Childminder in Sefton

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/07/2013 22/03/2011

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder is not effective in evaluating her provision and practice, and has not identified and put in place all the requirements of her registration.  Not all required records are consistently completed or organised to ensure that necessary information is available and immediately accessible. For example, children's attendance is not recorded, and written parental permission, which must be obtained for outings, cannot be evidenced.  There are weaknesses in the quality of the educational programme and the quality of the teaching and learning.  Parents are not kept fully informed of how the Early Years Foundation Stage is being delivered, details of the policies and procedures or how they can share what they know about the child at home.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder has a friendly, warm relationship with children and their parents.  Children gain an understanding of the world while on outings in the community. They learn to socialise with other children when they attend local groups.

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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 indoors and outdoors and snack time in the kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the childminder about her practice, policies and records and the children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the childminder's first aid certificate and the few documents available.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1993 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, three adult children and her grandchild aged 18 months in a house in Formby, Merseyside. She sometimes works with an assistant. Most of the ground floor is used for childminding. The rear garden is used for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends toddler groups. She takes children to and collects them from local schools and pre-schools. There are currently eight children on roll, five of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 8am 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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must:

 maintain all records and keep them easily accessible and available to ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting and to help ensure the needs of all children are met

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must:

 ensure records of written parental permission for outings are available

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must:

 keep a daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching and learning by observing what children do and how they learn, assessing each child's progress across all seven areas of learning, and building on what children know and can do

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must:

 improve the quality of information exchanged with parents, in particular: provide information on how the Early Years Foundation Stage is being delivered; provide details of the policies and procedures; and enable parents and carers to share what they know about their child's learning at home.

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

 evaluate practice against the requirements of the Statutory framework of Early Years Foundation Stage and secure continuous improvement that improves children's life skills.

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who attend

The childminder has a vague knowledge of the seven areas of learning in the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a consequence, she does not purposefully plan activities to promote children's development in all areas of learning. While children are seen to be broadly working within the developmental milestones, planning is not systematic enough to challenge children or help them make the most of the resources. Observations and assessment are not frequent or accurate enough to build on children's progress. However, the childminder has some awareness of children's abilities as they have been attending the setting for some time. She plays alongside children and chats with them, which increases their vocabulary and communication skills. She encourages children to count items and name shapes, which supports the development of some aspects of their mathematical skills. Learning journey records, although, introduced before the last inspection, are not

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who attend

fully established to indicate how the children are progressing in all areas of learning. Children's progress is not sufficiently tracked to know how much progress they are making, which limits the ability to implement any action where children may be falling behind.

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who attend

Parents are not purposefully informed about the Early Years Foundation Stage or actively encouraged to share information about their children's learning and development at home. The childminder shares information with parents about their children's care and daily activities. However, insufficient information is currently available to keep them sufficiently informed about their children's progress. This means parents are not fully engaged in their children's development and learning and children are not well prepared for school or their next stage of learning.

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who attend

Children attend a variety of groups in the morning where they access a range of equipment, which provide opportunities for developing in expressive arts and design and physical development. For example, children play instruments and sing songs and rhymes and are able to join craft activities. They use sit and ride toys and practise climbing skills on frames and balancing skills on the school trim trail. In the afternoon, children have ready access to drawing and writing equipment and to some toys set out by the childminder in her home. She changes these toys from a wider stored selection to add variety and to meet any requests made by children. Children occupy themselves, for instance, they sit on the garden chairs and look at books and play imaginatively with the construction crane and vehicles. For much of the time, the childminder or her assistant play alongside children and support them as they play. However, the childminder does not

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who attend

make the most of resources or plan activities or questions to challenge children. This impacts on children's ability to make good progress in their learning.

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who attend

Children are beginning to observe the world around them as they go for walks in the local area. They also regularly visit the library, which introduces a love of reading and positively supports their literacy skills. Children enjoy some craft activities relating to their own culture, for example, they draw around their feet and glue materials on the shape to make a collage for Father's day. Their awareness of different cultures is raised through listening to stories in books and colouring-in pictures.

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

The childminder obtains information from parents about children's allergies, special dietary requirements and anything they like or dislike. She uses this information to effectively meet children's dietary and care needs. Children enjoy a warm, caring relationship with the childminder and relate well to each other.

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

Children develop positive attitudes to exercise as they engage in a variety of physical activities. They practise climbing skills on equipment at the park and they play physical games in the garden. Childminder drives children to and from school. Children develop dexterity through handling and joining small pieces in construction sets. Children enjoy a balanced menu, for example, ham, cheese cubes and fruit as a snack and pasta meat balls as a cooked meal. Appropriate hygiene and safety practices are encouraged, for example, children wash their hands before eating and young children are encouraged to wipe their own faces after eating. Children learn about keeping themselves safe, as they regularly practise evacuations of the home. They learn about road safety as they operate the Pelican crossing when on outings in the local area. The childminder keeps her home secure in and outdoors. Toys are of good quality, although, not used well enough to provide challenge

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

for children. Children's social skills develop steadily through the relationships they have with other children at the groups they attend. Children are broadly prepared for the next stage in their learning in some respects. The childminder plays games to help their concentration. She also promotes an interest in reading and counting in preparation for school.

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provision

The childminder has an insufficient knowledge and understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She does not sufficiently monitor and evaluate her practice; consequently, there are some breaches of the specific legal requirements, which compromise children's welfare and their learning and development. Some weaknesses also impact on older children who are cared for under the Childcare Register.

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provision

The childminder has many years of experience in the care of children. She assesses risks in her home and organises space so children can move around freely and safely. She takes practical steps to ensure that children are safe indoors and outside and that furniture, equipment and toys are suitable and safe. Toys are suitable for the age of the children playing, although, activities lack challenge. This is because systems for observing what children can do, assessing their progress and planning for their next steps, are unclear. This makes it difficult to see what progress children are making or implement any action where children may be falling behind. Following the last inspection, the childminder has not met the recommendation to make greater use of the information provided not only by observations and assessments but also by parents and other settings to strengthen the planning. On the contrary, she has abandoned previously used systems for planning and

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provision

assessment. The childminder is aware that currently she does not fulfil her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements. Her records and documents are not maintained. At inspection, the childminder was not able to provide any record keeping systems. There is no record kept of children's attendance and other records, policies and procedures are not available for inspection.

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provision

The childminder has previously undertaken training in child protection and has recently refreshed her knowledge through online training. She has a basic understanding of the procedures to follow if she is concerned a child is being abused. Children are seen to behave well at the inspection with sensitive interactions from the childminder and her assistant. Partnerships with parents are sociable. However, records completed by parents with information about their child are not readily available for use.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 310741 Local authority Sefton Inspection number 926906 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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