Childminder in Reading

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/01/2013 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 works hard to develop children's confidence by developing warm, caring relationships.  Children make good progress as the childminder has a clear understanding of how children learn.  The childminder organises her home well. There is a wide range of good quality, easily accessible toys and equipment.  The childminder works closely with families to meet the needs of children; she obtains useful information through developing good relationships with parents.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children's first-hand experiences are not always used to support specific areas of learning; for example, they do not use photographs of familiar people, places and favourite objects to create their own books.

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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 the childminder's practice and talked to her throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documents presented by childminder and briefly sampled policies, children contracts and records relating to the Early Years Foundation Stage, including children's development records and observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector considered parents' views; although they were not available for interview, they contributed to the inspection through letters.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2012. She is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and their two children, one of whom is a toddler and the other is primary-school age. They live in a house in Reading, Berkshire. The childminder makes use of local facilities, such as parks and toddler groups. The childminder mainly uses the ground floor of her house for childminding. Children only go upstairs to sleep. There is an enclosed rear garden for outside play. The childminder is currently caring for two children in the early year age group and two older children after school, one of whom is over eight years.

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

 enhance the programme for literacy , for example by enabling children to make their own books or see displays of familiar people, objects and favourite places.

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who attend

The childminder has a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a good understanding of how to deliver all areas of learning. Children relate well to the caring childminder; they learn to play with the other children using the wide range of good quality toys. They enjoy the activities such as cake making and show pride in their artwork displayed on the childminder's wall. The childminder quickly gets to know children and she provides play equipment to suit their interests. She has very good skills to encourage children who are shy and reluctant to join in with play. She uses humour, pretending she cannot put the train on the track. Children cannot resist showing her the correct way and stay and play. This helps children settle and make good progress in their learning. The childminder is rapidly developing her skills as she observes children's achievements and tracks their progress. This enables her to identify suitable activities, and children make

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who attend

good progress from their starting points as a result. The childminder provides summaries of children's progress at the age of two years and she shares these with parents. This encourages parents to contribute to records and become fully involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

The childminder is skilled at developing children's communication skills. She sits on the floor with them as they play and introduces new words. She recognises children's non- verbal communication and is very responsive if they seem distressed. Her constant conversation and explanations reassure children and encourage them to join in with play and conversations. As a result, children are developing in confidence and have good language skills and enjoy songs and stories. The childminder joins in with children's play providing a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated play. She initiates games to encourage children to play. Children can also choose freely from the broad range of toy and activities that are easily accessible developing independence in their play. The childminder uses every opportunity to develop children's learning. For example they count the train carriages and talk about the colours. As they complete jigsaws, they talk

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who attend

about seasons, animals and the seaside. In this way, the childminder builds skills in different areas of learning. Children excitedly tell the childminder about family trips to the seaside making links to their home life. The childminder talks to the children about their families. However, she does not use children's first-hand experiences to support other areas of learning, for example by creating home-made books with photographs of children's families to enhance their developing literacy. Children help build towers with wooden bricks; they talk about colours and shapes, and count and compare sizes. This helps children develop a good understanding of mathematics and builds skills in construction and awareness of size and colour. Children learn about time. The childminder seeks to reassure them about collection time by talking about when the sun goes to bed and by looking at the clock. Children enjoy playing with technological toys and learning

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who attend

how they work. They have good opportunities for expressing their imaginations and creativity as they paint and draw. They make collages of snowmen and pictures using a variety of materials such as seeds and leaves. Outings to children's groups provide further opportunities to use a variety of sensory materials, including sand and water. The childminder plans to develop outside play to include a wide variety of learning opportunities for children who learn best in an outdoor environment.

