Childminder in Leicestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/09/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Children settle well into the childminder's home. She finds out about children's routines and needs by talking to parents in order to provide a smooth transition into her provision.  Children are cared for in a safe environment, where risks to them are minimised. This ensures that children are protected in the home and on outings.  Children make good progress with the childminder, because she has a secure level of knowledge and understanding of how children play and learn.  Children are motivated by a well-resourced, indoor and outdoor learning environment. Consequently, they are active and inquisitive learners who enthusiastically explore and investigate their surroundings.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder is not yet rigorous enough in setting specific and measurable targets, as a result of her self-evaluation, to ensure the maximum benefit for children.

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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 conducted observations of children's play and learning alongside the childminder and discussed these with her.  The inspector spoke and interacted with the children to seek their views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the childminder's self-evaluation and improvement plan with her.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and related planning documentation.  The inspector checked areas of the home and garden used by children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered 2013 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and child aged two years in a house in Sharnford in Leicestershire. The whole of the property and the rear garden is used for childminding. The family has a pet dog.

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Information about the setting

The childminder visits the local shops, pre-school groups and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder is open all year round from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays. There are currently five children on roll, of these, three are in the early years age group.

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

 use the evaluation of everyday working practices, including the educational programmes and children's learning, to more effectively identify specific priorities and action plans for improvement, to work towards children gaining the very highest levels of achievement.

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who attend

The childminder has a secure knowledge of how children learn and develop. She understands the importance of working in partnership with parents and gathers useful information about children's starting points, individual interests and needs. This helps the children to settle happily in her care. Regular observations of children's progress identify their stage of development and inform plans for the next steps in their learning. These are closely linked to children's interests and help them to acquire the skills and motivation to learn successfully. The childminder has developed good skills, knowledge and understanding of the characteristics of effective teaching and learning. As a result, she successfully extends children's learning as she sensitively joins in with their play. Equally, she knows when to stand back and allow children uninterrupted time to play and explore on their own. This means that children enjoy a good balance of adult-led and child-

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who attend

initiated activities throughout the day.

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who attend

Children are working within the developmental stages expected for their ages and are developing the skills needed to take the next steps in learning, including the transition to school. The childminder encourages parents to be involved in their children's learning. She makes effective use of her daily discussions with parents to talk about children's progress, how learning can be supported at home, and to ask them to share their own observations of their children's achievements. The childminder keeps records of learning to help monitor children's progress in each area of learning, and parents are encouraged to contribute to these. The childminder has a good knowledge of how to teach children and how they learn. She organises the environment to offer children the continuous provision of play materials. This enables children to make independent choices in their play, to follow their interests and to return to resources to practise skills. The childminder

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who attend

manages the routine of the day to give children good opportunity to play at their own pace, in an unhurried and relaxed manner. As a result, children show deep levels of concentration, as they develop their own ideas and enjoy achieving what they set out to do. For example, they select to play on the chalk board in the garden. They confidently ask the childminder for chalks and show the inspector which is their body shape on the chalk board. Children clearly remember how they stood against the board while the childminder used the chalks to draw round them.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are given a high priority. The childminder models language and provides children with lots of opportunities to use language for communication. For example, the childminder uses familiar books and asks open-ended questions, which encourage children to think and talk about what they are doing. Consequently, children are making very good progress given their starting points. The childminder routinely extends children's vocabulary, introducing new words through everyday activities and experiences. Children enjoy daily opportunities to sing rhymes and listen to stories and are learning that print carries meaning. A current favourite is an interactive nursery rhyme book that children enjoy pressing the buttons in and swaying along to the tune. This also supports their developing understanding of technology.

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who attend

The childminder effectively uses mathematical language and plans activities to support children's learning of counting, shape and measure. These include singing number songs and matching shapes when constructing or building garages for their cars with the construction bricks. Young children delight in knocking down the tower of stacking beakers that the childminder has just built for them. While building the tower the childminder talks about the colours, counts how many beakers there are and helps children recognise which is larger and needs to go before the smaller one. She successfully helps children learn, while making activities fun and interesting for each child. Children benefit from a safe outdoor space, which gives them opportunities to explore and develop an understanding of the natural world. They enjoy playing in the sand trays and are beginning to share and take turns on the assorted sit and ride toys. Children particularly enjoy kicking and

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who attend

throwing various sized balls and squeal with excitement as they learn to catch, enthusiastically supported by the childminder's encouragement to try again. This helps children understand their efforts are valued and helps prepare them well for taking the next steps in their learning.

