Simpson, Diane Michelle

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/03/2013 12/09/2011

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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

p.1

This provision is satisfactory

 The childminder provides a homely environment with generally good levels of safety and security for the children she cares for.  Children enjoy the company of the childminder and her assistant, she is very organised in her approach, which enables her to support and balance the needs of differing ages of children.  Children are making steady progress and enjoy playing with a suitable range of activities and resources in the home.  The childminder provides a flexible service to support parents and gives them relevant information about their child's day-to-day activities.

p.1

It is not yet good because

 The childminder completes assessments of children's learning but these are not consistently rigorous enough to measure progress across all seven areas of learning, this occasionally results in learning experiences that are not fully matched to a child's needs or provide sufficient challenge.  Children's ability to freely choose resources is reduced because the way that toys are stored means that it is not always clear what is available to them.

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

p.2

Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 observed activities in the main downstairs living room.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her assistant at appropriate times throughout the observations.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey records, assessment documentation, and at a range of policies and supporting information.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents expressed within a questionnaire undertaken by the childminder.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and two children aged 11 and 14 years of age. They live in Kirkheaton, on the outskirts of Huddersfield. She visits the local shops, park and soft play area on a regular basis. The whole of the ground floor, plus toilet facilities on the first floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding. The family has a cat and a dog.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder works with an assistant. There are currently 18 children on roll, of whom five are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. She operates all year round from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is supported by the local authority and is also a member of the National Childminding Association. The childminder cares for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

p.3

must:

 assess each child's progress more rigorously across all seven areas of learning in relation to their age and stage of development and use this information to securely plan the next steps for each child.

p.3

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

 build on children's growing independence by labelling toy storage in pictures and print to enable them to make more choices from the available resources.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has a broad understanding of the needs and developing personalities of the children within her care. Children make steady progress because she has a sound knowledge of the seven areas of learning and provides a reasonable range of opportunities that interest children, such as playing with small world toys and craft activities. Children's needs are satisfactorily met because the childminder gathers a range of information from parents when children first start at the setting, such as what they like to eat and what they enjoy playing with, using an 'All about me' form. The childminder keeps individual records of each child. These contain interesting photographs and children's artwork, which she shares with parents so that they can jointly support children's learning. This supports children and parents to be prepared for the next stages in learning. The childminder carries out regular observations on each child that describe

p.3

who attend

what they have been doing. However, she does not build on these observations consistently to clearly identify each child's stage of development across the seven areas of learning. This means that children make no better than satisfactory progress from their starting points and challenging activities that extend children's learning and support them in moving further forward are not always sufficiently planned for. The childminder has undertaken assessments to complete a progress check for two-year-olds within the setting.

p.4

who attend

Young children in the childminder's care show interest in the satisfactory selection of activities available. The childminder has a broad range of toys and resources, which are stored so that, on the whole, all children make independent choices. There is scope, however, to enhance children's ability to choose toys for themselves by, for example, labelling toy storage with pictures and print.

p.4

who attend

The childminder finds ways to stimulate children's imagination and encourages children to explore their surroundings. For example, children enjoy playing with small world toys or with the toy kitchen. During activities, children show suitable levels of concentration for their ages and abilities. They persevere as they use their increasing coordination to set up a play house with people or make a pretend dinner in the role play kitchen. They enjoy pushing buttons on the play oven to make the cooking sounds as they boil a kettle, introducing them to early technology. The childminder uses everyday opportunities to introduce children to number, size and shape. For example, older children confidently count up to seven as they read aloud a favourite book together with the childminder's assistant. Young children try putting different sized hoops on a stand and are met with praise when they succeed. The childminder cares for children with special educational

p.4

who attend

needs and/or disabilities and uses sign language to communicate with them. This also helps language development with younger children who join in with making signs, and contributes to children's acceptance of similarities and differences in others.

p.4

who attend

During the week, children benefit from going on outings in the community, such as trips to the local shops, the park and the soft play area. This helps children to gain an awareness of the local area whilst also being able to develop their physical skills on larger play equipment. The childminder also encourages children to develop their coordination and sense of music appreciation as they all dance and sing along together to a music and exercise programme for children.

p.4

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

The childminder provides a welcoming environment where children settle and build up appropriate attachments to her. Very young children stay close to the childminder or her assistant and enjoy the cuddles and reassurance provided. Children's sense of belonging is enhanced as within the playroom one wall is lined with photographs and artwork produced by children who attend the setting. Children's craft work is proudly presented within changing displays, such as the recent activities children undertook in celebration of Chinese New Year. The childminder maintains a friendly, chatty ongoing dialogue with parents who are kept informed on a daily basis as to their children's welfare. These elements of continuity and familiarity generally add to children feeling safe in the care of the childminder.

