Childminder in Worcestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/02/2014 21/11/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 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

 Children play safely and happily in a welcoming and secure environment. The childminder has an effective knowledge to safeguard children's welfare.  The childminder has a detailed knowledge of individual children through regular observation leading to precise assessment. She uses this to plan learning experiences that challenge them and which are well matched to their ages, stages and needs. As a result, children make good progress.  The childminder makes comprehensive evaluations of her practice and the environment to support continuous improvement. She seeks information from other professionals, children and parents in order to enhance the care and learning she provides for children.  The childminder provides a good quality, running commentary to children throughout their play activities and routines. This approach has a positive impact on children's communication and language skills.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not fully extend children's understanding of numbers, through using simple number problems.

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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 compulsory part 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 carried out observations on the childminder and her interactions with children throughout the inspection, including a joint observation, and examined samples of documentation relating to children's welfare and learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder and children at appropriate points throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of children's development records, parents' and children's questionnaires and the childminder's self-evaluation form.  The inspector spoke to parents during the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her adult child and one child aged 11 years in Redditch. The whole of the ground floor of the house and the rear garden is used for childminding. The childminder works with an assistant. She attends various toddler groups and visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder has a pet dog.

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Information about the setting

There are currently six children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays. She provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The childminder supports children who speak English as an additional language. She has a childcare qualification at level 3.

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

 strengthen opportunities to extend children's awareness and use of simple number problems.

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who attend

Children are cared for in a welcoming home where resources are organised well in the designated playroom to meet their needs. The childminder has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and demonstrates good quality teaching skills. This enables her to plan activities that match closely to children's stages of development and their individual interests. These include visits to parks, toddler groups and activity sessions; experiences which help to support the good progress children make in their learning and development. Observation and assessment systems are in place to monitor children's progress across the seven areas of learning which identify what they need to learn next. The children have their individual learning journal which contains photographs and observations made by the childminder. All relevant information is shared with parents about their children's daily routines and

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who attend

activities, including the use of a daily diary for younger children. For children aged two years, the childminder completes a progress check and shares the results with parents. This enables any intervention needed to be put into place early, for children who are found to be below expected levels of development at this point. The childminder provides a welcoming and well-resourced playroom, where children can explore a good range of toys and equipment overall. Children enjoy feeding the ducks at the park and when a child finds an earwig in the playroom she carefully picks it up and places it into a container, before releasing it outside. The childminder engages very well with children; she gets down to their level on the floor and joins in with activities, motivating them and encouraging their use of language. She listens to what they say and gives them time to think about their responses and offers plenty of praise. Most of the

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who attend

children she cares for speak Polish and she offers them good opportunities to learn English. In addition, she shows that she values their home language and uses flash cards and dual language books to help them retain their home language. The childminder promotes children's knowledge of numbers and uses a good range of teaching strategies to support their learning. Children enjoy singing number songs and rhymes. Counting is further encouraged during daily routines and planned activities. The childminder uses small animal figures and children count these as they learn to recognise size and colour. The childminder asks children, 'can you find a small blue sheep?, 'can you find a medium yellow horse?, not the smallest or the biggest, but the medium sized one'. This turns into a challenge to see who can collect the most figures. However, opportunities to extend children's skills to solve simple number problems are not fully exploited. The childminder

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who attend

does not fully encourage them to explore mathematical concepts, such as how many they have altogether, or how many more one child has than the other. This means there are missed opportunities to fully challenge children.

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who attend

Children have a good range of opportunities to make things and be creative. They enjoy exploring their senses as they design cards for 'Mother's Day' using egg boxes to create daffodils and decide if straws or lollipop sticks would make the best stalk for the flowers. Children enjoy playing with resources which support their understanding of the world around them, such as investigating the weather. They look outside to see the weather conditions, before deciding what clothes are required to dress the figure of a girl on the wall. Children are given good opportunities to make marks as they draw and colour pictures or use the writing board. Given children's starting points, they make really good progress in their communication, language and literacy skills as they confidently write their names and messages in cards for their parents. They develop a good command of the English language while speaking in their home language. This helps children feel valued

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who attend

and respected and supports their social and emotional development. In addition, they are well prepared for the next stage in their lives, such as going to nursery or school.