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

The childminder has very warm and caring relationships with the children, helping them feel secure. Each child is valued and their individual needs met, because the childminder works well with parents to continually gather and exchange clear information about their specific care needs and interests. The childminder talks to parents and encourages them to share information about their children's general routines, to help children to settle more easily. She offers children encouragement and supports their social skills through daily routines, for example, using good manners or sharing toys with their friends. She listens well to them and engages them in lots of conversation to increase their language skills and give them confidence to voice their wishes.

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

The childminder supports children's self-care routines well, such as washing hands after a messy play activity or after eating. Each child has their own coloured flannel to prevent cross-infection and maintain their good health. The childminder works closely with parents to encourage good sleeping habits and routines. Children's health is monitored through the packed lunches provided by parents. The childminder works closely with parents to ensure these are nutritious and she provides children with healthy snacks and meals at other times in the day. Children have access to drinks at all times to ensure they remain hydrated. All children enjoy sitting together at meal times and young children are supported well to develop the skills needed to feed themselves.

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

Children are learning to behave appropriately as the childminder has a calm and gentle manner and offers attention and encouragement to children in her care. She uses various ways to help them manage their behaviour, such as explanations to help them understand and distraction with other games and activities. Children move confidently between the rooms and enjoy running in the garden, helping develop their physical skills. They use the garden frequently and understand to be kind to the dog or gentle as they try to touch the worm peeping out of the lawn. They are fascinated as they watch the worm moving along the grass and disappearing back into the ground to then pop up again. The childminder skilfully supports children who are less keen to take risks, for example, to touch the worm, and helps more confident children to be gentle. Children go out daily into the fresh air for walks or visits to the park and the shops. Children enjoy regular trips into the community

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

and attend other local early years groups. As a result, they develop social skills as they engage with others and enjoy wider play experiences to interest them. This also enables them to gain confidence in social situations, helping prepare them for transitions to pre- school or nursery.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of local safeguarding and child protection procedures. She fully understands her responsibilities and the procedures to follow if she should have any concerns. Consequently, children are effectively safeguarded. She makes sure all of the required documents that promote children's well-being are in place and shared with parents. For example, risk assessments are thorough for all areas indoors, outdoors and on outings, minimising any potential risks to children. She effectively uses safety devices, such as alarms on children's car safety belts to alert her if children undo these while travelling, ensuring children stay safe. The childminder has a clear understanding of the importance of working in partnership with parents, external agencies and other settings to ensure children's needs are met. She encourages all parents to be involved in their children's learning, and parents send emails of what their child has been

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provision

doing that the childminder then prints and adds to their child's development record. This ensures parents are fully involved in their child's learning and helps provide an accurate record of each child's progress. Parents comment positively on the care and learning provided through letters and cards to the childminder. For example, they comment 'It's lovely that they get to go out to different places' or 'They are so well looked after with you, we are so pleased'.

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provision

The childminder understands the need to develop friendly relationships with staff in other early years settings in order to promote continuity of care. Currently, there are no children on roll attending other provisions. The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities for meeting the learning and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She makes good use of observations and takes children's individual interests, age and capabilities into account to inform her weekly planning. For example, through observation the childminder identified a child's interest in trains, consequently a visit to nearby station was arranged for the child to see real trains and experience the size, sounds and smells. Arrangements for observation and assessment are secure. Children's progress is tracked and shared with parents. Consequently, the educational programmes are effectively monitored to ensure children

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provision

make consistent progress in their learning and development.

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provision

The childminder is fully committed to provide children with high quality care, she regularly reflects on and evaluates her practice to help her achieve continuous improvement. The childminder takes into account the views of parents through questionnaires, which further supports her self-evaluative practice. At times, targets from these evaluations are generalised and not specific as to how and when they will be achieved. This means the childminder is not able to fully measure and assess the identified improvement's impact on improving outcomes for children. The childminder is passionate, well-motivated and loves her work. She is fully committed to the children who attend her setting, and their families. As a result, children in her care benefit from a safe, secure, inclusive and happy environment and are making good progress towards the early learning goals.

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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 EY455725 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 906257 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 5

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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