Childminder in Oxfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/11/2013 28/01/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder fails to meet several legal requirements, in order to safeguard children. Her knowledge and understanding of child protection referral procedures is insecure, which compromises children's welfare. She does not obtain prior written permission to administer medication and does not have a mobile phone or camera policy in place.  Procedures to manage behaviour are not implemented in a way that promotes children's self-esteem. This does not support children's welfare or emotional well-being and are breaches of legal requirements.  The childminder does not observe, assess or plan to support children's individual learning needs. She has failed to share any information about children's learning with parents or other settings or conduct a progress check for two-year-old children. She does not monitor children's learning to ensure that they are able to make the best possible progress.  Partnerships with parents and others are not sufficiently focused on providing

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This provision is inadequate

continuity of care or learning. Parents are not provided with details of how the Early Years Foundation Stage is delivered in the setting or Ofsted's contact details or a procedure to follow if they wish to complain. She has not kept a record of complaints. Self-evaluation and monitoring systems are weak.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder supports children's communication and language in a way that promotes good levels of conversation.

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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 main play spaces, including the conservatory, dining room and lounge.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector engaged in ongoing discussion with the childminder and samples of policies and other records were checked.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including children's records and suitability checks for adults in the home.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the process of self-evaluation and how the childminder obtains the views of all the users.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2004. She lives with her husband and their school age child in Henley, Oxfordshire. The childminder's husband is also a registered childminder at the same premises. The childminder uses the whole of the ground floor of the house for childminding with sleeping facilities provided upstairs. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder makes use of local facilities such as, parks. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. They are currently looking after seven children who are in the early years age range on a full and part-time basis.

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enforcement action:

We issued a Notice of Intention to Cancel the provider's registration which they objected to. We upheld their objection and the cancellation process has been stopped.

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must:

 obtain written permission to administer medication and keep a record each time the medication is administered

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must:

 put in place a procedure for dealing with concerns and complaints from parents and/or carers, and keep a written record of any complaints, and their outcome

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must:

 complete a progress check for each child between the age of two and three years, in order to provide parents/carers with a written summary of their child's development in the prime areas of learning which identifies the child's strengths, and any areas where the child's progress is less than expected

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must:

 obtain and share information regularly with professionals, parents and carers and other early year providers to allow an effective two-way flow of information that informs planning and supports effective teaching

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must:

 ensure parents are informed of how the EYFS is being delivered and how they can access more information; the type of activities and experiences provided, the daily routines and how parents can share learning at home; and details of the policies and procedures, including the procedures to be followed if a parent fails to collect a child at the appointed time, or a child goes missing

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must:

 update knowledge of the learning and development requirements in order to consider the individual needs, interests, and stage of development of each child and use this information to plan a challenging and enjoyable experience for each child in all of the areas of learning and development

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must:

 observe children to understand their level of achievement, interests and learning styles and provide an appropriate range of resources, in order to shape learning experiences for each child, reflecting those observations through planned, purposeful play and through a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activity  improve self-evaluation systems and use this to drive future improvements by identifying the settings strengths and weaknesses accurately and taking appropriate action to address these

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who attend

Children are not making adequate progress in their learning overall because the childminder is not fully implementing the educational programmes. This is because the childminder does not have a complete knowledge of the learning and development requirements and does not assess and plan for the individual learning of each child in her care. She is currently unable to identify the prime or specific areas of learning and as such, not monitored children's progress towards them. This means that she does not have an accurate enough picture of what children can do and where they may need additional help, in order to prepare them for the next stage in their learning. Very little information on children's prior skills is gained on entry to the setting so the childminder is unable to track whether she has added value to the children's learning through the activities she provides. The childminder is also unaware of the requirement to complete assessments of

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who attend

children's progress when they are aged two years, in the prime areas of learning and provide a written report for parents. This means that parents miss vital information that may be necessary to secure early intervention for their child, should a concern be noted in their child's development.

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who attend

The childminder's interactions with children however are generally positive and supportive. She models language well; helps children to take turns and builds on their early numeracy skills as she counts routinely with them during their play. Children enjoy colouring activities and make colourful rainbow pictures. Older children start to link sounds to letters and begin to recognise the shapes of letters in their name. Although the children generally enjoy the resources and play opportunities on offer to them, the activities set out are more general, with no clear learning outcome. As a result, children are not supported to acquire the skills and capacity to develop and learn effectively or to be ready for the next stages in their learning. This means that for some children, especially those who are younger, they do not engage in activities for sustained periods of time because they do not capture their interest or meet their needs. Overall, children's progress is not as good

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who attend

as it should be, given their ages and stages of development.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are not sufficiently focused on promoting parental involvement in children's learning. Parents comment positively on the care their child receives and the support the childminder offers them. However, the childminder does not gather good quality information on children's progress, or support it appropriately. The effectiveness of information that she is currently sharing with parents is poor because it is not of sufficient quality for parents to continue to support their child's progress and development at home.

