Childminder in Durham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/10/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children settle well due to the warm, welcoming environment created by the childminder. The secure relationships between the childminder and the children support their confidence and feeling of security within the setting.  The childminder has a sound understanding of how to promote children's good health and well-being. Her home is well maintained and all potential hazards are minimised. This means that children can move around the space freely and safely.  The childminder continuously talks to children and engages appropriately with babies so they hear new words and begin to develop their language for communicating.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not make use of available published guidance to track and assess children's starting points and progress. This does not fully support learning in being targeted to meet children's individual stage of development.  The involvement of parents in identifying children's starting points and contributing to their ongoing learning is not sufficiently embedded. This does not effectively support the childminder in using this information to further extend children's learning.  The childminder has not explored opportunities for children to further develop their creative skills, for example, by exploring a wider range different materials and textures.  Self-evaluation lacks rigour; it does not ensure that the views of parents and children are used effectively and does not fully identify and plan priorities 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 had a tour of the premises and observed children playing.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey records, a selection of policies and children's records and involved the childminder in a joint observation of an activity.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through written comments that they left for the inspection.

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Inspection activities

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

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2012 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 aged four and two years in Wolsingham. The whole of the ground floor and the first floor rear bedroom and bathroom are used for childminding. There is a garden and a yard for outdoor play. The family has two pet cats.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a local toddler group and visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently two children on roll, both of whom are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except family holidays.

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must:

 improve opportunities for parents to further engage in their child's development and learning in the setting and at home by encouraging parents to share further information about what they know about their child initially and on an ongoing basis and use this information to assess children's starting points and inform the planning of activities

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must:

 make use of available published guidance to more effectively track and assess children's development milestones in order to ensure that learning is targeted to meet children's age and stage of development.

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

 develop further opportunities for children to explore a wide range of materials and sensory experiences, such as those with different colours and textures

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

 improve self-evaluation by incorporating the views of parents and children more effectively and prioritising targets for improvement that will raise the overall quality of practice and the level of children's achievements.

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who attend

Children are happy and settled in the childminder's care because she provides a caring, warm and friendly environment for them. The childminder has a developing understanding of the learning and development requirement of the Early Years Foundation Stage and uses this to provide children with a suitable range of age-appropriate activities. In addition, the childminder has recently introduced individual learning journals. These include photographs of the children and observations of their learning, which the childminder uses to identify their next steps in learning. However, as the childminder has only very recently started minding, insufficient time has passed for the childminder's systems to be effectively embedded into her practice. The childminder gathers verbal information from parents at the start, however, this does not include sufficient information for the childminder to effectively identify children's starting points. In addition, she does

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who attend

not yet use available published guidance in order to effectively track children's developmental milestones. This does not support children at this time, in making better than satisfactory progress in their learning and development in preparation for starting school.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with lots of encouragement and she interacts well with them to develop their communication skills. For example, they sing nursery rhymes and she names colours and objects as they play. Babies are beginning to make choices about what they play with and they explore with increasing confidence, for example, they bang and shake a variety of musical instruments. The childminder holds children's attention well as she interacts fully in their play. She supports their early physical skills as she passes toys to them and shows them how use them. For example, babies try to copy her as they bang cymbals together.

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who attend

Children are able to develop their creative skills as they use crayons to make pictures. Babies show an interest in different textures as they look at touch and feel books with the childminder. However, opportunities for young children to further explore a wider variety of different materials, such as gloop or play dough, are not yet provided. Children learn about the world around them as they go on regular outings; this includes walks to the park to feed the ducks and nature walks by the river. The childminder keeps parents up- to-date about their child's activities and what they have enjoyed through daily feedback and a daily diary. However, effective systems for parents to contribute ongoing information about what their children are interested in at home and to view and contribute to their child's learning journal have not been established. This does not fully support continuity of learning for children and means that the childminder is not effectively able to

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who attend

use this information when planning activities.

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

The childminder shows genuine care and warmth towards the children she cares for. For example, she recognises when they are hungry and tired and she cuddles babies affectionately as they fall asleep. Babies show they hare happy and secure in her care as they smile at her and hold onto her hand for reassurance. This positively supports their emotional well-being and provides a solid foundation on which they can learn. The childminder gathers relevant information about children's care needs, such as medical history and daily routines, from parents prior to children starting. This is combined with settling-in visits to help children to become familiar with the childminder.

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

The childminder provides a welcoming and friendly environment for children. She has appropriate procedures in place to ensure that children can move around the space freely and safely and provides children with a suitable range of age-appropriate resources. This supports children to make independent choices about their play. The childminder has a sound understanding of promoting children's behaviour. She provides regular praise and encouragement and encourages children to share and be kind to each other. Children have regular opportunities to socialise with their peers as they attend local play groups. Young children also accompany older children as they walk to nursery and school. In addition, this helps to familiarise young children with other settings in preparation for their later transition to nursery or school.

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

The childminder has a sound understanding of how to promote children's good health. She provides children with a range of balanced and nutritious snacks and meals. In addition, children have regular opportunities for fresh air and exercise as they go for local walks and play in the garden. The childminder suitably supports children to learn about how to keep themselves safe through discussion and daily routines, such as practising road safety.

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provision

The childminder has a sound understanding of her roles and responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has completed relevant training and, as a result, demonstrates a clear understanding of safeguarding children issues and is fully aware of procedures to follow should she have any concerns. This is supported by a comprehensive written policy. The childminder promotes children safety as she implements appropriate procedures, such as keeping external doors locked, using cupboard locks and carrying out visual risk assessments. All legally required documentation to effectively safeguard children and support their welfare is in place and up-to-date, this includes medication records and children's details.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a positive attitude towards developing her practice through attending relevant training. She has some understanding of her areas for development, for example, continuing to improve her understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, her systems for self- evaluation are not sufficiently robust. For example, she has not developed effective systems to gather feedback from parents and she has not implemented plans to address priorities for improvement. This does not fully support continuous improvement.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are developing. The childminder meets with them at the start and provides them with a copy of all relevant policies. This means that parents are kept appropriately informed about the childminder's works. Feedback provided by parents is positive, for example, they comment on how well their children settle and how professional the childminder is. The childminder has not yet been required to work with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage, however, she understands the importance of sharing information to support continuity of learning and care for children who attend more than one setting. Monitoring of the educational programmes provided by the childminder is developing. The childminder reflects on her practice to ensure that she provides children with an appropriate range of activities. The childminder has not been required to complete the progress check at age two. However, she demonstrates a

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provision

suitable understanding of this to be able to implement it as and when required.

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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 EY452135 Local authority Durham Inspection number 904838 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 2

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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

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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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