Childminder, Out-of school day care in North Yorkshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/12/2013 26/11/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder demonstrates good quality teaching methods by skilfuly questioning children to help them work things out, solve problems and think for themselves.  The childminder has expertly designed and organised an undercover area to the side of her property. This helps children to learn by being in different surroundings and promotes their good health and well-being.  The childminder has improved her teaching by developing a more confident approach towards making assessments of children's progress, to help her think of how she can extend, enhance and develop their learning.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder's ability to systematically use what she knows and observes about children, in order to more effectively plan for their learning, is not robust.  The childminder has formed links with other providers of settings that children attend and engages in general conversational discussions. Information sharing is not sufficiently well embedded to effectively enhance individual children's learning and development.

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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 looked at the garden and ground floor areas used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder, her assistant and children present during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed how the childminder interacted with children during a collage activity of decorating a Christmas shape.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of records and photographs relating to children's progress and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a number of documents, including a sample of policies and procedures and information relating to checks made to confirm the suitability of adults that live in the household.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a letter from a parent as part of the childminder's satisfaction survey.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in October 1995 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two teenage children, age 17 and 19 years, in a house in Pickering, North Yorkshire. All of the ground floor of the house and a designated bedroom on the first floor are used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed garden to the rear of the premises and an undercover area to the side of the property for children's outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder takes children to local play and activity groups and the local library. She visits parks on a regular basis. She takes and collects children to and from the local playgroups, nurseries and schools. There are currently 18 children on roll, of whom 10 are in the early years age group. The childminder regularly works alongside her daughter who is employed as her assistant. The majority of children attend on a part-time basis. The childminder provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The childminder provides care all year round, from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder holds a level 3 childcare qualification and in 2009 achieved the Gold North Yorkshire Quality Assurance award. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 enhance delivery of the educational programme by introducing a more systematic approach to planning, based on using more effectively the information gained through observation and assessment regarding children's interests and next steps in learning

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

 strengthen partnership working with other providers that children attend in parallel with the childminding setting, in order to enhance children's learning and development.

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who attend

The childminder has high expectations for children's learning and as a result, they make good progress given their starting points and capabilities. The quality of the childminder's teaching is good. For instance, she demonstrates good practice by asking children lots of questions, such as, 'what might happen if.......?' and 'what could we do about that.......?' This helps children to work things out, solve problems and think for themselves. The childminder involves children in routine matters, such as, asking them to find two bowls and choose a coloured beaker as they are setting the table for mid-morning snack. This shows children are actively involved in their learning and have the opportunity to develop their independence. The childminder provides a varied range of developmentally appropriate activities for children, with a good balance between those that she leads and those that children choose for themselves. The experienced childminder monitors

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who attend

children's progress to ensure no child is getting left behind in their development. She does this by observing children, sometimes recording her observations and assessment of their progress to share with parents accompanied by photographic evidence. However, the system she uses is not focused sharply enough to show that what she understands about each child's individual learning needs to guide, shape and inform her planning.

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who attend

Children take part in a varied range of activities that take place at the setting and in the community. For example, they regularly visit the library and attend local play groups. This develops children's confidence in going out and meeting and socialising with others in preparation for the next step in their learning as they start school or other settings. Recent major construction work to build a large supermarket close to the childminder's home resulted in children being involved in a 'digger project'. This inspired their interest by seeing the variety of large vehicles and the progress of the building work over an extended period of time as the project neared completion. This project helped children to become aware of, interested in and learn about the area in which they live. The childminder builds friendly and caring relationships with children and she knows each one very well. She forms close links with their parents through regular conversations that

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who attend

include discussions about the activities their child has taken part in. This helps to keep parents involved and contributes to how they can share in children's learning at home.

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who attend

The childminder finds out about each child before they start at her setting. She does this by offering short familiarisation visits, which helps children prepare for the separation from their parents and the adjustment into a new setting. This helps the childminder build relationships with children's parents so she can meet their child's individual needs and share important information about her setting. The result is, children settle quickly and show by their actions that they feel confident, safe and secure.

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

During the inspection children played happily and talked willingly to the inspector. This shows they feel emotionally secure and settled and benefit from the close attachments that they form with the childminder. Children are taught good manners and remember to say please and thank you. The childminder places good emphasis on supporting children's speech and language to enable them to communicate. Lovely conversations take place as they play and children remember what they have been taught. Children quickly recall the 'lollipop lady' that they see and have learnt about when they have been out on their walks. The childminder introduces road safety, which helps to raise children's awareness of staying safe outdoors. Children are offered a very varied menu of meals and snacks. There are opportunities for children to taste a good selection of fresh fruits, such as, blueberries and strawberries and grow their own herbs and vegetables in the garden. This helps children to understand

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

about a healthy diet because they are actively involved. Children travel in the car or walk to and from the local playgroups, nurseries and schools on a daily basis. Different ages of children are often mixed together so they learn how to play and behave with each other. This helps younger children to be gradually exposed and introduced into other environments and practise strategies that are part of learning to cope by being part of a larger group of children, in readiness for school.

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

Children have very good access to a wide and interesting range of toys and resources. Many are readily available so that children can help themselves. Children willingly take part in planned activities or suggest their own ideas. This shows they are developing positive attitudes towards learning that they will need for the future. Space is used very well and offers children access to different areas of the setting. For example, they use the comfortable sitting room to play and relax or the conservatory with the large table where they have their meals, play games or enjoy art and crafts activities. The childminder has expertly designed and organised an undercover area to the side of the property. This has safe flooring and means children can go outdoors throughout the year to benefit from fresh air and access to a large space for exercise and physical activities. This supports children to learn in different surroundings and promotes their good health and well-being.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the appropriate action to take to keep children safe. She knows what she must do if she has any concerns about a child's welfare or well-being, including who to report any concerns to. She has a varied range of record keeping routines and written policies and procedures established to support children's safety and the smooth operation and management of her setting. These are reviewed to ensure they remain effective. The childminder has ensured that checks have been carried out on adults in the family to ensure they are suitable to be in close contact with children. This includes her assistant.

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provision

The childminder accesses training and meets regularly with other local childminders. This helps to keep her informed and aware of current professional working practise. She monitors children's progress and their achievements by carrying out observations and making assessments alongside holding face-to-face conversations with parents. The information she gains is used well to provide her with a clear picture about the learning and development of each child, however, planning could be enhanced further to be more clearly focused towards ensuring children's learning is personalised. The childminder has a good understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

The childminder has good links formed with other providers and teachers at the early years settings and schools in the area. She understands the benefits of effective information sharing between partners, but this is not yet highly effective to ensure precisely matched consistency and continuity of care and learning for individual children. Since the last inspection the childminder has achieved a professional qualification and higher recognition in the local authority's quality assurance scheme. She has addressed issues raised at the last inspection well, demonstrating a good commitment towards improvement. For instance, she has improved children's safety by devising outdoor risk assessments, including those involving trips and outings to places of interest. She has improved her teaching by developing a more confident approach towards making assessments of children's progress to help her think of how she can extend, enhance and

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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 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 401240 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 872198 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 18

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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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