Childminder in Sandwell

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/03/2014 07/07/2010

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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

 Children are not safeguarded appropriately because the childminder does not have a secure understanding of child protection procedures regarding the use of mobile phones and cameras and these procedures are not reflected in the Safeguarding policy.  The childminder does not consistently promote all the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, which does not fully support children to, for example, think, explore and express their own creative ideas. In addition, the childminder does not fully support parents to share what they know about their children's learning as they enter the setting.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are forming close attachments to all adults who work closely together to ensure children and their families enjoy a smooth transition from home.  The childminder supports children to freely explore and investigate from a wide range of stimulating resources stored within their easy reach in an interesting playroom.  Children's health is promoted through lots of planned opportunities for them to explore the outdoors and children develop their social skills by attending various toddler groups.

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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 kitchen, lounge and playroom.  The inspector held meetings with the childminder and her co-childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers included in the self- evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminders about the daily routines, children's individual learning and self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of policies and procedures, which included safeguarding and complaints, children's assessment and planning records and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children and the childminder's self-evaluation form.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1998 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives and works with her co- childminder, son-in-law and five year old grandchild in a house in Great Barr, Birmingham. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The family has a pet dog. The childminder attends local toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools and pre-schools.

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Information about the setting

There are currently eight children on roll, of whom six are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, 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:

 improve knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures relating to the use of mobile phones and cameras and ensure the Safeguarding policy reflects these procedures

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must:

 improve the planning and guiding of children's adult-led activities to ensure practice reflects the three characteristics of effective teaching and learning.

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

 develop further the partnership working with parents and carers to encourage them to provide information about children's starting points at the beginning of the placement.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates a suitable understanding of how to promote children's learning through play and provides children with a wide range of child-initiated and adult- led activities and experiences that cover the seven areas of learning. This ensures that, generally, children enjoy their time with the childminder and are occupied and engaged in their learning. However, teaching requires improvement in order to support children to develop all the characteristics needed for effective learning. At times, especially during adult-led activities, some children are not always making decisions or developing their own ideas for ways of doing things. This results in them losing concentration and finishing a task quickly, without enjoying the satisfaction of success. For example, children are given a picture of a flower to decorate with small balls of paper of two different colours. The childminder instructs children where to place the glue and paper and what colour the stem

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who attend

should be. This does not support children to think for themselves and be creative. In addition, when children indicate they have finished, the childminder tells them to continue as not all the petals are covered in paper. This does not support children to make decisions for themselves or develop their self-esteem.

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who attend

In contrast, during child-initiated activities children enjoy positive, two-way interactions with the childminder. Children remain focused and spend lots of time exploring and investigating from the wide range of stimulating resources displayed for them in the playroom. The childminder tunes into their interests appropriately at this time and supports them to initiate their own play. For example, children show an interest for exploring the role play kitchen and develop their imagination as they place fruits into a basket while pretending to go shopping. Children concentrate well as they choose to thread plastic shapes onto a piece of string, successfully copying the pattern as demonstrated on a laminated card. This develops their physical and mathematical skills. Children benefit from lots of praise and encouragement from the childminder, which develops their confidence and encourages them to persist in their learning. Children also

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who attend

develop their communication and language skills. For example, children make the sounds linked to animals when exploring pictures and use language when joining in singing their favourite nursery rhymes. Some children show particular interest for music and movement. They pretend to play a piano while listening to music on the radio and enjoy exploring different musical instruments, such as drums. This supports children to express themselves and to explore different media.

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who attend

The childminder and her co-childmninder have recently improved the way they observe and assess children's learning. Observations of children at play are completed by the childminder and recorded in each child's 'learning journal'. This information is used appropriately by the childminder to identify children's achievements and to develop plans to support children in their next steps in learning. As a result, children make the progress expected for their age and are developing the basic skills they need for school. The childminder works closely with parents to share information about their children's progress and ensure that they are involved in their children's learning. For example, the childminder agrees with parents when is the best time to support children to use the potty and toilet. Parents also benefit from receiving a clearly written summary of their children's progress at age two. In addition, a written daily diary tells parents what their children have enjoyed

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who attend

doing and also gives them the opportunity to share what children have achieved at home. However, the childminder is not fully supporting parents to share what they know their child can and cannot do at the beginning of the placement. As a result, children's starting points are not fully informed by learning observed at home.

