Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/12/2012 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Resources are excellent both in quality and quantity and the childminder organises these to make sure that children can freely access them, which promotes their development in almost all areas of learning.  Very strong bonds between the children and the childminder result in children being safe, having their emotional needs successfully met and feeling a strong sense of belonging.  All children are highly confident communicators as the childminder effectively encourages them to answer questions, think about what they have done and introduces new words to them, which results in their communication and language skills developing very well.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Counting is not further promoted in children's play and routines, to enable them to develop their skills in mathematics.  There are fewer readily available toys and equipment to promote children's exploration of technology. As a result, there is scope to enhance children's skills in this area.  Children's progress in all areas of learning is not yet robustly monitored to ensure that any gaps in their learning are swiftly identified and any additional support that they may need can be planned.

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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 observed activities in the playroom and the garden.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's 'learning journeys', planning documentation, the childminder's self-evaluation forms and a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector was unable to speak to any parents of children in the Early Years range during the inspection but did view letters left for her from parents whose children attend the setting.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She childminds with another childminder from her setting. She lives with her partner and two children aged eleven and five years old in a house in Kirkey, near Ponteland and Newcastle. They use the whole of the ground floor and the rear garden for childminding and the converted space at the top of the garage, which has a self-contained kitchen and toilet area.

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Information about the setting

The childminder visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. She attends a childminder group and the local children's centre.

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Information about the setting

There are currently eight children on roll, six are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, except for family holidays.

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

 increase existing systems to better monitor and track children's progress across the specific areas of learning to ensure that any further support children may need in the future can be adequately implemented

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

 develop the range of technology resources that children recognise and can incorporate into their play and provide opportunities for them to operate mechanical toys

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

 provide further opportunities for children to count and encourage this in daily routines and their spontaneous play.

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who attend

Children are very happy and highly secure in the childminder's care. She focuses their play and planned activities around each child's individual interests, which results in children being highly motivated and curious learners. For example, they keenly visit the craft table to see what is happening and confidently go off on their own to explore the home corner or pick out musical instruments. The childminder knows the children in her care very well. This is a result of her being skilled at completing regular observations to see what children can do and successfully planning for their next steps. However, systems to monitor their overall progress are in their infancy, which means that there is scope for development to ensure an accurate display of children's progress so that areas where they may need extra support are able to be swiftly identified. The childminder is skilled at promoting the prime areas of learning with the younger children in her care. She has a very secure

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who attend

understanding of the importance of focusing on promoting each child's individual development, for example, by using planned strategies to help children to learn to share and providing lots of attractive equipment to encourage and then extend children's physical skills when they begin to walk. The childminder continually considers how she can extend the children's learning and help them make as much progress as they can in her setting. She encourages them to use their senses as they think about how materials, from an extremely well-resourced heuristic basket, feel and she encourages them to listen to, and identify, different sounds. Weekly plans ensure that children have opportunities to make good progress across almost all areas of learning and also that these are tailored around the children's changing individual needs.

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who attend

Children are confident communicators; even the youngest children are adept at making their feelings and needs known. The childminder has good skills in promoting development in this area as she continually immerses herself in conversations with all of the children and constantly encourages the extension of older children's language by introducing new vocabulary, encouraging them to answer questions and to think and talk about what they are doing. An attractive low-level bookshelf is filled with a range of good quality books, which results in capturing children's imagination and interest and encourages them to access books independently. Overall children's understanding of the world is fostered well as they enjoy visits to local areas of interest, participate in nature walks in the paddock, plant flowers in tubs outdoors and keenly talk about their families. However, there are fewer resources that enable children to explore and learn to use technology. The

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who attend

childminder generally promotes mathematics development well. She encourages them to identify shapes and children enjoy playing in the sand filling and emptying buckets and tins. However, there is less emphasis on encouraging children to count spontaneously in their own play and during daily routines, which further supports them to become confident counters.

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who attend

The childminder shows a keen commitment to involving parents in their child's learning such as, sharing their learning journeys on a regular basis and providing them with good quality information on the prime and specific areas of learning to enable them to encourage their child's learning at home.

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

Children are highly stimulated in an exciting and exceptionally well-organised environment, which is rich in text to promote children's communication and language development. The childminder has organised resources in the large open plan playroom to ensure that children have continual opportunities to make progress in almost all areas of their development and learning. This results in children being able to make good progress through self-chosen activities, which successfully promotes their independence. A generally excellent range of toys and equipment that children relish are stored in low-level shelving and attractive boxes and children are constantly encouraged to make decisions and choices about what they want to do. All children have excellent relationships with the childminder and younger children have developed very strong bonds and a high sense of belonging in her care. Young children constantly seek her out for reassurance and

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

approach her confidently when they need support. The childminder fosters children's emotional well-being successfully by being close by for support and guidance. She balances this with encouraging their independence very well as they become older, to ensure they successfully and confidently make their own decisions.

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

The location of the setting lends itself to outdoor play, with a vast paddock area which encourages children to develop their gross motor skills. The childminder shows a strong dedication towards children playing outdoors in all weathers. Therefore children are provided with daily opportunities to be outdoors and benefit from physical exercise and fresh air, which promotes their all-round, good health. Children enjoy very healthy meals and snacks that meet their individual dietary needs. They benefit from snacks, such as wraps and decide which types of filling they would like to try. Mealtimes are a lovely social occasion where children enjoy conversations with the childminder and other children attending, finding out about what each other have done during the day and building relationships. The promotion of self-care further develops children's independence. The childminder constantly encourages them to put on their coats and shoes in preparation for

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

having to do these themselves when they move on to school.

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

In the short time that the childminder has been registered she has already developed very strong links with the schools and nurseries that the children attend, which ensures that she can gain valuable information about children's individual needs and help children successfully manage the transition between settings. She attends termly meetings with some providers to swap information, this initially focuses on children's welfare and how they are settling in but the childminder then develops this further to incorporate children's learning and provide a continuous learning journey for them to help them make progress.

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provision

The childminder is a committed individual who consistently reflects on her practice each day. She completes self-evaluation documents and this has helped her look at how she can make changes to improve the service for the children she cares for, to further benefit their learning and development. She shows a secure understanding of her strengths and also has positive plans for the future, which will result in an improved experience for children's learning and development. For example, she is planning a growing patch in the garden, which will develop children's understanding of the natural world. The childminder monitors the planning and delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage successfully. She ensures that toys and equipment that are continually available for the children cover all areas of learning to ensure they can make progress in both the prime and specific areas. The childminder is beginning to develop systems to monitor children's overall progress in

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provision

their learning, however, these are not yet embedded, to show gaps in individual children's learning where support may be needed in the future.

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provision

She completes courses on a regular basis, which in turn benefits the children as they are cared for by a knowledgeable adult. She shows a strong understanding of how to meet the welfare requirements and places a particularly high emphasis on securing a safe environment for children's play through very comprehensive checks, robust written policies and her vigilance during the sessions that children attend. A strong understanding of child protection procedures and a commitment to follow these if the situation arises, ensures that children are protected from harm.

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provision

Although the childminder has no children attending who require additional support form external agencies, she shows a secure understanding of how she would access these services and would welcome professionals into her setting to enable them to work together to support children in making as much progress as they possibly can. Partnerships with parents are good. Comprehensive daily diaries are shared with the parents to ensure that they are fully aware of their child's routines in their time at the setting, which ensures that parents are fully informed by good quality information.

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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 EY448361 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 805091 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 8

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection Not applicable

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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. 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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