Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/06/2013 27/10/2008

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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

 Children are very happy and settled. They have a strong bond with the childminder and relish the positive interaction and support they receive because she is caring and talks to children respectfully.  The childminder provides and supports a wide range of activities for the children. These in turn promote children's learning and development well.  Children are active learners and confidently make independent choices in their play and daily routines, to show what they want.  The childminder's effective systems of observation and assessment help her to gain a secure understanding of children's individual stages of development.  The childminder's self-evaluation and commitment to extending her knowledge through training enables her to clearly identify areas of her provision she feels could improve.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve opportunities for children to use numbers and counting within their play and activities in order to enhance their understanding of, for example, simple calculation.

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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 held discussions with the childminder at appropriates stages throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, safeguarding procedures and self-evaluation documents.  The inspector observed activities in the house and a public children's play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents spoken to on the day and through written feedback.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2002 and is on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her two children aged eight and 14 years in Quinton, Birmingham. The playroom, lounge, kitchen and bathroom are used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. Local facilities are within walking distance, such as parks, schools and shops. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently two children on roll, both of whom are within the early years age range. The childminder supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. The childminder holds a level 3 qualification in childcare, learning and development and a teaching assistant diploma. She is a member of the Professional Association for Children and Early Years.

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

 improve opportunities for children to use numbers and counting within their play and activities in order to enhance their understanding of, for example, simple calculation.

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who attend

The childminder provides a balanced and varied educational programme based on the children's interests and identified next steps. Her interaction with the children is positive, supportive and encouraging as she joins in their play. This helps children to try new experiences and enhances their confidence in making independent choices in their play. The childminder uses successful assessment systems, including the required progress checks for children aged two, to record the progress children make in their learning. Observations in children's learning journals show they are learning from the activity observed. They learn about the world they live in because the childminder encourages them to investigate the natural environment. They enjoy activities, such as collecting leaves and searching under logs to find insects. These outdoor activities provide opportunities for children to get close to nature and develop their sensory awareness. A

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who attend

tracking system enables the childminder to identify any gaps in children's learning to support her planning. She highlights when children have achieved aspects, and identified next steps show key areas to focus on. This enables her to identify gaps in children's development and to plan to close these gaps.

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who attend

Children are active and independent learners. The high levels of encouragement and support from the childminder help them to make their own choices and follow their own ideas. The childminder knows children like exploring the texture of sand and making marks using small cars. She also hides objects, such as toy insects, within the sand for them to find. Children have a good range of opportunities to make things and be creative. They enjoy exploring their senses as they model with play dough, creating snakes and cakes to go into the play microwave. During their play and daily routines, children learn about number and use and count in a range of situations to identify how many object they can find hidden in the sand. They also sing number songs. However, the childminder does not always fully extend and build on the children's mathematical learning to introduce them to simple number problems. This means they have fewer opportunities to learn

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who attend

about adding and subtracting items as they play and during routines, such as snack time.

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who attend

Children are confident and have high levels of self-esteem and independence, because the childminder gives them small tasks. For example, children select fruits from the fridge to eat at snack time, they wash them, cut them unaided, and help to tidy toys away. This ensures that they are gaining vital skills in preparation for the next stage in their learning, such as school. Children are proud of their achievements and the praise the childminder gives them. She helps to create links between home and her care by having a 'let's talk' display of children's family photographs, and uses this to help children settle and develop their language skills. Children's language development is further enhanced with stories and the use of props and story sacks. They sit and listen attentively as the childminder reads a favourite story about a bear. The childminder brings the story alive for children as they act out the scene. She takes them by the hand, whispering the end of the story as

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who attend

they walk to the hallway, pretending they are going into a dark cave and, suddenly with excitement and laughter, run back into the room pretending the bear is chasing them.

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who attend

The childminder effectively supports children to follow their interests. For example, she is aware children like being outdoors and plans daily outdoor sessions in the play area across the road, where children have more space to move around. She takes wheeled toys, balls and a parachute for children to play with. She makes good use of the garden for children to enjoy active physical play on trampolines and to explore nature as they hunt for bugs. There is a good range of equipment to encourage them to climb, balance and move in different ways. The very good communication between the childminder and parents means that parents are equally able to continue to build upon their children's learning at home. She uses a daily diary to record children's activities and routines, and parents access their children's learning journals. As a result, children experience continuity and make very good progress in their learning and development.

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

Children have a secure attachment with the childminder, who knows them well and encourages them to form good friendships with each other. The childminder is a positive role model and sets good examples by encouraging them to be helpful, kind and polite, and she talks to them in a calm manner. She teaches children to be respectful of people's differences, as they explore other cultures through planned activities. Children learn about the wider world as they have access to a range of resources that reflect positive images of diversity, such as dressing up costumes and small world figures. In addition, they taste a range of cultural food from around the world, which helps them to learn about others.

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

The childminder takes children to the local toddler group and regularly meets up with another childminder in each other's homes. This enables children to meet up and play with other children and make new friends, which supports their personal and social development well. Children's behaviour is good and the childminder consistently offers words of praise for their achievements, which promotes their self-esteem.

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

Children receive positive support and encouragement to learn about leading healthy lifestyles and keeping safe. From a young age, they recognise the need to follow good personal hygiene routines to help reduce the risk of the spread of germs. The childminder maintains effective hygiene procedures, wearing protective clothing when changing nappies and providing children with paper towels for hand drying. This helps to reduce risks of cross-infection. Children bring healthy, nutritious packed lunches from home, which the childminder stores appropriately. They make healthy choices as they eat strawberries, blackberries and blueberries for snack, as well as benefiting from regular drinks throughout the day. Children understand about their own safety because they regularly practise fire drills. They learn about potential risks around them and how to adapt their play to keep them safe. For example, when on outings they learn about

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

Children understand rules and expected behaviours, such as tidying toys away when they have finished playing with them. The childminder provides effective support for children preparing for their transition to school, for example, through discussion, activities and school visits as necessary. Children enjoy coming to the childminder's home because she provides a welcoming and stimulating learning environment. A good range of toys and resources in the designated playroom ensure that the children are able to make choices for themselves, which supports their independence.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a secure knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She demonstrates a good awareness of the seven areas of learning and plans activities well. Therefore, children make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities with regard to safeguarding children. She has a written safeguarding policy, which details what action she would take if she did have a concern, and has updated her policy to include the use of mobile phones and cameras. Risk assessments are comprehensive and implemented, and take account of all areas which children have access to. The process is effective in identifying and minimising risks to children because the childminder carries out daily checks and records these. The childminder monitors her practice through self-evaluation. She is fully aware of her

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provision

strengths and the areas that she wishes to develop to further improve the quality of care she provides for children. The childminder seeks the views of parents by sending out regular questionnaires. She seeks children's ideas by monitoring their enjoyment of activities and encouraging older children to use the comments box. She actively seeks further training to continue to develop her knowledge and skills. This means that she is able to continuously improve her practice, to the direct benefit of children in her care. She has recently qualified as a teaching assistant and is training to become a special educational needs worker. Parents speak highly of the childminder. They praise how happy and settled their children are and how much they look forward to attending. The childminder is aware of the importance of working with others in order to meet the needs of each child, and is able to seek advice and support from other professionals or agencies

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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 EY103111 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 916487 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 2

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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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