Childminder in West Berkshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY318381 Inspection date 09/02/2012 Inspector Melissa Cox

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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 partner and two school age children in Thatcham. The whole house is used for childminding, with toilet facilities on the first floor. The garden is not registered for childminding purposes.

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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 is registered to care for five children under eight years at any one time, and is currently minding two children who are in the early years age group and a further two children aged over five years. All children attend on a part-time basis. The family has a pet dog, tortoises, chickens and doves.

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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's welfare and safety is at risk. They are not adequately safeguarded as the childminder is in breach of a number of welfare requirements which relate specifically to their safety and welfare. The childminder has a limited understanding of the learning and development requirements; consequently, children fail to make sufficient progress in relation to their individual starting points and capabilities. Links with parents and others supporting children's care and education are not strong enough to ensure that children's individual needs are met. Self-evaluation procedures are ineffective overall as the childminder has a poor understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the provision, with little action being taken to secure improvement. Overall, the childminder has failed to recognise she is in breach of several legal requirements and does not, therefore, demonstrate a suitable capacity to make ongoing improvements.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires immediate action. Ofsted will take enforcement measures to ensure children's safety and compliance with the welfare, learning and development requirements or will cancel registration.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, the early years provision requires immediate action. Ofsted will take enforcement measures to ensure children’s safety and compliance with the welfare, learning and development requirements or will cancel registration.

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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?

 provide the following information for parents: details 23/03/2012 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 for contacting Ofsted and an explanation that they can make a complaint to Ofsted should they wish (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare)  carry out a full risk assessment for each type of outing (Safeguarding and promoting children' s welfare) 23/03/2012

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further?

 conduct a risk assessment, review it regularly and identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis. Maintain a record of these particular aspects and when and by whom they have been checked (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) (Documentation) 23/03/2012

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further?

 ensure that all adults who live on the premises on which the childcare is provided are suitable to do so, with specific regard to completing and submitting a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Application Form (Suitable People) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 23/03/2012

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further?

 undertake sensitive observational assessment in order to plan to meet young children's individual needs (Organisation) 23/03/2012

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further?

 plan and provide experiences which are appropriate to each child's stage of development as they progress towards the early learning goals. (Organisation) 23/03/2012

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further?

 keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (Documentation) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 23/03/2012

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further?

 request written parental permission, at the time of the child's admission to the provision, to the seeking of any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment in the future. (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare) 08/03/2012

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further?

Ofsted will take enforcement measures to ensure children’s safety and compliance with the welfare, learning and development requirements or may take action to prosecute or cancel your registration.

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the early years provision

Safeguarding procedures are inadequate. The childminder has a poor understanding of her responsibilities to safeguard children. She does not have secure systems in place to risk assess her home or outings and has not kept a record of risk assessment, which compromises children's safety. On occasions, the childminder is allowing children to access the garden, which her conditions of registration do not permit. This is a breach of her conditions of registration. Ofsted intends to take further enforcement action. Furthermore, children's health and well-being is at risk as the childminder has continually failed to request prior consent for emergency medical advice or treatment. The childminder has some This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 understanding of child protection procedures and is aware of the correct procedure to follow if she has a concern about a child in her care, or if an allegation is made.

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the early years provision

Although Ofsted has been informed of a change to adults in the household, the childminder has failed to ensure that all members of the household have completed and submitted a Criminal Records Bureau Disclosure Application Form. Some documentation, including a number of policies and procedures are in place, but these are not reviewed to ensure they meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, or are consistently applied. Additionally, the childminder does not keep an accurate or up-to-date record of children's attendance. These are breaches of specific legal requirements and compromise children's welfare.