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

Children's personal, social and emotional development is not fully supported as the methods used to manage behaviour do not build on children's self-esteem in a positive way. Although children are generally well behaved, current behaviour management strategies used by the childminder support the use of a 'time out' step. During the inspection, it was observed that children's attitudes towards the use of the step suggest that they are made to frequently sit on this step. On occasions, they placed themselves on it when they had had a minor disagreement with a friend or did not want to take part in an activity. This does not support children's self-esteem or develop a positive approach to teaching children about resolving disagreements. This is because it does not give children an opportunity to discuss why it is important to share or care for each other. There are inconsistencies in how the childminder and her co-minder manage behaviour, which

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

delivers confusing messages to children in their care.

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

There are ineffective procedures in place for the administration and recording of medication that children require in the setting. The childminder has failed to obtain prior written permission to administer non-prescription medication and does not keep record of when these have been administered. These are breaches of legal requirements and places children at risk.

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

Children are suitably encouraged to develop their self-care skills as the childminder supports them to wash their hands before lunchtime or engage them to help tidy up the toys. Resources in the childminder's home are mostly accessible, and provide children with a suitable selection of toys and play opportunities, which they can access in their day. The general routine of the day is managed around school runs and varied drop off and pick up times for the children attending. This means that there are times in the day where children are waiting around while the childminder and her co-minder organise school runs, mealtimes or the needs of younger children and babies. As a result, they have less interaction or support with an adult to meet their specific needs.

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

The childminder promotes children's knowledge of a healthy lifestyle soundly. She offers children suitable food options that take account of their individual dietary needs and promote their understanding of healthy eating. Children have some opportunities to play outside in the fresh air and there are suitable times in the day for resting.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward as a result of notification from an outside agency. This related to a concern about how behaviour is managed and how information is shared with parents. At the inspection, it was evidenced that arrangements for safeguarding children are inadequate and behaviour is not managed in a suitable way. In addition, because the childminder has not remained up to date with her statutory responsibilities, she was found to be in breach of a number of other legal requirements. As a result, the childminder has failed to safeguard children or sufficiently promote their learning.

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provision

The childminder does not have robust policies or procedures in place to safeguard children. In particular, she has a very poor understanding of the procedures to follow if she has a concern about a child in her care because she has failed to keep up to date with relevant child protection procedures. This includes updating her policy and understanding in line with current Local Safeguarding Children's Board procedures. Her basic awareness means that children who may be at risk of harm, may not be swiftly referred, which does not support children's overall well-being. She is also not confident in the procedure to follow should an allegation be made against her and has not shared her policy for safeguarding children with parents. She was unaware of the requirement to implement a mobile phone and camera policy. These are breaches of legal requirements and the childminder also does not meet the requirements for the Childcare Register. However, risk

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provision

assessment procedures are adequate and suitable daily checks are conducted on the premises to promote children's safety.

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provision

The childminder does not make effective use of self-evaluation in order to promote self- challenge of the service she provides. Although she has met the action set at the last inspection by renewing her first aid qualification, she has done very little else to identify or monitor how effective her practice is, particularly in supporting children's learning. Since the last inspection, her practice has steadily declined and she has not had suitable regard to maintaining required documentation or updating her understanding of the current legal framework. In addition, her capacity to improve is poor, as she has failed to update her procedures on safeguarding, even though a recent incident identified that her understanding was weak. As a result, Ofsted will issue a welfare requirement notice to ensure the necessary improvements are made to safeguard children.

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provision

The childminder's partnerships with parents are friendly and she engages warmly with them. She keeps them informed of their children's routines through daily feedback but does not routinely provide them with information of how the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage is delivered in the setting or how parents can support their child's learning at home. This was set as a recommendation at the last inspection and has not been addressed. In addition she does not provide parents with information on how to contact Ofsted , if they wish to raise a concern or keep a record of concerns raised. There are basic partnerships in place with other settings that children attend because she is unaware of the need to promote continuity by sharing information on children's learning.

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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:

 keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  make the following information available to parents: information about the activities the children will undertake ,copies of the written statements of safeguarding procedures and complaints procedures and Ofsted's address(compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure there is a written statement of procedures in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a written record, for a period of three years, of these complaints including the

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

outcome of the investigation and the action the provider took in response (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: any medicine administered to any child who is cared for on the premises, including the date and circumstances and who administered it, including medicine which the child is permitted to self administer, together with a record of a parent/guardian/carer's consent (compulsory part of the Childcare register)  keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that children's behaviour is managed in a suitable manner (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  make the following information available to parents: information about the activities

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

the children will undertake, copies of the written statements of safeguarding procedures and complaints procedures and Ofsted's address(voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure there is a written statement of procedures in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a written record, for a period of three years, of these complaints including the outcome of the investigation and the action the provider took in response (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: any medicine administered to any child who is cared for on the premises, including the

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

date and circumstances and who administered it, including medicine which the child is permitted to self-administer, together with a record of a parent/guardian/carer's consent (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 EY294760 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 941616 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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