Childminder in Essex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/07/2013 25/11/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children form close relationships with the childminder. They are settled and secure because the childminder has effective systems for settling children in to her care.  Children are appropriately safeguarded as the childminder regularly updates her safeguarding knowledge and has clear policies and procedures in place.  The childminder works well with parents, involving them in their children's learning and taking account of their wishes and requirements for their children.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder lacks some knowledge of how children learn and as a result, the educational programme lacks depth and breadth in some areas. For example, children have limited opportunities to express themselves creatively or imaginatively in the childminder's home.  The educational programme does not always take account of children's preferred learning styles. In particular, by providing regular access to a wide variety of outdoor learning experiences. The learning environment is not conducive to allowing the childminder to follow children's emerging curiosity.  Systems for monitoring the educational programme are not robust enough to identify gaps in the childminder's provision and to consider the learning styles and needs of individual children.

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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 lounge and viewed all areas of the home used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of records including children's personal details, information about their learning and development, planning, accident and medication records, written policies and other relevant documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of a number of parents who provided written feedback for the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1991 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three adult children in a house in Chelmsford, Essex. The whole of the childminder's home is used for childminding.

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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 meets up with other registered childminders on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools and pre- schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently eight children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7.15am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childminders and Early Years.

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must:

 improve the educational programmes to take account of children's preferred learning styles. In particular, provide regular access to a wide variety of outdoor learning experiences

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must:

 ensure all areas of learning and development are implemented through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities. For example, by providing activities, which promote children's free expression, creativity and promote mathematical concepts.

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

 develop the learning environment to ensure that it is stimulating, well-resourced and welcoming, both indoors and outdoors to support children's all round development and emotional well-being

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

 review systems for monitoring the educational programme, to ensure that it is robust enough to clearly identify gaps in the educational provision and to effectively consider each child's style of learning.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with a suitable range of developmentally appropriate toys and play equipment. She plans an adequate selection of activities to generally support children's learning and development. While the childminder demonstrates some knowledge of how children learn, she does not take account of children's preferred learning styles. In particular she does not provide regular access to a wide variety of outdoor learning experiences. The childminder observes children's achievements and plots their progress using tracker books. This provides her with a clear assessment of their stages of development and what next steps she expects them to reach. The childminder has implemented the requirement regarding the progress check at age two. She effectively assesses children of this age and shares her findings with their parents.

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who attend

Children's personal, social and emotional development is promoted as the childminder regularly takes them to activity sessions at the local children's centre. They learn to share and co-operate and make friends with other children attending. Younger children are provided with appropriate opportunities to experience natural and household objects when they explore a selection of treasure baskets, some of which contain fresh fruit and vegetables. Puzzles and shape sorters enable children to consider space and shape. Younger children's emerging language development is extended by the childminder encouraging them to name objects and to repeat words. She encourages older children to share their thoughts and to talk in large and small groups.

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who attend

Children are provided with fewer opportunities to express themselves creatively and imaginatively. For example, the childminder has some dolls and baby resources, however, has limited dressing up clothes or role play resources available for children to fully engage in imaginative play. Children have few opportunities to learn about planting and growing or to freely explore nature and the natural world. Children participate in some cooking activities, however, these are not effectively planned to enable children to fully explore weight and measurement, so at to learn early mathematical concepts. For example, they mix melted cooking chocolate with cereals to make chocolate crispy cakes. However, do not make cakes by weighing the ingredients and observing the changes the ingredients go through during the baking process.

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who attend

Children are appropriately prepared for their next stages of learning. For example, the childminder prepares them for 'big school' by encouraging some independence, such as putting their own coats and shoes on. She talks to them about the new experiences they will encounter and younger children become familiar with the school building when they take and collect older children from school on a daily basis.

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

Children form close and caring relationships with the childminder and her family. This is assisted through the childminder's clear settling-in systems. Parents and children are encouraged to visit the childminder a number of times prior to their starting date. These meetings enable the parents and childminder to discuss children's needs, likes and dislikes. It provides opportunities for the childminder to bond with the children and for the parents to feel confident when the time comes to leave their children. The childminder is guided by parents with regards to the settling in period and will visit children in their own home if she feels this will strengthen the trust between them and assist with a smoother transition between home and the childminder's setting. Children are well-behaved and understand the childminder's boundaries and rules as the childminder reminds them in a clear and positive way.

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

Children's safety is given priority within the childminder's care, as she conducts effective risk assessments of her provision and encourages children to consider safety when on outings and trips. Children are beginning to develop an understanding about keeping healthy as the childminder generally encourages them to eat healthy snacks and meals. Children are provided with some opportunities to experience fresh air and exercise when the childminder takes them to a field, which is situated almost next to her house. They also visit local parks and playgrounds on a regular basis. Children are not however, provided with good opportunities to make choices about whether they play indoors or outdoors, as the childminder does not consistently use her garden as a learning environment. While the childminder's home is secure and offers appropriate amounts of space for children to move around in, the organisation of the premises may not always

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

support children's emerging skills and interests well. For example, she rarely offers dough play, as her main play area is carpeted and in the past she has found it difficult to remove dough, which sticks to the carpet.

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

Children are appropriately prepared for the transitions in their life, for example, they learn to be confident around new people, as the childminder regularly takes them to local activity sessions and centres.

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provision

The childminder provides children with a programme of activities, which generally enable them to make appropriate progress. However, this lacks rigor with regards to covering all aspects of learning. While the childminder has some systems in place for reviewing and monitoring her educational programme, her procedures are not robust enough to enable her to identify the gaps in her provision or to effectively consider the learning needs of all children. This means that some children are not fully benefitting from their early years experiences.

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provision

Children are effectively protected from harm, as the childminder demonstrates good knowledge of safeguarding issues and the procedures to follow to keep children safe. She regularly updates her knowledge through appropriate training courses and discusses new guidance with other registered childminders and childcare professionals. All adults living on the premises are vetted and proof of their suitability checks are available to inspect. Effective risk assessment procedures mean that children play in a secure environment and remain safe while on outings and trips.

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provision

The childminder is beginning to evaluate her provision through reflective practice and self- evaluation. She uses this to identify training needs and to seek the views of parents and children. The childminder has addressed all actions and recommendations set at previous inspections and works with the Local Authority Development Officer to evaluate her provision. The childminder is committed to improving her childcare knowledge through appropriate training courses, however, does not always implement her new knowledge effectively. For example, she has attended a training course on promoting an enabling environment, however, her current use of and organisation of her home does not effectively enable her to follow children's individual interests or ideas.

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provision

The childminder has a very good relationship with parents and feels that her partnership working is a real strength of her provision. A number of parents have contributed towards the inspection by providing written references and feedback on the childminder's service. These are all very complimentary of her provision and many comment on the professional way in which she cares for their children. Links with other early years provisions which children attend are in place and promote effective partnership working.

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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 560173 Local authority Essex Inspection number 877281 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

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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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