Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/07/2013 13/12/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children develop their language and communication as they access a suitable range of books and sing songs, both in English and their home language, Urdu.  Children receive suitable levels of support and one to interaction because the childminder and her assistant work well together to satisfactorily support children's learning.  Children learn about their community through daily outings to local parks and pre- school groups, which helps them to socialise and make new friends with both adults and children.

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It is not yet good because

 Observations and assessments are not always used effectively to gather enough information about individual children so that they are always supported to make the best progress in their learning and development.  Children do not have enough opportunities to write for different purposes with a suitable range of resources to support their interest in writing.  There is scope to improve children's understanding of the importance of consistent hygiene routines.  The current system for self-evaluation is not sufficiently robust because it does not identify some areas for development or include parents' views.

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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 the childminder engaging in a range of indoor learning activities, play and daily care routines with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, her assistant and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journals, documentation, and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at areas used by the children, such as the kitchen, front room and garden.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two adult children in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The childminder works with an assistant.

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Information about the setting

There are currently three children on roll, of whom one is in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. Older children attend before and after school. The childminder operates all year round from 6am to 10pm, Monday to Sunday, except for family holidays. She attends a childminding group and is part of the local childminding network. She visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools, both on foot and in her vehicle.

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must:

 make better use of ongoing observation and assessment of each child's progress, and use this information to plan the next steps in their learning to ensure activities clearly match future learning needs, to enable children to make the best possible progress

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

 extend opportunities for children to write for different purposes, and expand on the range of resources to support their early writing skills

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

 provide more opportunities for children to learn about and adopt good hygiene practices, for example, by ensuring that hand washing routines are consistently implemented

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

 extend the system for improvement and self-evaluation by more accurately identifying and planning for all future priorities, and give parents the opportunity to share their views.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistant both observe children to generally identify what they need to do next, and record observations in the different learning areas and age bands. This helps to track children's progress to ensure all seven areas are covered adequately. However, the childminder does not always use this information from her observations and assessments to plan for the next step in children's learning. As a result, some activities are not planned well enough to support the next stage in children's learning. Furthermore, although children ask for some activities which they see older play with, these are not always appropriate for them to help them make the best possible progress. For example, children ask to play with flash cards where they learn about colours and words. However, the large quantity of cards makes children lose interest and, as a result, they do not engage as well in their learning.

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who attend

The childminder uses some effective methods to help children learn. For example, she joins in their play and asks questions to stimulate their thinking. She talks to them both in English and Urdu to support their communication and understanding. For example, children enjoy songs and rhymes in their home language, which supports their learning in English. Children look at books with the childminder, which further supports their language development. They learn about numbers and size as they stack plastic containers inside each other. The assistant extends their learning by suggesting children stack them upside down, which supports their problems solving skills as they work out in which order to stack all the containers. Children learn about colours and shapes as they look at books and play with construction toys. They develop their creativity and learn about textures as they play with and play dough. Children pretend to roll out chapatis on a board, and the

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who attend

childminder asks children to count them, which supports their skills in adding up. Children show interest in mark making as they ask the assistant to write words on a sticky note so they can copy. However, there are not enough opportunities or resources for children to extend their interest and write for different purposes to support this aspect of their learning.

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who attend

Children have suitable opportunities to continue their learning at home. For example, the childminder talks to parents about activities children enjoy at the setting. She makes suggestions about how they can support their children's attentions skills, which will help to support their learning and help them prepare for school. Children learn to be independent as they help themselves to toys from the floor and from the front room. They use the toilet on the ground floor and enjoy attending pre-school groups where they socialise with other children. This helps children obtain the skills they need for the next stage in their learning, such as starting nursery or school. Children develop skills in their balance and coordination as they use the swings, slide and the climbing equipment in the park.

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

Children are happy and have close relationships with the childminder and her assistant. They feel secure and develop a sense of belonging because the childminder collects and makes use of information about their individual needs, which includes the language they speak at home, their routines and interests. The childminder uses this information to help children feel comfortable and settle with her in her home.

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

Overall, children maintain a healthy lifestyle. The childminder provides a suitable range of meals and snacks which meet children's dietary needs, such as a Halal diet. They enjoy familiar meals which consist of rice and chapati, which supports their cultural requirements. However, despite washing their hands before lunch, prior to snacks children are not encouraged to wash their hands. This does not support them to learn about the importance of consistent good personal hygiene and how to promote their own good health. They go on daily walks and outings in the local community where they benefit from the fresh air. They enjoy trips to local parks and shops, and attend local groups where they socialise with other children. This also helps them to learn to deal with new situations, such as familiarising themselves with a new environment while in the care of a trusted adult and making new friends. In turn, this also helps to prepare children for the

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

next stage in their learning and for their eventual transition to school.

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

Children learn about keeping themselves safe as they practise regular fire drills, which helps them to understand what they need to do in an emergency situation. They also learn about road safety when they are on outings. They know they must not run off from the childminder and that they need to cross at the traffic lights to help keep them safe. There are a suitable range of age-appropriate toys and equipment in the front room, which support children's interests and learning. Toys are stored on the floor so that children can make choices about their play. Children learn about positive behaviour as they share and take turns with toys and games. For example, they take part in card games where they learn to wait for their turn and consider each other. They receive regular praise and encouragement from the childminder and her assistant.

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provision

The childminder and her assistant both have an appropriate knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities relating to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which helps to keep children safe and promote their welfare. The childminder understands the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm, and has a clear safeguarding procedure to follow. Children are cared for in a safe and secure home where suitable risk assessments and daily checks help to prevent accidents and ensure children's safety is promoted. For example, all cables and pipes in the lounge have been made safe with covers.

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provision

Parents receive daily verbal feedback about children's care and learning, which keeps them adequately informed of their children's progress. Suitable partnerships are developing with other carers, such as the nursery school. For example, a diary is in place to help with communication between the two settings and to support and extend children's learning. For example, children learn about different animals at nursery, and this information is passed on to the childminder so she is able to extend and support children's learning while they are in her care. In addition to this, the childminder provides an adequate range of play opportunities to help children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. However, sometimes observations and assessments are not used accurately to inform the next stage in children's learning. This means that the educational programme is sometimes not precisely matched to individual children's needs

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provision

and, therefore, children do not make the best possible progress.

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provision

Although the system for self-evaluation is in the early stages, the childminder works well with her assistant and together they have identified some areas for further development to help improve the educational programme. This includes accessing further training and support from the local authority early years adviser. Since the last inspection the childminder has improved some areas of her practice, such as using observations to generally identify the next steps in children's learning, and planning around children's interests to support their learning. However, she is yet to consider how to extend these improvements further to better support children's progress. In addition, some areas identified for development at inspection have been overlooked because self-evaluation is not fully robust. That said, the childminder has identified she would like to improve her written English to help her record observations more accurately. Although she talks to

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provision

parents and children regularly, she is yet to use their views to identify areas for development within her childminding provision.

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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 EY430011 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 899846 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 3

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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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