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

The childminder has a very caring and gentle manner, which creates a calm and reassuring atmosphere for children. She follows parents' wishes and at the start of the placement she gains good information about children's individual needs and routines. She ensures that the children's and parents' needs are met from the outset. For example, during the settling-in process, she communicates with parents about the children's transition to her home. She offers play dates where they can come and familiarise themselves with her and her home and where they might play and sleep. She gathers important details and starting points from the parents and together they complete a comprehensive document, which outlines a full picture of the child. Parental partnerships are good and information about children's learning and development is shared daily in their 'contact book', which is shared between home and the childminder. Children behave

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

well because they are taught to be cooperative through the support of the childminder, as they learn to share the play resources and to wait their turn. The home is well organised to stimulate children's learning in all areas of learning. The playroom is a bright and welcoming space. Toys are accessible to children around the room and they develop independence, choosing what they want to play with. The playroom is decorated with their artwork and this shows the childminder values their efforts.

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

The childminder has an accurate understanding of how to keep children safe and what procedures to follow if she had any concerns about a child. There are effective policies and procedures in place to support her practice and the parents are made aware of them. This ensures that they are all fully aware of each other's responsibilities. The childminder has developed effective partnerships with parents and she routinely takes photographs of the children engaged in activities to put into their learning journals and sends them to the parents via text messages. In this way parents are reassured and feel very well informed about their child's care and well-being. There is always time for an informal chat at pick- up time. Children thoroughly enjoy their time with the childminder, so much so, that some children make a fuss not wanting to go home and parents have to coax them to leave. Therefore, showing parents the relationship between their children and the childminder is

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

The childminder fully understands the importance of good hygiene. She encourages the children to develop good personal hygiene practices by modelling good hygiene routines. For example, she supports the children to wash their hands prior to eating and using wipes to clean their faces after lunch. In addition, she tells them it is important to stop germs. The childminder has effective nappy changing procedures. She ensures children's nappies are regularly changed throughout the day and that the potty is available for children needing to use it. Children bring healthy, nutritious packed lunches from home which the childminder stores appropriately. The childminder works closely with parents to make sure she has a clear understanding of their children's dietary and health needs and children enjoy their traditional cultural food. The childminder teaches children about their own safety. For example, they join in the fire drill practises and discuss road safety. The

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

home in which children play is well maintained, which helps to support children's good health. The childminder carries out regular safety checks on the house and places she takes the children. She has safety equipment in place to restrict her pet dog from coming in contact with children to ensure they are safe. The childminder designs books for children with simple activities to prepare them for school. They practise writing letters, numbers and recognising shapes and colours. The childminder reads stories to children about starting school which help children prepare for the next stage in their learning.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities regarding safeguarding children. She has a secure understanding of what would give her cause for concern and the action she would take to promote children's welfare. She has updated this knowledge through her attendance on further training. She regularly assesses the risks to children's safety both inside the home and on outings, and takes appropriate action to minimise these. Her documentation is well organised and all policies and procedures are shared with parents, including gaining their consent to administer medication and notifying them about any accidents involving children. As a result, parents are well informed about how she safeguards their children. The childminder has a good understanding of her role in promoting and delivering the learning and development requirements. She holds a childcare qualification, is experienced and takes a professional approach to her work. She

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provision

keeps up to date with new ideas in the field of childcare and child development by attending courses and exchanging ideas with other childminders at the forum meeting she attends.

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provision

The childminder reflects on her practice regularly and monitors her education provision accurately. In addition, she is supported by the early years development team. Parents spoken to on the day of the inspection report that they are happy with the childminding arrangements. They say that the children are always eager to attend and do not want to go at the end of the day. Another parent said, 'my child is picking up the English language quickly, she is coming home happy and singing songs'. The childminder seeks parents' and children's views through periodic feedback questionnaires that the childminder has devised. Children tick a clown with a smiling face to indicate they enjoy the activities on offer. This helps the childminder to make improvements to her provision. As yet, the childminder has not experienced any partnership working with outside agencies, but she is aware of how she can seek support and work with parents and other professionals to help

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provision

all children who need additional support to make progress.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY371695 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 954369 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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