Childminder in Stockport

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/07/2013 08/12/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The childminder demonstrates a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn.  The childminder describes how she has established effective partnerships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage, to support consistency in children's learning and development.  The childminder has a good understanding of her role and responsibility for safeguarding children.  The childminder has developed systems to enable her to have effective relationships with parents.

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It is not yet good because

 There is scope to enhance children's exploration skills by offering a wider range of natural materials.  Opportunities for children to develop their creative skills and their imagination are not fully maximised.

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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 compulsory part 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 viewed all of the childminder's documentation.  The inspector talked with the childminder throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives in a house in Stretford, Manchester. The whole of the ground floor, the first floor bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder has three cats as pets. The childminder attends a toddler group and visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There were no children present on the day of the inspection. The childminder occasionally works with an assistant.

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Information about the setting

There are currently four children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. The childminder holds an early years qualification at level 3 and is accredited to provide early education for two, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 encourage and enhance children's creative skills and imagination by, for example, maximising opportunities for children to role play and explore their own ideas

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

 provide a wider range of natural materials and resources, in order to extend sensory experiences to enable children to explore a range of textures.

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who attend

There were no children present on the day of the inspection; therefore, no direct observations of the childminder working with the children could be undertaken. However, the childminder demonstrated through discussion that her practice is based on a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn. She understands how to extend children's learning through play. For example, she describes how she uses open-ended questions to promote children's communication and language skills and to support their thinking. The childminder explains that she promotes children's mathematical awareness through everyday activities. For example, when building towers with the children she encourages the children to talk about the sizes of the towers and how many bricks they have used. The childminder has recently started caring for a baby and, therefore, has considered the resources required for younger babies. She has purchased a number of

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who attend

items to support younger babies' development, such as baby gyms. However, the range of natural materials available to allow younger children to investigate and use their senses is limited.

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who attend

The childminder has demonstrated through documentation how she gathers starting information from parents around the seven areas of learning and development and uses this to plan initial activities for children. The childminder completes observations of the children playing and makes links individually to their development stages. The planning of future activities is then based upon what the child can achieve next. Parents are encouraged to comment on the observations in order to continuously share children's learning, and to support parents to continue this learning at home. A file is established for each child to show their journey of learning.

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who attend

Through discussion, the childminder outlines how she promotes the skills children need for school, such as promoting their physical development through opportunities to practice early writing skills and using stories to promote their understanding of the world. There are children's laptops available to support older children's skills in using information, communication technology, and noisy books for younger children to learn about cause and effect. Children have some opportunities for role play and dressing-up, which promotes their imagination and creativity. However, there is scope to extend this by offering role play in a range of different situations to allow children to explore their ideas further.

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

The childminder has established a system of continuously sharing information between the setting and home by using daily diary books, where the childminder records the children's day and parents comment about experiences at home. This supports the childminder in providing activities that are based on children's likes and dislikes and current stage of development. The initial 'All about me' information gathered from parents gives the childminder key information required to support a smooth settling-in period. The childminder describes the individual needs of the children she cares for and demonstrates that she knows them well.

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

The childminder has created individual boxes for each child with their photograph on, where they can keep their personal belongings in order to promote a sense of belonging. The childminder demonstrates through discussion that she has a good understanding of how to manage children's behaviour effectively. She explains how she focuses on the good behaviour, offering praise and encouragement. She supports children's understanding of behaviour and safety by giving explanations to them outlining the consequences of their actions. There are a range of resources available to children, labelled in boxes with pictures and words so that children can choose them independently and identify the correct place to put the toys away.

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

Through discussion the childminder defines how she provides a healthy lifestyle for children. She provides children with a healthy balanced diet. This is done by providing home cooked meals, prepared in the morning before children arrive, such as cottage pie and mixed vegetables or lasagne with garlic bread. Snacks at various points throughout the day include bread sticks, raisins, fruit and yoghurts. The childminder eats with the children to be a good role model and encourage them to try new foods. Children are offered milk and water to drink. The childminder takes the children outdoors daily so they have access to fresh air and exercise. The childminder describes how she promotes good hygiene through the use of anti-bacterial sprays and promotes children's awareness of cleanliness through washing their hands before meals.

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

The childminder describes how she provides reports when it is time for children to start school, outlining children's developmental stages so that the children can continue learning from their current point. She takes the children on visits to the school and helps them to register themselves, to help the children understand what is going to happen.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a good knowledge and understanding of signs and symptoms of abuse and the procedures to follow if she were to become concerned about a child in her care. Documentation shows that the childminder undertakes daily checks of each area to ensure that the environment is safe for children to play in. The childminder describes the risks she has considered on a recent outing to the airport. She has considered the good practice required to safeguard children. For example, she has set a pin code on her tablet computer, which she uses to take photographs of the children. This means that the photographs cannot be accessed by anyone not authorised to do so.

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provision

The childminder holds a relevant level 3 qualification and has completed safeguarding training, diversity training and the revised Early Years Foundation Stage course to keep herself up-to-date with current practice. She attends the childminder network sessions in order to share practice with other childminders and to identify possible improvements to her own practice. The childminder has plans to continuously improve her knowledge by undertaking training to support children's communication skills and upgrading her safeguarding training to the next level.

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provision

Through discussion, the childminder highlights a number of improvements she has made since she started minding children. Such as, the development of a tracking sheet so that she can view children's development at a glance, enabling her to target the planning towards the weakest areas and identify if early intervention is needed. The childminder sends out questionnaires to parents to gain their viewpoint on improvements to her service and implements suggestions that parents make. For example, one parent requested more baking activities and the childminder introduced this activity more frequently. The childminder's future plans include displaying a board in the hall for parents to record what children have been doing at home, in order to increase parental involvement and for all parents to see what other children have been doing. Her aim is to create a method for quieter parents to be involved.

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provision

The childminder describes how she has established good relationships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage to create a consistent approach for the children she cares for. The childminder has met with the teacher in the school to discuss the children's current stage of learning and has used this information to inform her activities. The daily diary and daily verbal feedback given by the childminder to the parents contributes towards meeting the children's needs.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY431213 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 923581 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

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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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