p.4

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

The childminder provides reasonably good levels of care and supervision and works hard to ensure that she maintains a safe environment within and outside the home. Safety in the home is sound as suitable safety equipment is in place to minimise risks to children and the fire drill is practised regularly. Children know the procedure to evacuate the home to cross over the road to the park. This helps children learn how to keep themselves safe and how respond in an emergency. The childminder undertakes risk assessments and reminds young children not to climb on furniture or to tidy toys away so that they will not fall over.

p.5

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

The childminder further ensures children's welfare is promoted by taking with her at all times when she is outside of the setting, an emergency contact sheet with all parents' mobile phone numbers on so that she can call parents quickly should she need to do so. This inspection took place following a notification that the provider left the children with an uncleared person. At the inspection the childminder agreed that this had happened. She explained that the incident occurred because one child was suddenly taken ill and required emergency treatment. At the time, there were three children present and the childminder was working alone. The childminder followed medical advice and accompanied the ill child to hospital in an ambulance. She arranged for a neighbour who knew the children to look after the remaining children. The neighbour contacted the school to let them know that the school aged children were to be collected by a parent of one of the

p.5

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

childminded children. The childminder followed her own policy and procedures, which state that in the event of an emergency and her assistant not being present, the neighbour will look after the children. The childminder's actions were appropriate in ensuring the welfare of all the minded children.

p.5

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

The childminder supports children to develop a broad understanding of healthy eating as she does her own home cooking and provides a variety of healthy options for snacks and meals. The childminder is aware of children's individual dietary needs and ensures these are met. Self-help skills, such as independently accessing the toilet, drinking from their own beakers and feeding themselves, are encouraged. The childminder appropriately supports younger children to develop these skills. She offers gentle reminders about washing their hands before snack time. She acts as a suitable role model through careful hygiene practices, changing rubber gloves and cleaning the mat with antiseptic wash between nappy changes of children.

p.5

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

The childminder values good behaviour and teaches children to care for each other by providing clear and consistent boundaries. She uses a system of star charts, 'star of the day' and a jewel jar as ways of rewarding positive behaviour. Children are also frequently praised when they share their toys or when they sit nicely at the table. This helps children to develop self-esteem and confidence. Children are well prepared for their next stage of learning because the childminder encourages them to put on their own shoes and coats and children learn to help each other. This enables children to develop independence and a sense of shared responsibility for others.

p.5

provision

The childminder demonstrates a reasonable knowledge of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and how children learn. She is intuitive in her practice and her written observations adequately describe individual children's progress. However, gaps in her systems of the planning and assessment mean that she is not able to be fully confident that she enhances and extends children's development across all areas of learning.

p.6

provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children in the setting are satisfactory. The childminder has a pet policy in place so that parents know the measures in place to ensure the safety of children with the dog and the cat. The childminder also has a policy concerning the action she takes in the event of an emergency. Parents sign to say that they have seen these alongside her other policies. The childminder appreciates the importance of communication with parents and wrote a detailed explanation for parents immediately following the incident that occurred so that parents were fully informed as to the details of what had happened and why. The childminder has a sound knowledge and understanding of the numbers of children that she is permitted to care for. She has highly organised systems in place for managing her setting on a day to day basis, which include individual attendance sheets with the times of arrival and departure, and an overview summary

p.6

provision

The childminder expresses a strong desire to continue to develop her thriving childminding business. She continues to develop her skills and has achieved a National Vocational Qualification Level 3 in helping in schools. She is also trained in Elklan Speech and Language Support for under 5's and has completed modules 1-4 in Makaton. During the inspection she communicated some intended improvements to her provision, such as adding to the resources available for older children. She has sought feedback from parents and children as to the quality of her provision through questionnaires. She is proud of the positive comments that she has received. The childminder endeavours to be very flexible and adapts the service she provides in response to feedback. For example, the childminder introduced a system of daily slips for parents with information as to their child's day, following feedback from a parent. The childminder ensures that she shares information

p.6

provision

teachers from local schools so that they can work together to support children in her care.

p.6

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 action. 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.7

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.7

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.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY422942 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 905325 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 18

p.8

Telephone number

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.8

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.8

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, which are usually the childminder’s own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.9

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.9

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.10

Type of provision

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

p.10