Childminder in Kirklees

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/08/2013 28/01/2009

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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 happy and go on a varied range of outings and walks where they visit interesting places. This supports them in learning about their community and the world around them.  The childminder's relationships with children are positive. She appropriately promotes their health and understanding of keeping safe, hygiene and the importance of daily exercise.  Through training and working with the local authority, the childminder is taking positive steps to improve the service for children.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder is not always effectively using her observations to accurately assess children's next steps. Therefore, planning challenging and enjoyable experiences across all areas of learning is not consistent.  The childminder is not maintaining legally required documentation relating to all children for whom she provides care.  Strategies for involving parents in children's initial assessments are not robust. Therefore, the childminder is not maximising on their knowledge of children when planning continuity in their learning.  Monitoring and evaluation is not rigorous. Therefore, identified weaknesses are not prioritised appropriately and the supporting of children's progress is not always robust.

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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 indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning records, planning for children and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector took account of the views of parents through letters.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2004 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband in the Grange Moor area of Wakefield. The ground floor and the first floor bathroom of the home are used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed rear and front garden available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park and takes children on outings on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools, nursery and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently six children on roll, three of whom are within the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 maintain a record for all children for whom care is provided that includes; their full name, date of birth, name and address of every parent and/or carer known to the provider, who has parental responsibility for the child, which parents and/or carers the child normally lives with and emergency contact details

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must:

 improve observation, planning and assessment arrangements to; ensure children's next steps in learning are clearly identified to; ensure planning is targeted to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience; support their progress across all areas of learning.

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

 improve strategies for engaging all parents in children's learning on entry so that information is gathered about children's prior skills with regard to all aspects of their care and learning

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

 enhance self-evaluation so that targeted action plans are prioritised to address identified weaknesses and monitor their effectiveness.

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who attend

Overall, the childminder has a sound understanding of how young children learn and develop. She involves herself in children's play. Although quality of teaching is variable, the childminder does ask some open-ended questions and interactions are positive. This means she encourages children to think for themselves. For instance, when matching the magnetic shapes she encourages children to work out where the pieces go. Through her observations she has some awareness of children's abilities, likes and learning needs. Therefore, she is planning a range of activities to support children in making steady progress in their learning, especially in the prime areas of learning. This contributes to preparing children for school. For example, she promotes their language and communication skills through her positive interactions with children. When looking at the photographs she encourages children to talk about their experiences and ask questions.

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who attend

As a result, children are chatty and they easily engage in conversations. However, observation, planning and assessment processes are not robust enough. The childminder completes a summary of children's progress, which provides an overview of their progress across all areas of learning, but she is not always using the information from this summary to focus on areas where progress is not as evident. For example, she has not swiftly identified that she has no observations for some older children in the specific areas of learning. Therefore, assessment processes are not precise or accurate enough in identifying children's next steps to ensure planning consistently provides challenging experiences to support individual children's progression.

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who attend

Although the childminder may not always focus on children's next steps, she does provide a varied range of activities and experiences for them, especially outdoors. She takes them on numerous outings and visits. The children enjoy these and excitedly talk about their experiences. For example, they go on the steam train to the seaside and visit farms, parks, museums and other places of interest. This provides opportunities for children to experience different environments and learn about nature, history and the natural world. In addition, children learn about their community, and this helps them to talk about differences and supports them in having positive impressions towards all people who live in society. This sufficiently fosters children's development in understanding the world. Children enjoy looking at books and taking part in drawing activities, such as chalking on the pavement. These activities support their early literacy development. The childminder

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who attend

appropriately promotes children's progress in mathematics. She introduces them to number through counting rhymes. Through games, children match the different shapes and use different sized containers in the water to learn about volume, size and measure. Children are creative and imaginative learners. They enjoy role play, such as washing the dolls' clothes and pretending to make tea. When painting they are creative and express their own ideas, and they enjoy music and singing activities. This appropriately supports children's development in expressive arts and design.

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who attend

The childminder gathers some relevant information from parents when children first start at the setting. For example, through an 'all about me' form, she is aware of children's routines and care arrangements. She regularly discusses children's progress with parents and they can take home their child's record at any time. Therefore, they are appropriately informed about their child's progress. This enables parents to extend their child's learning at home. However, the information on the 'all about me' form is more focused on care arrangements and not as detailed about children's prior skills, knowledge and understanding. Therefore, the childminder is not fully engaging parents in children's initial assessments so that she gathers good information on their starting points. This means when planning continuity in children's learning she is not building on parents' knowledge of their child's abilities and current interests.

