Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/09/2013 31/10/2012

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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

 Children are cared for in a warm and welcoming environment. They are settled and form close relationships with the childminder, consequently their care needs are suitably met.  Children are able to choose freely from the varied range of toys and resources, which means they are able to decide what they want to play with and are able to follow their interests.  The childminder has suitable relationships with parents to enable children to settle well in a safe and independent environment.

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It is not yet good because

 Children's progress across all areas of learning is not fully assessed and their starting points and next steps are not clearly identified.  Limited information is shared with parents to enable them to become more involved in their child's learning in the setting or share what their children are learning at home.  The childminder does not provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning. Consequently, the development of their spoken English skills is not always maximised.  The self-evaluation practice does not always take account of the views of children and parents in order to help to clearly identify strengths and areas for improvement.

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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 main playroom and carried out a joint activity with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journeys, planning documentation and a selection of policies and children's records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1998 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, who is registered as an assistant, and child aged 16 years, in Bramley, on the outskirts of Leeds. The whole of the ground floor, and the rear garden is used for childminding. The family has two cats as pets.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently nine children on roll, seven of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates from 9am until 5pm, Monday to Friday except for bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. The childminder supports a number of children who speak English as an additional language.

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must:

 obtain information about children's starting points and use this information to assess each child's progress across all areas of learning in relation to their age and stage of development and to identify next steps of learning

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must:

 provide opportunities for children to develop and use their home language in play and learning and help parents to fully understand the importance of providing key words in the child's home language

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must:

 ensure that parents receive accurate and precise information about their children's interests and achievements while in the setting and enable them to share what their children are learning at home.

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

 extend self-evaluative practice, so that it is rigorous and takes into account the views of children and parents, so as to clearly identify strengths and areas for improvement.

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who attend

Children are cared for in a welcoming environment, where they are comfortable and secure in the care of the childminder, enabling them to form close bonds and attachments with her. The childminder has begun to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage into children's learning records by observing the activities that have taken place and linking this to the area of learning. However, the childminder does not include precise assessments of the children's stage of development and their starting points and next steps are not clearly identified. As a result, children's developmental progress when they first begin is not clearly identified as well as their continuing learning and developmental stages.

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who attend

Children access a varied range of age-appropriate toys and resources which they enjoy. Children's literacy skills develop appropriately through accessing a suitable range of age- appropriate books. The childminder chooses a book for the young children and encourages them to sit next to her. She shows the children how to turn the pages to see the next picture. They press the pictures of the animals and listen to the sounds they make. The childminder shows a suitable awareness of challenging the children as she tells them, 'it's a duck', makes the sound of the duck and asks the children to copy her. Some do so and receive lots of praise. This helps to begin to develop young children's early recognition of the world, literacy and early technology skills. The childminder then shows them the pictures of the different babies and again the children press buttons and listen to the babies crying and laughing. Some children repeat the words of 'baby', 'crying' and

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who attend

'laughing'. Some children with English as an additional language are not forthcoming with speaking in English. This is because the childminder does not provide or have an awareness of the child's home language. This means that opportunities to use words in the child's home language during their play are not used in order to more effectively support children's spoken English skills.

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who attend

The childminder encourages young children to draw as they go up to the chalk board; she gives them the bucket of chalks and independently they choose a colour and draw. The childminder tells them the colours of pink and white they are using and gives them praise as they draw holding them well. This promotes their hand and eye coordination and early recognition of colours. The childminder introduces counting to the children as they pour the chalks on the floor and she reminds them to pick them up and together they count them as they place them back in the bucket. This begins to introduce counting for children as they listen to the childminder, count to three and try to do it themselves with help. Babies get opportunities to roll around the playroom, as they reach for the rattles, musical instruments and look to grasp these with encouragement from the childminder. This helps to develop babies' movement skills and hand and eye coordination. The childminder helps

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who attend

to develop children's early skills in expressive art and design, through letting them use paint brushes and water to draw on the magic mat. Young children hold the brushes well and with help from the childminder make marks on the mat.

