Childminder in South TynesideOfsted inspection, 12 Feb 2014

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/02/2014 03/07/2013

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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 does not have a suitable knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, which means that she is not able to use her observations to accurately assess children's learning or plan high quality challenging experiences across the seven areas of learning.  The childminder has limited knowledge of the progress check at age two and consequently, has not implemented or shared a summary of children's learning in the prime areas with parents.  The childminder has failed to safeguard children with regard to their supervision, and to maintain a current paediatric first aid qualification. This impacts on children's welfare, well-being and safety.  The childminder has not obtained written permission for all long-term medications that parents ask to be administered to their children.  Self-evaluation is not strong, resulting in a lack of focus to develop areas which need improvement and to prioritise action needed.

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It has the following strengths

 Children form affectionate bonds with the childminder and show they feel at ease in her care.

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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 made observations of the children while they were engaged in activities in lounge.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, observation and assessment files, planning documentation and a selection of policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder and children at different times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her two children aged seven and 14 years in a terraced house in South Shields. The whole of the ground floor, the bathroom and the back bedroom on the first floor are used for childminding. The family has a dog. The childminder attends a toddler group and visits the library, shops and various parks on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre- schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently three children on roll, of whom two are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 7pm, all week, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 improve knowledge of the learning and development requirements in order to provide challenging and enjoyable experiences for children by: using robust observation and assessment of children's learning to identify their next steps, and planning for individual children, taking into account their interests and stages of development

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must:

 devise and implement a process for completing the progress check at age two to enable early identification of development needs so that additional support can be put into place, and provide parents with a written summary of their child's development

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must:

 ensure children are adequately supervised and always remain within sight or hearing

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must:

 ensure that a current paediatric first aid certificate is maintained at all times

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must:

 ensure that written permission is obtained for any long-term prescribed medicine that is provided by parents to be administered to a child.

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

 implement rigorous and effective systems for self-evaluation to inform priorities and set challenging targets for improvement, include the views of parents and children so that any improvements made reflect their needs.

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who attend

The childminder does not have a sufficient understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. While she is beginning to observe children during activities, the information gained is not matched to the seven areas of learning and is not effectively used to identify children's individual learning steps and plan for the next stages in their development. As a result, activities and play experiences provided for the children are not always directed towards their individual needs. Consequently, they are not developing their skills to support the next steps in their learning and eventually the move to school when the time comes. In addition to this, the childminder is unaware of the requirements for the progress checks and age two, and consequently, has not prepared systems to enable her to do this appropriately. This means that she is unable to identify and discuss with parents any gaps in children's

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who attend

learning that might give cause for concern.

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who attend

Children's communication and listening skills are supported adequately. The childminder talks steadily to the children to describe what they are doing and what they could do. She notices when children say a new word, and repeats specific words and sounds suitably to promote children's language development. Children are able to access most of the resources independently, which allows them to initiate their own play and follow their individual interests. For example, a child with a particular interest in vehicles selects and plays with a number of small cars. The childminder extends their play by providing additional resources, such as the garage. However, she provides these primarily for enjoyment but not for the developmental benefits or to extend learning through activities that appeal to them. Therefore, children do not benefit from purposeful activities that promote their learning. Children access books independently. For example, the

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who attend

childminder sits with the children while they look at an interactive book and listen carefully as they press different buttons to hear a range of different noises and sound effects. This also helps them to develop their problem solving skills and encourages their interest and curiosity.

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who attend

Children's general interests are known by the childminder who provides a suitable range of toys and resources they enjoy. For example, she invites a child to make a collage and provides a glue stick, crayons and different resources for sticking. She sits with the child and gives some encouragement to participate. However, the child loses interest quickly as the childminder fails to engage the child and misses the opportunity to extend the child's learning further. The childminder provides children with suitable opportunities to take part in a range of physical activities. For example, they go on walks and visit local parks. This provides opportunities for children to balance, climb, run, jump and use small apparatus, promoting their physical development. Parents benefit from having daily conversations with the childminder about what their children have enjoyed doing each day. The childminder takes time to discuss some of the children's learning with parents, such as

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who attend

how to promote their speech by not offering a dummy without reason. This enables parents to support some of their children's learning at home.

