Childminder in North YorkshireOfsted inspection, 27 Mar 2013

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/03/2013 07/07/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder does not have a sufficiently good understanding of the learning and development requirements. As a result, children's progress and development is slow, particularly because planning fails to be guided by children's individual learning needs.  The assessment of children's progress is not effective. This is because it is not focused strongly enough on the important areas for younger children's learning or used to set targets for future learning goals.  There are inconsistencies in children's learning. This is because the sharing of information with parents about children's learning both at home and in the setting is weak and resources within the setting are not well organised.  The childminder has failed again to update her paediatric first aid qualification to ensure it remains valid. This impacts on children's welfare, well-being and safety.  Self-evaluation is not strong, resulting in a lack of focus to develop areas which need

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This provision is inadequate

improvement and to prioritise action needed.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder has a reasonable knowledge of safeguarding procedures, which helps to protect children from possible harm.  Children relate well to the childminder and are generally well behaved and happy in her care because she displays a kind and caring nature.

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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

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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.

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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 spoke with the childminder during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's progress records, some of the childminder's policies and procedures and other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder during a spontaneous activity involving a range of puzzles and flash cards.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the indoor toys and equipment available for children at the time of the inspection and some of the outdoor resources.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1996. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and adult son in a house in Brayton, near to Selby, North Yorkshire. The whole of the ground floor, two first floor bedrooms and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She sometimes collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently four children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 obtain a current paediatric first aid certificate and update this as required

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must:

 provide challenging and enjoyable experiences for children in all areas of learning by: developing knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements; using robust observation and assessment to monitor and plan for children's learning taking into account their interests and next steps; ensuring that toys and resources are appropriate for children's ages and abilities

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must:

 involve parents in their children's learning by improving the sharing of information about children's progress, so that children's learning and development is complemented both in the setting and at home

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must:

 improve the provision for the youngest children by focusing strongly on the prime areas of learning, forming the basis for the progress check for children at age two and the written summary to be shared with each child's parents.

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

 implement rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement. Ensure that this also takes account of the views of parents and children so that any improvements made reflect their needs.

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who attend

Children make limited progress in their learning and development. This is because the childminder demonstrates a poor understanding of the requirements of the revised Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. In particular, she is not confident about focusing on supporting the youngest children in areas of personal, social and emotional development, physical development and communication and language. These are known as the prime areas and form the basis for successful learning in other areas. The majority of children currently attending the setting are between two to three years of age and have been attending for some time. The childminder has not carried out the required progress check at age two, based on the prime areas of learning and has therefore, not shared this information with parents via a short written summary. This does not keep parents well informed, help children make best progress or identify areas where

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who attend

The childminder is experienced, although this is not always reflected in the quality of her teaching or how she plans for children's learning. For example, her observation and assessment of children's progress is weak and she is not using what she knows about each child to shape and guide her planning. The childminder is not taking into account individual children's learning styles or setting targets for their next steps in learning. Most activities organised for children are interesting and help them learn, practise and refine a basic range of skills. For example, there are some opportunities for them to socialise with other children, be creative, bake buns, dress up and use their imagination. The childminder recognises that the children she cares for are at different levels with different interests, yet she fails to take this into account in her planning. This means the range of learning activities and experiences for children are not personalised to meet their

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who attend

individual learning needs or ensure sufficient challenge is provided. This also hinders the progress children make as they move towards the early learning goals and their journey into a school setting. Parents have access to their child's development files. They are not however, sufficiently well engaged or encouraged to contribute towards children's learning and continue with this at home. Furthermore, the shortfall in the childminder's understanding of the areas of learning limits the quality of the information given to parents about children's learning. This does not support continuity and consistency of learning.

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who attend

The childminder generally supports children as they play, providing appropriate levels of interaction and asking pertinent questions. For example, she draws children's attention to difference in size and shape, asking, 'is it big or small?' She gives children clues as they attempt to fit pieces of puzzle together, suggesting they turn the piece around or 'wiggle' it. This helps children to think about what they are doing and to solve some simple problems. When children look at books or pictures she encourages word repetition or introduces new words to aid children's language and communication. For example, she explains the word 'melon' when a child points to a picture of the fruit on a flash card. Children show they are settled in the childminder's care. They smile, wave and say 'hiya' to the visiting inspector and make her a pretend cup of tea while playing at the toy kitchen. This demonstrates that they feel safe and secure.

