Childminder in Swindon

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 26/02/2014 14/01/2010

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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 happy and confident because the childminder meets their care needs effectively and promotes their self-esteem.  Children are involved in a broad range of activities and experiences, which help them to make steady progress in all areas of learning.  Children learn to behave appropriately. They play harmoniously with children of different ages, and as a result, develop their social skills.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not obtain written parental permission for each child to take part in outings. This is a breach of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The childminder does not always challenge children to promote their problem solving and critical thinking skills to enable them to fulfil their potential.  Self-evaluation is not fully effective to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the provision to target areas for improvement.

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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 talked to the childminder and the children at appropriate times during the inspection.  The inspector observed activities and the quality of the childminder's interaction.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's records and a selection of policies and regulatory documentation.  The inspector took into account of the views of parents through written feedback.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1989. She lives with her husband in Old Town, Swindon. The whole of the ground floor of the property is available for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder walks to local schools and pre- schools to take and collect children. She attends the local toddler group. The family has a dog and a cat. The childminder has a recognised childcare qualification at level 3. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently 12 children on roll, of whom eight are in the early years age range and attend on a part time basis.

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must:

 obtain written parental permission for each child to take part in outings

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must:

 ensure that every child is challenged in their individual learning to enable them to fulfil their potential; by for example, using open questions to promote problem solving and critical thinking skills.

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

 develop a thorough self-evaluation process to accurately identify strengths and areas for development.

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who attend

Children enjoy attending the friendly and welcoming setting. The childminder has a suitable understanding and knowledge of how to implement the Early Years Foundation Stage. She gathers information from parents about children's interests, likes and dislikes before they first start, and during daily discussions so that she can support children's learning. Children's learning journals contain photographs and observations linked to the areas of learning. This helps the childminder to assess what children can do. These assessments enable the childminder to plan their next steps in learning. She completes the required progress check for two-year-old children.

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who attend

The childminder provides a broad range of activities, outings and experiences so that children have fun. Children develop an understanding of the wider world around them. They visit the local library to borrow books, and explore the local woodland where they collect natural resources to use for creative activities. Children are able to develop their imagination through role-play and small world play, which helps them to develop their hand eye coordination skills as they build and construct. The childminder sits on the floor with the children and joins in with their play to support them during activities. This helps the children to feel valued, be involved and concentrate. The childminder is a positive role model, and they sing together, which promotes language and physical development. She encourages children to join in with actions, and clap their hands during the song. Children enjoy these songs and laugh as they sing, dance and wiggle their bodies to the rhythms.

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who attend

The childminder encourages the children's interests in books as she sits with them, and they snuggle up to her as they share the story. Children have opportunities to develop their early writing skills, and freely access a range of paper, crayons, pencils and pens.

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who attend

Children enjoy their time with the childminder and make steady progress in their learning and development. However, the childminder does not always challenge children's learning effectively to promote their problem solving and critical thinking skills. For instance, when children build a rocket and count down for take off, the childminder does not use open questions to ask where the rocket is going. She does not take advantage of the children's interest in rockets to extend their knowledge, for example, by talking about the moon, stars and planets.

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who attend

The childminder regularly takes children to local toddler groups, where they interact with different adults and a wider group of children, building friendships and socialising, which supports their personal, social and emotional development. This also helps them gain confidence in new environments and situations. The childminder encourages children to be independent, for example, by putting on their own coats and shoes, cleaning their hands and putting their rubbish in the bin after snack time. This helps to develop children's self- care skills. These activities suitably prepare children for their next stage of learning, such as going to pre-school and moving onto school.

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

The childminder is warm and caring to the children and this helps to boost their levels of confidence and self-esteem, which appropriately supports their emotional development. Children demonstrate a sense of security, building secure relationships with both the childminder and their friends. As a result, children enjoy their time with the childminder. Children learn to behave well as the childminder supports them to use good manners during their play and daily routines, and reminds them that they need to share the toys. Children develop a sense of time as the childminder promotes the use of timers to encourage turn-taking skills. She builds secure relationships with parents and keeps them informed of children's care and learning routines through a daily diary.

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

Children are developing an awareness of a healthy diet as the childminder works with parents to provide healthy snacks and meals. Fresh drinking water is accessible to the children during their play so they do not become thirsty. Children sit together during snack time and the childminder engages them in conversation, which helps to develop their social skills. Children benefit from suitable hygiene practices to keep themselves safe and healthy. For example, the childminder reminds children that they need to clean their hands before eating snack, and after toileting and stroking animals. The childminder promotes children's safety. Children learn how to evacuate the home safely in the event of an emergency through regular fire drills with the childminder. As a result, they are developing an awareness of how to keep themselves safe. The childminder ensures that her home and outings are safe and secure through regular risk assessments. However,

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

she does not obtain written parental permission for each child to take part in outings. This is a breach of the safeguarding and welfare requirements for the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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

All children benefit from daily fresh air in all weathers. They enjoy exercise and active play that promotes their fitness and physical development. They walk to and from school and go on outings to local parks and soft play centres to climb on the play equipment. Children play in the enclosed garden area containing a variety of play equipment each day, and visit the local woodland to explore the natural environment, climb trees and make dens. Consequently, this helps to promote their physical development.

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

The childminder provides a range of resources indoors and outdoors, which are suitable for the different ages and stages of children attending. She rotates small world toys to take into account children's interests. These resources are stored in low-level containers, so that children can explore and make independent choices. The childminder plans trips within the local environment to provide real life experiences and extend children's knowledge of the wider world. For example, she organises an outing on a bus to support children's understanding of a double-decker bus and uses the train to promote children's fascination with trains.

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provision

Overall, the childminder has an appropriate knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, she does not have written parental permission for each child to take part in outings. The childminder has updated her safeguarding training to secure her knowledge of the procedures to follow should she have any child protection concerns. She is aware of child protection issues and knows what to do if she has concerns about a child in her care. The childminder holds a current first aid qualification to help her to provide appropriate care if a child has an accident. She carries out daily visual checks on her home to ensure that it is safe for when the children arrive. She implements a range of written policies and procedures to protect and promote the children's well-being, and documentation, such as insurances are in place.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a suitable commitment to continued improvement to develop her practice. Since her last inspection, she has developed methods of recording children's progress, which help her to plan the next steps in children's development. She has extended her resources and activities that support children to learn about cultural diversity, disability and the wider world. The childminder has set up a system to review her policies and procedures each year. However, she does not effectively self-evaluate aspects of her provision to target key areas for improvement. As a result, there is no clear action plan in place to help her prioritise and address key weaknesses in her practice.

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provision

The childminder establishes positive relationships with parents. All policies and procedures are available to parents in an information pack. This informs parents about the care their children receive. Some children also attend other early years settings. The childminder has established some links to exchange information regarding children's well-being and development to further promote their learning in all areas. Children's learning journals are available to parents and can be discussed at any time. Parents' written feedback includes positive comments about the childminder. They report that their children are happy and developing well with the childminder who shares information well with them. They state that children 'have time to play and space to be quiet' and that the children 'have great adventures and lots of fresh air'.

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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 506049 Local authority Swindon Inspection number 843292 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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