Childminder in Leicestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/10/2013 12/04/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 2 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 childminder compromises children's health and safety. She does not have evidence of current first aid training or obtained permission from parents to take children on outings.  The childminder has failed to notify Ofsted of changes to those persons living in the childminding premises.  The childminder does not always take appropriate action to minimise risks to children.  The childminder does not carry out regular self-evaluation or reflective practice to improve the provision further for children.  The childminder does not effectively and consistently use her observations and assessment of children's learning to ensure that planning is precisely matched to children's individual next steps in learning. This does not support children in making good progress towards the early learning goals.  Relationships with other early years providers are not established well enough to ensure fully consistent support for children's learning and development.

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It has the following strengths

 Children have good relationships with the childminder. She is caring and kind and they have strong attachments to her, which promotes their emotional needs well. Consequently, the children are settled and happy in her care.

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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 conducted a tour of the premises during the inspection.  The inspector observed children's activities and routines in the indoor area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times throughout the observations and spent time interacting with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's information, a selection of policies and procedures and children's records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, two adult children and 15 year old daughter in a house in Asfordby, Leicestershire. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has three dogs, two cats and guinea pigs as pets. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities out and about in the locality. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 11 children on roll, eight of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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must:

 provide evidence of first aid training, which is approved by the local authority and relevant for workers caring for young children

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must:

 ensure children are kept safe and supervised at all times to meet their needs

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must:

 improve the provision of challenging and enjoyable experiences for children in all areas of learning and development, by using robust observation and assessment of children's learning to identify their next steps. Use this information to plan learning experiences for individual children that consistently match their interests and needs

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must:

 obtain written parental permission for children to take part in outings, to support and maintain children's safety and well-being

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must:

 foster a culture of continuous improvement, for example, by implementing rigorous and effective systems to monitor and evaluate practice, which include feedback from parents and children, and use this to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement.

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

 improve partnerships with other providers to fully support children's transitions as they move between different settings and to ensure that information is continually shared to support children's good progress.

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who attend

The childminder collects a sufficient range of information from parents regarding children's individual routines, previous learning and starting points. This helps her to meet children's individual care needs and supports their settling in period as they move from home to the childminder. The childminder has a suitable knowledge of children's capabilities and demonstrates through discussion, that she is aware that children are making steady progress towards the early learning goals. She has a suitable understanding of the seven areas of learning and has begun to make some records on the progress children make. The childminder is aware of children's likes and dislikes which she identifies through observing children at play. However, the childminder is not yet using information from her observations or monitoring the progress children make. She is beginning to use children's interests to support their play but does not yet focus on providing challenging activities or

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who attend

ideas that link to these interests to address children's next steps in their learning. As a result, children make satisfactory, rather than good, progress.

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who attend

Learning and teaching is satisfactory. The childminder supports children through role modelling resources, engaging with children as they play and extending their thinking skills through asking some key questions. For example, a child brings the toy telephone over to the settee; the child lifts the receiver and says 'heyo', the childminder asks 'who is on the phone'. This supports their language for thinking. Children are happy and settled within the childminder's care. Young children show this as they easily approach the childminder to show her what they are doing, or to have a cuddle. All children move around with confidence, helping themselves to the range of accessible resources. For example, a group of children work together to build with the large bricks while another child sits at the table building their own creation from small plastic bricks. However, the childminder does not always pose a wide range of questions, and resources provide

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who attend

satisfactory challenge. This means that the impact of teaching on children's progress is satisfactory rather than good. Children begin to develop suitable skills for their future learning and school readiness. For example, they wash their hands after toileting and help themselves to their drinks as and when this is required, which helps to develop their independence.

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who attend

Early number skills are somewhat promoted as the childminder assists a child to count the number of bricks they show her; however, she misses opportunities to extend this through not talking about the colour of these or adding more bricks. Despite these gaps, the childminder is quick to celebrate and praise the children in all they do. For example, a child shows her what they have made from plastic bricks; she congratulates them for this, stating 'you are so clever, well done'. As a result, children's confidence and self-esteem develop. Children enjoy looking at books and the childminder discusses how she uses books to support and extend children's growing communication. Songs and rhymes are introduced to enable children to practise their skills in language and young children spontaneously sing to themselves as they play. For example, while building with the large bricks a young child sings 'Incy, Wincy spider', using hand actions to support each line.

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who attend

Those children with strong communication skills use their language to organise their play and ideas. For example, an early years child and an older child discuss how they will 'make our own nursery', giving each other defined roles and talking about how this will work. This also supports their literacy skills as they make a sign and a register from the paper and pencils that are accessible to them.

