Hobbs, Julie Anne

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/01/2014 08/12/2008

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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 and her two assistants work in partnership with the parents to share information and meet children's individual needs.  Good relationships are established between the childminder, the assistants and the children, enabling children to feel confident and settle in the home.  Children play with a wide variety of well-maintained resources that are organised in labelled storage containers.  Children experience good social opportunities both within the childminder's home and through attendance at a toddler group.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Planning is in place but does not always take into account the more able children's interests and need for the most challenging opportunities through self-selection.  All children participate in snack time, but opportunities are missed to create a learning experience and to fully develop children's independence skills at this time.

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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 spent the majority of the inspection observing the interaction between the children and the adults.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documentation including the behaviour management policy, risk assessments and safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector obtained parental views through discussion with four parents on the day.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2006. She lives with her husband and two children aged ten years and six years in Halling, Kent. The whole of the childminder's house is used for childminding apart from the main bedroom and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. Access to the premises is by way of steps leading to the front door.

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Information about the setting

The childminder works with two assistants and currently has children on roll that are in the Early Years age range. She is also registered on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder provides funded early education for two, three and four year olds.

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Information about the setting

The childminder walks or drives to local schools and pre-schools to take and collect children. She attends the local parent/toddler group. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA).

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

 extend access to more challenging resources for the more able children to maintain their interest and engagement in activities

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

 further develop everyday routines such as snack time to fully promote children's independence and use these as learning experiences

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who attend

Children settle well in the childminder's home and make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder and two assistants make regular observations of children's learning and link these to the areas and aspects of learning. A summative progress report is prepared several times a year to identify the learning that has taken place. In addition, the progress check for two year old children is recorded to enable parents to take this along to the check with their health visitor. Parents are also involved in the assessment processes and able to contribute to this through written statements and discussion with the childminder. This supports the childminder well to meet children's next steps in their learning and underpins their good progress.

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who attend

Young children have good opportunities to move around and become mobile in the childminder's home. They access different resources to explore and experiment with encouraging children to move around the home. Older children develop good fine motor skills as they use the small beads to make patterns on the various shaped boards or hold pencils with increasing control. All children benefit from outdoor play, using the slide, balls and hoops. For the non mobile children, all in one suits are used, walkers or a mat to include all children in outdoor play. This supports children's good physical development.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistants support children' communication and language skills well. They talk to the children all the time, introducing new words to extend their vocabulary. They repeat words after the children say them to help them hear the correct pronunciation. Staff also encourage children to label toys, pictures in books and discuss what they are doing so that children link words and their meaning. For those children with speech difficulties, staff use alternative methods such as symbols for children to point to or particular exercises to support different sounds. The adults read to the children and ask open-ended questions to promote children's listening skills. Children enjoy looking at books and sharing stories with an adult. The slightly older children are encouraged to recognise their names from coat pegs and name labels for self-registration. Visits to the library further enhance children's literacy skills, along with regular opportunities to make

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who attend

The adults in the setting support children's mathematical skills through a variety of activities. Young children use a treasure basket learning about weight, texture and size. Older children begin to recognise some familiar numbers such as their age in puzzles and games. Children play shape games identifying different attributes for shapes and matching them. Children begin to use mathematical language as they talk about bigger and smaller or asking for more bricks. Children use counting when playing or general activities, such as walking up the stairs, counting each step or counting their snack. This helps them explore numbers and their everyday meaning.

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who attend

Social skills are promoted well in the childminder's home and children enjoy being part of a larger group. The adults encourage children to share and take turns and children learn to be kind to each other. Further opportunities to mix with others at a toddler group enables children to develop their social skills in different settings. Children meet people in their local community, learning about differences and similarities between them and others. The childminder introduces different celebrations, such as the Chinese New Year, widening children's knowledge and understanding of the world around them. Children enjoy watching the family rabbit and helping to feed the fish in their tank to learn about living things. Children have good opportunities to plant vegetables and follow the process through until they can pick the vegetables and taste them.

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who attend

The childminder provides various resources for children to develop their imaginations as they act out familiar roles such as cooking dinner or caring for the baby dolls. Children have opportunities to paint using different tools such as sponges and brushes or their own hands and feet. They use wet and dry pasta and different collage materials to create their own end products and develop their creativity.