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

There are some opportunities provided for children to engage in physical exercise. For example, they go to a local physical play centre or play in the garden. The childminder mainly uses her car to transport children to different places but some walks in the fresh air are organised. Resources are available for children to use in the dining area of the setting and the majority are easily accessible promoting children's choice and decision making. However, the resources and equipment are not well organised. For example, some resources available at the time of the inspection were too difficult or provided insufficient challenge for children. This is frustrating for children, does not support their motivation to learn and does not support good progress in their learning or development.

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

When children commence at the setting they and their parents are invited to meet with the childminder and share information. This is then extended to include settling-in sessions to help the child adjust. This helps build relationships and reduce any anxiety children or parents might have about the transition. Most information is shared with parents verbally, although they do have access to the setting's range of written policies and procedures.

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

Trusting relationships are formed between the childminder and children as most have attended the setting since they were babies. This helps children to feel settled as the childminder gets to know each one well. In general, children behave well and the childminder is skilful at diverting their attention to other play ideas when she notices that their good behaviour is deteriorating. This supports children to behave well and begin to learn about the affect their behaviour has on others. Children take part in celebrating each other's birthdays and events throughout the year, such as Easter, Christmas and Mother's Day. Some attention is given to introducing cultural festivals, such as Chinese New Year. This generally supports children's understanding of society, acknowledging the beliefs of others and understanding the world in which they live.

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provision

The childminder has assessed her setting to ensure risks for children are reduced, helping to keep them safe. She understands her responsibility to protect children from harm and the action to take if she has any concerns about a child's welfare or well-being. She has been involved in basic training to support her knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures, although this was some considerable time ago. The childminder has failed to ensure her first aid qualification is up to date. It expired six months prior to the inspection and although the childminder has made attempts to attend a course and carry out the training again, she has been unsuccessful. This was an issue raised at the previous inspection when a valid first aid certificate was not in place. Although first aid training was attended after the last inspection and a certificate received this has yet again been allowed to expire. This is a breach of a legal safeguarding and welfare requirement

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provision

and a breach of the Childcare Register requirements. This failure to maintain a valid first aid qualification impacts on children's well-being and puts them at risk because the childminder does not have the most up-to-date information about how to administer first aid treatment in the event of an accident.

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provision

Children do not attend any other settings. Therefore the childminder has not had the opportunity to develop any relationships with other providers of other settings or with any professional agency that is providing additional support to a child. She does however, recognise the importance of this and the contribution it makes towards helping children achieve and make progress. She provides the opportunity for minded children to meet other children through attending a local toddler group, activity centre and playing with children of other childminders. This helps children to form relationships with others and become accustomed to entering other establishments; skills they will need when they transfer to their school setting. Sometimes she takes children to visit the school they will attend so they know what it looks like. She teaches children to put on their coat and shoes independently and to identify and write their own name. This develops children's

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provision

confidence with some skills in preparation for school. However, the lack of sufficient focus on the prime areas of learning does not ensure that children receive enough support to gain all of the necessary skills in readiness for school.

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provision

Since the last inspection very little progress has been made to improve the provision for children's care, learning and development. This is because self-evaluation is weak and has no impact. The childminder has no clear vision for the future development of her setting and fails to systematically seek the views of parents and children to help set and prioritise targets for improvement. She demonstrates an appreciation of how children learn through play but has too little understanding of the learning and development requirements, resulting in poor monitoring of children's progress. She does not use observation and assessment successfully to help her set ambitious targets to help each child achieve at their own pace and in ways to suit their individual needs.

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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:

 ensure that an appropriate first aid qualification is held (Compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that an appropriate first aid qualification is held. (Voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 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.

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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 400967 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 819246 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

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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.

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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, which are usually the childminder’s 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

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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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