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

The childminder works very well to support children in her care, treating them with much gentle kindness and attention. The flexible settling-in procedures help children feel secure and settled in her home. The childminder works hard to help very shy children to settle and uses very good strategies to engage them in play. She effectively uses her discussions with parents and her observations to get to know the children well. This helps ensure she is familiar with children's care needs, routines and personalities and can meet their individual needs well. Children seek reassurance from the childminder when strangers are present. They respond well to her affectionate, warm manner and her constant conversation is very supportive to them. The childminder organises her home and resources well with pictures and labelled boxes, and easily accessible, high quality toys and creative materials. Children can independently choose toys, which helps them develop

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

good skills for transition to their next stages of learning. The childminder sits on the floor and joins in with them so they become absorbed in good quality play.

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

Children develop a good understanding of healthy lifestyles. The childminder has a good awareness of healthy eating and stores food supplied by parents safely. The childminder uses good strategies to encourage and help children to eat. She encourages children to make choices and uses good skills to tempt and entice reluctant eaters. They discuss the contents of their lunch boxes and what to eat first. Children learn good hygiene routines through well-embedded daily routines and the childminder models good practice. They wash their hands together and talk about why it is important. She discusses how to encourage children's toilet training with parents, who are grateful for her support and advice. The childminder has a good range of equipment to meet children's needs. The use of booster seats at the table helps children to be able to eat comfortably and take part in creative activities together. The childminder provides good opportunities for children to

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

develop physical skills. They use the garden and visit local parks and soft play sessions to develop their confidence through using larger play equipment. Children develop good manual skills as they use small tools, such as crayons, scissors and glue sticks. They play with a good variety of toys and help build wooden train tracks and complete jigsaws of varying difficulty.

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

Children learn to behave well. The childminder provides a positive learning environment with lots to do. She treats the children with patience, care and respect, acting as a good role model. She is calm and firm as she encourages children to play cooperatively. She distracts younger children well when they try and undo the puzzles the older children make. Children learn responsibility for the environment by helping with tidying up. They show great pride in their achievements and their artwork displayed on the childminder's wall. Children learn to play together as the childminder provides many outings to develop social skills through playing with children of the same age. They develop a positive awareness of diversity through the diverse community and the families who use the childminder's service.

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provision

The childminder clearly understands how to safeguard children's welfare and all adults in the house are checked to ensure their suitability to be with children. She has written detailed policies and procedures, which are shared with parents including safeguarding and complaints. This means all are aware of the childminder's responsibilities should there be any concerns about a child's welfare. The childminder has a good awareness of safety. She very carefully supervises children, particularly as they use the stairs and when out of the house. She assesses and organises her home effectively to minimise any hazards to the children; there are safety gates in place and the front door is kept locked. These measures effectively promote children's safety and welfare.

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provision

The childminder is enthusiastic about caring for young children and she has made a good start to her childminding career. She has a professional, well-organised approach to her work and effectively maintains all required records and documents. This helps ensure she has the necessary information to promote children's well-being. The childminder is developing in confidence in her recording systems for noting children's achievements. She uses these together with her discussions with parents to plan well for children's learning. She is interested in training to develop her skills and talks regularly to other childminders to obtain their views and use their experience. This helps her to continually develop and improve her practice. She reflects well on her practice and demonstrates a good understanding of her strengths, training needs and areas for improvement. These include developing her garden to provide an exciting challenging area for children and to complete

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of how to meet children's learning and development needs. She provides a welcoming learning environment, where children can become independent learners. The childminder is caring and responsive, and she has very good childcare skills. She supports children well and uses good teaching skills. The childminder carefully supports and monitors children's achievements so that she can identify any achievement gaps. She is aware of how to implement the progress checks for children aged two years. She plans to use this format to summarise all children's learning. She feels this will enable her to quickly address any issues that arise.

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provision

The childminder works well to develop good professional relationships with parents. She discusses children's needs daily and shares learning and development progress with parents. They work well together to address any issues in the children's progress to provide a consistent approach. Parents value the caring approach and the activities provided. They provide positive comments about the childminder's skills, and state how well their children settle as a result of her care. The childminder is aware of how to meet children's needs before and after school. She has effective procedures in place to enable good communication in order to provide cohesive and consistent care for the children.

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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 EY447121 Local authority Reading Inspection number 809011 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 3

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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.

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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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