Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/02/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder is sometimes caring for more young children than allowed. This prevents children from learning effectively at these times because the childminder is unable to provide each child with sufficient levels of attention to meet their needs well.  Unnecessary risks are sometimes taken regarding children's care, for example, using adult chairs for young children and not supervising young children appropriately in the back garden.  Children do not always have sufficient opportunity to explore their own ideas and play independently, or express their ideas in conversation. As a result, their opportunities to develop their thinking and learning skills are sometimes limited.  The childminder does not have a secure knowledge of all requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder organises interesting activities in all areas of learning, which children enjoy. She promotes children's physical skills particularly well.  The childminder is a good role model. She is calm, cheerful and caring and children show that they feel happy and secure in her care. Good partnerships with parents ensure children settle well.

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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 rooms and outside area used for childminding and spoke to the childminder at appropriate opportunities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed documents, including evidence of qualifications, the child protection policy and the attendance record.  The inspector looked at documents used to support children's learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents from information included in the setting's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged five and two years in a house in the Fulwood area of Preston, Lancashire. Most of the ground floor, first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding.

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Information about the setting

The childminder visits playcentres, parks and the library on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently six children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates from 7.30am to 6pm on weekdays all year round, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 comply with the statutory adult to child ratios required in the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure each child is always provided with sufficient attention to meet their needs

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must:

 ensure young children are kept safe at all times, for example, by providing age- appropriate seating for young children indoors and appropriate supervision for young children in the back garden

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must:

 ensure every child has sufficient opportunities to explore their own ideas and play and receives the individual support they need to make good progress.

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must:

 develop their knowledge and understanding of the Statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, for example, the timing and purpose of the 'progress check at age two', in order to ensure that all children's needs are met well.

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

 improve the way in which children's communication and thinking skills are supported, for example, with the use of open questions in conversation and allowing sufficient time for young children to respond.

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who attend

The childminder understands how young children learn and supports them well through routines, resources and interesting activities. She talks to children as they play and gives them lots of praise. This helps them to develop their understanding and their self-esteem. She helps children learn to say new words, as she repeats words back to them and adds extra words to develop their speech. However, sometimes conversations do not support children's developing speech well because the childminder uses too many questions or doesn't give children sufficient time to think and answer. Children learn about their bodies and feelings because the childminder plans interesting activities and displays to support their development. For example, they enjoy making dough faces and comparing their noses. They talk about feelings as they look at their faces in the mirror and when the childminder supports them to share with each other. The childminder encourages children

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who attend

to learn new skills and as a result, they demonstrate good independence skills and self- confidence. They enjoy selecting the right clothes and getting dressed after jumping in muddy puddles. Sometimes children's opportunities to explore or develop their own play ideas are limited or interrupted because the childminder sometimes overly directs their play. This reduces their opportunity to develop their thinking skills and restricts their enthusiasm for learning.

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who attend

Assessment of children's progress and planning to support their next steps are generally effective in meeting children's learning needs. Children make appropriate progress in all key areas and some make good progress in developing their independence and physical skills. The childminder focuses appropriately on the key areas of learning, which are important for the young children in her care but children also learn early skills in all other areas of learning. For example, children enjoy using the interactive toy till as they play shops outside and count with the childminder as she draws chalk outlines round their fingers and their wellington boots. Through developing all of these important foundation skills it prepares children for their next stage of learning.

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who attend

The childminder discusses children's progress with parents and provides newsletters. She encourages parents to share information on children's achievements and their current interests and uses that information in her planning. As a result, children's learning is supported when they are at home and with the childminder. The childminder works closely with parents to support bilingual children by offering opportunities to use their second language as a way of aiding their developing communication skills. The childminder provides parents with information when she completes the 'progress check at two years', however, she does not fully understand the requirements so some children have not yet had that check completed. This means that some parents cannot share their child's development information with other professionals, such as health visitors, to contribute to the health and development review and opportunities to support children's development

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

The childminder knows children's individual care needs well, as she works closely with parents and respects their wishes for the care of children. This helps children to settle quickly when they start with the childminder because they are supported well in their move from home. The setting is clean and welcoming with plenty of resources for children to play with. However, children are sometimes exposed to unnecessary risks. Supervision arrangements are not always adequate, for example, when young children are allowed to play in the back garden without the childminder and so are at risk of injury. Safety equipment is not always used effectively, for example, when young children kneel on adult chairs to reach the table rather than use booster seats. Children do not always receive the reminders they need to learn to keep themselves safe, for example, when they nearly fall off adult chairs.

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

Children enjoy their time with the childminder because she enjoys her job and cares about children. They all laugh and smile as they sing along to favourite action songs with her. The childminder remains calm and cheerful even when managing the sometimes challenging behaviour of two-year-olds. Children's behaviour is generally managed well with clear expectations and the childminder gives children lots of praise when they share nicely and wait patiently. As a result, most children are learning to share with each other and take turns. The childminder shows that she values children's ideas and creations, when she takes photographs and praises what they've made. This helps to develop children's self-esteem. Children show through their behaviour that they feel happy and secure in the setting.

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

Children learn about healthy lifestyles while they enjoy fresh fruit for snacks. They talk about different fruits together and learn that fruit helps our bodies stay healthy. Children enjoy lots of opportunities for fun physical activities, like jumping in muddy puddles on walks. They learn to rest and drink water after enjoying energetic dancing. Regular outings to the soft play centre give children lots of exercise and physical challenge, while developing their confidence and independence around other people. This helps to prepare them emotionally for the next stage in their learning, such as nursery class or school.

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provision

The childminder does not have a secure knowledge of all of the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This has led to a breach of the legal requirements when she looks after more young children than she is allowed to. At these times she is unable to give children the individual attention they need. The childminder completes comprehensive risk assessments which she reviews regularly, but they are not effective because the childminder's daily practice leads to unnecessary risks to children's safety. For example, young children are at risk of being hurt when they are allowed to play on their own in the back garden and they are at risk of slipping and hurting themselves when they dance on the polished floor while wearing socks. The childminder has a good understanding of child protection gained through attending training courses. She demonstrates a good knowledge of the indicators of abuse and

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provision

neglect and what to do if she has any concerns about a child in her care.

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provision

The childminder monitors the progress which children make and covers all of the seven areas of learning appropriately in her provision. She is beginning to evaluate her own practice and she receives professional development support as a member of an approved childminder network. She attends training to improve her practice and she attends meetings to share good practice with other network childminders. When she takes children to groups to support their communication skills, she identifies good practice that she can introduce into her setting. This helps to develop her practice and contributes further to the progress which children make in her care.

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provision

The childminder works effectively with parents to support children. Parents make very positive comments in the childminder's own survey about how much they appreciate her support and their confidence in her service. The childminder builds relationships with other early years settings, which help her to improve her provision for the children, for example, by borrowing story sacks and other resources. She understands the importance of partnership working to support children's needs.

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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 EY433948 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 796550 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 6

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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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