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

Children are not kept safe because the childminder does not have an adequate understanding of appropriate safeguarding procedures. Nevertheless, children's emotional well-being is promoted appropriately by the childminder through her clear and caring practices. For instance, children and their families settle gradually into the childminder's environment and routines, ensuring a smooth transition from home. This helps them feel emotionally secure. Each child benefits from being assigned their own key person, but the childminder is careful to ensure they develop strong and trusting attachments with both adults and their peers. Young children demonstrate they feel at ease as they sleep soundly in the quiet environment of the lounge. On occasion, some children demonstrate they are feeling anxious or unsure, such as when meeting new people. The childminder responds appropriately by providing them with lots of reassurance. This develops their confidence

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

and enables them to develop new friendships. In addition, children are developing their social skills by attending various different toddler groups and meeting with children and other local childminders. This helps them develop the necessary skills to embrace their next stage in learning with self-confidence, such as moving onto school.

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

The childminder provides children with clear messages about the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Children model the good hygiene practices promoted by the childminder, such as the need to wash their hands before and after eating. This ensures their physical health is continually promoted. Children enjoy sociable mealtimes and are provided with healthy and nutritious snacks and foods, which include plenty of fresh fruit. There are many and varied opportunities for children to develop their physical skills. Regular outings and access to the garden results in children accessing fresh air and exercise every day. For example, children enjoy observing and feeding animals at the farm and enjoy walks in the local parks. This promotes children's understanding of the world in which they live. They also learn to keep themselves safe by following good road safety procedures and by following the childminder's instructions to stop and go.

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provision

The childminder does not meet all the Safeguarding and welfare and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This results in breaches that have an impact on children's safety, well-being and learning. In addition, one requirement of the Childcare Register is also not met. The childminder does not demonstrate a secure understanding of the procedures to follow with regards to the use of mobile phones and cameras and these procedures are not included in the Safeguarding policy. This does not safeguard children's welfare. In addition, the childminder does not always promote the characteristics of effective teaching and learning, which results in some aspects of children's learning not being consistently promoted. Nevertheless, the childminder has kept her knowledge updated by attending training in areas, such as food safety, first aid and safeguarding. This supports children's health and ensures the

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provision

childminder understands what action to take if concerned about a child's health and welfare. All written policies and procedures are shared with parents and all aspects of the premises, both indoors and outdoors, are subject to appropriate risk assessments. All hazards are identified and minimised successfully by the childminder, which ensures children learn and play in a safe environment.

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provision

The childminder develops positive relationships with parents, which adequately supports the exchange of information and helps to meet children's individual care needs. She keeps parents up to date with future changes and as part of her self-evaluation she seeks the views of parents to identify any areas that can be improved. In the most recent written questionnaires parents comment on how well their children settle and develop. They comment positively on the communications with the childminder and feel that the daily diary is very informative. Although the childminder has not had the need to establish an ongoing professional relationship with other practitioners or external agencies, she demonstrates a secure knowledge of the importance of partnership working. For example, previously she welcomed teachers from the local school who visited children in her home environment in order to prepare them for school. The childminder regularly evaluates her

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provision

practice and has improved on most of the recommendations from the previous inspection. For example, she now practices emergency evacuations with all children on a regular basis and ensures children learn about the diverse world in which they live. With support from her co-childminder she has also improved upon how she monitors and assesses the progress children make in their learning. As a result, she provides sufficient support to enable all children to make progress expected for their age.

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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:

 ensure there is a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure there is a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (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 254970 Local authority Sandwell Inspection number 876553 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 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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