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the early years provision

Children do not make suitable progress in their learning as they are often merely occupied, rather than challenged. Planning and use of available resources are inconsistent, resulting in children not achieving goals in their learning and development. The selection of toys is not adequate to support children's learning and development, with children having access to a very limited selection in the provider's home. Children have some opportunities to access activities outside the home, for example at indoor soft play areas, but these do not sufficiently engage children as there is no clear learning outcome. The childminder is not adequately promoting equality and diversity and some groups of children underachieve and do not enjoy their learning. Children have limited access to a range of resources and experiences that reflect positive images of diversity and help them understand the society they live in. There is limited planning to ensure resources and the

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents and carers is inadequate. While parents have some access to information in the form of daily diaries and verbal discussions, the childminder does not provide them with suitable information so that they can become fully involved in their child's learning. She does not take account of the views of parents or children, and they are not sufficiently involved in supporting or making decisions about the children's well-being. The childminder does not provide parents with up-to-date details for contacting Ofsted should they wish to raise a concern, as her policy is out of date. Partnership working with other early years providers and external agencies are not sufficiently well developed to ensure that children's needs are met and they receive the support they need.

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the early years provision

Self-evaluation is superficial and fails to identify a number of significant issues. The strengths and weaknesses of the early years provision are not accurately identified and the childminder has failed to address some of the actions set at previous inspections. Overall, her capacity to maintain improvement is poor.

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and outcomes for children

A general lack of organisation in the day and suitability of resources for the range of children attending, results in uninspiring and repetitious activities that fail to build on children's knowledge and skills. An absence of observational assessment This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and good quality interactions with the childminder also impacts significantly on the progress that children make in their learning. The childminder lacks a suitable understanding of how children learn through play and how to link learning to make it relevant to the activities on offer. In addition, she does not plan or provide experiences that are appropriate to each child's stage of development or take into account their individual needs. Children generally behave in a passive way as the activities are often adult-led. They show a general reluctance to engage in the activities on offer. As a result, the children are not becoming confident and

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and outcomes for children

Children lack a sense of security as the routine does not focus sufficiently on their individual needs. While they enjoy sitting on the chair and reading a book with the childminder, there are too few opportunities in the day to build close relationships with her or their peers. The absence of robust systems for checking all those who live on the premises where the childminding takes place means that their safety cannot be assured, providing a false sense of security. There are limited opportunities for children to learn about keeping themselves safe. Children have some opportunities to develop their problem-solving skills as they construct with building blocks or build a train track. However, with adult interaction missing, younger children struggle to follow the instructions on the diagram and are unable to fully build the design as some of the blocks are missing. Children's access to technology, books and resources to make marks is limited, and as a result, they do

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and outcomes for children

not securely develop skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Children do not have sufficient opportunities to learn about a healthy lifestyle as the childminder does not provide the children with a healthy range of snacks or meals. Physical play is limited to indoor play areas and occasional trips to the park and community, but the children spend a considerable amount of time travelling in the car with the childminder on a daily basis. The routine of the day does not always allow for suitable rest periods after a busy morning at pre-school and children become tired and less engaged in their activities. Some steps are taken to enable children to be protected from cross infection, as there is a sickness policy in place. Additionally, children are sometimes helped to use antibacterial foam to wash their hands before a snack. 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 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 4 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 4 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: 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 all reasonable steps to ensure that hazards to children - both indoors and outdoors - are kept to a minimum (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) 23/03/2012

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 ensure that any person having unsupervised contact with children is suitable to be in regular contact with children and an enhanced Criminal Records Bureau check has been obtained through Ofsted in respect of that person (Suitability of persons to care for, or be in regular contact with, children) (also applies to the voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 24/03/2012

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 ensure that a written statement of procedures is kept in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (Procedures for dealing with complaints) (also applies to the voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 24/03/2012

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment at least once in each calendar year and, immediately where the need for an assessment arises, ensuring that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks. (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) (also applies to the voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 24/03/2012

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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) 24/03/2012

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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) 24/03/2012

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified for the requirements of the Childcare Register (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) (Suitability of persons to care for, or 24/03/2012 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 be in regular contact with, children) (Procedures for dealing with complaints)

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