Childminder in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/09/2013 16/03/2009

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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 security of the premises is not good enough. This results in children being able to leave the premises unsupervised and severely compromises their safety.  Children are not always within the sight or hearing of the childminder because the security of the premises is not maintained. This puts children at risk.  Some parts of the premises, identified by the risk assessments are not always adequately checked, therefore, this affects children's safety and well-being.  Although the 'progress checks at age two' are completed they do not cover a written summary of all of the prime areas of learning to ensure that any early support children need in their development, is identified and provided for.  The childminder does not always encourage children's interest in numbers to enable them to extend and refine their counting skills.

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It has the following strengths

 Settling-in procedures are successfully tailored to each child's individual needs. This means that children settle quickly and easily into the childminder's care.  Children are confident and have high levels of self-esteem because the childminder constantly praises their efforts, successfully promotes their independence and consistently encourages them to have a go.

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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 in the back room and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journal records, a selection of policies and children's records and discussed a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through written comments that were viewed.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1997. She is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her adult son in premises in Marske-by-the Sea and uses the whole of the premises, except for the bedrooms and front room. The rear garden is also used for childminding. The family have two cats. There are currently seven children on roll, four are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions and three are school-age children who attend before and after school. She is open all year round from 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays.

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must:

 ensure that children do not leave the premises unsupervised

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must:

 ensure that children are always within sight or hearing

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must:

 ensure that risk assessments are continually followed to make certain that aspects of the environment, such as the security of the front door, are checked on a regular basis

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must:

 ensure that the written summary for the 'progress check at age two' identifies strengths and any areas where the child's progress is less than expected in all of the prime areas of learning.

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

 extend children's mathematical development to encourage them to take an interest in numbers and develop their counting skills through routines of the day and spontaneous activities.

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who attend

Children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. The childminder knows the children she cares for well. She is well aware of their interests and supports their learning by focusing on the areas she feels they need help and support with. Parents are successfully involved in this process. The childminder recognises them as partners in their child's learning she continually shares and gains information from them and encourages them to make comments in their child's development files. This results in parents being fully updated about their child's development and enables them to continue their child's learning at home. The childminder collects information from the parents when children first begin to attend her setting in an 'All about me' leaflet and then uses this to plan activities to support children's learning. Activities that are planned for the children cover both the prime and specific areas of learning to ensure that children's development

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who attend

is promoted well in all areas of learning. Regular observations of what children can do are continually completed. This ensures that the childminder can support each child by moving their learning forward. Observations are used well by the childminder to assess children's learning and plan for the next steps to help them make progress.

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who attend

The childminder successfully prepares children for their move to school or nursery. She encourages them to sound out letters of words in preparation for skills they will need at school. The childminder shows a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are engaged and motivated in their play. They relish being involved in adult-led activities which promote their creativity. They keenly pull, roll and cut up dough to make models which helps to develop their small muscle skills. The childminder models new skills, such as making a ball shape and patiently waits for children to have a go. This supports children's learning and helps to raise their confidence in their own abilities. Some older children are highly confident communicators and are developing a good understanding of language. They talk about artists and are easily able to explain what these are. The childminder supports younger

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who attend

children's language well by praising children's attempts at words and repeating these back to them. Children enjoy stories. They choose their favourite books and snuggle up on the settee with the childminder to listen to them. The childminder plans activities that support children's emerging investigative skills. They have great fun as they use different resources to explore paint. Children use their hands, brushes and sponges to create pictures. They carefully blow into the paint through straws to produce bubbles which they then print onto paper. Children's mathematical development is less well promoted. There is further scope to encompass opportunities to encourage children's development and understanding of counting in their own play and daily routines of the day.

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

The childminder does not follow important procedures, such as always making certain that the premises are secure and consistently risk assessing and this means that the quality of care for children is compromised. Nevertheless, children have plenty of opportunities to extend their physical skills. They enjoy regular trips to the park and make full use of the garden. The childminder promotes games, such as 'piggy in the middle' which develop children's spatial awareness and further promote their large muscle skills as they catch and throw balls. Children are encouraged to take care of their own personal hygiene independently by the childminder encouraging them to think about why they must wash their hands. Children benefit from healthy meals and snacks that meet their individual preferences, such as boiled eggs and toast. This all contributes towards them learning how to lead a healthy lifestyle. The childminder follows a strict 'sick children' policy which

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

ensures that children in her setting remain free from cross-infection and that their good health is promoted well.

