Childminder in West Sussex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/06/2013 30/09/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder has a good knowledge and understanding of how to meet children's learning and development needs, so they make good progress.  The childminder is attentive to children's interests and skilfully weaves in all the areas of learning to topics inspired by them. This helps children to enjoy their learning.  Children enjoy a wide variety of activities and outings, giving them an interesting learning environment with plenty of choice.  The childminder has a professional and well-organised approach to her record-keeping and documentation. This underpins children's well-being.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are minor weaknesses in the partnership with parents as learning journals are not systematically shared with parents.

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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 children at play in the childminder's home and garden.  The inspector discussed various aspects of children's care with the childminder.  The inspector sampled a selection of documentation, including children's records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register, and both parts of the Childcare Register. She lives in Goring, West Sussex, with her husband and two children aged eight and three years. The whole of the downstairs is available for childminding, plus the bathroom upstairs. There is a garden available for outdoor play. The childminder is part of an accredited network and receives the funding for the provision of free early education for children aged three and four. She currently has four children on roll, three of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder supports children with English as an additional language. The childminder has a level three qualification in Early Learning. The family has two cats.

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

 enhance the partnership with all parents by sharing the learning journals in a regular, timely way.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how to meet children's learning and developmental needs. She provides a broad range of activities which are planned with close regard for children's interests and abilities. The childminder skilfully incorporates all areas of learning into her plans which means that children make good progress all round. Children can be active, independent learners and absorbed and engaged in purposeful play throughout their time with the childminder.

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who attend

The childminder has good teaching skills. She is attentive to the children's interests and picks up on what fascinates them to make plans for their learning. For example, if a child shows a great interest in bugs and animals, she immediately responds with a wide range of related activities. In this way, children's curiosity drives their learning. Children enjoy hunting for bugs in the garden and learning about their habitats. They help to make a bug house which they can return to and explore further. Children also enjoy art and craft activities which are related to the theme. The childminder skilfully brings out mathematical learning by encouraging children to count the segments of the caterpillar they have just made. Children also calculate how many more caterpillars they need to make in order to give one to everyone in their family. The childminder picks up on key new words, and emphasises them in follow-up conversations about their play. This helps children to

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who attend

reinforce and build their vocabulary. The childminder also provides factual and story books which successfully engage children in reading activities. In this way, the childminder builds children's learning in every aspect of the curriculum.

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who attend

The childminder makes frequent observations of children's achievements and uses these as a basis for working out children's next steps. Each term, she makes a summary assessment of the child's progress in the Early Years Foundation Stage. She also tracks children's learning to make sure they are within their expected stage of development. This helps her to clearly identify where children may have potential achievement gaps and she takes steps to address them. Her assessment and planning procedures are well- established and this means that children are making good progress in their learning. The childminder frequently discusses children's progress with parents and the learning journals are always available.

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

The childminder is a very effective key person for the children in her care. She knows each child very well in terms of their care routine and individual personality and disposition. She follows their home routine to support the children in feeling happy and contented. She is always in sight and sound of the children and is very attentive to their needs. As a result, children confidently separate form their parents and are happy and settled. The childminder provides an engaging learning environment where children have lots of choice and independence. There is a wide range of equipment that children can easily reach and further resources are visible which they can ask for. In this way, children enjoy a wide variety of engaging play. Outdoors, children enjoy a similarly wide range of activities and decide what they would like to do. Frequent outings to local amenities and childminder groups mean that children enjoy a varied and interesting timetable.

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

Children benefit from a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy balanced and nutritious snacks with regular drinks to prevent thirst. Children choose from a range of healthy options and also enjoy cooking activities. This helps them to learn about foods that are good for them. Children benefit from a broad range of physical activities to support their growth and development. For example, they attend regular physical play sessions which build their skills in catching, jumping and gym style activities. Children learn how to keep themselves safe as the childminder has clear rules about how to use the trampoline for example. She also shows children how to use scissors correctly. This helps children to learn to manage risks. Children have good self-care skills as they manage their own coats and shoes wherever possible. Children take care of their own personal hygiene by wiping heir own hands and faces after eating, for example, and they each have their own flannel. Children

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

adopt good hygiene habits, such as washing their hands after using tissues. This helps to minimise the risk of cross-infection.

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

Children's behaviour is very good. The childminder has clear simple rules so children know what is expected of them. They understand how to play cooperatively and take turns. Children build strong friendships with their peers and enjoy looking at photographs of what they have done together. By learning about a variety of festivals and celebrations, children develop their understanding of the world in authentic ways. Overall, the childminder has very effective methods for helping children to acquire the skills they will need for the next stage in their learning.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of how to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She undergoes child protection training every three years to refresh her knowledge and understanding of what to do should she have concerns about a minded child. The childminder has a detailed safeguarding policy to guide her, which is available to parents so that they understand her duties. The childminder makes detailed risk assessments to minimise any identified hazards. This helps to keep children safe in her home and on outings. All other record keeping is very well organised and thorough, which underpins children's well-being. The childminder is experienced and recently gained a level three qualification. She is now an accredited childminder and updates her knowledge and understanding of children's learning and development through further training and network support. The childminder monitors her provision by checking through the learning

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provision

journals and summary assessments to make sure she is covering all areas of learning. This helps to address any potential achievement gaps. The childminder values the views of parents and children in evaluating her practice, acting on their ideas. For example, she has enhanced the afternoon snack time following a suggestion from a parent about increasing the fruit on offer. The childminder also reflects on her practice and demonstrates a good awareness of her strengths and areas for improvement. She intends to develop the learning journals for example, to ensure that her planning ideas are incorporated in writing. This means she shows a good capacity for continuous improvement.

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provision

The childminder builds professional and supportive relationships with parents. She uses a comprehensive parent pack of documents to ensure that she has all the information she needs to support children when they first arrive in her setting. This also helps parents to understand how she works and what to expect. The childminder is happy to provide written information about the child's day on request and gives a detailed verbal handover to make sure children have consistent care. Parents see the child's learning journal at any time. However, as this is done informally, the childminder is not systematically looking at children's progress with parents, which has an impact on the effectiveness of the partnership. The childminder works closely with parents to devise joint strategies to manage toilet training, for example. Parents complete questionnaires about their views in which they say how much they value the care and support she provides. The childminder

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provision

works with key people in other day care settings to support children's learning and development. She is aware, for example, of the activities and plans in the pre-school and devises complementary activities to reinforce children's learning. The childminder also initiates contact with speech and language experts to build her range of techniques in supporting children with English as an additional language. In this way, she can address any potential achievement gaps.

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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 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 EY370414 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 922012 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 5 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

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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