Childminder in Bolton

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/01/2013 03/04/2009

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Children show that they feel highly secure and happy when playing with the childminder, and demonstrate a strong sense of emotional well-being.  The childminder has a professional knowledge of all aspects of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and uses her knowledge in order to provide good quality care and learning for children.  The childminder observes and plans for children's individual learning. As a result, children make good progress and have the skills they need for their next stage in learning, including being ready for school.  The childminder evaluates and reflects on what she provides for children in order to make her practice better and make changes when needed.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Partnership working has not yet been fully extended to share information about children's learning with other settings that they attend. As a result, this information cannot be used by other settings to inform their planning in order to complement children's learning.

p.1

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the areas of the premises used for childminding.

p.2

Inspection activities

 Children were observed while engaged in activities in the sitting room and dining area.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times during the inspection and observed her interactions with children.

p.2

Inspection activities

 Documents including plans for children's learning were examined, along with policies and other documentation.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2003 and lives with her husband and two children in Harwood, near Bolton. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The whole of the downstairs is used for childminding purposes, with toilet facilities situated upstairs. There is a rear garden available for outdoor play. The family have a pet cat, a hamster and some fish. The childminder attends groups for young children and babies, and visits local amenities and parks. She is available to take and collect children from schools and nurseries in the area. The childminder offers overnight care. She has a childcare qualification at level 3. There are currently six children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions and two are school-aged children who attend before and after school. She is open all year round from 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except

p.2

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

 develop further ways to pass on information about children's progress directly to other settings that children attend, to better support continuity of learning.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of how to help young children learn and develop. As a result, children make good and sometimes exceptional progress in their learning. She has effective methods in place to assess children's development, which leads her to have a detailed knowledge of their starting points and capabilities. Her assessments are based on the expected development for children's ages and cover all areas of learning. She also includes further detail that shows their rate of progress in each of the areas of learning, which means that it is possible to quickly identify aspects of learning which children excel at or find more difficult. As a result, she is able to tailor her planning to meet their individual needs and implement timely interventions that can narrow any identified gaps in learning.

p.3

who attend

The childminder obtains initial information about children's starting points from parents and uses her own observations in order to inform early plans for children's learning. She maintains her knowledge of children's interests through frequent discussions with parents about children's learning and interests at home. The childminder plans challenging activities based on the learning needs and interests of individual children. As a result, children enjoy activities that are challenging and stimulating and benefit from educational programmes which have depth and breadth. Progress in the prime areas of learning indicates that children receive a strong grounding in the key skills that they need for their next steps in learning, such as attending nursery or school. The childminder ensures that parents are very well informed of their children's progress in order that they can continue to support children's learning at home. The childminder's effective approach to tracking

p.3

who attend

children's progress and engaging parents means that she is well prepared to implement the progress checks at age two years.

p.4

who attend

The childminder's high quality practice develops children's social and communication skills. Children laugh with delight when the childminder sings to them, especially when they try to match the speed of their actions to how fast she sings. She uses these opportunities to reinforce and introduce new vocabulary. The childminder also makes good use of song to develop children's understanding about road safety and children ask her to repeat the 'traffic light song' several times as they become thoroughly absorbed in the experience, joining in with the actions. Children enjoy creative activities and paint enthusiastically, describing what they have painted. For example, while painting robins, as part of their theme about winter, they explain 'that's its tail'. They develop their manipulative skills by learning to use brushes, and begin to assign meaning to the marks they make, as the basis for early writing. The childminder organises outings, including country walks and

p.4

who attend

visits to a local aquarium, to develop children's understanding of the natural world around them. She then produces booklets of annotated photographs to read with children, in order to develop their early literacy skills and their love of books, by having access to books about themselves.

p.4

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

Children are very happy and secure in the childminder's care and show this by frequently snuggling in close with her to listen to books they have chosen. They know where resources are kept and are confident to open cupboards and low drawers to find what they want, in permitted areas. Children's behaviour is very good and the childminder praises them when they use appropriate manners, to reinforce their social skills. She has a strong understanding of how to develop children's early self-care skills, for example, by reading them poems about toilet training, recognising when children are close to being ready for this. Children thoroughly enjoy the book and this supports a positive approach to learning new self-care skills.

p.4

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

The areas used for childminding are clean to help prevent the spread of infection. The premises and toys are also well maintained to help minimise hazards and prevent accidents. Resources, indoors and outside, along with a programme of regular outings, contribute to providing an environment that supports children's all-round development and allows them to be creative in their play. The childminder regularly changes the toys available, in order to maintain children's interest and curiosity, while keeping a core of favourite ones accessible, to promote children's emotional security.

p.4

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

Fresh water is available at all times and meals are healthy, with plenty of fruit and vegetables in order to develop children's ability to make healthy choices. Children have daily opportunities for outdoor exercise, such as playing at the park or at a children's centre, along with walks to and from school and in the local countryside. This helps to develop children's enjoyment of exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle and also provides opportunities to learn about the world around them. The use of age appropriate, large play equipment outdoors helps children to develop an early ability to assess risk, as a basis for learning to keep themselves and others safe.

p.4

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

Children visit groups for young children and babies each week. This helps to support their them in becoming used to being in larger groups and develops their social skills. This also prepares children for attending group settings or school in the future. In particular, the daily visits to the local school and nursery, to collect other children, also helps to familiarise them other settings and with the transition to school and nursery.

p.5

provision

The childminder has received training in safeguarding and is able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and knows the procedure to follow to report any concerns. All adults who live in the house are checked for suitability to further safeguard children. Statutory documentation related to maintaining children's welfare is complete, to support the safe and effective management of their care, and all previous actions with regard to risk assessment have been met. As a result, risk assessments are now thorough, for both the premises and outings, to support children's safety and are regularly reviewed.

p.5

provision

The childminder demonstrates a caring approach to working with young children and is sensitive to their individual needs and family circumstances. Partnerships with parents are strong, with frequent informal meetings held to share information to keep both parties well informed. The childminder has a good awareness of the need to liaise with other professionals in order to provide care and learning for children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that their individual needs can be met. Partnerships have been established with other settings that children attend. The childminder also provides practical help for children who attend other settings, for example, by providing resources, including dressing up clothes, for them to use at school or nursery, to support their learning and enjoyment. She obtains plans from other settings for children's learning, so that she can use these to complement her own planning, and

p.5

provision

provide continuity of learning. However, she has not fully explored how she can share her knowledge and information about children's learning with other settings. As a result, the transition process is not fully supported to promote continuity in children's learning.

p.5

provision

The childminder implements effective ways of monitoring children's progress, in order to plan for their learning and ensure that the planning is precise to meet their needs well. She has undertaken training to further enhance her understanding of the learning and development requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and implements what she learns to extend children's learning through observation and planning. The childminder uses the Ofsted self-evaluation tool effectively to examine her practice in all areas. She has met all actions and recommendations from the previous inspection, with particular attention being given to implementing an effective planning and assessment system, in order to provide children with learning experiences that match their individual needs. This leads to children making good progress in their learning. Parents and other professionals regularly contribute to the self-evaluation process, and the childminder is

p.5

provision

conscientious about her use of resources provided by the local authority to support her drive for continuous improvement. Overall, the childminder demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement through reflection on her practice.

p.5

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

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Setting details

Unique reference number EY235705 Local authority Bolton Inspection number 819636 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 5

p.7

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.

p.7

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.7

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,

p.8

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’.

p.9

Type of provision

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

p.9