Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 21/11/2013 12/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder does not have a suitable knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which means that she is not able to use her observations to accurately assess children's learning or plan high quality challenging experiences across the seven areas of learning.  Safeguarding procedures are not robust, the childminder has hindered the process of obtaining the relevant suitability checks for all those in the household over 16 years.  Risk assessments are not thorough enough to identify that the storage and organisation of resources is not safe. This impacts on the safety of children.  Links with other settings that the children attend are not strong enough to ensure that individual needs are identified and met.  The organisation of resources is too cluttered. As a result, children cannot access resources independently and make independent choices in their play.

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It has the following strengths

 Children settle very quickly into the setting and are happy in the childminder's care because she has well thought out settling in procedures, which enable her to form caring relationships.

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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 held discussions with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children and observed play and learning activities inside the home.  The inspector looked at children's assessment records and planning documentation.  The inspector took into account feedback from parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the childminder, the provider's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2005. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged 16, 10 and four years in the residential area of Ashington in Northumberland. The home is close to local amenities, such as shops, primary schools and playgroups. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom on the first floor is used for childminding purposes and there is an enclosed garden to the rear available for outdoor play. The family has a pet dog and fish.

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Information about the setting

The childminder collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently 10 children on roll, two of whom are in the early years age group and attend on a part-time basis. The childminder is open all year round from 7.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday for 48 weeks of the year. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 improve knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to use observations to develop precise assessments to understand children's level of achievement, interests, and learning styles. Use these to shape learning experiences across the seven areas of learning so that children make good progress

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must:

 ensure thorough risk assessments are carried out to make sure that all possible hazards are identified and appropriate actions taken to remove or minimise the risk

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must:

 improve links with other providers, including local schools, to ensure that children benefit from a shared understanding and common approach to support their progress in learning.

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

 improve the organisation of resources so that children can make independent choices in their play by selecting a range of resources independently.

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who attend

The childminder is developing her understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has attended training in the past on observation and assessment, which is enabling her to carry out observations of children. However, the childminder's knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage is currently limited and this hinders her ability to use her observations to consistently and accurately identify where children are in their learning and to plan appropriate next steps. The childminder is beginning to use Early Years documentation to carry out assessments of children's learning but, this is not carried out regularly enough to impact on children's achievements. Consequently, this affects the progress that children can make during their time at her setting and does not demonstrate how they are prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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who attend

The activities provided for children are generally based around flexible routines, which include going to toddler groups and free play in the childminder's home. The childminder plans activities that she thinks children will enjoy doing while they are in her care. This ensures that children benefit from a variety of experiences that aid their enjoyment. Children enjoy playing board games and they concentrate well on these games for extended periods of time. The childminder supports the children throughout their play and encourages them to take turns, count and talk about shape and colour. As a result, children can recognise the number of spots on the dice, some colours and some shapes, such as circle and rectangle. She also helps children to count accurately as they move around the board and, as a result, they begin to count accurately to four. The childminder listens to the children and talks to them throughout the session. Consequently, children

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who attend

talk happily about what they have been doing with her. Children have opportunities to develop their physical skills as they visit the park and play outside on trampolines. This ensures they have opportunities to develop large muscle skills. Activities, such as drawing and painting, mean that the development of small muscle groups is supported.

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who attend

The childminder keeps parents informed about their child's daily care through regular verbal feedback and text messages. She informs parents about what their children have been doing and other important information that affects their learning and care needs. However, the childminder's limited knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage does not effectively support parents in being involved in their child's ongoing learning and progress towards the early learning goals.

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

Children are not able to play in a welcoming and safe environment because resources are very cluttered with many resources stacked on top of each other. This impacts on the safety of children and does not promote independence as children are not able to make independent choices in their play. However they are able to play in a clean, homely environment where they are treated as part of the family. Children are encouraged to feed themselves at mealtimes and put on and take off their coats and shoes. The childminder takes effective steps to promote good health. For example, she ensures hands are washed after blowing noses and coughing, as well as before meals. She promotes a healthy diet as children independently help themselves to their drinks and the childminder provides a variety of healthy meals, which includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. She ensures they have regular opportunities for fresh air and exercise as she visits local parks, walks to

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

school and plans various trips. Children begin to develop an awareness of how they can keep themselves safe as they practise fire drills and road safety.

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

The childminder has a warm relationship with the children. She is calm and caring and children relate well to her. Children love playing with the childminder and ask to play games with her throughout the session. This demonstrates that children are emotionally secure and clearly happy in her care. Children learn to play with each other as they play games, they learn to take turns and concentrate well on games they have chosen. This helps them to build relationships with their peers. The children have clear boundaries in the setting and, as a result, they behave well in the setting. This prepares children for later learning.

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

Children are helped to settle as the childminder offers flexible settling-in procedures to meet the needs of the children and their parents. The childminder gathers information from parents at the start to meet children's well-being, this includes, their routines and medical needs. This means that they can get to know the childminder and contributes to their overall well-being when they are in her care. The childminder also helps children to settle into school or nursery. This is because children visit the school with the childminder and get to know the staff before they start.

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provision

The childminder has insufficient knowledge and understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder has not returned the required forms to Ofsted to enable them to carry out suitability checks on all persons aged 16 and over living on the premises. Risk assessments are also not robust enough to ensure that the premises, particularly the storage of resources, are safe. This is a breach of legal requirements in relation to the Early Years and the Childcare Registers. However, the childminder has a suitable understanding of the signs and symptoms of abuse, including procedures to follow if she had a concern about a child. She has recently attended training and has an up to date list of who to contact if she had a concern about a child. The childminder also holds a current first aid certificate, this means that she could respond to any accidents quickly and appropriately.

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provision

The childminder has informal systems in place for self-evaluation. She has completed actions and recommendations from the last inspection and seeks the views of parents and carers. She has attended relevant training to ensure that all appropriate certificates are up to date and she has highlighted that she needs to improve her knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, however, this is in its infancy and, as a result, she does not have a suitable overview of the progress that children are making towards the early learning goals. This does not ensure that gaps in children's learning are covered and does not support planning based on children's next steps in learning.

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provision

The childminder has developed close relationships with parents and they like the family atmosphere she provides. The childminder ensures that they are kept appropriately informed about the service she provides as they receive key policies and procedures at the start. She also keeps parents up to date about their development. The childminder has suitable relationships with the local school and they share information relating to the care and well-being of the children. However, the childminder's lack of understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation stage does not fully support a two- way flow of information between the childminder and the school.

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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:

 undertake thorough risk assessments of the premises and equipment and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks. (compulsory part of Childcare register)  undertake thorough risk assessments of the premises and equipment and ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks. (voluntary part of 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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY307808 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 877928 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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

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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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