Childminder in Cumbria

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/01/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 has a good knowledge of how children learn and she fully supports them to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  The childminder is able to maintain continuous improvement through her effective self- evaluation and ability to identify and address areas for development.  The childminder has a firm understanding of her role in safeguarding children, as a result effective policies and procedures are followed.  Children become active learners through the good opportunities for self-directed play and the emphasis on children exploring their own ideas.  There are positive relationships with parents and a good two way flow of communication ensures that there is a shared, common approach to supporting children's learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although children have some opportunities to explore the local community and wider world, there is scope to extend children's awareness of difference and diversity through use of interesting and exciting resources and experiences.

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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 observed activities in the living room and kitchen area and during snack time.  The inspector spoke to parents and took account of their views.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning documentation and policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2013 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and one pre-school aged child in a house in Nenthead, Alston, Cumbria. Children have access to the whole of the ground and first floor of the property. There is an enclosed patio play area available to the rear of the property for outdoor play. There are currently three children in the early years age group on roll who attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder provides care from 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Thursday, throughout the year except for family holidays. The family lives close to schools, parks and local community facilities.

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

 create ways to extend children's awareness of the wider through use of images, music, fabrics and print to support children's acceptance of difference.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how to promote children's learning and development. She uses her good knowledge of the children well to plan an interesting and challenging range of play opportunity across the areas of learning. Information from parents and other early years settings the children attend is also used to inform planning, helping to support consistency in children's development. Thorough assessment and tracking allows the childminder to accurately identify where children are in their learning, and plan activities according to their next steps. Consequently, children are making good progress across the seven areas of learning in relation to their starting points. The childminder implements the progress check for all children aged two. This includes a written summary of children's progress in the prime areas and provides a record of where children are reaching their developmental milestones. Children's development records are

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who attend

organised and beautifully presented. They include samples of children's work, photographs and assessment evidence. Observations are clear, well captured and include links to the Early Years Outcomes document and identified next steps. These records are regularly shared with parents, helping to make parents feel involved. Information from parents is used to enhance activities as well, further supporting good partnerships and consistent learning for children.

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who attend

The childminder uses effective teaching techniques to support, challenge and engage the children in her care. There is a constant flow of conversation as the childminder uses a running commentary to promote children's communication skills. She asks herself questions, modelling being a thinker well, helping to promote children's problem solving skills from a young age. The childminder skilfully extends children's concentration and participation during activities. For example, during play with dough, children who appear to be uninterested are engaged through introducing different tools and items to work with. Children respond well and enjoy rolling, squeezing and poking the dough. This effectively supports children's small muscle movements. Children enjoy exploring with a range of open-ended resources, such as blankets, pots and large boxes. They enjoy pretending that the box is a house. They crawl inside and peek through the window, laughing in

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who attend

enjoyment. Later they draw on the box with chalk and then use the sponge to rub it off, saying, 'clean!' as they do. Pots and pans are used as musical instruments as children enjoy using different items to make noises. Children enjoy playing with their hand made musical instruments, an activity planned in response to children's interest in music. Children engage in experiences that support their understanding of the world. They enjoy planting in the garden and enjoy trips out to the local community. Children enjoy participating in activities during different festivals and some resources and images depicting diversity are available However, there is scope to extend these experiences to fully promote and support children's awareness of difference.

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who attend

Children are well prepared for their move to school. For example, they are encouraged to develop independence as they hang up their coats on the low-level pegs. Good personal, social and emotional development supports them emotionally. The childminder is proactive in establishing links with other early years providers. A communication book is in place to allow the childminder to share and receive information about the children and their development. This allows providers to consistently support and challenge children's learning.

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

The childminder's warm, caring and calm nature has a positive impact on the children. They arrive happy and quickly settle in as join their friends to play. The confidence and ease the children show demonstrates the trusting relationships in place between the children and the childminder. The childminder works closely with parents to make sure that the children's individual routines and care needs are known and are consistently followed This secures bonds with the children and supports their emotional well-being. Children play freely and independently in a well-resourced and inclusive environment. Children behave well and are starting to understand the concept of taking turns and sharing. The childminder supports this understanding through offering explanations; for example, she explains to one of the children they must wait for their turn for playing with a particular toy. Children play well together, calling out each other's names and giggling

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

together. They are seen helping one another during play, pushing each other on the tricycles and demonstrating how the buttons work on toys.

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

Children learn about safe behaviour and begin to take safe risks. During outings, children learn about road safety and how to use the green cross code. The childminder effectively consolidates children's learning as they look through books on road safety back at the childminder's home. Children use a range of equipment which involves climbing, balancing and negotiating space, further supporting their ability to manage their own safety. These good opportunities for physical play also support children's understanding of the importance of physical exercise and healthy lifestyles. Parents provide snacks and lunch for their children, which the childminder checks to ensure are healthy and balanced. She engages younger children's early understanding of healthy eating as she talks enthusiastically about their healthy snack, saying, 'Yummy yummy, cheese to make you grow'. She uses a range of words to describe their snacks such as 'crunchy' and 'slippery'.

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

This further supports children's awareness of what they are eating and effectively promotes healthy choices. Children are encouraged to manage their own hygiene and personal needs. All children are provided with their own colour-coded towel, which the childminder uses to talk to the children bout germs and the importance of hand washing. This helps children understand how germs can be spread, and how they can help to minimise this.

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provision

The childminder is clear about her role and responsibility to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She maintains up to date knowledge of the local safeguarding procedures by completing regular training and seeking information and literature. She has a comprehensive policy in place, including the contact details of those she would need to contact in the event of reporting any concerns. As a result, children are helped to be kept safe from harm. Robust risk assessments cover all areas of the childminder's home and for outings. They include details of identified risks and how these are managed in order to keep children safe. The childminder undertakes regular first aid training, so that any accidents or injuries are dealt with appropriately.

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provision

The childminder reflects on her practice. She uses her formal self-evaluation document well to record how she is meeting the safeguarding and welfare and learning and development requirements. She successfully identifies areas she needs to develop and how this can be done. She shows a good commitment to maintaining her skills and knowledge. For example, she uses the local authority training guide to select available courses, using her identified areas for improvement to target most beneficial training. She also joins online childminder forums where she can share good practice and gain ideas for play experiences. Furthermore, the childminder works closely with her early years advisor who provides support and guidance. They work together to implement development plans, which further helps the childminder to improve her provision. Monitoring of children's development is clear, precise and demonstrates well the learning journey of the children

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provision

There are positive relationships with parents. The childminder seeks parents' views via formal questionnaires and daily feedback at drop off and pick up times. Parents speak highly of the childminder and her provision. Comments on the questionnaires include the childminder's good information sharing, her professionalism when dealing with confidential matters and the quality of outings that the children enjoy. There is a good two way flow of communication as information about the children's care and learning is shared with the parents verbally, as well as through the daily diaries completed. Parents have access to a noticeboard in the hallway that includes information such as local children's centre facilities, some of the policies and procedures, certificates and planning for the week. The childminder also sends out newsletters for parents. They include information about future planned themes, holiday dates and recipes for baking at home.

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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 EY465534 Local authority Cumbria Inspection number 930347 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 3

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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