Childminder in Devon

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 31/10/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The childminder is very sensitive to children's emotional needs and as a result, they feel safe and secure in her care.  The childminder works closely with parents to make sure she gains relevant information to enable her to meet children's individual needs well.  The childminder uses her observations of children at play well to identify any areas for development and plans successfully to build on what children know and can do.  The childminder provides a welcoming homely environment where children can play safely.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder provides fewer resources made of natural materials for children to explore.  Although children are engaged in the activities they are offered, the childminder does not always adapt them to make them as age appropriate as possible and therefore extend the learning potential.

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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 compulsory part 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 with the children she was caring for.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the childminder's documentation, including evidence of suitability checks.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder about the children she cares for and observed an activity with her.

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Inspection activities

 The childminder reviewed comments made by parents about the childminder's care of their children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2013. She lives with her partner and two children, both of who are in the early years age group, in Feniton, Honiton which is in Devon. All areas on the ground floor are used for childminding purposes. There are toilet facilities on the ground and first floor. The bedrooms, on the first floor, are used for sleep purposes only. There is a rear garden available for outside play. The family has two dogs that can be excluded from children if and when necessary.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She offers care from 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday but can be flexible to meet the needs of parents. She currently has four children on roll, three of who are in the early years age range.

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

 consider how to adapt creative activities to ensure that younger children have the best learning opportunities from them

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

 extend the range of natural resources to enable young children to experience all their senses, for example, through the use of heuristic play and treasure baskets.

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who attend

The childminder is currently caring for very young children. As a result, she is focussing on developing the most important areas of their development, which are their emotional security, physical development and communication and language. Her first priority is to make sure that children feel emotionally secure and she does this well. She is welcoming and approachable and children respond well to her, going to her for comfort and reassurance. She lets them explore their environment by making sure it is safe for them to do so and provides a good variety of activities for them. Generally, she targets activities well to their age and abilities. For example, she places objects just out of reach for children to encourage their physical development. She provides songs and rhymes to enable children to learn a sense of rhythm and to understand how their bodies work. She teaches children to feed themselves by giving them small pieces of food that they can pick

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who attend

up themselves and praises their achievements to encourage this further. The childminder is aware of the importance of making good eye contact with children to encourage their speech and communication. She is patient, giving children time to respond to questions. She constantly talks to the children and uses every opportunity to teach them new words. As a result, children make good progress in developing their communication and language skills. The childminder provides children with fun activities, which they enjoy and which provide them with an enthusiasm for learning. They enjoy scooping out the flesh of a pumpkin, for example, which encourages their co-ordination skills as they use a spoon to dig deep inside. Children are quick to pick up pens and pencils to practise early writing skills, which they do with success.

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who attend

The childminder takes every opportunity to teach children something new. For example, when they are in the car, they play 'I Spy', which she uses to teach young children about colours as they drive through the countryside. She has a variety of puzzles for children of different abilities to encourage them to 'have a go'. However, on occasions some activities are not adapted to ensure that every age of child learns as much as they might from it. As a result of the childminder's positive attitude children are developing a curiosity to learn, which helps to prepare them for school when the time comes.

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

The childminder knows that in order to learn children must feel safe and secure. As a result, she gains information from their parents about each child's likes, dislikes and routines in order to help them settle quickly in her home and care. For example, she finds out about children's sleep and toileting routines and makes sure she follows them. As a result, children build good relationships with her very quickly, confidently making their needs known. For example, asking her for their comfort blanket and dummy when they feel tired. The childminder is confident in her practice, adapting to children's needs. For example, bringing forward a nap time when she spots that young children may be tired but then realising that they may find it difficult to settle when there are different people in the home. The childminder deliberately organises her daily routine to match the local primary school's timings. This is so that when children eventually move onto school their

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

bodies will be used to the school's break times for eating and relaxing.

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

The childminder teaches children how to keep themselves safe at an age appropriate level. She reminds very young children not to sit on the arms of the sofa, for example, explaining that they may slip off and children respond well to her requests to get down. She is a good role model and teaches children to behave well. For example, she has a 'calm down' time for children who display unwanted behaviour. She teaches children to become independent by, for example, providing them with a paper towel dispenser and stool at their height in the cloakroom so that they can learn to wash and dry their own hands. It is evident that this works in practice as all children, including the very young children, do not need to be reminded of this and do it automatically. The childminder teaches children about healthy lifestyles by encouraging them to have regular physical exercise in the local environment and by encouraging healthy eating. Although parent

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

supply their children's food, she has a healthy eating policy and talks to parents about this.

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

The childminder provides children with well-resourced spaces both inside and outside her home, where they can play safely. She makes sure that they can reach toys easily so that they can make their own choices, ensuring for example, that small pieces are removed when younger children are present. However, most of the toys and resources in her home are made from plastic so children have less opportunity to explore their senses using natural materials such as wood in their play.

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provision

The childminder has only been caring for children for a few weeks but she has already begun to make detailed assessments of their development so that she can monitor their progress. She has quickly built good relationships with each child's parents in order to work closely with them and any other agencies to devise individual plans of learning. In addition to this she uses her own observations of children at play and links these with recognised guidance to tell her what areas of development she needs to concentrate on. She then plans appropriate activities and records children's progress to give a very clear picture of the good progress they are making in her care. She is very aware that some children may need extra support to help them make rapid progress and plans for this accordingly.

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provision

The childminder is very aware of her responsibility to keep children safe. She has a detailed child protection policy and can describe what she would do in the event of any concerns she may have about a child in her care. She is proactive in making sure that children are never left alone in the care of an adult who has not been appropriately checked. In addition, she undertakes regular risk assessments, putting children's safety as a high priority. For example, although it would be beneficial for children to walk to the local primary school the childminder takes them in her car as the lane to the school has no pavement and she says cars drive too quickly with no regard to pedestrians. This demonstrates a good understanding of how to keep children safe.

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provision

The childminder has completed a thorough self-evaluation, where she looks at every aspect of her practice. As her childminding is still in its infancy she is still developing her practice but has already identified that children in her care will be requiring a progress check when they reach the age of two. She has recognised that she may need support in making sure this is completed appropriately and plans to seek advice or training in order to do this. The childminder has regular contact with her childminding support worker who provides her with this type of support and advice. She also meets with other childminder's to share good practice tips. This demonstrates that she is committed to continue to make improvements that will benefit the children in her care.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY459758 Local authority Devon Inspection number 918006 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 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

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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