Childminder in East Sussex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/08/2013 25/02/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 The childminder supports children's development well across all areas of learning.  The childminder develops a strong emotional attachment with the children and they are happy and comfortable in her care.  The childminder keeps children safe and promotes their good health appropriately.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not meet all requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The childminder does not critically evaluate her practice on a regular basis to drive improvement.  Children lack good opportunities to learn about the socially diverse world around them.

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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 the childminder and children both inside and outdoors in the childminder's garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder, her assistant, and the children during the inspection.  The inspector viewed all areas of the home used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including policies and procedures, the register of attendance, children's learning records and the accident and medication records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1987. She lives with her husband and one adult daughter in Eastbourne, East Sussex. The ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding and part of an enclosed rear garden is used for outside play. The family has two pet dogs and a cat. The childminder is currently minding five children, of whom three are in the early years age range. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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must:

 ensure that the register of attendance is maintained to show children's hours of attendance.

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

 develop the use of self-evaluation, including by taking account of the views of parents and children to identify priorities for improvement

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

 develop further opportunities for children to understand more about the social world around them.

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who attend

Children make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. They benefit from being with a caring childminder who has a good knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's learning. She guides their development through warm and positive interaction and by enabling them to lead their own play. Children take part in a wide range of activities, which follow their interests and cover all areas of learning. The children also go on many outings around the local community with the childminder to attend groups where they participate in art and craft activities, and to parks to use the play equipment. However, children do not regularly have good opportunities to learn about social diversity and understand the world around them. For example, to help them understand that some people have a disability and some have a different ethnicity and cultural heritage, as well as speaking different languages.

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who attend

Children delight in showing off their physical agility as they crawl through a tunnel, practise balancing a hoop as they spin around and balance on different equipment. The childminder strongly encourages children's communication and language skills from a young age. She helps toddlers build words together to make simple sentences and responds to them well when they spot a bird and an aeroplane in the sky by repeating words back to them. Older children have good opportunities to develop mathematical skills, such as simple addition and grouping objects through everyday play experiences and by playing dominoes using large cards. Children also develop skills for the future, such as writing letters of the alphabet as they practise chalking outdoors on a board in the garden. Such activities help children develop skills necessary for school.

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who attend

The childminder monitors children's progress through good use of observation and assessment. She identifies next steps for learning to help each child make progress through challenging and purposeful experiences. The childminder regularly shares information about each child's learning and development by sharing records with parents. The childminder understands the requirements regarding the completion of progress checks for children when they are aged between two and three and to share this with parents. The childminder is also confident in sharing information about children with other early years settings they may attend. She also understands the importance of supporting children with their move to school to support continuity for each child in their learning and development.

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

Children are happy, play energetically and form strong emotional attachments to the childminder and her family. Consequently children feel safe and comfortable in her care. The children's behaviour is good and they respond to requests from the childminder, so they learn about right and wrong and how to use good manners. Such practices help children learn important social skills and support them well in their future learning at school. The children are able to develop good levels of self-confidence and independence because they make their own decisions about what they do and play with at the childminder's home. There is a good range of resources available to them, to support their play and learning interests well. Children move confidently around the childminder's home and settle down well when they are tired and need to sleep. This reflects how content they are in her care and home.

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

Children stay safe and are well cared for because the childminder closely supervises them at all times. She makes sure her home stays secure and that potential hazards, such as the garden pond, do not present a risk to children's welfare because of her effective safety arrangements. On outings, the childminder now makes sure that children keep safe in her car, seating them appropriately and making sure she obtains written consent from parents to take children out and about in the community. At home the childminder uses simple and gentle reminders to help children learn to keep themselves and others safe. For example, when children become a little over-excited during water play, she carefully reminds them about safety as they splash. Good hygiene practices enable the children to develop healthy lifestyles and reduce risks to their health and well-being. They learn from a young age of the importance of washing

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

hands and drinking plenty of water to stay healthy. Meal times are sociable experiences for everyone as the children sit down together to eat their packed lunches. The childminder maintains a paediatric first aid certificate and understands how to reduce risks of cross infection when treating minor injuries and during nappy changing routines.

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provision

The inspection was carried out due to concerns raised to Ofsted regarding children's safety on outings and the security of the premises. Ofsted carried out an investigation and found the childminder was in breach of two welfare requirements. The childminder had transported more children in her car than she had seats for on one occasion, which put children's safety at risk. In addition the childminder had not kept her premises secure and this resulted in children being able to open the front door to strangers. Ofsted set two Notices to Improve to ensure the childminder keeps children safe whilst on outings, with particular regard to carrying children in the car. She also had to ensure the premises are kept secure, with particular regard to children's access to front door keys. The childminder has now reviewed all her safeguarding policies and procedures, including the use of her car and the security of the front door. This demonstrates she has put satisfactory systems

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provision

in place to protect the children in her care. The inspection found that the childminder does not meet all requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage or the Childcare Register because she does not maintain an accurate register of attendance. The childminder does not complete records of the children's hours of attendance each day in her register, as part of her safeguarding measures, which has a small impact on how well she protects children's welfare. However, all other necessary documentation is in place and is appropriately maintained to help safeguard children. These include medication and accident records and policies and procedures. The childminder protects children from unvetted persons, understands her responsibilities regarding child protection and makes sure that each child remains within her sight and hearing at all times.

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provision

The childminder has a secure understanding of how to meet the learning and development requirements and works well with parents to support children to make progress from their starting points for learning towards the early learning goals. However, the childminder does not regularly evaluate her practice to assess how well she is meeting requirements and to identify priorities for improvement. This weakness has an impact on the outcomes for children because the childminder does not reflect on how well she meets their needs or seek the views of parents to make sure they are happy with the quality of her service. The childminder has fully met most recommendations raised at the last inspection, including making sure the garden pond is safe and improving her assessment systems to monitor children's progress. She has also improved her systems for managing children's behaviour and keeping children safe, which had previously been raised as a concern.

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provision

The childminder keeps parents appropriately informed about their children's care, learning and development through regular feedback, including the use of a daily diary for the younger children. She uses suitable methods to help new children settle into her care, so they are content and feel secure. The childminder understands the need to work collaboratively with any other agencies involved in the children's lives, and with other early years settings and schools to support the needs of each child appropriately.

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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:

 keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (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 505715 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 926374 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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