Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/01/2014 09/11/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 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

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This provision requires improvement

 Children are confident, happy and settle very well. They make close relationships with the childminder and strong friendships with the other children who attend. This promotes children's emotional well-being and self-esteem.  Children are sociable, courteous and well behaved. They understand the importance of being kind and considerate to each other and share and take turns during play. Praise and encouragement from the childminder ensures children feel secure and included.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not accurately or consistently complete the progress check at age two to identify the children's strengths, and does not discuss this with parents.  The childminder does not ensure her assistant has the necessary knowledge and skills to support children's learning so that they make good progress.  The childminder has not reviewed her risk assessment of the outdoor environment after recent storm damage to ensure it provides an appropriate play space.  Children do not have regular access to a range of resources to promote their understanding of the everyday uses of information, communication and technology.

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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 documentation, including safeguarding, risk assessments and children's records.  The inspector observed children as they played.  The inspector discussed children's progress with the childminder.  The inspector conducted a risk assessment of the setting.

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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, who regularly works with her as an assistant and three children aged 16, nine and seven years in the Wistaston area of Crewe. All areas on the ground floor and bathroom on the first floor of the property are used for childminding purposes. There is a garden available for outdoor play. She collects children from the local schools. There are currently 12 children on roll, of these, six are in the early years age group. They attend for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision operates all year round from 6.30am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She also offers childminding on Saturdays and Sundays if required.

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must:

 review risk assessments and take appropriate action as a result, to ensure the garden is well organised and provides an appropriate play space for all children attending the setting

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must:

 ensure the childminding assistant has an appropriate knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, to enable him to effectively support children's play and promote their progress

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must:

 ensure the progress check at age two is completed accurately and consistently, identifying development stages and is discussed with parents.

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

 extend the range of resources to provide children with greater opportunity to develop their understanding of information, communication and technology

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

 develop robust self-evaluation systems to ensure areas for improvement are identified and prioritised to promote children's learning and development.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates an appropriate knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; she ensures the indoor environment is stimulating and challenging for children and encourages children to access resources independently. However, the childminder does not provide children with many resources to engage with, to promote their understanding of information, communication and technology.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is satisfactory. The childminder plans and provides children with activities that are based on their interests, for example, children enjoy dabbing colours onto paper to make patterns. The childminder talks to the older children about making symmetrical patterns as they fold the paper and delight in seeing the result. Children are eager to learn and make steady progress towards early learning goals. The childminder works with an assistant to ensure she is meeting required adult to child ratios, however, he provides limited support and does not have a secure knowledge of how to promote children's learning and development. As a result, children do not always receive good levels of adult interaction to support their progress.

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who attend

The childminder carries out observations on children and records these in their personal folders, using this information to plan for future activities. She gathers information from parents upon entry to her provision and uses this to inform her of individual preferences. When completing the progress check at age two, the childminder fails to include development stages, to notify parents of their child's progress. She does not always arrange to discuss these with parents and support learning at home with suggested activities to target gaps in their learning. Children enjoy themselves and are developing a warm and caring relationship between themselves and the childminder. She listens closely to what children say and responds accordingly; as a result, children's communication and language skills are well promoted. This means children develop some of the skills to promote their next stage of learning, such as moving on to school.

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

The childminder develops close relationships with the children and they are happy and secure in the setting. As a result, the children have developed an attachment to the childminder, who knows each child well and meets all their welfare needs. The childminder is a good role model and as a consequence, children are well behaved and understand the importance of being kind and sharing toys with each other. This promotes their emotional well-being. Children use a variety of age appropriate toys and resources and the childminder suitably organises her home to enable children to make independent choices about their play. For example, a small table is used in the kitchen to enable children to eat together and participate in craft activities. The childminder supports children to develop a healthy lifestyle and provides them with a variety of healthy snacks and meals. Children from a young age are encouraged to feed

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

themselves and fresh drinks are available at all times. The childminder reminds children of the importance of washing hands and encourages their independent self-care. The childminder describes how she takes children to the local park to enjoy physical exercise, or allows them to play in her garden. Unfortunately, the garden is not welcoming and stimulating to children, as swings are not accessible and some resources are piled up on top of each other, under a damaged canaopy. This does not promote children's learning and development or allow them to freely access outdoor resources and equipment.

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provision

The childminder has a suitable knowledge of safeguarding and has attended recent training to keep her knowledge of child protection issues secure. The childminder ensures that all practices and policies are in place to help safeguard children and meet welfare requirements. She ensures her assistant has an adequate knowledge of safeguarding procedures and that he is present to meet adult to child ratios. He has attended a childminding course, but shows little knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, or how to support children's learning. The childminder generally takes appropriate action to keep children safe and secure while in her care. However, she has not reviewed her risk assessments since the garden suffered some recent storm damage. Children are still allowed to access the garden, however, it is disorganised and does not provide an appropriately maintained play space.

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provision

The childminder has taken some action to address recommendations from her previous inspection. For example, she now carries out emergency evacuations with the children so they know what to do in the event of an emergency. However, self-evaluation is still not effective in identifying priorities for development to improve children's learning experiences. She monitors children's play to identify activities the children enjoy, but this is not effective in identifying gaps in the educational programme. Assessment provides an overview of children's skills and progress and the childminder completes the progress check at age two. However, this is not completed in line with requirements, in particular, it does not identify age ranges assessed and is not discussed with parents to support children's learning at home.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are satisfactory. The childminder communicates daily with parents and informs them of activities. She gains information from parents in an 'All About Me' book to help settle children into her provision. This helps to promote secure attachments between the childminder and children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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

 undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment at least once in each calendar year, and immediately, where the need for assessment arises, this particularly relates to the garden (Compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment at least once in each calendar year, and immediately, where the need for assessment arises, this particularly relates to the garden (Voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 EY394417 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 821882 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 12

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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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