Childminder in Durham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/07/2013 02/12/2008

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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

 The welcoming, exciting and stimulating environment and the childminder's friendly approach helps children to settle and enjoy their time in her care.  The childminder has a very good understanding of how children learn, which ensures that each child is fully supported in making good progress in their learning and development.  Very good relationships with parents have been formed. The childminder shares and exchanges information about children's care on a daily basis, to ensure their welfare needs are met well.  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.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to even further develop partnerships with other settings and schools, to ensure continuity of experiences between all providers so that children are supported even more effectively.

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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 spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and completed a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder's documentation, including the childminder's policies and records.  The inspector observed activities and spoke to children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with two children aged nine and six years in a house in the Garden Farm area of Chester-le-Street and uses the dedicated playrooms, the lounge dining rooms and the rear garden for childminding. She attends a childminder group and the local children's centre. The childminder visits the local shops and park 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 nine children on roll, four are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions and five are school-age children who attend before and after school. She is open all year round from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays.

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

 reflect on and further develop ways to strengthen the relationships with other early years providers to ensure children's learning is fully complemented.

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who attend

The childminder has a very good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and how young children learn. She uses the settling-in process to obtain detailed information from parents about their child's learning, care and daily routine. She also observes children when they start, to gain additional details of their starting points in each area of learning. The childminder builds a picture of their abilities from which to assess and plan children's next steps in development across each of the areas of learning. Throughout the week she plans a range of activities with clear aims and objectives to further support children in making good progress in their learning and development as well as their readiness for school when the time comes.

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who attend

The childminder encourages children to make choices within their play and responds to what they want to do. She recognises the short concentration span of younger children and responds well to this, readily changing or extending activities. The childminder provides a varied range of resources, many within easy reach, allowing children to choose their toys. She fosters young children's communication and language development well and, as a result, children are able to communicate their thoughts and ideas with increasingly clear pronunciation. For example, the childminder promotes conversation about the weather, talking about how the wind makes leaves in the tree moves, and extends this to encouraging children to see if the weather is warm enough for the newly- hatched chickens to go outside. Through these activities children develop an exceptional understanding of how to care for living things and are able to recall in detail the lifecycle

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who attend

of chickens and butterflies, both of which she has incubated. The childminder provides lots of resources and activities to extend children's use of language and mathematics, and written observations show that they can describe many colours, numbers, positions, shapes and sizes. Young children, through the use of the many interactive toys available, are able to listen to sounds as they press buttons, turn knobs and play with a wide range of musical instruments. This helps children begin to develop an understanding of how things work.

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who attend

Children enjoy each other's company as they play together. The childminder encourages children's personal, social and emotional development. She values children's interests through encouraging their choices and responds to their ideas and interests. For example, when children arrive they have freedom to choose activities and are able to move freely from inside to outside. This engages the children on arrival and helps them to settle and feel secure. The childminder provides children with daily opportunities for energetic play encouraging young children to play outdoors, and she attends some groups in the locality. In addition, she plans interesting and stimulating outings on a regular basis and children are able to learn about other cultures as they spend time in the local community.

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who attend

The childminder ensures that at the end of each day she has time to talk freely with parents about a range of issues from the day. In addition, the childminder uses text messaging to keep parents informed. She encourages parents to make suggestions about the setting and is keen to be kept up to date with learning at home, to allow her to extend and act on these achievements. This ensures that parents are kept extremely well informed about, and involved in, their child's care and education.

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

The childminder provides a warm, welcoming and friendly environment for all children. Good settling-in procedures allow her to get to know the child and supports the child in becoming familiar with the childminder. She encourages their independence so they can take a role in routines and play activities. For example, children are encouraged to dress independently to go outdoors and help to tidy away toys. Her use of praise and encouragement enables children to develop very high levels of self-esteem. As a result, children are becoming more independent and have an ability to manage their own behaviour. They are also encouraged to use good manners, with prompts of 'please' and 'thank you'.

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

Consistent routines are followed to help children develop a sense of belonging and to promote continuity of care. As a result, children are gaining a sense of security. Children have built close attachments and bonds with the childminder and are supported appropriately to develop, learn and be ready for the next stage in their learning. This also means they are prepared for their future learning and eventual transition into school. Children benefit from the childminder's good support to learn about how to keep themselves and others safe. The childminder has procedures in place for fire drills and her risk assessments cover all potential hazards. For example, children know how to use the stairs safely.

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

The childminder recognises the benefits to children of having fresh air and access to natural environments with plenty of space for play and exercise. As a result, she ensures that children have daily access to outdoors. This means their physical development is promoted well as children are able to walk, run and use the see saw and trampoline with confidence. The childminder fosters children's social development through discussion and encouraging them to share toys with each other and to help tidy up after their play. Children are provided with a healthy diet and are encouraged to have good regard for their personal hygiene. The childminder provides a range of healthy meals and snacks, which are freshly prepared. If possible, the childminder encourages children to help to prepare snacks of sandwiches, choosing their fillings and variations. This encourages children to try a variety of foods. All meals are served to children in a social setting,

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

therefore developing social and interpersonal skills.

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provision

The childminder has a clear understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Her understanding of how children learn enables her to plan effectively for each child's individual learning needs. As a result, she consistently plans activities that cover all areas of learning, which support and enhance children's skills. She monitors the activities she provides, including their success and enjoyment, and makes necessary changes to bring about improvement. She is committed to her role and is providing children with high levels of care and teaching. She intends to extend her knowledge through attending training and continuously looks for areas for improvement.

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provision

The childminder has written policies, which inform parents of her responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This inspection was carried out following an incident where the provider failed to notify Ofsted of a change in circumstances. A welfare requirement notice was issued. The childminder is aware of when to notify Ofsted of any significant changes that may have an impact on the quality of care that she provides for children, including anything relating to her own suitability. The childminder demonstrates through discussions and activities with the children that she remains suitable for registration. She demonstrates a professional knowledge of the child protection procedures, including how to respond and who to contact if she has a concern about a child or an allegation is made. The childminder effectively risk assesses both her home and the venues used for outings so that hazards

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provision

are minimised for children. She has a secure knowledge about the required ratios and how to supervise children to maintain their safety.

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provision

The childminder establishes very good partnerships with parents and fully understands the value of working closely with other professionals if the need arises. However, there is scope to further develop relationships with other early years settings to complement the care and education offered even further. The childminder has detailed discussions with parents at the start and end of each day. They are able to choose if they would like written daily diaries, which include accounts of their child's day. In this way, communication with parents is well established and promotes the needs of the children.

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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 EY376508 Local authority Durham Inspection number 924209 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 9

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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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