, compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects children from the local school and attends several toddler groups on a regular basis. She is a member of the National Childminding Association. No children were present at the time of the inspection.

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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 generally understands the needs of the children in her care. She offers a welcoming environment where she offers appropriate toys and resources. The childminder is beginning to observe children's achievements and use some of this information to help them progress. Children's welfare is inadequate as safeguarding arrangements are not in place and, as a consequence, do not protect children or make them feel safe. Partnerships with parents generally support continuity of care for children but important information required to keep children safe has been omitted. The childminder is in breach of several requirements. The childminder is just beginning to evaluate her service but systems to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision are not rigorous enough; consequently, self- evaluation is not effective and too little is done to secure 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?

 ensure there is an effective safeguarding children policy and procedure, this must include the procedure 26/01/2011 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 to be followed in the event of an allegation being made against the childminder (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare)  obtain written parental permission for seeking any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 26/01/2011

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further?

 ensure parents are provided with the following information; the procedure to be followed in the event of a child going missing (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 26/01/2011

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further?

 maintain a record of the risk assessment clearly stating when it was carried out, by whom, date of review and any action taken following a review or incident (Documentation). 26/01/2011

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further?

To improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 improve observational assessment and develop the use of next steps in order to plan to meet young children's individual needs  increase the range of information shared with parents in order to establish clear starting points for children's learning and to support on-going learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder has an adequate knowledge of the signs and symptoms of child abuse and basically understands she needs to take action to protect children. However, she is not clear about the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures or fully conversant with the procedure to take in the event of an allegation being made against her or a member of her household. As a consequence, she is not meeting her legal and regulatory duties to protect children. The childminder helps children feel safe by, for example, playing games and carrying out activities to help them understand about safety issues and strangers. However, children arenot secure because of the childminder's inadequate knowledge about safeguarding procedures. The environment is safe as the childminder visually risk assesses when she knows children will be present. However, risk assessments have not been recorded and reviewed to ensure children remain safe and hazards continue

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the early years provision

to be identified This is a breach of a legal requirement.

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the early years provision

The parents are offered verbal information about some of the childminder's policies and procedures but the lost and missing children's procedure is not shared with parents which mean parents are not up-to-date with procedures that will reassure them in emergency situations. Parents sign contracts and offer the childminder some information about their children's health and dietary requirements. However, permission for children to receive emergency medical treatment has not been obtained. This leaves children vulnerable and they may not receive the most appropriate and immediate care in an emergency situation. Children's daily activities and achievements are shared with parents verbally when they collect their children. However, development and learning starting points on entry to the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 provision are not shared with the childminder. This means parents have minimal

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the early years provision

involvement with their children's ongoing progress, learning and development.

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the early years provision

The childminder discusses how she organises her resources to enable children to choose what they wish to play with and make decisions independently. She offers children toys that interests them and plans flexibly around their needs which change daily.

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the early years provision

The effectiveness of leadership and management in driving and securing improvement is inadequate. The childminder has not undertaken any form of self- evaluation. As a consequence, she fails to identify significant weaknesses within the setting and fails to identify that a number of specific legal requirements are not met.

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the early years provision

The childminder explains how she engages with families to support children with English as an additional language by learning key words in children's home language. She helps the older children to appreciate and understand equality and diversity through discussion and hopes the younger children will participate in these discussions to begin to learn about the wider world.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder explains how she supports children's learning and development by participating in their games and play. She offers a selection of resources and children make their own choices and decisions. She is helping them to understand sharing and turn-taking while playing games with other children. She demonstrates an adequate knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements.

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and outcomes for children

Children generally focus on child-initiated play to support their enjoyment and learning and to develop independence and enthusiasm for learning. The childminder explains how she plans for their enjoyment by understanding their interests and likes. The childminder is still developing systems to monitor, assess and observe children. She undertakes visual observations, but does not plan children's next steps and for their future learning needs. This means children make satisfactory progress, but planning does not always focus on children's specific learning needs.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder explains how she uses the local parks for exercise and fresh air and to help build children's physical skills and understanding about healthy lifestyles. The childminder describes how children will generally participate in a variety of activities that meet the six areas of learning over a period of time. The childminder explains how children have opportunities to count bricks and build, sing and dance and play games. The childminder explains she reads to the children and they access books to read independently. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder demonstrates she has suitable hygiene procedures to prevent the risk of infection, such as, hand washing. She speaks about her policies to prevent cross-infection and exclusion periods for sick children The childminder has some of the important information that supports some aspects of children's needs, for

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and outcomes for children

example, medical and dietary requirements. 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

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 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 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 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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