Childminder in Worcestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/02/2013 03/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The childminder has formed warm and caring relationships with children. As a result, they are content and happy in her care.  Positive relationships with parents ensure that they are kept informed of their child's progress on a regular basis.  Children enjoy the company of other children and adults through their frequent visits to local toddler groups. This helps them to develop important social skills in readiness for school.

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It is not yet good because

 The risk assessment does not identify all aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and how these risks will be removed or minimised. As a result, some hazards have not been identified and pose a risk to children's safety.  Planning and assessment for individual children is being developed, but is not yet sufficiently robust to always ensure that activities and learning experiences fully match children's needs and offer sufficient challenge.  Children's communication skills are not always actively encouraged as the childminder does not enable younger children to hear her talk about the sequence of actions completed during regular routines.  Self-evaluation has started but this is not thorough enough to identify areas for improvement to practice, so that it continues to improve.

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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 and the interaction between the childminder and the children.  The inspector examined a range of documentation.  The inspector looked at areas of the premises used by the children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2005 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and two adult children in Kings Norton, Birmingham. The whole ground floor of the house, the first floor bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a dog.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools. There are currently five children on roll, one of whom is in the early years age group and attends for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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must:

 embed the planning and assessment for individual children so this is rigorous enough to assess children's level of achievement, interests and learning styles, and use this information to plan more challenging learning experiences for each child  improve the risk assessment so that it identifies all aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis, including all low-level glass, and identify how these risks will be removed or minimised.

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

 promote children's communication skills further by enabling younger children to listen to descriptions about the sequence of actions completed during regular routines

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

 improve self-evaluation in order to better monitor and assess the effectiveness of practice and identify well-targeted areas for improvement.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress as they are interested in the activities provided for them and enjoy exploring their environment. Children are helped to gain a satisfactory range of skills in readiness for school when the time comes. There are established routines in place where the childminder takes older children to school and collects them at the end of the day. Details regarding each child's progress are shared with parents as they collect their child so they are encouraged to continue with their learning and activities when they return home. Parents' preferences and plans regarding their child's development are included in activities. Children's play includes all areas of learning and provides a varied range of activities. However, the monitoring and assessment of children's progress has only recently commenced. Consequently, this is not yet sufficiently rigorous to build on what children know and plan for the next steps in their learning. This results in some

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who attend

activities not having sufficient challenge, which means that children make satisfactory, rather than good, progress.

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who attend

Children enjoy exploring their environment. Younger children who are developing their mobility skills use furniture to stand upright and make small sideways steps. This encourages children to become more confident as they explore and it promotes their independence. Younger children feed themselves at mealtimes using finger foods, which develops their independence and skills for the future. Children who are crawling move around the area discovering interesting toys. They learn to differentiate different sized rings as they place these on top of one another. They take interest in activity toys where they press buttons and lift flaps. This helps them develop their small muscles and discover cause and effect. The childminder supports children's play by getting on the floor with them and showing them how to use their toys. Children are helped to understand number as the childminder counts toys during their play. Younger children are starting to form

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who attend

recognisable words and access picture books where they recognise pictures. The childminder models some words for children that they remember and repeat, which helps them develop their communication skills. However, opportunities to further promote children's communication skills are not fully explored during everyday routines. For example, conversation with children is more limited than during play as there is no discussion or description offered by the childminder about what she is doing. This does not help children to learn new words or begin to associate actions with words.

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

Children behave appropriately and are settled in the care of the childminder. Warm relationships are formed with her as they easily approach her for cuddles and reassurance. They regularly sit on her knee when they are tired or to look through a book. Younger children become familiar with the journey to school as they go with the childminder and meet the older children. In this way, they are helped to prepare for the transition themselves when the times comes. Older children enjoy using a specific playroom where they explore and decide which toys and activities they prefer. Sufficient information is obtained from parents about their children when they first start, so that their individual routines are sustained. This promotes a smooth transition into the childminder's care as well as children's feelings of security.

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

Children learn about risk and potential dangers by exploring the environment, which is secure, and the childminder supervises activities and occasionally uses a play pen for younger children so they are safe. Fire evacuation practices are carried out regularly so that children gain an understanding of the risk of fire and what to do in an emergency.

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

Meal and snack times are used to help children gain an appreciation of a healthy diet. Parents provide lunches for their child, and the childminder offers drinks and snacks of fresh fruit. The childminder follows parents' guidance regarding eating routines for their child and how to support younger children as they feed themselves. Opportunities for physical play are extended through visits to a local park for older children where they enjoy playing on the apparatus. There are opportunities for physical play for the younger children as they enjoy outings to toddler sessions where they meet other children and socialise. Therefore, children benefit from fresh air and exercise. The premises are maintained and suitably organised, and all children are encouraged to clear away their toys and place them in the accessible storage boxes when they have finished playing.

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provision

There is some overview of children's activities and their individual development as the childminder has recently commenced monitoring their progress. However, these arrangements are not yet rigorous enough and, as a result, children are making satisfactory, rather than good, progress in their learning and development.

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provision

The childminder attends relevant safeguarding training and knows who to contact with if there are child protection concerns, to help protect children's welfare. However, there is no written statement of the procedures to be followed for the protection of children in place, which is a requirement of the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Records regarding children's attendance and their contact details are appropriately maintained. A risk assessment is in place and includes children's outings. However, the risk assessment does not include all aspects of the environment, such as low-level glass that poses a risk to children's safety.

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provision

The childminder describes positive relationships with parents and shares general information with them about the activities their children enjoy. She has contact with providers where children attend other settings so that messages are passed on to parents. There are appropriate links with the school that the older children attend. The childminder chats with teachers as she collects children and has an understanding of the activities they complete in school. She is aware of the support provided by additional agencies that benefit children's well-being. Observations of children's development have also begun with some suggestions for the next steps in their learning so that some activities are beginning to meet children's specific learning needs. The childminder is able to basically reflect on her practice. For example, since the last inspection, she has updated most procedures to reflect current guidance. However, overall, self-evaluation lacks rigour as it is not used to

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provision

identify clear priorities for development, to secure continuous improvement.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (Arrangements for safeguarding children).  keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (Arrangements for safeguarding children).

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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 EY307356 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 820326 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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