Childminder in Nottinghamshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/07/2013 11/10/2011

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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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder lacks a full understanding of the welfare and safeguarding requirements as she has committed an offence by not notifying Ofsted of an assistant who works with children. This results in full suitability checks not being undertaken on this individual, which compromises children's safety.  Children's health and safety is not always protected. This is because the childminder does not maintain information on the assistant's first aid certificate or her car insurance cover details to verify these are in place. Records relating to children's attendance are also not accurately recorded to show how adult-to-child ratios are met.  Parents have not given their consent for the assistant to be left in sole charge of their children. This results in the childminder not always working effectively with parents to ensure children's needs are met.  Children's hand-washing practices during the daily routine do not always support their

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This provision is inadequate

growing independence with washing and drying their own hands.

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It has the following strengths

 Children's learning and development is skilfully promoted. The childminder holds Qualified Teacher Status and as such, she creates purposeful learning experiences in line with children's interests and developmental needs. This helps them to make progress in all areas of learning.

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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 and care practices in the ground floor rooms and in the outside play area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the children and the childminder during the course of the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at planning, observation and assessment records, as well as other relevant documentation including records of attendance and documents relating to the suitability of individuals working with children.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the childminder.

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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 in a house in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. The whole of the ground floor, a bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden is used for childminding.

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Information about the setting

The childminder works with an assistant and when working together the number of children being cared for can be increased. There are currently 14 children on roll, 12 of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder supports a number of children with English as an additional language. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for personal holidays and she collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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must:

 obtain permission from parents and/or carers to allow their children to be left in sole charge of an assistant for up to two hours at most in a single day

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must:

 ensure assistants hold a current paediatric first aid certificate if they are left in sole charge of children

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must:

 ensure the attendance register accurately records children's arrival and departure times, as well as details of when the assistant works with the childminder, to verify that the required adult-to-child ratios are continually met

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must:

 ensure information relating to insurance cover for the use of all vehicles used to transport children is maintained to verify this is in place and sufficient to safeguard children.

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

 improve the organisation of hand-washing practices during the daily routine to especially support older children's growing independence with washing and drying their hands.

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who attend

Children's learning and development is promoted well in all areas of learning. Activities and play experiences are planned around children's interests and developmental needs. As the childminder holds Qualified Teacher Status, she skilfully recognises the learning potential of children's play. This enables her to instantly link activities to the areas of learning, to identify each child's next steps and adapt experiences to promote the inclusion of all children. For example, the childminder is aware that two children of differing ages are interested in water play. The younger child is more interested in things that spin and turn so the childminder enhances their play by sourcing water wheels. She actively engages the child through her interaction, helping them to learn how to pour water over the wheel to make it turn. This promotes their understanding of the world and their physical skills. Whereas for the older child, the childminder incorporates counting and

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who attend

words, such as 'big', 'bigger', 'smaller', 'up' and 'over' as she engages with this child. This extends the child's learning by supporting their awareness of mathematical language. The childminder further challenges children by questioning them as they play. Children's learning is continually promoted through planned activities and the provision of hands-on learning experiences. For example, when singing about five little ducks, the childminder finds fish and ducks to put into water for children to see objects that they count as they sing. Children enjoy story time sessions, where the childminder uses story sacks containing props, which she uses when reading the story. This engages all children's interest as they each hold objects associated with the story. Younger children sit on the childminder's knee enabling them to see the pictures in the book more clearly, which also helps to maintain their focus. Older children listen intently and as the childminder leaves

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who attend

gaps as she reads the story aloud, this successfully encourages older children to begin to recall familiar aspects of the story.

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who attend

Observational assessments are used to monitor the progress children make towards the early learning goals. The childminder uses a computerised system for recording children's development. Any observations made, are linked to the area of learning promoted and placed into an individual child's folder. The observation is also sent via email to the child's parents, providing them with continuous information on their children's experiences and development. The childminder tracks children's development to fully ensure they are making expected levels of progress in all areas, resulting in them being developmentally ready for starting school. Through this effective system, the childminder recently identified children were not making as much progress in mathematics as the other areas and this led to her reviewing her planning for this area of learning. As she identified this quickly, this enabled her to focus on promoting children's mathematical awareness, resulting in

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who attend

children now reaching expected levels of progress in this area. The childminder completes termly progress reviews, including a progress check at age two and shares these with parents. This provides parents with a clear awareness of their children's progress and provides them with key opportunities to continue to promote their children's learning at home.

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who attend

Children with English as an additional language are successfully integrated into the childminder's provision. She uses lots of words and symbols around her home and visual prompts like puppets during story time sessions, which aids all children's language and communication skills. The childminder also obtains words in children's home languages. This enables children to feel secure as the childminder has a basic knowledge of key words in their home language, which aids their initial communication. By reinforcing these key words in English, children are also supported to develop their spoken English skills. Overall, children are given the key skills needed to enable them to continue to make progress once they get to school.