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

The children have positive relationships with the childminder. They are happy and feel safe and secure in her care. This is because when settling children, the childminder gradually builds up the time they stay with her without their parents. This provides time for the children to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings and the childminder. In addition, through discussions with parents and an 'all about me' form, the childminder gathers some information about children's likes and routines. She incorporates these routines into the day to promote continuity for children, ensuring the transition from home provides security for children. This appropriately promotes their personal, social and emotional development and helps them to embark on new challenges with confidence; for example, it supports children as they move on to new settings, such as school and nursery.

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

The childminder appropriately promotes children's health. She provides healthy meals and snacks, and gives children's choices so that they start to think about the options they are making. In addition, children regularly go to the butchers to choose the meat for their tea and they discuss which animals the meat comes from. Through regular routines, such as hand washing, the children are learning about health and hygiene. For example, children know when to wash their hands and they understand this is because of germs, which can make them ill. Through plenty of walks, outings and visiting the park, children spend time in the fresh air, and these activities encourage them to be active. This appropriately supports children's physical development, helps them to understand exercise and promotes a healthy lifestyle. Children are appropriately learning about ways in which they can keep themselves safe. The childminder involves children in fire evacuation practises,

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

and they understand about road safety because they regularly go on outings.

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

Through positively praising children, the childminder promotes their confidence and self- esteem. She helps children to learn about acceptable behaviour because she provides consistent routines and boundaries. Through games, positive role models and discussions, children understand that it is kind to share and take turns. Children have regularly opportunities to mix and socialise with other children at groups. This supports them in developing positive, harmonious and cooperative relationships with their peers. The childminder provides variable opportunities for children to be independent. For example, she organises resources around her home so that they can make their own choices in play. As a result, children eagerly explore their environment and engage in activities they enjoy. For example, when playing outdoors, children ask if they can wash the dolls' clothes and the childminder facilitates this. In addition, children have some opportunities

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

to occasionally make their own sandwiches, which contribute to them developing their self-care skills.

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provision

Overall, the childminder has a sound understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She keeps children safe because she carries out regular safety checks and completes risk assessments. This means she puts in place appropriate precautions to minimise accidents. The childminder has a sufficient understanding of child protection issues. She is able to recognise signs of abuse and neglect, and knows which agencies she must involve if she has any concerns about the children in her care. This contributes to protecting children from harm. The childminder maintains most documentation, which includes written policies and procedures, such as administrating medication, recording of accidents, consent to take children on outings and managing children's behaviour. In the main, these contribute to the childminder keeping children safe. However, she occasionally

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provision

provides temporary care for a child and has not maintained a record of this child's personal details, such as parents' emergency contact details, the child's name or address. This means the childminder is not meeting all welfare requirements. Nevertheless, there is no immediate impact on children's safety, because she is fully aware of the child's details, despite not maintaining a record of them. In addition, this failure to record children's details extends to some older children who have recently started at the setting. Therefore, the childminder is not meeting all the requirements for the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Again, children's safety is not compromised because the childminder is aware of this information.

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provision

The childminder has taken some steps towards evaluating her service. This has resulted in her making some improvements to the provision for children. For instance, she has devised a number of written policies and procedures. This contributes to raising her awareness of some of her responsibilities in relation to promoting and safeguarding children's welfare. Through evaluation the childminder is aware of some her strengths and she identifies areas to improve, such as providing an allotment for children to plant and grow. However, monitoring is not robust because she is not always identifying or prioritising how to tackle weaknesses, resulting in breaches in requirements. In addition, although she uses a summary to monitor children's progress, she is not using this effectively to ensure she provides a breadth of experiences across all areas of learning. As a result, continuous improvement is not always targeted to support children's

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provision

achievements over time. The childminder welcomes the views of parents and other professionals when evaluating her service, for example, she seeks support from her local authority. As a result, she is beginning to use evaluation tools they provide as a way to support improving the provision for children. Since her last inspection, the childminder is much more open and proactive in accessing training courses. Therefore, she is taking some positive steps to improve the provision for children through improving her skills and knowledge.

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provision

The childminder has sound relationships with parents. Through discussions and children's learning records she provides some information to parents on their child's progress and what activities they can do to support this at home. Written comments from parents are complementary. They say the childminder keeps their children safe and that they enjoy going on the outings and visits. The childminder appropriately communicates with other settings children attend. For example, she finds out what children are experiencing in school or nursery so that she can support and complement this learning in her setting. For example, by talking to parents and nursery about children's favourite songs, they all work together to encourage children to engage in singing activities. This promotes continuity in children's learning. The childminder is aware of importance of working in partnership with external agencies, such as health professionals, to support children with special

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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:

 maintain a record of each child's name, home address and date of birth, the name of their parents, their home address and telephone number (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  maintain a record of each child's name, home address and date of birth, the name of their parents, their home address and telephone number (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 EY277419 Local authority Kirklees Inspection number 819937 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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