Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/10/2013 24/11/2009

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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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision is satisfactory

 Children are confident, settled and have developed secure attachments with the childminder which promotes their well-being.  There are a wide range of easily accessible resources, indoors and outdoors to support children's choices and interests.  Children have daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise which supports their health and physical needs.

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It is not yet good because

 Children do not make the best possible progress across all of the areas of their development as the childminder does not use observations and assessments to plan activities which consistently challenge children's next steps in learning.  Children are not able to freely select books, to support their literacy skills.  Self-evaluation is not fully established in order to clearly prioritise weaker aspects of practice.  The childminder has not fully developed ways to encourage contributions from parents and carers to their child's learning and development to promote a consistent approach.

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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 viewed all areas of the property used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities and interaction between the childminder and children in the conservatory and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined a range of documentation including policies and procedures, risk assessments and children's developmental records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1998 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three children, aged six, 15 and 20 years. The family lives in the Wistaston area of Crewe. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The family have a pet cat.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools. There are currently 12 children in the early years age group on roll, all of whom attend on a part-time basis. The childminder operates all year round from 6am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday, except for family holidays. The childminder receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 develop further the use of observations and assessments to plan activities which consistently challenge children's development, support their next steps and include a suitable balance of adult-led activities to ensure that children make rapid progress towards the early learning goals.

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must:

 provide an area where books are available for children at all times, to further promote their developing literacy skills.

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

 develop the self-evaluation process and action planning, including the views of parents and children, to overcome weaknesses and identify strengths and areas for further development in order to secure continuous improvement.

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

 develop strategies to encourage parents to become involved in their children's learning and to support learning at home.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates a suitable understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, children are making adequate progress in their learning and development. Children participate in a sufficient range of activities indoors and outdoors to support them in the seven areas of learning. The childminder records children's progress through written observations and photographs of them engaged in activities, which illustrate their developing skills. Children have individual development folders, which celebrate their achievements through observations, photographs and examples of their creative art work. However, these observations are not currently utilised to consistently assess children's progress in all areas of learning. During free play the childminder provides toys and resources which are linked to children's interests and at times the next stage of development. However, the planning of activities is inconsistent, in fully ensuring

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who attend

that children's next steps are incorporated consistently or that there is a suitable balance of adult-led activities.

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who attend

The childminder is encouraging and friendly when interacting with children during play. She gives simple and clear instructions to support children's understanding and support their learning. Children move confidently around the environment and choose which toys and resources they play with. The childminder makes sure that children develop a positive attitude to learning because activities and experiences are based on their interests and are achievable. Children are busy and enjoy the toys available to them. A child chooses a different toy that they want to play with and the childminder gets this out immediately. Through regular opportunities to play in the garden on the slide and other equipment children develop their large physical skills. They develop their small physical skills as they use crayons and drawing resources and are encouraged to feed themselves at mealtimes. The childminder introduces simple mathematics during play, so that from an early age

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who attend

children are being introduced to counting. For example, she encourages the children to select cars of the same colour which they then count together. This demonstrates the childminder's teaching skills and her awareness of how to support children in their learning and development. However, there are gaps in children's learning about literacy as books are not readily available to the children at all times.

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who attend

The childminder engages appropriately with the children, listening to and observing them to know when to offer support or allow them to direct their own play. Children's language and communication skills are suitably extended through regular and routine conversations and during activities. The childminder is reasonably effective in supporting children's language development by asking some appropriate open questions. Older children enjoy chatting with others, demonstrating effective communication skills. They talk about particular toys and describe them and also talk about their family. Younger children attempt to say and repeat words and can make their needs known. Children's creativity is appropriately supported by the childminder as they explore and experiment with dough and art and craft resources. Children have some opportunity to learn about nature as they collect leaves and twigs on walks and use them in art and craft activities. The childminder

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who attend

encourages the children to take turns, join in groups and provides them with opportunities to be involved in early writing activities. Therefore, children are reasonably prepared for the next stage of learning in their lives, such as school.

