Childminder in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2013 02/07/2013

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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

p.1

This provision requires improvement

 Children settle well in the childminder's care and develop close relationships with her. Consequently, they feel safe and secure in their environment.  Children are provided with a good range of activities both in the home and local community, which support their learning well. As a result, they are eager to learn and make good progress in their development.  Children learn to behave well because they know what is expected of them. Their efforts and achievements are acknowledged with praise by the child-minder, which means they have confidence in their abilities.

p.1

It is not yet good because

 Strategies to engage parents to share information about children's learning at home at are not always successful.  The childminder is not making maximum use of the garden to fully support children's outdoor learning experiences.  The childminder's self-evaluation does not clearly demonstrate how she intends to make improvements and set targets for the future, to support long-term achievements and outcomes for all children.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the premises and observed children playing in the downstairs rooms of the house.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, her assistant and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

p.2

Inspection activities

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

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector made observations of and discussed the outcome of an activity that involved children taking part in a matching game with the childminder.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents from written comments they have made about the service.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and four children aged 10, eight, three years and 13 months in the village of Cottingham, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The whole of the ground floor, the bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding purposes. A cat, two rabbits, a bearded dragon and fish are kept as pets.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group, music group and activities at the local children's centre each week and visits the shops and park on a regular basis with children. She collects children from the local school. There are currently 11 children on roll, seven of whom are in 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 for bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder has a recognised childcare qualification at level 3.

p.3

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

 improve the arrangements for parents to share their children's learning at home, so a full picture of their development outside the setting is known, to help plan more precisely for their next steps

p.3

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

 enhance the organisation of the garden, so children have ready access to the area and are able to easily use the equipment available, to further support their physical development

p.3

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

 implement effective plans for self-evaluation, to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has an early years qualification at level 3. As a result, she understands fully how children develop. The childminder interacts well with children to support their learning. Activities are planned to meet children's individual needs and when children learn as part of a group the childminder makes clear differentiations to ensure each one can take part in the activity at their level of understanding. For example, during a matching activity, she encourages younger children to match the colours on the cards and extends this for a more able child by asking her what shape is also on the card. This means children are successfully supported or challenged according to their needs. As a result, they make good progress towards the early learning goals and are well-prepared for school when the time comes.

p.3

who attend

The childminder constantly engages children in conversation, which supports them effectively in becoming confident communicators. For example, she encourages one child to recall a walk in the local area. To encourage the child's thinking skills the childminder asks 'Can you remember what we found?' She gives the child time to formulate her answer and the child delights in recalling how she walked through lots of leaves and found some conkers. The childminder acknowledges the child's thoughts with 'Yes, you did and do you remember you put them in your pockets to carry them back?' The childminder keeps parents informed of their child's progress through ongoing discussion. However, the arrangements to enable parents to share what children have achieved at home are not fully effective. This means the childminder does not have a full picture of the progress children make outside the setting, to aid her in planning more sharply for the next steps in

p.4

who attend

The childminder provides a welcoming and stimulating environment indoors. Children's work is displayed in the playroom, which makes it bright and welcoming. Children are clearly proud of their artwork. For example, they are keen to show the inspector their skeleton and pumpkin pictures they made when learning about Halloween. Toys and resources are presented at children's level in the playroom and this enables them to make choices in their play and become independent learners. For instance, one child delights in playing with the dolls and associated equipment. She happily sits a doll in a pretend high chair and takes items of play food from a box, which she puts in a dish. The child confidently talks about what she is doing, saying, for example, 'Baby will like peas'. She finds a spoon and pretends to feed the doll from this. This shows the child is learning valuable life skills through her play. The childminder sits and watches the child's play and

p.4

who attend

knows when to join in to extend this further and enhance her learning. For instance, she asks the child 'Is the dinner hot?' The child replies 'Yes' and the childminder suggests she blows on the food to 'cool' it down, so the 'baby' does not burn its mouth. The child is receptive to the childminder's suggestion and blows on the 'food'. This shows the child is supported effectively in being an active learner who does not to settle on her first idea.

