Childminder in Durham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/10/2012 06/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are warmly welcomed into a child friendly home where they take part in a wide range of activities to appropriately support their learning and development.  The childminder supports children in settling in well, children make close attachments and bonds with her and her family, promoting their sense of security and belonging.  The childminder safeguards and promotes children's welfare appropriately. She provides a safe and clean environment where daily checks ensure that there are no hazards accessible to minded children.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder has a limited understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and as such, systems for assessing children's progress towards the early learning goals are not sufficiently robust; they do not identify children's next steps in learning and planning is not based on children's individual development.  Effective systems are not established to encourage parents to contribute to initial assessments of children's starting points and to share information about children's progress with parents and other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The childminder has not developed systems to implement assessments for two- year- olds.  Systems for self-evaluation are not sufficiently robust as they do not identify areas for development in order to ensure continuous improvement.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises and observed children playing.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at observations of the children's learning, a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through written comments that they left for the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her co-childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1997. She lives with her husband and adult son in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. The family has a pet rabbit. The whole of the ground floor and two bedrooms and bathroom on the first floor are used for childminding. There is a garden for outdoor play. The childminder works alongside her daughter who is also registered as a childminder at the same premises. She is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder currently has five children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. She cares for children Monday to Friday from 7am to 6.30pm for 48 weeks of the year. She has completed a relevant training course and holds a current paediatric first aid certificate. The childminder is a member of her local Childminding Network Group and the National Childminding Association.

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must:

 implement the learning and develop requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage by: observing and assessing each child's progress in all seven areas of learning taking into account their stage of development; using the observations to plan activities based on children's identified next steps in learning; implementing systems to carry out progress checks for two-year-olds  support children's ongoing learning by: providing parents with opportunities to add to observations of their child's development; sharing information about children's learning and development with other providers.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 consolidate the systems for self-evaluation in order to identify areas for development and drive future improvement.

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who attend

Children take part in a wide range of activities that appropriately support them to make suitable progress in all of the areas of learning. The childminder's co-childminder takes overall responsibility for completing observations of children's learning. This is done in conjunction with the childminder as they discuss them together and talk about what activities they will do the following week. However, systems to observe individual children's progress are in their infancy. They do not show the progress children are making towards the early learning goals and do not identify next steps in children's learning. As a result, planning is not based on children's individual learning needs. The childminder has not developed systems to implement the progress check at age two years, this does not fully support children's progress. The childminder keeps parents informed about their child's day through verbal feedback. However, effective systems to gather

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who attend

information from parents about children's starting points and to encourage parents to contribute to their child's ongoing observations are not sufficiently established. This does not effectively support parents involvement in their child's ongoing learning.

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who attend

The childminder provides a welcoming environment where children are happy and settled and enjoy playing. They use blocks to build towers and talk about 'how big' it is and count independently as they stack them. Children clearly enjoy books, they select them independently, bringing them to the childminder so they can look at them together. The childminder knows the children well and supports their language development appropriately as she talks to them about the objects in the books and encourages them to describe how the different textures feel.

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who attend

The childminder shares friendly interaction with children, which helps to support their learning. For example, as they play with bottles filled with coloured water and various objects she encourages them to talk about which is the heaviest and to say what colour the water is. Most of the children are articulate and confident speakers, chatting continually about what they are doing and taking an interest in visitors to the setting.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The childminder's family home is friendly and welcoming and space is organised appropriately to enable children to play and eat comfortably and safely. A varied range of resources, such as blocks, books, games and soft toys are set out each day by the childminder ready for children's arrival. These are stored on the floor and in low-level boxes, encouraging children to make independent choices about their play. Some examples of the children's work along with low-level pegs for their coats helps children to develop a sense of belonging in the childminder's home.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children are beginning to develop an understanding of healthy lifestyles through the childminder's commitment to a healthy diet. Parents provide packed lunches for the children however the childminder gives snacks of fresh fruit and displays posters of healthy foods for children to see. Children are beginning to develop an understanding of good hygiene as they use wipes to independently wash their hands after eating and help to clean the tables. They have regular opportunities for fresh air as they go for walks, play in the garden and go on a variety of trips such as to the museum, the beach and to soft play areas. This provides children with opportunities to socialise with other children and to begin to develop skills to help them with future transitions to schools and nursery.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

All children including those who are new to the setting, are clearly developing close relationships with the childminder, her co-childminder and each other. For example, older children hand toys to babies and they call happily to their friends upon arrival. Babies are clearly content in the childminder's care, they smile as they watch older children play and laugh and gurgle in response to the childminder's warm interactions with them. The childminder supports children's behaviour well, using age appropriate and consistent methods to help them to begin to learn right from wrong. As a result, children behave well in the setting.

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provision

The childminder has undertaken limited training since her last inspection and lacks a sound understanding of the recent changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, even though the childminder and her co-childminder are working hard to establish systems to effectively monitor children's progress these are not sufficiently robust. The childminder and her co-childminder are beginning to develop systems to monitor and evaluate their practice. They meet regularly to discuss ideas and have made some use of the Ofsted self-evaluation form. However, this does not effectively identify any weaknesses in practice. Consequently, areas for improvement have not been identified. The childminder has however, effectively addressed some of the recommendations and actions raised at the previous inspection. This includes carrying out risk assessments, this helps to safeguard children.

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provision

All documentation required to effectively safeguard children is in place. The childminder ensures that her certificate of registration, her first aid certificate and public liability insurance are clearly displayed for parents to see. Children are safeguarded as the childminder has a clear understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse along with procedures to follow should she have a concern about a child in her care. She ensures that children are kept safe in her care as she and her co-childminder organise their time effectively, this means that children are constantly supervised.

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provision

Parents speak highly of the care and learning their children receive in the childminder's care. They comment on the 'professional' environment and how 'safe and happy their children are'. Parents sign to say they have read all policies and procedures at the start, as a result, they are well informed about the service she provides. The childminder gathers all required information to meet children's individual care needs, including emergency contacts and consents. The childminder's co-childminder is responsible for taking children to any other settings which they may attend, for example, nursery. However, they have not developed effective procedures to share information about children's progress towards the early learning goals with other providers. This does not fully support continuity of care and learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 313795 Local authority Durham Inspection number 818973 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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Telephone number

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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