Childminder in Warwickshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/01/2013 23/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are cared for in a bright and welcoming environment with a wide range of accessible resources to support their learning.  Children make warm and positive relationships with the childminder and engage in lots of conversation to support their language development and increase their confidence.  Children's welfare is well supported because the childminder pays good attention to their health and safety.  Children have space, equipment and go on frequent walks to develop their physical skills. They have regular opportunities to meet with other children to support their social development and provide different play experiences.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Links with other providers where children attend and parents are not fully utilised to ensure every available opportunity to maximise the children's learning is taken.  The impact of the training and development opportunities undertaken are not routinely evaluated to identify and promote further improvements in the provision for children.

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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 compulsory part 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 children's free play sessions and also their lunch time.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the children's files and development folders and a selection of policies and daily records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1989 on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and one adult son in the rural village of Hampton Magna, near the town of Warwick within walking distance of local shops, park and school. The whole of the ground floor and first floor bedroom of the childminder's house are used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is currently caring for six children, of whom three are in the early years age range. She takes and collects children from the local school and attends a local toddler group. The childminder cares for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She is a member of the National Childminding Association. She is open all year round from 7.30am 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:

 consolidate links with others who provide care to children so information is shared and used to fully maximise children's learning opportunities

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

 reflect on training and development more routinely to assess the impact of improvements made on children's welfare and learning and development.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how to support children's learning and development. She offers a wide range of exciting and interesting activities. She has set up her playroom with a good selection of resources within easy reach for children. Posters and displays make the room interesting to children. She encourages children to direct their own play. At times, she suggests and selects some resources which she knows children like and are appropriate to support their development. Children play happily on their own and, on occasion they confidently invite the childminder to engage and share in their play, such as a pretend shopping trip. She interacts naturally with them to extend their learning through the use of effective questions and prompts, making learning fun. Children are developing an understanding of numbers and size as they search for the right puzzle pieces, recognise shapes and count objects. Children show imagination as they play

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who attend

with dolls or enjoy a role-play visit to the shops where they buy different colour cakes and the childminder naturally engages to encourage their ideas. She responds instinctively to their play, for example, taking hold of the magnifying glass she is offered as they hunt together for the snake, while reassuring children that it is just a friendly snake.

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who attend

Children are becoming very confident talkers as the childminder engages them in conversation throughout the day to support their growing language skills. They have a range of books to read and join in with songs and rhymes. Children are developing their creativity as they draw and make marks in their own books. They mould play dough and create pictures of fireworks or make nature collages from items collected in the park. They push buttons and switches as they work out how to use programmable toys and remote- controlled cars or use the computer. They show wonder as they use torches or follow their shadows made by the sun. Daily occurrences, such as the arrival of the post or the window cleaner on the ladder, promote excitement which the childminder spontaneously responds to.

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who attend

The childminder seeks general information from parents so she can plan around children's interests and abilities from the start. She organises the day to provide a balance of free choice and adult-led activities. The childminder regularly takes them out into the community or mixes with other children so they develop social skills and enjoy different play opportunities. She knows the children very well and uses this knowledge to provide resources and activities that provide appropriate challenges. She observes children as they play and captures this through photos, evaluating her observations, using Development Matters in the Foundation Stage. This helps her to ensure their progress is on track and to pick up ideas for extending their learning. The childminder builds their individual learning journeys with photos, examples of their work and observations from which she identifies their next steps. She then shares these with parents. However, opportunities to further

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who attend

involve parents in children's learning by getting them to share comments on their development and observations from home are not fully developed which impacts on their working together to support children's progress.

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

The childminder provides a bright and very welcoming environment for young children where they are easily able to access their own play choices from the wide range in the playroom. Children benefit very much from the personal attention they receive from the childminder and the warm relationships which have been established. This means they are comfortable to seek her out for reassuring words and cuddles or confident to explore the environment and try out new things. The childminder prefers to keep the group small so she can best meet their needs.

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

Children's health and safety is well promoted as the childminder is aware of the importance of procedures and routines to do this. She reminds children to be mindful of safety as they play or to come down backwards carefully when they descend the stairs. She encourages them to pick up toys and tidy away so they do not provide tripping hazards and to learn about the green cross code when out walking. The childminder supports children's health well through daily routines. For example, younger children are able to identify their individual colour towels for hand drying. Children have lots of space inside to move around in and a range of resources to support early walking skills. They use the garden in better weather and have daily walks in the fresh air as they go to and from school or visit the local park and pond to feed the ducks. Children's health is well promoted through healthy snacks and well-balanced meals, and they share in shopping

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

trips where they help to choose healthy items. Children have access to drinks at all times.

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

Children make warm relationships with the childminder and, as there are usually no more than two children present during the day, they have lots of individual attention which helps increase their confidence. Children are developing social skills in preparation for school as they are encouraged to share and take turns, to sit at the table at meal times and to use good manners. The childminder helps older children to understand that they need to be patient with younger ones when they occasionally interrupt their play.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her role and responsibilities in protecting children from possible harm or neglect and how to pass on any significant concerns appropriately. She attends regular training to ensure her knowledge in this area is fully secure and has a clear and comprehensive policy which she shares with parents. She carries out all other procedures to promote children's welfare, such as safe collection and discusses the use of mobile phones and cameras. She maintains good standards of health and safety and is particularly alert when very young children are present so they do not pick up small items. She has a good awareness of how to promote children's health and safety and carries out both visual and written assessments to ensure children can play and explore confidently in a safe and suitable environment.

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provision

The childminder is an experienced provider who meets children's needs well. She has a good commitment to improving her practice through attending a range of training and has addressed all the areas for development raised at her last inspection. She keeps herself up to date by reading relevant magazines and has regular discussion with other colleagues. However, there is scope to extend self-reflection further by better assessing the impact of her professional development on the provision for children.

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provision

The childminder works hard to establish strong and positive relationships with children and gets to know their individual needs well. She provides a bright and accessible environment where children happily select toys of their choice and are encouraged to initiate their own play. The childminder has experience of supporting children with more specific needs and liaises closely with parents to ensure she is using the most effective way to encourage their progress. She recognises their particular interests and ensures that her responses are appropriate to these. For example, by finding out what special toys they like or what routines enable them to respond in the best way. She collects children from school and also cares for children who attend other early years settings. She offers continuity of care by picking up on particular topics that children may talk about so she can continue this at home. However, these links with other providers are not fully developed to use every

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provision

available opportunity to maximise the children's learning.

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provision

Partnership with parents is well established and the childminder promotes a friendly and open exchange of information. All information about children is taken at registration and she encourages parents to share details of children's individual routines to help them settle. For example, she knows that children will sleep more easily if they have their favourite comforter at hand. Regular discussion about the children's day takes place informally and for younger children a daily diary is provided to keep parents informed of the day. The childminder has development folders where she collects photos of children at play and records some of her own observations which she uses to monitor their development.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 201446 Local authority Warwickshire Inspection number 817956 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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