Childcare on Domestic Premises, Full day care in CroydonOfsted inspection, 9 Sept 2013

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/09/2013 16/04/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 3 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 provider does not have sufficient understanding that checks must be carried out promptly on all persons working or living on childcare premises, to ensure their suitability.  The provider has failed to notify Ofsted of changes in persons working with the children.  The provider has not ensured that there are effective systems in place to assess individual children's progress and plan for their next stages of learning

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It has the following strengths

 Management and staff have developed positive working relationships with parents, helping to provide some continuity of care and learning for their 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 held discussions with the childcarer and staff throughout the inspection.  The inspector viewed the environment and the resources provided.  The inspector fed back her findings to the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The provider registered in 2005. She lives with her husband and provides childcare on domestic premises with three members of staff, two of whom work full time, and two childcare students. Staff hold relevant qualifications in childcare. The property is a house situated in a residential area in Croydon. Children have use of the downstairs, which includes two playrooms, and upstairs playrooms, one of which is allocated for younger babies to use. Toilet provision is provided on both floors. The provision is registered on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The provision supports children who speak English as an additional language. Currently there are 11 children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group. Children are able to attend before and after school and in the school holiday. The setting closes for two weeks at Christmas.

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must:

 ensure that Ofsted are informed of any change to persons, aged 16 years or older, living or working on childcare premises

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must:

 implement an effective system to identify what progress children are making and to identify each child's next stages of learning, to enable all staff to plan appropriate activities

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must:

 ensure a disclosure and barring disclosure is obtained on all persons who work directly with children.

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who attend

The lack of robust systems to ascertain staff's suitability has an impact on children's safety. The fact that children are potentially not safeguarded means that there is not a secure foundation for their learning. In addition, systems to make sure all staff are aware of children's progress are weak. As a result, planning of appropriate activities to help children make progress is inconsistent. The provider and staff show they have an adequate understanding of the areas of learning. For example, although at times activities are not specifically targeted to individual children, there is a variety of resources and activities available that children clearly enjoy. Children's communication and language skills are being promoted adequately, they talk non-stop to each other, discussing and negotiating their play. There are many books and the children enjoy a story being read at any time. They follow the words and often know what is coming next. There are activities

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who attend

to promote children's physical development. For example, children can usually access the garden area outdoors daily, where there is equipment and additional resources, such as balls and hoops.

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who attend

Staff promote children's self-care and independence skills appropriately in many areas. However, due to weak planning children are not always given the opportunities to further develop these skills. The staff spend all their time with the children and are therefore able to stimulate their speech and listening skills throughout their play. Staff respect what children have to say, helping them develop self esteem and confidence. There is a clear behaviour management policy in place, which shows the strategies in place have been considered carefully. Children show they are competent at listening and following instruction, for example as they prepare for dinner or wait until the staff say it is all right to venture outside in the rain.

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who attend

There are appropriate toys and resources that promote children's understanding of numbers, for example puzzles, games and musical instruments. There is a range of creative activities and early writing materials are available, including water play and paints. Staff also provide adult-led opportunities which allows children to experiment with different resources and explore outdoor areas from time to time. Children can easily choose what they want to play with. However, the lack of planning means that staff do not provide children with sufficient opportunities to extend their play.

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who attend

Parents are able to see their children's development records on a regular basis and key persons provide verbal feedback about the children's day and their achievements. Each child has a learning journey folder and this contains observations and assessments, including photographs of the children engaged in different activities. These records are inconsistent in their findings, leading to children's individual progress tracking being unclear at times. Parents are invited to evening meetings to enable them to look at and discuss their children's development records and recent work and there are arrangements for those who are unable to attend. Staff do provide children with some activities to prepare them for their move onto school. For example, they teach them to wait their turn, follow instructions and to dress themselves.

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

Procedures for safeguarding children are not sufficiently robust. The provider fails to ensure that all persons working on the premises have suitability checks carried out promptly. While she informs Ofsted of persons working in her home she is not proactive in chasing up required checks. In addition, she has failed to tell Ofsted when persons no longer work for her, which is a breach of legal requirements of the Early Years Register and the Childcare Register. This compromises children's safety. Risk assessments of the premises make sure that children can play in a safe and child friendly environment. The ratios of adults to children mean that staff are often able to give children full attention on their arrival, helping them settle quickly. The children show they feel settled in the provider's home.

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

Children's backgrounds are important to the provider and personal information is obtained as well as details about their families and language spoken at home, if this is not English. This results in key persons being sensitive to children's cultural needs. Children's independence is developing appropriately as they are able to choose what they want to eat at mealtimes. Staff provide children with a choice from balanced, nutritious foods, helping them learn what is good for them to eat and which they enjoy. Staff provide adequate opportunities for children to develop their physical skills both inside and outside. Occasionally staff take children to a nearby park, this gives them the chance to run about, climb and learn to balance. Younger children are provided with adequate space to learn to walk.

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provision

The provider has failed to meet some of the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has not got robust systems in place to make sure that adults working with children are suitable to do so. The provider and her deputy have recently attended a safeguarding course. This gave them knowledge about what to do if they have concerns about a child but it did not prompt the provider to chase staff checks. Many staff have also attended local authority child protection workshops and first aid training. As a result, most staff are knowledgeable about the procedures to follow to treat any minor injuries children might get. All staff present are able to show they are fully aware of the procedure to follow if they have concerns about any child at the setting.

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provision

Generally. the provider and her staff show an adequate understanding of how children learn and develop. Key persons use the available guidance to support this. They make some observations of the children's achievements linked to the children's stage of development. However, processes to ensure that all staff are aware of whether children are making good progress are weak. This results in children's next stages of learning not being effectively planned for, and children's learning not being extended. The provider has introduced an appraisal process to identify staff's training needs and staff have attended training and workshops. Staff have built links with the local authority childcarer support team and local children's centres to share knowledge and gain support and advice.

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provision

Parents receive a summary of the provider's policies and procedures to make sure they are aware of the provider's role and responsibilities. Parents sign appropriate consent forms where necessary, for example, should they require staff to give their children medication. Parents are encouraged to be involved in aspects of their children's care and learning by discussing their children with staff regularly. They make positive comments about their children's care and opportunities available to their children. The provider has established links with the reception class teachers at local schools, to help children with their moves onto school.

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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:

 put in place effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable and has completed Disclosure and Barring checks (compulsory part of Childcare Register).  put in place effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable and has completed Disclosure and Barring checks (voluntary part of 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 EY294356 Local authority Croydon Inspection number 930772 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childcare - Domestic Age range of children 0 - 4 Total number of places 16 Number of children on roll 11

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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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