Childminder in Swindon

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/02/2014 25/11/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 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 understanding of safeguarding and how to protect children. Detailed risk assessments and policies and procedures and effectively implemented practices help to ensure that children are safe.  The childminder is sensitive, attentive and supportive of the young children in her care. Therefore, they feel secure in their relationships with her.  Good organisation of resources in the welcoming and stimulating playroom means that children have ample opportunity to initiate their own play.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Resources for children to express their creativity and ideas further are not always readily available for independent use.

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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 childminder's living room and playroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked in detail at relevant records, including the risk assessments for outings and school runs, registers, confidentiality procedures, relevant policies and the childminder's self-evaluation and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parents' views through written information provided on the day.

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Information about the setting

The childminder has been registered to care for children since 1996. She holds the Nursery Nursing Examination Board qualification. She lives with her husband and two children of school age. The family live in a detached house in Swindon, Wiltshire. Childminding mainly takes place on the ground floor and in the enclosed back garden. Access to the front door is up one step and access to the back garden is down one step. The childminder attends local parent and toddler groups. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently eight children on roll and six of these are within the early years age range. The childminder offers care all-year-round, Monday to Friday, between 6am and 10pm. She and also offers overnight and weekend care.

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

 enhance the opportunities for children to develop their expressive art and creativity further, through a variety of mediums, such as, using scissors, paint and glue.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements. She knows all the children extremely well and provides a wide range of exciting activities for them. She builds on what they know and can do, planning effectively for their next steps in learning on a daily basis. For example, older children who can recognise colours are now encouraged to seek out other objects in the playroom of the same colour but a different shade. The childminder uses skilful questioning, such as, 'Can we find a light blue one?' As a result, children have a go, are curious to explore further, remain engaged for longer periods of time and are actively involved in the learning experiences.

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who attend

Children arrive happy and keen to play. The childminder teaches children by playing alongside them and sensitively encourages them to be actively involved. She demonstrates this by, for example, providing a varied range of play materials that initiate children to make their preferred choices. She interacts with children expertly providing suggestions and offering ideas. This helps learning to be sustained and encourages children to concentrate. For instance, during an activity involving the small world 'garage', the childminder gains children's attention by encouraging them to investigate and draw on their natural curiosity to find out if the larger or smaller vehicles can go down the ramp faster. The childminder listens carefully to children's emerging words, repeating what they are saying and asking appropriate questions to check their understanding. She accurately assesses children's communication skills so she promptly identifies possible gaps in a

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who attend

Children's mathematical skills are fostered appropriately. They count the bricks while building towers and recognise numbers that are displayed. Children like exploring the toys in the play kitchen, and they investigate electronic toys to find out how they work, by pushing buttons and repeating the letter sound they hear. Children learn about the world in which they live by talking frequently about families from a range of cultural backgrounds. This helps to raise children's awareness about different faiths and beliefs. Children enjoy singing songs and using puppets, for example, when singing 'Incy Wincy Spider'. They have good opportunities to engage in role play. Creative activities are a particular favourite with some children who use materials, such as, pens, crayons and pencils to create many imaginative objects. However resources, such as scissors, paints and glue, to enable children to express their creative ideas further are not always readily

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who attend

available for independent use. Children are encouraged by the childminder to share toys, take turns and play together to promote their social skills in preparation for the future when they move on to nursery and school. As a result, they consistently make good progress in their learning and development.

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who attend

Learning opportunities for outdoor play are optimised to allow children to explore and investigate the natural world, such as looking at books about insects then searching for them in the garden. Children have good opportunities to spend time outdoors in the fresh air to promote their physical skills using a broad range of outdoor equipment at the childminder's home. They also have opportunities to play on the larger equipment at stay and play groups and other venues. Parents contribute to their child's learning, share information about their child on a daily basis and are well informed of the achievements and progress their child is making. For example, they express how much progress their child has made since starting at the childminder's setting. They write about children's achievements in their child's daily journal and this helps shape the experiences their child receives because the childminder values partnership working.

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

The childminder's home is warm and welcoming, and she provides a dedicated playroom for the children. Toys and furniture are at child height, which supports babies well in their physical development when they start to crawl, pull themselves up or cruise around. Pre- arranged settling-in sessions help children to make the change from home to the childminder's care. This helps children to settle quickly and parents feel comfortable leaving their children. It is clear children are happy, confident and contented in the childminder's company. She relates well to them and is receptive to changes in their mood or feelings. She promptly reassures them and consistently praises their efforts and achievements. This contributes to children having high self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. Children are developing bonds and attachments with the childminder because she is familiar with their individual needs and unique personalities. As a result,

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

children feel valued, behave well and are keen to do well. The childminder has given good consideration to ensure children's well-being. She teaches children to be independent and gives thoughtful care and attention to their individual care routines, sleep patterns and parents' preferences. The childminder recognises when a child might be getting tired and responds quickly to these cues to meet their needs. Children have a comfortable area to sleep, and are regularly checked to make sure they are safe. Children are developing skills to help manage the safety of their environment. In their play, the childminder encourages children to be kind, use their manners, share and take turns. She takes them to groups, such as activities at the soft play centre and she has regular contact with other childminders. These activities provide good opportunities for children to mix socially with others. Therefore, they have positive, cooperative and

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

harmonious relationships with their peers.

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

The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of how to manage children's behaviour in a positive way. She always explains to children what is acceptable and what is not, so that they can learn right from wrong. The children gain a good understanding of effective health and hygiene practices. The childminder works well in partnership with parents to encourage and support children who are toilet training. The children are independent and through routines, they develop their self-care skills. For example, they independently wash their hands after using the bathroom and before snack. The childminder gives high priority to ensuring children's safety, ensuring her home is secure, clean, comfortable and free from hazards.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a good knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She is aware of the importance of assessing and monitoring the planning and delivery of the educational programmes and maintains all required documentation well. She evaluates her practice and values help from parents and local authority professionals to do this. She has a good range of well-written policies and procedures, including confidentiality and safeguarding policies, which she shares with parents so that they know about her practice and responsibilities. The childminder clearly understands her role in child protection and this supports children's safety and well-being. She is vigilant about who can collect children and implements appropriate procedures regarding the use of mobile phones and cameras. She demonstrates a clear awareness of the procedure she should follow in the event of

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provision

having any concerns about a child in her care.

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provision

Thorough risk assessments are carried out and reviewed on a regular basis. Risk assessments and registers reflect that procedures are followed to safeguard children during outings or school 'drop off' or 'collection' times. The numbers of children she cares for are taken into account as part of the risk assessment and the times children attend are recorded. The childminder supervises children well and makes sure she does not exceed ratio requirements in relation to the number of children she looks after at any one time. The childminder has well-established links with a local early years setting and primary school. She understands her role to work with other providers and is well prepared for sharing information with them in order to ensure continuity and consistency for children who attend more than one setting. She is an experienced practitioner and very confident with the learning and development requirements The childminder has highly effective

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provision

relationships with parents and carers. She ensures they understand how she is registered and operates, including explaining how she and her husband's suitability have been checked and the training she has attended. The childminder makes sure that parents are fully aware of any activities or routines children are involved in and asks them to confirm their agreement of children's participation by giving written consents. The childminder ably ensures children have the required skills, knowledge and confidence to move happily on to nursery and school.

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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 EY236435 Local authority Swindon Inspection number 955602 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 8

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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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