Childminder in Cambridgeshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/07/2013 04/08/2009

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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 has an inadequate understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This means a number of legal requirements are not met that compromise children's safety.  The childminder does not always maintain required adult to child ratios. This is a breach of the legal requirements, which affects the quality of children's learning experiences and puts children at risk.  The childminder does not notify Ofsted of any new assistants and, therefore, has not ensured appropriate suitability checks are carried out.  Children's safety is not assured because the childminder does not always ensure her home and garden are secure.  Evaluation of the provision is not rigorous enough to identify and rectify the key areas for improvement.  The childminder does not fully involve parents in their children's learning, which affects her ability to plan effectively to meet children's development needs.

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It has the following strengths

 There are a reasonable range of resources in the conservatory to keep children occupied and help them to make satisfactory progress in their learning and development.

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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 the childminder and her interactions with the children.

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Inspection activities

 A range of documentation was checked, including registers, risk assessments and the children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder about her childminding service during the inspection.  The inspector looked at the parts of the home used for childminding.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2003. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband in Brampton, Cambridgeshire. The whole of the childminder's house is used for childminding and there is an enclosed garden for outside play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder offers her childminding service from 8am until 6pm each weekday, all year round. There are currently 13 children on roll; of these, seven are in the early years age range. The childminder regularly works with an assistant. She supports children who are learning English as an additional language. The house is within walking distance of local amenities, such as, schools, the library, shops and parks. The family has a pet rabbit and tropical fish. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 develop a secure understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements for the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage

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must:

 ensure that the maximum number of children being cared for at any one time does not exceed the legally required adult to child ratios so that children are safe and their needs are appropriately met

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must:

 ensure that people who are intending to live or work on the childminding premises have their details notified to Ofsted so that the required suitability checks can be taken up, including a Disclosure and Barring Service check

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must:

 take all reasonable steps to ensure that children cannot leave the premises unsupervised and that unauthorised people cannot enter the premises.

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

 implement thorough self-evaluation, that takes into account the views of parents and children, to identify and prioritise the necessary targets for improvement

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

 develop ways to more effectively share information with parents and carers about their children's progress and development.

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who attend

The childminder generally promotes children's learning appropriately because she has an adequate understanding of how children learn through play. Children have a range of accessible toys to choose from and keep themselves suitably occupied. However, caring for too many young children has a detrimental effect on their learning opportunities. The childminder is often engaged in seeing to children's care needs, she is, therefore, not always in a position to effectively support and extend their learning. She suggests activities to the children, but these are not always well planned and are, therefore, unsuccessful. For example, children look forward to using the parachute, but some are too young to understand the instructions; the parachute is too big for indoors, and within a few minutes it is put away. As a result, children's learning and development is satisfactory.

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who attend

The childminder has implemented ways to collect observations and assess children's learning through individual learning journals. Photographs in the journals show children benefit from some purposeful activities, such as making cards with paint, collage materials and glue. One of her assistants has collected some observations, which have been used to commence the 'progress check at age two' for relevant children. There is some evidence that parents have given the childminder initial information about their children's abilities and interests. This helps her to decide on their starting points. The learning journals are accessible to parents so they can see them at any time. However, there is limited evidence to show that parents are encouraged to contribute to the journals and, therefore, support their children's continuity of learning.

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who attend

Children greet visitors in a friendly way which demonstrates they are confident in the setting. They set up their own games and activities, such as a den under the table, where they play imaginative games together. Their communication and language is supported adequately as they converse with the childminder and each other. They have easy access to a range of books and show they enjoy selecting and sharing stories. The childminder helps to prepare children for school by enabling them to access a range of writing materials. Children enjoy colouring and drawing, using pencils and crayons competently.

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

Children have a quiet place to sleep in the first floor bedrooms, and the childminder checks them periodically to reassure them. She keeps a daily dairy for some parents at their request, where details of sleep and mealtimes are noted. Although entries in these diaries are intermittent, nonetheless, they offer parents some insight into their children's daily routines. The childminder says she invites new parents to visit her so they can introduce their children to the setting. This supports their transitions from home adequately.

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

Children show generally positive relationships with each other. They play together happily, for example, older children read to younger ones to entertain them. The childminder reminds children of appropriate hygiene routines and they demonstrate a suitable awareness by washing their hands prior to lunch. The childminder is friendly with the children, and they enjoy her company, which adequately supports their emotional well- being. She is generally polite and respectful to the children and clearly has a good relationship with them. She encourages them to share their games and cooperate. As a result, they learn to develop appropriate behaviour.

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

The childminder provides children with a suitable range of healthy and nutritious home- cooked meals. She has a sample menu to share with parents so they know the types of food she offers. Children eat together at the table, so they have an opportunity to talk together and relax. The childminder enables children to get physical exercise daily as they walk to and from school, or visit the local parks. Children learn about some aspects of safety, for example, they know to stay together as a group when crossing roads.

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provision

This inspection was conducted following concerns about unknown assistants working for the childminder and the numbers of children being cared for. The inspection found that the childminder was in breach of requirements because she had not notified Ofsted that two assistants had left. She employed some new assistants, who are actively working with the children, but has not notified Ofsted of their details so that required suitability checks could be obtained. This is also a breach of the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. On the day of inspection she was in breach of the ratio requirements, with five children in the early years age range present. Records show she routinely cares for more children than allowed. All of this compromises children's safety and well-being.

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provision

The childminder's understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage is weak. She fails to recognise the seriousness of the breaches of requirements and the effect they have on children's safety and well-being. The childminder has not established secure monitoring of her provision and has not kept up-to-date with the revisions to the requirements. This has contributed to her failure to meet the regulations. She has sought some advice and support from other childminders and this has enabled her to develop adequate systems to observe and assess individual children's progress. But because she is busy attending to children's care needs, there is little emphasis on their learning and development. Consequently, children only make satisfactory progress towards the early learning goals. As children's health and safety are not assured, this affects their learning potential and

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provision

means the needs of the range of the children who attend are not met.

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provision

Appropriate information is collected about the children so the childminder is aware of contact details and medical needs. The childminder appears to have an adequate relationship with parents. She provides parents with written policies and procedures so they have some understanding of the provision. She takes children to the local school and pre-school and demonstrates some awareness of their activities. This enables her to offer children some continuity and aid their transitions. The childminder maintains her first aid qualification so she can attend to accidents appropriately. She has attended child protection training in the past and demonstrates a suitable understanding of the local procedures for safeguarding children. This means she would know who to contact if she has child protection concerns about a child in her care. The childminder undertakes risk assessments to ensure her home is adequately safe. However, she does not always ensure

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provision

her home is secure. She sometimes neglects to lock the back gate or the conservatory door, enabling people to enter the premises without challenge. This is a breach of the early years requirements and those of the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register and is a risk to children.

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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 Ofsted is informed of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person working with the children (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children are unable to leave the premises unsupervised (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure no one can enter the premises without the knowledge of the person caring for the children on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure Ofsted is informed of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person working with the children (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure no one can enter the premises without the knowledge of the person caring for the children on the premises (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 EY249308 Local authority Cambridgeshire Inspection number 928197 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 13

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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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