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who attend

Satisfactory relationships are built with the parents and they share information daily. The childminder informs parents about the children's learning records when they first start. However, there is little encouragement for them to share what their children are learning at home and to contribute into their own children's learning records. This does not fully promote parents' involvement in their children's learning and help to identify their progress. The childminder completes the progress check at age two, taking account of children's development in the prime areas and ensuring that parents contribute.

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who attend

The childminder has suitable links in place with local schools, for when the children are ready to make the transition to school. She is aware of sharing children's learning records with them to ensure the continuity of learning for children as they progress to school.

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

Children are happy and confident in the care of the childminder. They involve her in their play and enjoy lots of cuddles and sharing toys with her. Younger children are able to settle quickly in the safe, secure and caring environment. The childminder invites parents and children to do settling visits before they start with her. This helps to make separation from the parent easier and builds on children's confidence.

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

The childminder gives priority to the children's safety, ensuring that hazards are minimised. Fire drills are practised regularly with the children and an evacuation plan is in place. Children are encouraged to tidy away the toys after finishing playing with them. This helps children to learn about staying safe through not leaving toys around to fall over. The childminder ensures that when she is out and about with children they are supervised at all times. For example, when out at child-orientated groups and also when collecting other minded children from school, they are always with her. This ensures children are always safe and protected.

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

The childminder cleans the young children's hands and noses frequently with disposable wipes. She has suitable nappy changing procedures in place. For example, she uses disposable gloves, wipes the mat between each nappy change and disposes of the nappy immediately. Older children have individual towels and all children have access throughout the day to their own individual drinking cups. These procedures help to prevent cross- infection.

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

The childminder is a good role model when implementing behaviour procedures. She encourages young children to say 'please' and 'thank you' and gives clear explanations to the children about the importance of sharing. She has a written behaviour policy in place, which she shares with parents, to ensure that they work together.

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

Indoors children are offered exercise through dancing to the music and babies being given lots of opportunities to crawl around the playroom. They also receive lots of fresh air through having regular access to the outside area, where they slide down the slides, play outdoor games and ride the bicycles. The childminder also ensures that they get further exercise through walking to local parks, places of interest and daily walks to schools and other child play areas. This helps children to learn about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The childminder ensures children learn about nutritious food through being offered snacks of fruit, cheese and crackers and healthy lunchtime meals. Children's dietary needs are adhered to at all times and parents keep her informed of any changes to their dietary requirements. Children are also able to access drinks of water and juice throughout the day. This ensures that children are kept hydrated and begin to understand about healthy

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provision

The childminder understands her role and responsibility in keeping children safe from abuse and neglect. She has completed a safeguarding training course which has given her the confidence to follow appropriate procedures when necessary. She has a policy in place to support her practice and has recently reviewed it to ensure it meets with requirements and has shared it with parents. The inspection was conducted following a concern raised with Ofsted relating to the length of time children are left in the sole care of the childminder's assistant and the assistant not having a first aid qualification. All concerns were discussed at the inspection and the childminder explained that the assistant is booked on the next available first aid course. Until this is competed, the assistant will not be left alone with minded children. Therefore, the childminder was found to be meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

The childminder has a reasonable understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements within the Early Years Foundation Stage. She is becoming more aware of the importance of assessing and monitoring the planning and delivery of the educational programmes, in order to begin to challenge children.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a suitable commitment to improving her service and to ensuring that she meets each child's unique needs. However, she has yet to fully implement procedures for self-evaluation to clearly identify some of her strengths and any weaknesses in her service. She has also not clearly identified her plans for the future or included the views of parents and children.

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provision

The childminder has addressed all of the recommendations raised at the previous inspection. For example, she is beginning to monitor the educational programmes she provides to the children, ensuring they have a varied range of experiences to help them make progress towards the early learning goals. Suitable monitoring of planning and assessment is beginning to support the childminder in having an understanding of children's individual abilities. This shows that the childminder is aware of improving the setting.

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provision

The childminder works closely with parents to ensure their requests and children's care needs are met. Daily verbal discussions keep parents informed of children's routines and activities they have been involved in. The childminder also has a suitable understanding of the importance of working with external agencies and already has appropriate transition procedures in place. This helps to ensure continuity of care.

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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 320270 Local authority Leeds Inspection number 933106 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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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