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

The childminder provides flexible settling-in sessions to parents to allow children sufficient time to form attachments. Interaction between the childminder and the children is generally good and this helps to promote children's sense of security and belonging and also helps them to have a smooth transition from home to her care. Parents are asked to complete an 'All about me' form for their child to enable the childminder to know the child's likes and dislikes when they first start. The childminder offers a comfortable, inviting, child-friendly environment, where children have sufficient space to play and rest. Children make some independent choices because an appropriate variety of resources is accessibly stored within their easy reach. This suitably promotes their independence as they freely choose and select their own play resources.

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

The childminder is sensitive to children's needs and personalities; she promptly recognises the signs that mean a young child is getting tired. Interaction is positive and the children show they are attached to the childminder as they seek out cuddles and comfort. This supports children's positive behaviour and resilience and enables them to develop a positive sense of themselves. The childminder provides opportunities for minded children to meet other children through attending local activity centres and the library. This helps children to form relationships with others and become accustomed to entering other establishments; skills they will need when they transfer to their school setting. Children are well behaved. They are supported suitably to learn to share and take turns as they play, and consequently, they develop social skills. The childminder praises children readily for their efforts which effectively boosts their self-esteem.

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

The childminder supports children to develop a healthy lifestyle and provides them with a variety of healthy snacks and meals. Through effective daily routines such as hand washing, children are learning about appropriate hygiene practices. Children rest and sleep according to parent's wishes and their individual needs. They enjoy outings within the local community or other open spaces where children can access a greater range of suitable play equipment and resources. This supports children's overall health and physical well-being. The childminder has some knowledge and understanding about how to manage accidents should they occur. However, the expiration of her paediatric first aid certificate leaves children's well-being at risk because her knowledge is not fully up to date.

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provision

The inspection was prioritised following concerns being raised about the childminder's ability to safeguard the children in her care. The inspection found that the childminder had failed to ensure that all children are supervised adequately and always kept within sight or hearing of her. This is because she admitted to leaving a child in her car unattended while she collected other children from school. In addition, the childminder has failed to ensure her first aid training is up to date. It expired two months prior to the inspection and no dates were booked in to renew this. In addition, the childminder has not obtained written parental consent to apply daily medicated cream. The failure to maintain a valid first aid qualification, and ensure that she has all relevant parental consent impacts on children's well-being and puts them at risk because the childminder does not have the most up-to- date information and knowledge about how to administer first aid treatment. These

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provision

significant weaknesses in practice are breaches in the safeguarding requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early years Foundation Stage and are also breaches of the requirements of the Childcare Register.

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provision

The childminder has a safeguarding policy in place and demonstrates a suitable understanding of possible symptoms of children at risk. She is aware of procedures to follow if she has child protection concerns. The childminder does not have a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This affects her ability to provide an appropriate range of interesting activities which will support all children in making good progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder suitably works in partnership with parents. They are provided with an appropriate range of written policies and procedures so they are aware of her role and responsibilities and the service that she provides. The childminder shares information with parents on a daily basis on how their child's day has been and what they have been doing, and works alongside them to support children for example, when toilet

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provision

training. Most of the required information is obtained from parents, for example, their emergency contact details and permission for children to be taken on outings. The childminder describes how she regularly asks parents for their views about the service she provides which helps her to address any issues they may have. She has formed satisfactory links with the other providers who share the care of children, such as staff at the local nursery and school.

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provision

The childminder vocally demonstrates a keenness to improve the service that she provides. However, the strengths and weaknesses of the provision have not been identified and the childminder has ineffective systems in place in order for her to monitor and review practice. She has previously completed an early years qualification. However, she is not using the knowledge gained through this qualification to improve children's safety, care or learning. The childminder does show willingness to improve. For instance, she has improved on the action from the previous inspection and has established links with other settings that children attend. This enables her to offer complementary activities to help consolidate 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:

 obtain an appropriate first aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  obtain an appropriate first aid qualification (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 EY362809 Local authority South Tyneside Inspection number 954098 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 3

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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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