Childminder in Cambridgeshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/05/2013 16/06/2009

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Partnerships with parents are warm and positive, enabling the childminder to establish strong bonds with the children and give them the confidence to be active, inquisitive learners.  Children benefit from many outings into their local community so they develop their friendships and learn to socialise in differing situations. This prepares them well for the next stage of their learning, including school.  The childminder encourages children's language skills well by introducing them early to interesting story books that capture their imaginations and develop their love of literature.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not make the most of opportunities to extend further children's understanding of healthy foods and their practical skills through daily routines.

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 spoke with the childminder about underpinning procedures, such as safeguarding children, the administration of medicines and complaints.  The inspector observed the childminder and her interactions with the children.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at comments made by parents about the quality of the childminding service.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the premises and looked at the resources and activities available to the children.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, who is also a registered childminder, and one child aged nine years in Yaxley, Cambridgeshire. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding along with a first floor bedroom for sleeping. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The premises are situated close to primary schools, pre-schools, parks and shops. The family has four cats and some tropical fish as pets.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder and her co-minder work with an assistant. Together they are currently caring for 16 children in total, of these, eight are in the early years age range. A small number of children are learning English as an additional language. Children mostly attend on a part-time basis. The childminder offers the childminding service from 7am until 7pm, Monday to Friday all year round with the exception of Christmas and family holidays. The childminder is able to offer overnight care. Early years funding is available to eligible three- and four-year-old children.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She takes children to and from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. She holds a childcare qualification at level 3.

p.3

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

 extend children's understanding of healthy foods through daily routines, for example, by enabling children to observe and take part in food preparation on an everyday basis.

p.3

who attend

The childminder and her co-minder have a good understanding of how children learn through play. They use their good quality teaching skills effectively to help children enjoy their learning and make good progress towards the early learning goals. Children's achievements are consistently observed and assessed to ensure their development is in line with expectations, given their age, stage and starting points. Parents are positively encouraged to share what they know about their children's interests at home. They enjoy regular newsletters that encourage them to join in themes and events and learn their children's songs and rhymes so they can support children's learning at home.

p.3

who attend

The childminder provides effective support and guidance to extend children's communication and language, for example, she encourages them to use new words and happily buzz like bees. Children enjoy active songs and games, and expertly follow the words and actions to 'Sleeping Bunnies' or 'Dingle Dangle Scarecrow'. Books are plentiful, enabling children to enjoy a varied range, including lift-the-flap books that attract the interest of younger children. Adults make lots of opportunities for children to enjoy spontaneous story sessions that help to promote their future love of literature. Children who speak English as an additional language make good progress because the childminder supports them well to learn English through these activities.

p.4

who attend

The childminder plans daily adult-led activities, such as arts and crafts that involve children in cutting, sticking and gluing, developing their artistic and design skills well. All this ensures they have ample opportunities to develop their skills in enjoyable ways and prepares them well for the future. Children's understanding of the world is extended skilfully as children are introduced to sea monkeys and frog spawn. This enables them to learn about lifecycles in interesting, relevant ways. Children have ample opportunities to make marks with pens, pencils, chalks and markers. They are introduced to early technology that helps them understand how things work, such as wind-up toys, pretend kitchens and toy telephones.

p.4

who attend

The childminding setting is well organised with a good range of accessible resources that support children well as they develop their independence and follow their own interests. To prepare children for the next stage of their learning, including school, the childminder develops children's practical skills well. For example, she encourages them to wash their hands independently, or put on their own shoes ready for outdoor play so they are well prepared for their eventual move onto school.

p.4

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

The childminder has effective settling-in procedures that enable children to quickly develop strong links with their carers. Parents are invited for regular visits so they can accustom children to the childminding environment gently. As a result children are confident learners, and clearly enjoy their time in the setting. Parents are encouraged to share detailed information about their children's routines, likes and dislikes to enable the childminder to meet their individual care and learning needs. The childminder is sensitive to the particular needs of children who are learning English as an additional language. She finds out key words and phrases to help the children feel a sense of belonging as they settle in.

p.4

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

Children have many good opportunities to develop their social skills in different situations because they enjoy frequent outings and visits to local groups. They enjoy the novelty of travelling on a bus to visit an adventure play area, and select their books from the library, all of which helps to extend their understanding of the world around them. These activities support children's growing confidence ready for their move to other settings in the future. Children show good relationships with one another and cooperate well, for example, they help each other to assemble a train track, or share food at snack time. The childminder encourages children to share and develop respect for one another. She is a good role model and effectively teaches children to interact politely and sensibly with their peers.

p.4

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

Children enjoy healthy outdoor exercise in the childminder's garden and on outings to local parks and recreation grounds. They climb and negotiate the slides and small climbing frames with enthusiasm and develop their coordination and confidence. Activities, such as cutting with scissors, pouring and sifting sand or painting with large brushes, support children's small muscle development well. Snacks, including breakfasts, are healthy and nutritious and eaten in friendly, social groups. Sometimes children eat picnic style in the living room, or in the garden, which adds to their enjoyment of their meals. The childminder and her team currently serve main meals as provided by the children's parents. Positive advice on the contents of lunch boxes helps to ensure these are suitably varied and healthy. Children take part in growing vegetables and fruit in the garden, so they develop their understanding of where their foods come from. They participate in food

p.5

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

tasting sessions so they explore new tastes and textures. However, knowledge of healthy foods and their practical skills are not fully supported because they do not help to prepare their own foods on an everyday basis. The childminder helps children to keep themselves safe, for example, they practise the fire drill regularly. Children have clear rules to follow on outings, such as holding hands, or holding onto the babies' buggy so they learn safe practices when outside.

p.5

provision

The childminder and her co-minder have a clear understanding of child protection procedures, which enables them to effectively keep children safe. She updates her knowledge of safeguarding issues regularly and keeps policies and procedures up to date. All the adults involved in the setting make daily checks of the premises and ensure children are safely supervised as they play. Recruitment procedures effectively ensure the assistants and any students or volunteers are safe and suitable to work with children. All adults attend the mandatory first aid training to ensure children receive appropriate treatment in the event of an accident.

p.5

provision

Effective partnerships with parents and carers help to promote children's sense of security and enhance their learning and development. Parents are positive and highly appreciative of the childminding service. They say the childminder and her co-minder are approachable and reliable. Parents receive lots of good quality information about the provision, such as newsletters and daily accounts of children's activities. There are well-established methods to share information with local schools and pre-school groups to ensure children's continuity of learning. The childminder has cared for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in the past and has effective methods to liaise with other agencies, such as speech and language specialists. Consequently, she has the necessary skills to offer suitable support when required.

p.5

provision

The childminder and her team have developed effective self-evaluation that successfully identifies and prioritises areas for improvement. For example, the childminder has recently introduced an online assessment tool, and has plans to provide cooked lunches and main meals for children. She works closely with her co-minder to support their ongoing professional development. As a result she has gained her level 3 qualification in childcare, and her co-minder is shortly to complete his qualification. All this helps to ensure children continue to receive a good quality learning experience. The childminder gathers the views of parents regularly through surveys and daily conversation to ensure the provision effectively meets their individual needs. Children's individual progress is thoroughly monitored through frequent discussion with parents and the childminding team. As a result, all children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

p.5

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 EY364071 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 913840 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 16

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