Childminder in Wakefield

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/06/2013 05/09/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 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 wealth of childminding experience and a warm and caring nature. Consequently, children settle quickly and feel secure.  The childminder provides a wide range of experiences for children to participate in. This results in children having many opportunities to make expected progress in their learning and development.  High importance is put on children's health and safety. The childminder promotes healthy lifestyles through positive discussion and related activities. Her home is secure with effective procedures being in place for the collection of children, ensuring they are well protected.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to further engage parents in the ongoing observation and assessment process, to enable the childminder to precisely monitor and reflect in her planning all of the achievements children make at home.  There are few natural resources provided indoors to extend opportunities for children to explore a wider range of materials and textures.

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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 childminder's living room and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder and observed her interaction with the children.  The inspector took account of the views of one grandparent spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1997. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. On occasions she works with an assistant. The childminder lives with her husband, two adult daughters and son aged 13 years in a house in Ossett in West Yorkshire. The whole of the ground floor, bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder regularly attends a toddler group and occasionally attends activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park and collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 10 children on roll, six 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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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 improve opportunities for parents to be involved in the ongoing observation and assessment process by encouraging them to share what they know about their child's learning at home, so that a complete picture of all children's achievements is gained and monitored

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

 enhance the range of materials and textures available for children to explore indoors, for instance with the provision of more natural resources, such as wooden objects, pebbles and feathers.

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who attend

The childminder has a clear knowledge of the areas of learning and how children learn and develop. Consequently, she is able to effectively support all children. The wide range of activities provided within the childminder's home and at toddler groups are complemented with trips to places of interest, such as the farm and railway museum. Consequently, children have ample opportunities to make progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder knows the children well and undertakes regular observations of them. She uses these to effectively plan learning activities, which follow children's interests taking into account their capabilities and covering the seven areas of learning. An effective induction procedure includes the completion of an 'All about me' form and the childminder discusses children's starting points with parents. Consequently, she is able to provide experiences which offer appropriate challenge to children and build

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who attend

on their current achievements. However, parents are not always encouraged to contribute to their child's learning records by sharing details of what their child does at home. This does not help the childminder to gain a full picture of all children's achievements and does not enhance her ability to precisely monitor their progress and inform future plans.

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who attend

The childminder engages children in conversations to effectively promote their language skills. This prepares them well for the next steps in their learning and eventually the move to nursery or school. She is sensitive to children's differing stages of development and uses tone, intonation and facial expression well to nurture younger children's communication skills. Consequently, they interact well with each other and the childminder. The childminder carefully chooses a selection of books from the large collection she has accumulated to meet the needs of those currently attending. Examples of this are when she provides books on dinosaurs in response to a child's interest and alphabet books to encourage another child's letter recognition. A variety of experiences are provided to enhance children's understanding of the living world, including how things grow and change over time. For example, children plant, nurture, harvest, cook and eat

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who attend

potatoes. The childminder encourages children to count out cups of ingredients for baking and measure the rain in the 'water catcher' they have made. Therefore she provides interesting experiences to nurture their mathematical thinking. Children are provided with ample opportunities to paint, play musical instruments, make models and create collages. Therefore they are able to express themselves freely while having fun. All children play outside daily and there are opportunities for them to look for insects and learn about the buds changing into flowers, which enables older children in particular to investigate features of the garden. However, many of the resources indoors are created from manmade materials, such as plastic and there are fewer natural resources, such as wooden objects, pebbles and feathers. This does not give children enhanced opportunities to explore different materials and textures.

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who attend

The childminder has developed good relationships with parents. She ensures they are fully informed of the activities their children have enjoyed and the progress they are making. She encourages them to be involved in their children's learning at home, for instance by lending them resources, such as modelling dough. The childminder also shares children's folders containing observations and art work, which link to the areas of learning. This raises parents understanding of what children gain from participating in various activities and the benefits of being involved in their children's play.

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

The childminder works on occasions with an assistant. However, she is the key person for each child. Children are happy, confident and secure as a result of her praise and encouragement. Children initially come for visits with their parents and then slowly build up the time spent with the childminder. This is beneficial to a smooth change over from home to the childminding environment. The childminder prepares the children well for the move from her setting to somewhere new, such as nursery or school. She talks to them about the exciting things they will do and ensures they are familiar with their classroom and new teacher. This is conducive to the change of environment being easier. The childminder provides consistent boundaries so children understand what is and isn't acceptable behaviour. Consequently they are well behaved and learn consideration for others as they share the paints and dinosaurs. The childminder encourages children to

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

discuss how they feel, which nurtures their understanding of others needs and feelings. Due to the restraints of available space many of the large variety of resources are stored in the shed. The childminder rotates these in the living room and kitchen to inspire participation. She is currently devising a book with photographs of all the resources to give children a wider choice and nurture further their free choice and independence.

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

The childminder enters into positive discussions with children and provides a range of activities to promote their understanding of how to keep safe, including talking about not eating berries in case they are poisonous and how to use the oven safely when baking. Consequently, children start to take responsibility for their own safety. The childminder ensures children regularly use the garden, visit the park and go swimming. She provides many opportunities for healthy exercise to effectively nurture children's physical development. Children are able to adhere to specific dietary requirements through well- planned snacks and meals. This has a positive impact on their health and well-being. The childminder nurtures children's understanding of good personal hygiene practices well, for instance by providing individual paper hand towels and discussing dental hygiene.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This includes ensuring there is a wide range of planned and spontaneous experiences for children to participate in, which complement those accessed in other settings, for instance in school. The childminder has attended relevant safeguarding training in the past and is about to complete a further training programme online to confirm and update her knowledge. She demonstrates a secure understanding of associated issues, which results in children being well protected. Children's safety is enhanced with regular risk assessments and daily safety checks of the premises and for any outings. The childminder has completed an early years qualification at level 3 and attends further training, which has a positive impact on the good quality care and education she provides.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of the benefits of working with other professionals, such as speech therapists to enable all children to meet their full potential. She has built strong relationships with teachers from the local school over many years. They communicate verbally, via email and through newsletters. Consequently, the childminder is able to effectively complement and extend activities when children attend more than one setting. Relationships between parents and the childminder are good. They regularly share information, for example, through discussions and daily diaries for younger children. This contributes to meeting children's needs and provides continuity of care.

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provision

The childminder has a clear vision of how she wants the setting to progress. She follows a good self-evaluation process, which includes input from parents and children. Questionnaires returned by parents contain positive comments such as 'You make a point of keeping me updated on a daily basis plus messages and phone calls' and 'the food you offer is very good quality and tasty'. The childminder has started to regularly attend meetings held by the Professional Association for Early Years and Childcare and meet with other childminders. This has a very positive impact on her reflecting on and enhancing her practice. Examples of this are when she has introduced new ways of recording children's observations and reviewed all her policies, procedures and consent forms. The childminder demonstrates a positive attitude to gaining further support and accessing training to enhance her practice further. Many improvements have been made since the last

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provision

inspection. Amongst other things these include implementing a more effective self- evaluation process. This results in the childminder showing a good ability to continually improve her practice.

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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 321746 Local authority Wakefield Inspection number 819167 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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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