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

The childminder and her assistants work well as a team and have recently introduced a key person system. This provides children with a consistent person with whom to bond with to support the settling in process. Children demonstrate a sense of belonging and confidence as they move around in the childminder's home. They approach an adult if needed for a cuddle or support with activities and enjoy participation from the adults during games that require turn taking, such as box games. Children behave well and are developing their understanding about sharing the toys. Adults support children's understanding through a caring, warm environment where relationships are well established.

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

Children learn the importance of living a healthy lifestyle as they sit together and have healthy snacks supplied from home. Children access their drinks throughout the day with younger children having drink bottles and older children using cups and disposing of them in the sink. Children sit in a circle at snack time, but this is not always used well as a learning activity or to promote children's independence on a regular basis to help prepare their snacks. Parents provide children's food which is stored in individual, named baskets in the fridge to ensure there is no risk of contamination from other products. Children's dietary requirements and allergies are recorded to promote children's well-being. Alongside healthy food, children are given daily opportunities to go outside for exercise in the garden or local parks to benefit from fresh air and exercise.

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

Children learn to keep themselves safe because the adults remind children about safety measures. For example, children are reminded about holding the hand rail when using the stairs and not to run indoors in case they slip. Young children are strapped into the seats at the table and older children are reminded about sitting on the chairs and not to kneel to stop them falling off and hurting themselves. Safety procedures are followed on outings with the school aged children being given consistent guidelines each day regarding road safety and staying with the childminder. Careful risk assessments have been recorded for indoors and outdoors, enabling adults to identify hazards and put measures in place to minimise them. For example, stairgates, safety plug sockets and keys on hooks by doors. Visitors are recorded to the setting and children are never left with unvetted individuals to protect their well-being.

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

Resources are in good condition and provide a good variety for the children attending. They are organised well in storage boxes with good clear labels with pictures and words for children to make informed choices. However, some of the more able children do not always access more challenging resources to maintain or engage their attention. As a result, on some occasions the more able children lack direction and are not always fully challenged. Adults use the resources to support the seven areas of learning and purchase additional resources when possible. Planning is being altered to take into account the key person system to ensure children's interests and next steps are being used to provide different activities.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her role and responsibilities in delivering the 'Early Years Foundation Stage' framework (EYFS). She works alongside two assistants to observe, assess and plan children's progress. The process of planning has recently been changed to reflect the new key person system and to ensure the children's next steps inform the planning more effectively. Constant monitoring and reviewing of her practice, enables the childminder to deliver good quality care to the children attending. The educational programme provides suitable activities for the ages of the children attending, enabling children to make good progress in their learning. The assistants work consistently with the childminder to review and evaluate the setting through self-evaluation and are able to give an accurate picture of the strengths and areas to further develop. Consequently, continuous improvement is well established.

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provision

Safeguarding is given high importance in the childminder's home. She ensures her assistants have attended training and that this is updated on a regular basis. The assistants and the childminder all have a clear understanding of the process to follow and implement the safeguarding policy effectively. This includes safe recruitment practices by the childminder when taking on new assistants. References and relevant checks are carried out to ensure the suitability of new assistants alongside regular supervision, monitoring and appraisals. Therefore their ongoing suitability is monitored. The childminder and her assistants are also aware of ensuring that any resources that children have access to are suitable and age appropriate. The childminder has occasional visitors to her home who are either registered childminder's who are all vetted or parents of children attending the setting. The childminder does not allow unvetted persons to have access to

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provision

children in her care. Also the childminder has a full understanding of the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of information about children. The childminder and one assistant are qualified with the second assistant having almost completed her early years qualification. Consequently, children are cared for by knowledgeable staff. The childminder is aware of the space and ratio requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and while she cares for a large group of children, she is able to demonstrate that she works within the requirements of the framework.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and outside agencies are given priority by the childminder and her assistants. Parents are fully involved in the childminder's practice, from completing initial starting points for their children to completing comments on summative assessments. All parents receive the policies and procedures through e-mail and receive daily sheets to keep them informed about their child's care and daily activities. Daily conversations and feedback forms enable the childminder to obtain parental views and as a result inform the provision she offers. Consequently, parents are fully involved in contributing to their child's care. In addition, good links have been established with outside agencies and other providers that share the care with the children attending. Contact books are used with some providers to enable a good triangulation of information between the childminder, parent and the pre-school. Consequently children's individual

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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 EY331149 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 935793 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 26

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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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