Childminder in Hampshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/05/2013 05/10/2009

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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 demonstrates a poor understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, she is not meeting several legal requirements.  Insufficient information is gained from parents to enable the childminder to meet the needs of the children and ascertain their starting points in learning.  Methods for observing and assessing children's progress across the seven areas of learning are not in place. This means that children are not developing effectively as the childminder is not planning appropriate activities and experiences for the individual children.  The childminder fails to promote children's learning and development through planned purposeful play as there is a poor balance of adult-led and child-initiated activity.  The strengths and weaknesses of the provision are not identified and the childminder

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This provision is inadequate

has ineffective systems in place for monitoring and reviewing the provision.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder provides a suitable play environment for the children to make independent choices.  The childminder communicates with parents daily, enabling her to share some information.

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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 observed activities in the playroom and the areas of the childminder's home used for childcare.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector looked at a selection of paperwork available.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2006. She lives with her husband and their three older children, in the village of Oakley, near Basingstoke. The ground floor of the home is used for childminding and a room on the first floor is used for sleeping purposes. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is currently minding five children in the early years age group on a part-time basis. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder drives to local schools and pre-schools to take and collect children. She attends the local parent and toddler group.

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must:

 ensure that children are adequately supervised to ensure their needs are met

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must:

 ensure the key person approach is implemented and understood to allow each child to develop a secure relationship with those directly caring for them

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must:

 keep a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance

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must:

 make the following information available to parents and/or carers: how the Early Years Foundation Stage is being delivered in the setting; and how parents and/or carers can access more information, for example, via the DfE website

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must:

 improve knowledge of the learning and development requirements to ensure that each area of learning and development is implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity, particularly the programmes for communication and language, physical development and personal, social and emotional development

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must:

 develop the requirements for assessment by observing children's learning and assessing their progress across the seven areas in relation to their age and stage of development; and use this information to plan the next steps for each child's development and to review children's progress between the ages of two and three years

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must:

 foster a culture of continuous improvement by using self-evaluation to inform the setting's priorities and to set challenging targets for improvement.

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

 improve the systems for working in partnership with parents and other early years settings the children attend, to promote continuity in children's care and learning.

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who attend

The childminder does not fully support children's learning and development. She does not currently have the knowledge, skills and understanding of the seven areas of learning to deliver them adequately. This means that children are not supported to make sufficient progress in relation to their starting points. The childminder is aware of her duty to maintain and implement the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, she has failed to incorporate all aspects of this, for example, by making observations and assessments of children's learning. As a result, the childminder does not have a suitable process with which to monitor and support children. This means she is unable to identify where children are in their development and their next steps in learning. Consequently, some children do not receive the vital support they need to promote their learning, especially in personal, social, emotional development and their communication

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who attend

and language. This has a negative impact on the children's acquiring skills and dispositions to be ready for their next stage in learning.

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who attend

Children have opportunities to access a variety of activities within the childminder's home, such as building with construction resources and exploring using media and materials. However, there is a lack of balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. As a result, the children miss out on learning intentions as the childminder is not always at hand to support or engage with the children purposefully. This impacts significantly on how well children make progress.

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who attend

At times the childminder communicates to the children in their play, for example, when they are building farm yards with construction resources. However, this interaction is not consistent and the childminder does not support children's communication and language appropriately. For example, she asks limited closed questions such as 'what does the cow say?' and 'how many horses are there?' which only requires children to offer one word answers. As the childminder does not model or encourage new language, children are not fully building on their communication skills for speaking and understanding. This also has a negative impact on the children acquiring skills and dispositions to be ready for their next stage in learning.

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who attend

The childminder does not use planning to guide the children's day or learning. Despite this, the children have access to toys and resources, which cover the seven areas of learning. The childminder has learning journals in place for most children; however, these lack detail in how the children are progressing and how the childminder will plan for their next steps. In addition, the childminder has a very little understanding of the requirement for undertaking the two-year-old progress check. She has children in her care aged between two and three years; however, she has not fully reviewed their progress and shared this with the parents.

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

The childminder has poor systems in place to meet the needs of the children. For example, she fails to obtain information from parents about children's needs to enable her to build a genuine and secure bond in their first few days. In addition, the childminder does not provide families with a settling-in period for children to familiarise themselves with her. This means that the childminder fails to help the children feel confident in her care. However, the children who have been attending the childminder's setting for longer have built adequate relationships with her. These children invite the childminder into their play and at times receive appropriate support, for example, when they request additional resources. Children have a suitable range of toys and play materials available. These are in low storage boxes which enable the children easy independent choices.

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

The childminder has a current first aid certificate and has a first aid box with appropriate contents. This means that she is able to act in the best interest of the children in the event of a minor accident or illness. Children are well behaved and play well together; they benefit from the suitable praise from the childminder. The childminder's home is suitable for the ages of the children attending; however, children's safety is jeopardised as the childminder is not always effectively deployed to watch the children. This means that younger children have access to the stairs and climb these unsupervised when looking for the childminder.

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

The childminder provides a range of well-balanced snacks and drinks and parents provide children's meals which the childminder stores appropriately. Hygiene procedures promote and support children's health. Children keep healthy and active through the use of the outdoors and during opportunities to visit the park, play in the garden and walk to school.

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provision

The childminder has an inadequate understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. Children's welfare cannot be assured as the childminder fails to ensure she keeps a daily attendance record that includes all children and accurate details of their arrival and departure times. This fails to fully safeguard the children and means that the childminder is also failing to comply with the requirements for the Childcare Register.

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provision

The childminder has a basic understanding of the possible indicators that would cause concern. She has sufficient understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of any concern, which promotes children's safety well. Although the childminder ensures her home is suitable, she fails to protect the children adequately overall, as she is not suitability deployed to promote their well-being. For example, she leaves children unsupervised as she goes upstairs. This has a detrimental effect on the welfare and well- being of the children. Despite this, the childminder has risk assessments in place and has carried out safety checks of her garden. This shows that she is mindful of eliminating some hazards in the environment in which children play.

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provision

The childminder forms suitable partnerships with parents. Together they exchange daily verbal communication about the children and fill out suitable registration and consent forms. However, the information the childminder gives to parents on the delivery of the learning and development requirements is not current, as this relates to a previous framework. As a result, parents are unaware of the childminder's duty and responsibility to deliver the learning and development requirements. The childminder takes children and collects them from local playgroups and schools. Although she exchanges basic information with these settings, effective methods are not fully in place to exchange information to support children's learning or well-being. This limits the effectiveness of the partnerships for providing continuity in children's care and learning.

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provision

Self-evaluation is weak. Recommendations from the last inspection have not all been fully addressed, which shows the childminder is not fully committed to enhancing her setting. The childminder has not been proactive in seeking support and training for the learning and development requirements and therefore does not have a secure understanding of how to help children make progress. In addition, this means the educational programmes are not challenging and children are not making sufficient progress in their learning.

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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 records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (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 EY338867 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 815209 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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

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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