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

Children have developed strong bonds with the childminder. They confidently approach her for support and reassurance. The childminder responds warmly to the children in her care, consequently they are settled, happy and content. The childminder collects good information from parents about children's individual routines which mean that she can follow their familiar patterns. This helps children to settle quickly and makes the move from home to the childminder's care easy for each child. The childminder has developed very successful settling-in procedures that are unique to each child's individual needs. For example, she visits some children in their own home to ensure they become familiar with her and watches children vigilantly to see what will help them settle. Children have access to a fair range of resources that are easily accessible. This means that children are confident individuals who make choices and decisions about what they want to do.

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

A clear strength in the childminder's practice is promoting children's' personal, social and emotional development. The childminder consistently encourages children to have a go at tasks themselves which successfully promotes their independence. She provides heaps of praise for children's efforts which raises their confidence and self-esteem. The childminder shows a strong understanding of how to successfully manage behaviour. Children are encouraged to explore their feelings by talking about how things would make them feel. This successfully develops their understanding of boundaries and the effect of their behaviour on others. Children take an active role in caring for the environment as they enthusiastically tidy away toys and equipment after they finish playing with them.

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provision

This inspection was prioritised by Ofsted as a result of an incident where a child left the childminder's premises unsupervised and was found later at the beach. This severely affects children's safety and does not meet the requirements of the Early Years Register and Childcare Register. Since this happened, the childminder has identified further steps to take to prevent this reoccurring and also reflected on the steps she took during the incident. She has revised her policies on what to do if a child goes missing to strengthen this further. The childminder completes written risk assessments and conducts daily visual checks on the premises to ensure that it is now safe, secure and prevents risks to children. However, she acknowledges that these were severely lacking on the day of the incident. The childminder shows a secure understanding of how to recognise abuse and pass information on to the relevant agencies. This results in this particular aspect of children's

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provision

welfare being successfully safeguarded. The childminder uses written policies which are shared with parents to ensure they are aware of how her setting operates and know what to do if they have a complaint. These policies are updated after incidents to ensure that she can improve the protection of the children in her care. For example, she has revised her 'lost child' policy to ensure that parents and police are quickly informed of any incidents effecting their child's welfare. The childminder has a generally secure understanding of the learning and development requirements and promotes these sufficiently in her practice to ensure that children make satisfactory progress in their learning. By constantly reviewing what children can do she uses observations to assess the progress children make. This results in her planning for each child's next steps to provide challenge in both the prime and specific areas of their

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provision

Self-evaluation is emerging. The childminder knows what she does well and has begun to focus improvement on the areas that will benefit the children's education the most. For example, she has replenished the wheeled toys outdoors to further promote children's physical development. The childminder is a reflective practitioner who is committed to furthering her knowledge and development. Although she finds courses difficult to access, she continually keeps up-to-date by reading relevant articles to enhance her practice, which in turn, benefits the care of the children. The childminder has strengthened the assessments of children's learning since her previous inspection. This results in her being able to accurately pin point what children can do and provide them with challenge to move their learning forward.

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provision

Parent's contributions are sought through daily conversations and questionnaires to ensure they play an active role in the childminder's setting. Parents comment that they are 'very happy with the service' the childminder delivers and that she 'always puts the needs of the children first'. Parents are regularly updated through exchanges of verbal information which ensures that they are successfully informed about their child's welfare and progress. Partnerships with others who provide the Early Years Foundation Stage have been securely established which results in children benefiting from a continuous learning journey between the two settings.

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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:

 consistently ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  consistently ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised except where the child is aged eight or over and the parent of the child has agreed that they may leave the provision unaccompanied (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (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 312738 Local authority Redcar & Cleveland Inspection number 934940 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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