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who attend

Children are supported appropriately in the transition from home to the childminder's as she obtains information about starting points from parents. The childminder has a suitable understanding of the requirements regarding completing the progress check at age two. Partnership with parents in the sharing of children's care needs is addressed through the childminder providing daily written and verbal information. Parents are encouraged to share photographs from home of their child engaged in activities or family celebrations. However, the childminder does not yet share and involve parents in the assessment of children's development or encourage them to support their learning at home. Therefore, opportunities to support children's progress are not fully supported.

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

Children are confident, settled and have developed good attachments to the childminder. This is because she provides settling-in sessions which enable them to become familiar with her and the new environment. She obtains key information from parents at the start of the placement to ensure that individual needs and routines are known and met. Children are comfortable in the routines, for example, having their nappy changed, as the childminder tells them what she is doing. This helps children to settle easily and more readily into her care and means that children's emotional needs are generally well met. Preparation for children's transition to school includes developing their independence and self-help skills and developing their confidence in writing.

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

Children's behaviour is satisfactorily addressed as the childminder knows them well, using appropriate distraction and discussion, depending on the child's age, to manage inappropriate behaviour. The childminder praises children sufficiently, for example, when they help to tidy away the toys. The learning environment enables the children to select some resources independently and the childminder responds to their requests for additional resources such as dough. During appropriate weather, the door from the conservatory to the garden enables children to move between the indoors and outdoors freely. This promotes their independence and develops their confidence in testing out their abilities on the large outdoor equipment. It encourages children to lead a healthy lifestyle and the childminder promotes daily fresh air and exercise through outdoor play and walking to and from the local school. The childminder promotes healthy eating and

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

encourages the children to eat fresh fruit and vegetables daily. Children develop an understanding of their own safety as the childminder explains why it is unsafe to climb on the toys and the impact of this. She also talks to children about road safety when they are out and about.

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provision

The childminder, generally, has a suitable knowledge and understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, her knowledge of the learning and development requirements is not fully secure. For example, the monitoring of activities to make sure children are challenged and have experiences that cover all of the areas of learning is not fully established. In addition, the assessment of children's development, progress and next steps is in its infancy. This means information obtained through observations is not used to best effect to help to extend children's learning. Consequently, children are not making the best progress in all areas of learning. The childminder acknowledges the areas she needs to develop and is receiving support from the local authority to develop her provision.

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provision

Children are safeguarded appropriately. The childminder has all of the relevant documentation in place to ensure that children are kept safe and secure. She has completed training in child protection and first aid. The childminder is aware of the signs to alert her to any child protection concerns and to whom these should be reported. She also knows what action to take in the event of children becoming injured or ill. Children's safety is appropriately promoted by the childminder. She has carried out risk assessments for her premises and for outings. When on outings she ensures that she supervises children at all times and that she has necessary equipment, such as wrist straps for toddlers, parents and carers contact numbers and a first aid kit. She understands the need to supervise the children in her care at all times, in order to keep them safe from harm. All household members are known to Ofsted to enable appropriate checks to be undertaken.

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provision

Most of the recommendations from the last inspection have been addressed. This means that children get a generally, suitable service that enables them to achieve appropriately in their development. The childminder is beginning to reflect on her own practice, but this is not yet rigorous and does not involve parents' views. She makes appropriate changes when identified, for example, developing the range of resources to support all children's needs. Areas for improvement for the future are relevant, but do not encompass all areas of practice or identify specifically what she will do. The monitoring of the educational programmes is less well developed, particularly in terms of the balance of activities and the challenge provided.

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provision

The childminder has developed positive relationships with parents, which supports continuity in children's learning and care. Parents receive daily feedback of their children's care needs and what they have enjoyed during their day. The childminder has a parent's notice board to share relevant information regarding, insurance details and health and safety, and provides parents with information about her service and her policies on admission. The childminder understands the importance of sharing information between providers when children attend more than one setting and, has close links with the local school. She understands her role in carrying out the progress check at two and where to obtain additional support for children, if needed.

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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 304671 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 938378 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 12

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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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