Childminder in Kent

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/01/2013 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder has attended training courses to promote outcomes for children.  Children develop good communication and language skills because the childminder uses open-ended questioning skills and new vocabulary.  The childminder promotes children's personal, social and emotional needs well, enabling children to build secure relationships and develop their independence.  There is a good variety of activities to suit children's interests and extend their learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Occasionally plans do not consistently reflect the needs of the younger children, resulting on a few occasions where activities do not meet their needs.  The good range of resources are not clearly labelled.

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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 majority of the inspection was spent observing the childminder and the children in the living room, playroom and garden.  The inspector sampled the on-line recording system and documents.

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Inspection activities

 Discussion took place with one parent and other parents views were sampled through questionnaires.  Safeguarding was discussed with the childminder and her policy reviewed.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2009. She lives with her husband and four children in Maidstone, Kent. The ground floor of the home is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is registered on both the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently minding eight children in the early years age group. She is currently in receipt of funding for early education for three and four year olds. The childminder drives to local schools to take and collect children. The family has a dog, a cat and chickens. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association and receives support from the Local Authority.

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

 improve the short term planning to identify activities suitable for the younger children

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

 promote children's choices and independence by organising and labelling the storage tubs and resources.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. She uses this knowledge to plan exciting learning opportunities for the children, such as visits to local places of interest and a trip to the local fire station. The childminder carries out regular observations of children's learning and records these online on a purpose made childminding programme. She uses these observations well to plan activities for the children. However on some occasions younger children become restless during activities. The childminder shows a good understanding of the two-year-old progress check and promotes the prime areas of learning well.

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who attend

Children's language development is promoted well. The childminder uses a good range of open-ended questions that encourages children's communication and language skills. Consequently, children talk to each other and the childminder using good sentence structure and a developing vocabulary. Children have many opportunities to develop their fine physical skills. They play with small construction bricks, turn pages of the books and use a knife at snack time to cut their fruit reflecting good hand and eye co-ordination. Daily opportunities for outside play provide opportunities to benefit from fresh air but also to use large play equipment, both in the garden and at the local children centre.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic young cooks and enjoy making dough for cookies providing practical experiences to develop many areas of learning. They use mathematical skills counting the grams when weighing the ingredients and learning about weight and measure. Words such as grams and kilograms teach them skills that they will use as they grow older and move to school. Children show recognition of some familiar numbers, such as their age and represent this using their fingers. They are able to name many shapes such as square, triangle and rectangle and apply these skills to everyday objects, such as arts and crafts. Children have a variety of opportunities to paint, stick and create enabling them to develop their creative skills. These are extended by using musical instruments, including the piano, enabling children to experiment with sound. Role-play resources are accessible and children enjoy acting out familiar roles or new experiences, for example a

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who attend

Children's awareness of the world is developing well. They have lovely opportunities to care for living things when they help feed the chickens and break the ice on their water containers. They collect the eggs and then use these for cooking or to take home and share with their families, building good links with home. Opportunities to meet their local community are arranged through visits to the fire station, visits from the dental nurse and attendance at local toddler groups.

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who attend

Parents are kept well informed about their child's learning and development. The on-line system provides each parent with an individual password to enable them to access records about their child. Paper copies are made accessible for those parents without on-line access ensuring all parents are fully included. Starting points are obtained from parents on their initial visit and these are built upon to provide termly reports from them about their children's progress. Parents are encouraged to contribute to this process, through written comments and daily conversations. Consequently, partnerships are well established.

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

Children show a feeling of being safe as they move around the childminder's home confidently, making choices from the accessible resources. They involve the childminder in their play and approach her for support when necessary, reflecting the secure attachments that are formed. All children are included and the childminder shows a good understanding of their individual needs, having obtained useful information such as their likes and dislikes. Children are valued as an individual and therefore their positive self- esteem is promoted well. The childminder knows the children well meaning that she can actively respond to young children's babble and gestures as she knows and understands what they mean.

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

Children are encouraged to develop their independence, for example using the toilet and washing their hands. They learn to cut up their fruit for snack time and practice putting on boots and coats for outdoor play providing good skills for their next step into school. Children behave well and learn how to share the toys. On the occasions when sharing becomes difficult the childminder skilfully changes the activity to distract children's attention. Consequently, children play well together.

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

Children are encouraged to develop healthy lifestyles with a range of healthy snacks provided by the childminder and lunches from home. They make choices for snacks from the fresh fruits, cheese and vegetables as well as having regular drinks. The emphasis on outdoor play further promotes a healthy lifestyle. Children understand the importance of washing their hands after using the toilet and before cooking 'to wash away the germs'. The use of soap and paper towels, together with good hygiene routines for nappy changing prevent cross infection and promote children's good health.

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

Children learn about keeping themselves safe as they are reminded about not running indoors in case they knock over younger children or slip over and hurt themselves. They learn about road safety when on outings and the importance of staying with the childminder. The older children learn about 'stranger danger' providing them with invaluable knowledge. Each child has their own seat in the minibus when going on outings, gaining an understanding why some seats are not suitable for the youngest children. Children are taught about acceptable behaviour, for example, the majority of children understand that throwing stones is not acceptable and they might hurt someone.

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

Resources are easily accessible and available in both rooms downstairs including some in the kitchen. There is a good variety of toys and books for children to choose. However, some resources, such as the books are not always well cared for, resulting in children dropping books in the corner box as opposed to putting them on the shelf. Toys are stored in boxes but are not labelled and therefore does not fully promote children's self- help skills when tidying away or encourage the literacy skills of older children.

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provision

The childminder is committed to making improvements to the service she provides. She has a secure understanding of her strengths and weaknesses and has made several changes to improve her service. For example, she has attended several training courses to improve her knowledge of the learning and development requirements and consequently, made changes to her recording systems. She obtains views from the children and parents to inform her practice through the use of questionnaires, enabling her to adapt her service to meet their needs. The childminder provides good opportunities for children to socialise with their peers and meets regularly with other childminders to share good practice. Visits by people from the community enhance these meetings for the children.

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provision

The childminder has a strong understanding about safeguarding children in her care; as a result, children's safety is promoted well. The childminder has attended safeguarding training and has a well-written policy and procedure in place that is shared with the parents. She carries out thorough risk assessments of her home both indoors and outdoors providing a safe environment for children to play in.

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provision

The childminder has a good knowledge of the children's stages of development and supports those children who require additional support. She works with the parents, other providers and professionals to meet the needs of the children. Regular sharing of information for example, through the daily diary, enables children to receive continuity of care.

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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 EY387642 Local authority Kent Inspection number 732224 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 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.

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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. 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

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Type of provision

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.

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Type of provision

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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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