Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/06/2013 11/02/2011

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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 demonstrates a good understanding of her responsibilities with regard to the welfare and safeguarding requirements. Consequently, children are cared for in an environment that promotes their safety and well-being.  Secure attachments are seen as a result of the warm interactions between the childminder and children.  Children have an enthusiastic approach to learning and there are good levels of engagement which ignites children's interest and creativity.  Children are provided with lots of opportunities to support their physical development and access the outdoors on a regular basis. This contributes towards their overall good health.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to further develop the effectiveness of self-evaluation by capturing the views of parents in order to enhance continuous improvement.  The learning opportunities have not yet been fully developed to help young children to understand the feelings of others, such as happiness or sadness.

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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 looked at children's records, observation and assessment files, planning documentation and a selection of policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at different times, taking into account the needs of the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parent's views, through written documentation they had provided for the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made observations of the children while they were engaged in activities in the childminder's home.

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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. She lives with her husband and their child in a house in the residential area of Stakeford, Choppington, Northumberland. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has one pet dog. The childminder attends activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and parks on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently eight children on roll,of whom three are in the early years age group and all attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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

 develop the learning opportunities further to help young children to understand the feelings of others by labelling emotions, such as happiness or sadness

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

 enhance further parents involvement in the evaluation of the provision, to ensure children's overall needs are continuously improved upon.

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who attend

The childminder has a secure knowledge of how children learn; therefore children are making good progress in their learning and development. She successfully builds on children's initiated play to plan for their learning and progression; this fosters children's enthusiasm and eagerness to learn. In addition, the childminder provides a very well- resourced and effectively organised and stimulating learning environment which enables children to make safe and independent choices in their play. Children's individual learning journals, which contain photographs, observations and examples of their work, demonstrate that they are working well within the typical range of development expected for their age and are making good progress in their overall learning.

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who attend

Children are fully focused and attentive towards the childminder who responds to them with kindness, warmth and purposeful care. Therefore, children are confident to initiate their own play are eager to learn and willing to try things out for themselves. For example, they successfully complete jigsaw puzzles, making reference to the shapes they create and pictures displayed. They display good hand and eye coordination and smile with pleasure as they succeed. They are confident to communicate and initiate conversation, and skilfully identify the various colours of the play dough. The childminder listens to them carefully and sensitively repeats words back to them which supports them in the correct pronunciation of words and further aids their language development. Children have many opportunities to be active and regularly engage in physical play. They discuss the recent trip to the park where they fed the ducks on the river and also demonstrate their good

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who attend

recall skills as they discuss their observations of baby geese. Children demonstrate very good levels of concentration and have an enthusiastic approach to learning. Technology resources are available for children which they recognise. They enthusiastically incorporate them into their play, successfully developing their keyboard skills on the toy computers they use. This all ensures children effectively develop the key skills they need for the next steps in their learning when they attend school.

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who attend

Parents have access to a broad range of information including well written policies and procedures. The childminder gathers relevant information from parents about their child's interests and activities they enjoy at home,through regular discussions and settling in visits. Learning journals, as well as daily discussions are used to inform and discuss ideas on how parents can extend their children's learning at home. In addition, toys and resources are regularly shared between the childminder and children's home which helps to extend children's continued learning and interests. Parents provide positive comments on the care their children are provided with stating; the childminder demonstrates extremely high standards and is kind, caring and welcoming towards their children.

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

Children are happy, enjoy what they are doing and show very good levels of confidence and self-esteem. Through the childminders effective settling-in procedures and because she shares detailed information with parents, the childminder has developed strong and positive attachments with the children. She has appropriate systems in place to assess children's development and to support the smooth transition between home and her care. Children approach her for comfort and reassurance and she responds to them with warmth and purposeful care. The childminder encourages children's independence appropriate to their ages, for example, they dress and care for the dolls which provides them with good opportunities to practise skills in caring for themselves, such as dressing and washing themselves independently. This develops their good understanding of their own self-care. In addition, children choose what they want to play with from the broad

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

range of resources and activities, which are set out on child-sized furniture and in low- level storage units. Consequently, children are active learners.

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

Children learn about appropriate behaviour and the importance of being kind to others through daily routines and discussions held with the childminder. She explains to them how they must share and take turns and consistently praises and encourages reinforcing good behaviour. The childminder has realistic expectations of children's behaviour which results in behaviour which is very good. However, there is scope for further improvement to help children consider feelings of others, as well as themselves. Healthy snacks, meals and drinks are provided, and children are provided with sufficient time for rest and relaxation as well as exercise. They have good opportunities to support their physical development as they visit local parks and enjoy walks around the local community. These opportunities also provide experiences for children outside the home which enhances their curiosity about the world in which they live.

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

Children learn about keeping themselves safe and happily tidy away activities to ensure safe clear floor space. They carefully handle the small knives they use whilst cutting up the play dough and discuss how they hold onto the buggy whilst walking outdoors. In addition, on-going risk assessments ensure accidents are minimised to further ensure children's safety.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of her responsibility in meeting the safeguarding, welfare, learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. To ensure she has a clear picture of children's abilities, skills and knowledge she makes effective use of observation, as well as gathering relevant information from parents. The efficient monitoring of the educational programmes ensures that the childminder is confident in the delivery of an effective range of experiences that are planned to help children make progress across the prime and specific areas of learning. She demonstrates a good understanding towards monitoring and evaluating her service and recognises further training will continue to support her in making progress. For example, she values the support and advice provided by Local Authority development workers in ensuring she continues to provide a safe environment in

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provision

which children can learn. Recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. However, there is scope to extend evaluation, by developing her procedures to include parental views and opinions in the evaluation of her service.

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provision

Through having a good knowledge of child protection issues, such as the signs of abuse and neglect, the childminder effectively protects children from harm. This includes having a secure understanding of what she must do if she has any concerns, such as knowing which agencies she must report these concerns to. The childminder has completed appropriate first aid training and this enables her to care appropriately for children should they become ill or in the event of any accidents. Detailed risk assessments successfully identify dangers and the appropriate steps to take to eliminate risk and keep children safe and secure.

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provision

The childminder actively encourages shared learning and works with parents to support children's ongoing learning. Through daily discussions, written observations and shared use of resources, she provides information on what children can do, and what activities can be done to support their ongoing progression of learning. Good partnerships are being developed to support children's progression to nursery. For example, they have visited their new class teacher and regularly participate in activities held at school. In addition, they look at books describing a school day and join in with group activities. This helps children to be emotionally and socially ready for their move to other settings and school.

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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 507037 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 921082 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 8

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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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