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

Children relate well to the childminder and their individual care needs are met most of the time. This is because the childminder gathers appropriate information when children first start regarding things like their daily routine, ensuring she is familiar with and caters for children's specific needs. It also enables her to respect and value each child in line with their backgrounds and beliefs. This helps children to build some secure emotional attachments to the childminder. Children's behaviour is good. They receive regular praise and encouragement, which helps to promote their self-esteem. The childminder also explains and discusses things with children helping them to learn simple rules and boundaries, supporting their good behaviour and awareness of safety. For example, when the childminder advises the child they need to go up the steps and down the slide and not climb up the slide, the child asks 'why?'. The childminder explains this is to prevent the

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

child from falling and hitting their chin. The child approaches the slide in the correct manner for a while and they then try and climb back up the slide, so the childminder asks them to recall what she has said. The child smiles and states, 'up steps, down slide'. As the child begins to use the steps properly, a younger child tries to also climb up these. The older child shows impatience but the childminder reminds her to be careful and again the child asks 'why?'. The childminder explains she does not want them to fall and hurt the other child. The child begins to show consideration for the other child as they ask them to kindly mind out of the way when they go down the slide. This also helps children to learn how to play safely. However, they are provided with a false sense of security because full suitability checks on an assistant have not been completed.

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

Children enjoy eating a healthy range of meals and snacks, in line with their dietary requirements. Cross-infection is minimised through the implementation of appropriate practices and procedures, like preventing children from attending if they are suffering from an infectious illness. Children use wipes to clean their hands at appropriate points during the day. However, there is scope, especially for older children, to further develop their hand-washing practices during the daily routine to fully promote their growing independence with washing and drying their own hands. Children engage in lots of physical play opportunities, both inside and out, which promote their well-being and help them to stay healthy. For example, children enjoy joining in with action songs inside. Children are suitably prepared for starting school. The childminder advises parents of relevant stay and play sessions run by local schools, encouraging them to take their

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

children to these groups so they become familiar with the school environment. She also encourages parents to share children's progress reviews with the child's new school as this provides them with clear information on each child's starting points.

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provision

The childminder has failed to ensure she is meeting all of the welfare and safeguarding requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage for younger children and the Childcare Register requirements for older children. As a result, a number of legal requirements are breached, which has a negative impact on children's well-being, but very minimal, if any, impact on children's learning and development. This inspection took place following a concern relating to the suitability of an assistant working with the childminder. The childminder has committed an offence by not notifying Ofsted of the assistant who is working with her, resulting in full suitability checks not being carried out on this individual. This compromises children's safety. Information relating to whether the assistant holds a current paediatric first aid certificate and relevant car insurance cover is not maintained by the childminder. This results in the safety and welfare of children

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provision

potentially not being protected at all times. Parents' permission to allow the assistant to be left in unsupervised contact with children has not been obtained. This results in the childminder not working effectively with parents in this instance, to fully ensure their wishes are followed and children's needs are met. The childminder is aware of how many children she can provide care for when working alone and when working with an assistant and she also follows Ofsted's guidance when applying any exceptions to these numbers. However, because children's attendance is not accurately recorded and neither is the assistant's, this results in the childminder being unable to verify how she meets the required adult-to-child ratios. Again, this compromises children's safety.

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provision

The childminder conducts risk assessments to help maintain a safe, secure environment. Clear outings procedures are also adhered to, which protects children's well-being when they are away from the childminder's home. Children are constantly supervised and the childminder holds current paediatric first aid and relevant car insurance, which ensures they are protected when they are in her care. The childminder has a satisfactory awareness of child protection procedures to follow if she has any concerns about a child with regard to abuse or neglect. This helps to protect children from potential harm in this area. Suitable policies and procedures are in place and shared with parents. The childminder works mainly well with parents in most areas, sharing and exchanging information to promote the inclusion of all children. Parents are provided with clear information on their children's daily care and progress through daily discussions and

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provision

emails. This helps them to be part of their children's ongoing learning and development. Links with other providers are generally good, with the childminder continuing to try and develop closer links to enable the more robust exchange of information to further aid continuity of care and learning for each child. The education programmes are closely monitored, resulting in children achieving in all areas of learning. The childminder is committed to her ongoing development and is awaiting her Early Years Professional Status qualification certificate. She attends monthly childminding group meetings where best practice ideas are shared between all providers. This helps to raise standards in some areas. The childminder is continuing to further develop her process of self-evaluation to ensure it is fully robust and used more effectively to ensure all requirements are continually met.

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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:

 ensure that they are present on the premises at all times when childcare is being provided unless for a maximum of two hours per day a childminding assistant is present and the parents of the child have given their consent for the child to be left with the childminding assistant (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that any person having unsupervised contact with children is suitable to be in regular contact with children and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check has been obtained through Ofsted in respect of that person (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that they are present on the premises at all times when childcare is being provided unless for a maximum of two hours per day a childminding assistant is present and the parents of the child have given their consent for the child to be left with the childminding assistant (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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

 ensure that any person having unsupervised contact with children is suitable to be in regular contact with children and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check has been obtained through Ofsted in respect of that person (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 EY421166 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 927843 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 14

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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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