Childminder in Somerset

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 31/01/2014 29/06/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder establishes warm and trusting relationships with the children, which helps them to feel secure and supports their emotional well-being.  The childminder and her assistant place a strong emphasis on keeping children safe.  The childminder provides a suitable range of activities and experiences, which help children to make steady progress in all areas of learning.

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It is not yet good because

 Observation, planning and assessment arrangements are not consistent in order to monitor and support all children's progress and development.  The childminder has not fully implemented systems to actively engage parents in their child's learning or share information with all other early years providers.  The childminder does not always encourage children to wash their hands at appropriate times to develop their understanding of good hygiene practices.

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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 and the quality of interaction between the childminder, her assistant and the children.  The inspector sampled children's records and documentation.  The inspector took account of parent's views through written comments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder, her assistant and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2004. She lives with her husband and three adult children in the village of Wembdon near Bridgwater, Somerset. The childminder sometimes works with an assistant. All areas of the family home are used for childminding however; children mainly access the ground floor of the premises. This consists of a playroom, lounge, and kitchen diner. There are ground floor bathroom facilities and a rear garden for outside play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. At present there are 16 children on roll, of which 10 are in the early years age range. The family have two dogs, a cat, two rabbits, chickens and tortoise. The childminder holds a Level 3 qualification in early years.

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must:

 develop the use of observation and assessment to consistently identify next steps for all children so that activities are tailored to meet individual needs

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must:

 improve partnerships with parents and all other early years provisions further to share children's progress and achievements to promote shared home learning and continuity.

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

 support children's understanding of health and self-care by implementing consistent hygiene practices, such as hand washing after sneezing and blowing noses.

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who attend

The childminder has a suitable understanding of how children learn and develop. She provides a variety of activities and experiences, which support children to make steady progress in their learning and development. The childminder requests information from parents about their children's starting points when they first attend, which helps her to plan activities to help them settle with her. However, the planning of activities and the next steps in children's learning and development are not consistent. This means that the childminder does not thoroughly identify next steps for all children. This results in some activities lacking interest or challenge and therefore some children not progressing as quickly as they should.

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who attend

The childminder provides opportunities for the children to take part in a range of adult led and child initiated activities. The childminder provides the children with pre-cut masks of dragons; they use pens, beads and jewels to decorate their mask. They talk with one another about their mask being 'scary' or 'pretty'. The childminder talks to the children about Chinese New Year, as they share a book about the Chinese festival, talk about the dragon and look at the pictures. This supports children's understanding of the world as they learn about different cultures and promotes their communication and language skills.

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who attend

As the childminder reads a story to the children, they become actively involved by matching the correct cut out picture to the one in the book. The childminder engages the children well through asking questions about the story, to promote their language and vocabulary. She asks the children who they think lives in the hutch and then extends their learning by encouraging them to think of other animals that also live in hutches. The childminder successfully engages children of all ages as they hide and hunt for treasure. Children excitedly whisper and make plans to hide the treasure in places that will be the most difficult for the childminder to find. They co-operate well with one another, listen to each other's ideas and take it in turns to hide the box. This promotes children's personal, social and emotional development effectively. This also supports children in acquiring the skills, attitudes and dispositions they need to be ready to move on to the next stage in

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

The childminder provides a welcoming environment for the children and shares warm and trusting relationships with them. This effectively supports their emotional and physical well-being and helps them to settle and feel secure in her care. The childminder provides a safe environment which is adequately resourced and children can access most resources independently. The childminder and her assistant both act as good role models for the children; they are kind and sensitive in their approach providing children with clear expectations and boundaries. They consistently give the children praise and encouragement and acknowledge their achievements. This effectively promotes their self- esteem and boosts their confidence. Consequently, children manage their feelings well and their behaviour is good.

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

The childminder teaches the children how to keep themselves safe. They regularly talk about road safety and practice the emergency evacuation procedure, so that they know how to get out of the house quickly and safely in an emergency. The childminder has suitable systems in place to ensure the home remains secure and children are appropriately supervised at all times.

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

Children are learning about the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They independently use the bathroom and routinely wash their hands before snack and mealtimes. This helps children to develop their independence in their self care skills; however these are not always consistently followed. For example, children sneeze and are not encouraged to wash their hands afterwards. Both the childminder and her assistant do not always wash their hands after assisting children to keep their noses clean. Children are provided with regular opportunities to benefit from fresh air and exercise. They play in the garden on wheeled toys, collect the eggs from the chickens in the garden, climb and balance on the equipment in the park. This all promotes their physical development.

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provision

This inspection took place following a concern raised to Ofsted about the childminder not supervising the children appropriately at all times. Ofsted carried out an investigation and issued a welfare requirements notice. This required the childminder to ensure that children are appropriately supervised and that they are always within sight or hearing. The childminder took prompt and effective action. The childminder is now able to demonstrate how she ensures that children are always supervised appropriately and are kept within her sight or hearing at all times. The childminder has sound knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder ensures that children are well cared for and always supervised by an appropriate adult. She has good knowledge of child protection issues and is clear on her role and responsibility to protect children from harm. The childminder and her

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provision

assistant are able to describe the signs and symptoms that would cause them concern about a child and they are both clear on the reporting procedures should they have a concern about a child in their care. Both have completed safeguarding training and the childminder is due to attend further training later this year, to update her knowledge. The childminder involves her assistant in the planning of activities for the children and monitors her performance appropriately. The childminder carries out thorough risk assessments on her home and garden. She also risk assesses any places that she takes the children to outside of the home, to ensure it is a suitable place to visit.

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provision

The childminder has developed positive relationships with parents. She shares her policies and procedures with them and keeps them updated about their children's daily routines through providing a daily diary. The childminder shares children's development records with their parents; however parents do not currently contribute their child's achievements from home. The childminder has effective systems to share information with other early year's providers; however this is not used with all early years settings that children attend. Therefore opportunities to celebrate children's achievements and support learning at home are sometimes miss and continuity in children's learning and development is not fully promoted. The childminder does share the two-year-old progress check with parents when relevant. Parents' written feedback is very positive about the childminder and her provision. They comment that the children feel safe, secure and are very happy with the

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provision

childminder. They also appreciate the daily diaries she provides so they know what their children have done each day.

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provision

The childminder uses self-evaluation appropriately to make some changes and improvements. For example, she has identified areas of training that she would like to pursue and implement in her setting, such as Somerset Total Communication. The childminder has a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She uses appropriate systems to ensure all areas of the educational programme are covered. However, observation, planning and assessment arrangements are not consistently robust enough to challenge children's learning and development fully. The childminder recognises that this is an area which could be improved upon.

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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 EY296671 Local authority Somerset Inspection number 952290 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 16

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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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