Carofalo Sonia Elena

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/12/2013 02/12/2010

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 1 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

p.1

This provision is inadequate

 The childminder cares for more children than she is legally entitled to which poses a risk to their safety, limits their ability to learn and compromises their well-being.  At times the childminder is not able to fully meet children's personal hygiene needs in a timely manner in order to reduce the risk of infection.  The childminder is unable to deliver good quality teaching experiences for children as she exceeds ratios meaning she cannot adequately give them enough individual attention.  The childminder does not have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage welfare requirements, for example, she does not know what incidents and events she is legally required to report to Ofsted.

p.1

It has the following strengths

 The childminder promotes children's speech through talking and modelling conversation. She learns key words when children speak an additional language which helps them to make suitable progress in this area.

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 observed activities in the conservatory and dining room.  The inspector had discussions with the childminder and children.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, safeguarding procedures and discussed self-evaluation.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1988 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three school aged children in a house in Bedford, Bedfordshire. The childminder uses the whole of the ground floor, three first floor bedrooms and the rear garden for childminding. The family have two pet cats and two dogs and a rabbit.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder is qualified to level 3 in childcare and undertakes regular training including first aid and child protection and updates her knowledge through specific courses such as food hygiene. She attends a childminder group and the local children's centre. She visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently nine children on roll, six are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions and three are school-age children who attend before and after school. The childminder is open all year round from 6.45am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday except for family holidays.

p.3

must:

 ensure that safe, legal ratios of adults to children, as set out in the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, are maintained at all times

p.3

must:

 meet children's personal needs for good health and hygiene promotion in a timely manner to reduce the spread of infection

p.3

must:

 improve the quality of teaching in all areas of the curriculum by ensuring that children have adequate individual time and attention to fully extend upon their learning

p.3

must:

 improve knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements in particular respect to ensuring that significant incidents or changes are reported to Ofsted.

p.3

who attend

The childminder provides poor quality learning experiences for children because she cares for more children than she is legally entitled. This affects her quality of teaching as she cannot give the young children in her care the time and attention they need in order for them to make consistent progress in their learning. As a consequence of this, children do not fully engage with the activities and the childminder is unable to provide the range of activities she originally plans. For example, children sometimes go on trips outside of the home to visit farms and play centres. This helps them to develop the large muscles in their bodies and increase their coordination and balance through climbing and sliding. As there are too many children to fit into the childminder's car and they cannot walk safely, some children miss these opportunities and there are fewer ways they can develop these skills inside the home. Children use the small muscles in their fingers as they play with figures

p.4

who attend

and at times colour and paint. However, these activities are not available all the time as the childminder cannot supervise the group of children suitably to facilitate this. Children learn about words and language as the childminder teaches them songs and poems. They are learning Italian songs which they sing together copying the actions. The childminder learns key words in children's home languages to help them to settle when they speak English as additional language. Children talk to each other while playing as their language develops. The childminder listens to what children say to show them it is of value.

p.4

who attend

Children do not acquire the skills they need to be successful in their future learning because the childminder is unable to build upon what they already know. This is because children clamour for her attention and she cannot sustain her interactions. For example, children play a game of pairs where they find matching character cards. The childminder joins in with this but younger children do not understand and turn over the cards upsetting the older children. When the childminder turns her attention to the younger children she is unable to meet the needs of the older children who want her to continue playing. When she does so, younger children crawl beneath the table and chairs without any stimulating activity. Children therefore, lose interest and inevitably do not acquire independent skills in order to lead their own learning.

p.4

who attend

The childminder is aware of the importance of gathering observations of children to monitor their progress and plan for their next steps in learning. She does this with a degree of success, and is able to discuss children's progress given the information she gathers from parents when they first start in her care. The childminder discusses children's care with parents and suggests ways that they can support their learning at home. This provides children with some consistency in their learning.

p.4

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

Children appear fond of the childminder as she praises them and they respond positively to her. The childminder develops relationships with parents where they can exchange information about children's care routines and suggest adaptions to meet children's needs, such as changing sleep times. However, as the childminder looks after more children than she can adequately care for they miss out on individual attention. This is particularly evident of the youngest children who like to be rocked and need extra attention before they can fall asleep. The childminder cannot consistently do this meaning they sleep in car seats while the childminder rocks them and interacts with other children. Children become fractious and squabble over toys. The childminder does not see this and so younger children submit or become upset. The childminder encourages children to learn rules and to be considerate of each other but she cannot monitor this effectively.

p.4

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

This means that children's emotional readiness for learning is fragile and they do not learn to be resilient and confident in their own abilities. Children's sense of well-being and security is hampered by the low level of personalised attention they receive.

p.5

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

The childminder encourages children to tidy away in order to prevent slips and trips. Older children help with this and they are beginning to develop some independence as a result. The childminder encourages older children to become aware of younger ones when they hold on to furniture while practising walking. The children have awareness about healthy eating as they have snacks of fruit and cereals. They sit together at the table and say when they have had enough. However, the childminder does not encourage children to learn about reducing the risk of infection by washing their hands before eating. This is particularly an issue for younger children who crawl around the floor along with the pet dogs and before they eat their food. When the childminder and other children notice that children's noses are running the childminder cannot respond quickly as she is busy feeding young children on her lap. As a result, mucus runs from their nose into their mouths and

p.5

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

over their food as they eat. These incidents pose a risk to children's health. Children sometimes gain awareness about the importance of fresh air when they have access to the garden and outdoor activities but this is not consistent.

p.5

provision

This inspection was brought forward following concerns which came to light while carrying out routine suitability checks upon household members. This is because the childminder had not made Ofsted aware of a change in circumstances which she is legally required to do to meet requirements of the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. During the inspection it was apparent that the childminder was exceeding safe, legal adult to children ratios. The childminder was caring for five children in the early years age range and said that she sometimes cares for six children in this age range. The childminder explained that she was not aware that this is a breach in legal requirements. This demonstrates that the childminder has weak knowledge of the requirements of the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and children's quality of care suffers as a result. The childminder is aware of how to maintain a

p.5

provision

safe environment for children by conducting risk assessments. She maintains her awareness of child protection issues through regular training and reviews her policies and procedures to ensure they are suitable.

p.5

provision

The childminder works closely with development workers to review the quality of care she provides and to create action plans for improvement. However, this partnership working fails to address the biggest impact upon the childminder's ability to provide high quality care, because she has too many children present. This means that any measures put into place to increase standards are ineffective. The childminder carries out regular training and reads magazines to increase her knowledge about some aspects of care. Parents share their ideas through questionnaires and the childminder measures children's responses to the activities she provides sometimes.

p.5

provision

The childminder carries out observations and tracks children's progress. She completes a progress check for children at the age of two and shares this with parents who occasionally give their own feedback. The childminder shares children's learning with parents on a daily basis through discussions. No children currently attend any other providers but the childminder says she is aware of the importance of sharing information about children's learning with others who provide care for them.

p.6

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

p.6

actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

p.6

To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 inform Ofsted of changes in circumstance no later than 14 days after the change occurs (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  inform Ofsted of changes in circumstance no later than 14 days after the change occurs (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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 219642 Local authority Bedford Borough Inspection number 945044 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 9

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