Childminder in Norfolk

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/09/2013 13/12/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 1 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 does not ensure adequate supervision for children at all times because adult to child ratios are not always met and children are sometimes left in sole charge of assistants for over two hours in any one day.  The childminder does not operate a key person system, parents are not always aware who is responsible for their children and the childminder and assistants do not know enough about individual children's backgrounds to support them fully.  The childminder has reduced the size of her outdoor area and has not made the new proposed area available for children to use and, as a result, their opportunities for large physical play are limited.  The childminder has not been successful in building partnerships with other settings that the children attend or links with the local schools, to ensure children receive a consistent approach to their learning and settle well.  Children do not always have sufficient space to play and move freely as the upper

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This provision is inadequate

playroom and outdoor area is often closed, limiting their access.

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It has the following strengths

 Parents are involved in their child's learning in the setting and have regular opportunities to contribute to their daily diaries and assessment records to ensure children make suitable progress.

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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 both playrooms and the outdoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector made a tour of the premises, including the outdoor area and bedrooms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, the provider's self-evaluation and a range of other documentation including attendance registers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day of inspection and information included in the self-evaluation documents.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2001 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children on the outskirts of the city of Norwich in Norfolk. Children use two designated playrooms and upstairs bedrooms for daytime sleeping. There is a fully enclosed area for outside play. The family has a cat and a dog as pets. The childminder attends a local childminder group and visits the shops and local play area on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder works with a co- childminder and assistants.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 20 children on roll, 13 of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. The childminder holds a National Vocational Qualification at level 3.

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must:

 ensure that children are adequately supervised and are not left in the sole care of the childminder's assistants for more than two hours in a single day

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must:

 ensure that correct ratios are met and maintained at all times to ensure supervision meets the needs of all children

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must:

 assign a key person to each child to ensure that parents know who is responsible for their child and children's cultural and linguistic backgrounds are explored and promoted, to offer a settled and secure relationship for each child and family

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must:

 enable a two-way flow of information between providers when children attend more than one setting, so that consistency between all benefits children's progress.

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

 review the use of the available areas to ensure children have more space to play and, for example, the freedom to move between both areas and the outdoors

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

 develop the use of the outdoor play to provide regular opportunities for children to develop their large physical skills to improve their coordination, control and movement.

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who attend

The childminder has a secure knowledge and understanding of how children learn and effectively supports them to make suitable progress. This also means that children are gaining a satisfactory range of skills in readiness for school. The childminder collects details from parents when their child first starts about their interests and abilities. This provides her with information to help plan enjoyable activities that follow their interests. Both her, her co-childminder and her assistants make regular observations of children's play which are assessed and used to plan the next steps in each child's learning and development. Parents are involved in their child's learning within the setting which promotes their learning further. For example, they are encouraged to contribute to their child's records and take them home each half term to look at and share with their families. Diaries are also used as a daily opportunity for parents to know what their child has done

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who attend

each day and to add their own comments about activities at home. Children develop the skills they need for their eventual move into pre-school or school as they get to know the routine and tidy away the toys to make room for lunch. They enjoy books read by the childminder and some remember the story and retell it to others as they share books with friends. Older children are becoming confident communicators as they chat about what they are doing. The childminder helps to develop their language by introducing new words as she names the play foods when they role play being in a cafe. Children are beginning to understand numbers and simple calculation as they charge the childminder for food and count out her change with the toy money.

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who attend

The outdoor area has been significantly reduced and, as a result, there is very little room for children to develop their large physical skills. For example, large mats cover most of the area and they struggle to find room to scoot on the ride-on toys. The children visit a local play area to provide some opportunities to climb, run, jump, swing and balance. There are plans to develop an additional space to provide children with more room for physical play on the premises. However, the childminder has not been proactive in developing the area and it has been used as storage. Consequently, the children have been unable to access it for the entire summer holiday.

