Childminder in Camden

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY297564 Inspection date 19/06/2012 Inspector Helen Steven

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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 registered in 2005. She lives with her two adult sons in a ground floor, three bedroomed maisonette. The home is arranged over two floors and is in the Chalk Farm area in the London Borough of Camden. The first floor living room is the main area of the home used for minding, with one ground floor bedroom used for children to rest. There is a patio balcony used for outdoor play. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years; of these, three may be in the early years age range at any one time. When working with an assistant, she may care for a total of eight children under eight years; of these, no more than six maybe in the early years age range. She is currently minding five children in the early years age group. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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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

Overall children enjoy a range of play experiences supporting their learning and development; however systems for observation, assessment and planning of learning opportunities and the environment are not robustly effective. The childminder demonstrates a general understanding of safeguarding issues, although is less secure in some areas. The childminder has undertaken self- evaluation and demonstrates ambition and sound capacity to continuously improve her service by planning to undertake further training. She has a friendly relationship with parents, although is not well aware of how to follow legal requirements in the event of a written complaint. She has a positive attitude to work alongside other professionals as required to provide consistent care for children and to soundly meet their needs.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide full information for parents about the complaints procedure. (Safeguarding and welfare) 03/07/2012

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthen the safeguarding children policy to include a procedure to follow in the event of an allegation being made and enable all practitioners to have an up-to-date understanding of safeguarding children issues  strengthen observation and monitoring process to inform planning of learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 experiences and the environment.

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the early years provision

Overall the childminder has an adequate knowledge of safeguarding issues and is aware of how to refer any concerns in order to protect the children in her care. However, she is less secure of how to proceed in the event of an allegation being made against herself or another adult in the home. The minder has a very basic complaints procedure in place; however, she is unsure of how to proceed in line with requirements if she receives a complaint and has not informed parents of this. This is a breach of a specific legal requirement. The childminder's assistant has basic safeguarding knowledge. There is a fire blanket available, although this is not easily accessible in the event of an emergency. The childminder has carried out risk assessments for her home and for outings to local parks and drop-in groups to help to ensure children's safety. The childminder is aware of the backgrounds of each of the children. They attend a local drop-in group weekly which enables them

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the early years provision

to mix with children from the richly diverse community. Activities are organised to help children gain respect of people with backgrounds different to their own.

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the early years provision

The childminder sets out a basic range of resources for the ages of children attending. However, she has not organised the environment to robustly enhance and extend children's learning. Nevertheless, she expands children's experiences by being involved in drop-in groups that offer a varied range of activities that cover the areas of learning. There are systems in place to collate written observations, some of which she links to the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder does not routinely identify children's next steps to secure effective planning and robust monitoring of progress.

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the early years provision

The childminder is now working with an assistant and both are currently settling new children into the setting. The childminder has a range of written policies and procedures, many of which she has adopted. However, she has not updated these to provide parents with accurate information about the childminder's specific practice. In addition, some lack information, for example, the safeguarding policy and the complaints procedure. Required records are in place to promote children's health and welfare, for example, an attendance register and emergency medical consent. The childminder is evaluating her service in order to begin to identify her strengths and priorities for improvement. However, she has not identified all weaknesses she has recognised areas for development. The childminder has plans to attend further training to maintain continuous improvement and has recently attended a course on implementing the new Early Years Foundation Stage

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the early years provision

framework. She holds a valid, first aid certificate and her assistant is booked on a relevant course to help ensure they are both able to treat children appropriately in the event of an accident.

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the early years provision

The childminder has positive relationships with parents and she informs them about their children's achievements and well-being. They feel that their children are loved, nurtured and looked after and are treated like a member of the family. The childminder is part of the local authority supported minded scheme. Although This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 she is currently not caring for children from the scheme, she has a positive attitude to working alongside other agencies as and when the need arises in order to soundly support children's individual needs.

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and outcomes for children

Activities in the home, at drop in groups and on outings result in children enjoying a wide range of activities. These soundly support their development in all areas of learning. Therefore, the childminder is enabling children to make suitable progress towards the early learning goals and develop skills for the future. She offers activities that are based on children's interests. However, the learning environment within the home offers a basic range of activities and the childminder does not well plan this to enable children to make choices.

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and outcomes for children

Established children greet each other warmly on arrival and play cooperatively together. One holds up a target for another to throw balls at and helpful instructions are given. The childminder places emphasis on routine and, at times, children are not purposefully engaged in play. Some children are new to the setting and are settling in. The childminder respects young children's individual sleep patterns. Children sit beside the adults to share books as they comment on the pictures. Children repeat words demonstrating they are developing their communication skills and collect play animals that match the story.

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and outcomes for children

Outings to local playgrounds and drop-in groups enhance children's physical development and enable them to develop an awareness of their diverse, local community. Babies pull themselves to standing and climb over soft hoops. Children enjoy arts and crafts when visiting local drop-in groups which develops their creativity. Babies explore sounds and rhythm as they shake noisy toys. Babies pressing buttons on electronic toys take satisfaction from the noise this makes. They listen excitedly to the sounds of emergency vehicles as these pass by the setting. Children explore volume as they pour lentils into a container, filling it up and then tipping out the contents. Children line up cars of the same size on the garage and move the vehicles around.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing a suitable understanding of healthy lifestyles. They benefit from fresh air and physical activities daily in order to develop an understanding of the importance of regular exercise. Usually, children are encouraged to hand wash before eating, which enables them to develop an understanding of appropriate, personal hygiene. Parents provide nutritious food and children have access to fluids during the day. Some children have diluted 'baby' fruit juice, although this is given in bottles with teats rather than in more suitable cups. Children feel safe as they have developed strong relationships with the adults. The children have recently undertaken a fire drill which develops their understanding of how to keep themselves safe in an emergency. 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 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 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: 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

 have a written statement of the procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare register and which a parents makes in writing or by email. (Procedures for dealing with complaints) (also applies to the voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 03/07/2012

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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 for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. (Procedures for dealing with complaints) 03/07/2012

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