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who attend

Children's creative skills are appropriately supported. For example, children sit at the table, using pencil crayons and plain paper along with printed pictures, to colour. However, although the childminder sits with children and offers good conversation, she misses opportunities to explore children's understanding of colour during this activity. Children's imagination is good. They have access to a suitable range of dressing-up clothing and role-play equipment to support their play, ideas and interests. For example, the childminder comments how one of the children loves to play 'superheroes', therefore, she has ensured that when they are present, these resources are easily accessible. Children learn about the natural world through a range of well-planned activities. For example, children get out and about most days to various play parks, farms and country parks. In addition, the children assist the childminder to plant various fruits and vegetables in her

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who attend

garden, watering them and observing the progress they make. The childminder comments that this has provided children with opportunities to try foods they have not had before. Children are developing their confidence in the use of simple technology as they play with interactive toys.

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

Children have an appropriate area for play, and suitable furniture for rest and sleep. Overall, the childminder has sufficient resources and toys for children. These are stored appropriately to ensure that children are able to reach them to support play. Children know where toys are stored and confidently seek items to play with, showing their growing independence. However, children are not always kept safe or supervised appropriately. For example, occasionally, sleeping children are left in the car, as is the agreement with parents, due to sleeping habits. This does not safeguard children's welfare and puts their safety at risk as they are not within the childminder's sight or hearing. Children learn about keeping themselves safe because they take part in practising the evacuation procedure. The childminder has built close relationships with children and their families. She seeks information on their care and learning before they begin in her care

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

and offers staggered entry to allow children to settle at their own pace. As a consequence, children are happy and confident.

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

Children behave well and they listen to instructions from the childminder, responding appropriately to requests. For example, when children climb on chairs or run around the setting, the childminder reminds them that this may cause them harm. Children show they understand when asked why this is so, stating 'I might fall over and hurt myself'. The childminder praises children and encourages independence, for example, when they have carried out set tasks, such as putting toys away. Children learn about healthy eating through the provision of healthy choices of foods offered in the home. Children sit together for all meals and snacks, which supports their social skills and good habits. For example, they say 'please' and 'thank you' when needed and take turns in accessing the fruit for snack. Children develop an understanding of the importance of physical exercise as they get out in the garden, visit local parks and attend 'stay and play' sessions. Older

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

children show independence through self-care, for example, by visiting the bathroom independently. Younger children begin to manage putting on and taking off their own coats and shoes. These activities support children's preparation for school.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward as a result of concerns raised regarding the safety of children in the childminder's care. The inspection found the childminder is not meeting a number of the legal requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, along with some requirements for both parts of the Childcare Register. This directly impacts on children's safety and well-being. For example, sleeping children are left in the car unsupervised, consents from parents are not consistently sought or accessible and she has not ensured that Ofsted are notified of changes to those living on the premises. The childminder has a suitable understanding of local Safeguarding Children Board requirements to enable her to take appropriate action should she have concerns for a child's welfare. The childminder is careful to make sure her home and garden are safe for children. She undertakes daily visual checks to ensure that areas children access are

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provision

safe and suitable. She considers how to manage children's safety on outings to ensure that she is able minimise any potential hazards. For example, she uses buggies and reins as well as talking with children about how to be safe when they are out. However, there are potential safeguarding risks as the childminder has a poor understanding of when to notify Ofsted. For example, the she has not notified Ofsted that an additional adult has moved back into the premises. This is a breach of requirements. The childminder has misplaced her first aid certificate which means she is not able to evidence that this is valid. However, she discussed how she has completed one part of a new first aid course to ensure that she is able to meet with the requirements of registration.

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provision

The childminder does not use effective methods to monitor and evaluate her practice in order to identify areas for continuous improvement. She does not monitor the provision for children's learning and development to ensure that this supports their progress and enables them to make good progress. She is aware of the importance of liaising with other early years settings to support children's move from one setting to another, however, this is not yet robust to ensure that information can be shared to support children's good progress. Since the last inspection the childminder has improved the outdoor environment to ensure that this is safe and secure for children's play. However, the use of observations and assessments to ensure children are challenged and able to make the best progression in their learning and development has not been addressed appropriately. This means that the childminder displays a weak capacity to maintain ongoing improvement in the future

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provision

The childminder has developed positive relationships with parents and provides daily feedback on what children have been doing while in her care. As a result, parents are kept adequately informed of their children's achievements. Settling-in sessions are agreed with parents and information exchanged about individual routines and care needs, in order to help children settle and to promote a smooth transition from one home to the next. However, parents' and children's views are not sort to help support and develop areas for improvement within the setting. As a consequence, they have little opportunity to contribute to change.

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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:

 ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that evidence is in place of an appropriate first aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that evidence is in place of an appropriate first aid qualification (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person aged 16 or over working or living on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person aged 16 or over working or living on the premises (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children receiving childcare are kept safe from harm (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 EY341210 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 936469 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 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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