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

The childminder works with a co-childminder and two assistants, however, she does not operate a key person system. Children are not assigned a key person to build a settled and close relationship with and parents do not know who is responsible for their children. Although children make close, trusting relationships with all the adults, they do not have a special person to build attachments with. As a result, adults do not know enough about individual backgrounds of some of the children. For example, they do not fully understand the benefits of actively promoting and supporting the children's home languages and cultures and do not always find out whether children speak or hear other languages at home or where their families originate from. The childminder provides some resources that reflect diversity. However, opportunities for children to see or hear their home languages in the setting may be missed. In addition, chances to promote, learn about,

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

value and accept a range of cultures and languages are not fully embraced.

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

On the whole, children are happy, confident and settled. The childminder and assistants talk to parents to ensure that home routines are known and followed and dietary needs are respected and met. Children bring their own comforters from home to help them with transitions to the setting, to settle and to sleep more easily. The children independently access most of the toys and equipment and request items that are out of reach. The environment is bright, cheerful and decorated with children's work, valuing their contributions. There are two playrooms for the children to use. However, the areas are not always used effectively. Children are sometimes restricted to one playroom and do not have access to the outdoors or the additional playroom. This limits their space, freedom and independence to move between the areas.

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

Children learn how to keep themselves safe as they sit down to eat and take part in regular fire drills. They learn about road safety when out and help to pick the toys up so that other children do not fall over them. The childminder and assistants have a shared approach to behaviour and ensure that children are spoken to at their own level, and age appropriate explanations are given. The adults are caring, attentive and treat the children with respect. Children learn how to keep themselves healthy as they are encouraged to eat the savoury food in their packed lunches first and talk about foods that are good for them as they play with the play food. Children are encouraged and supported to wash their hands before meals and older ones manage self-care routines well.

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provision

The inspection took place as a result of concerns that were brought to the attention of Ofsted about assistants being left alone with children. The complaint was upheld as registers show that assistants are left on their own for periods of over two hours and on two occasions, all day, while the childminder was out of the country on holiday. Therefore, the childminder is in breach of the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and this breach also relates to both parts of the Childcare Register.

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provision

The childminder does not have a secure enough knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, the adult to child ratios are not always adhered to and, as a result, children are not adequately supervised. The childminder is unaware that she sometimes works outside of the childminding remit. For example, when working with three other adults at the same time she does not understand the need to register to operate as 'Childcare on domestic premises'.

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provision

The monitoring of the provision is weak, has too little impact and does not identify the weaknesses and breaches in requirements. The childminder failed to noticed omissions in her contracts and parental permissions until they were brought to her attention as a complaint. However, she has followed her procedures and responded appropriately to the complaint. As a result, she is addressing this oversight and is in the process of renewing all children's contracts and permission sheets to ensure they meet requirements. Furthermore, the childminder does not share information with other settings that the children attend and has not been successful in finding out what children are interested in and achieving in other settings. This was a recommendation from the previous inspection that she has not been successful in addressing. Therefore, not all children benefit fully from a consistent approach.

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provision

The childminder has a sound understanding of her roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children from abuse and neglect. She has clear policies in place which are also understood by her assistants and shared with parents. Both her and her assistants have attended recent training in safeguarding and are confident to put procedures into practice when necessary to ensure children are protected. The childminder ensures that checks are carried out on her assistants to make sure that they are suitable to work with children. The premises are secure; children cannot leave them unattended and unauthorised persons cannot gain access. The childminder is vigilant about the safety of sleeping babies and young children and has a monitor to ensure that they can be seen and heard while in the upstairs bedrooms. Risk assessments are carried out and the premises are checked daily to ensure all hazards are minimised.

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provision

The childminder understands her responsibility in meeting the learning and development requirements to ensure that children make suitable progress. She keeps clear and concise records of children's learning and development and plans activities around their individual interests to meet their needs. Most parents are happy with the care and education provided at the childminder's setting and state that their children are keen to attend. Parents feel involved in their children's learning and are informed of their development and interests on a daily basis. Newsletters are used as an additional method to inform them about future plans and training completed.

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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 the childminder is 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)  make arrangements with parents for occasions on which the registered person is not able to provide childcare (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the childminder is 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)  make arrangements with parents for occasions on which the registered person is not able to provide childcare (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 259460 Local authority Norfolk Inspection number 934596 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 20

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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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