p.4

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

Appropriate arrangements are in place to support children's transitions into the childminder's care. Settling-in visits are provided and these help children to become familiar with their new surroundings at their own pace. Children's individual needs and care routines are discussed with their parents and followed by the childminder, which means children feel secure. The childminder provides children with valuable opportunities to take part in activities in the local community, such as attending a music session each week at the home of another childminder and outings to soft play venues. This enables children to interact with other adults and gain confidence in joining in with learning experiences outside their normal childcare environment. This further prepares them for school. Children clearly enjoy these activities. For instance, one child says she 'Likes going down the slide at soft play'.

p.4

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

Children's health is promoted appropriately. The childminder teaches children to follow good hygiene routines, such as using hand sanitizer before eating their snack. This guidance and support helps children to develop their self-care skills. Children are offered a good range of fresh fruit for their snack and the childminder praises them when they eat this up, which promotes a positive attitude towards healthy eating and mealtimes. A no smoking policy is in place for the premises and the garden. Those adults who work with children and who are smokers follow this effectively. However, this policy is not put into practice when walking out in the community with children. While this is not a breach of the welfare requirements, it is not good practice to display in the presence of children. The childminder takes children to the park and for walks in the local area, so they benefit from fresh air and exercise. A good range of equipment to support children in developing their

p.5

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

coordination and physical skills is available in the garden. However, the area is not being used currently for children's play as it requires some maintenance and better organisation and positioning of equipment, so children can use this safely. This means the opportunities for children to further develop their physical skills on an ongoing basis are reduced.

p.5

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

The childminder effectively supports children to behave well. Her patient approach means she is a positive role model for children to follow. She acknowledges children's efforts and achievements with praise, which helps them to feel good about themselves. She provides group activities and games to promote turn taking and sharing and encourages children to take responsibility for keeping the playroom tidy. As a result, when the childminder asks children to put pieces of a puzzle back in a box they rise to the challenge and work together to complete the task. The childminder supports children appropriately to learn about personal safety. For instance, she reminds them to sit on their chair correctly at the table during mealtimes, so they eat their food safely. As children play with dolls and pretend to apply 'lotion' she reminds them not to get it in the doll's eyes as it will 'hurt'.

p.5

provision

The childminder has clear policies and procedures in place and keeps all necessary documentation up-to-date. This contributes to the appropriate management of her service. All household members are suitably vetted. The childminder's assistant has recently come into post and is undergoing suitability checks. As a result, the childminder ensures her assistant does not have unsupervised access to children at the present time. The childminder is confident in recognising the possible indicators of abuse or neglect and the procedure for referring any concerns about a child's welfare. This shows she has a sound understanding of her responsibilities in terms of child protection issues. Risks to children's safety in the home and on outings are assessed and minimised effectively. This means children are suitably protected.

p.5

provision

The childminder has carried out an induction with her assistant so she is aware of how the service operates. They have met since this to discuss the assistant's training needs and, as a result, she has completed courses in first aid and child protection to equip her for the role. The childminder regularly attends further training courses to develop her childcare knowledge. She makes suitable observations of children's learning to assess their progress against the expected development levels for their age and the effectiveness of the educational programmes. The childminder has addressed the actions and recommendations for improvement made at her last inspection. However, she has not yet implemented a rigorous and effective evaluation of her service, including consulting parents, to fully assess her strengths and identify her weaknesses. This means she is unable to set challenging targets and plan priorities, to develop and enhance her provision

p.5

provision

and the outcomes for children's care and learning.

p.6

provision

Partnerships with parents are positive. They receive copies of the childminder's policies, which along with contracts outlining the business arrangements keeps them suitably informed of how the service operates. Newsletters have recently been introduced to inform them of forthcoming events. Comments parents make about the service are positive. For example, they write that the childminder is flexible in meeting their needs and that they are happy with the service she provides.

p.6

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

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY311501 Local authority East Riding of Yorkshire Inspection number 938926 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 11

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10