Childminder in Solihull

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/01/2014 12/07/2010

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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

 The childminder has too little understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. This has resulted in a number of breaches relating to adult-to- child ratios, records and documentation.  Children's best interests are not promoted because the childminder does not ensure confidential information and records about parents and children are held securely. In addition, she does not display the certificate of registration to ensure parents are informed of her registration with Ofsted, or keep accurate records of children's hours of attendance.  The quality of teaching and learning is variable because the childminder does not plan sufficiently challenging learning opportunities for children's learning to be extended. In addition, assessment arrangements are not rigorous.  The childminder is unable to demonstrate that permission is obtained from parents to administer medication to children. In addition, a record of accidents involving children is

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This provision is inadequate

not available for inspection. As a result, it is unclear whether children's needs have been appropriately addressed.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are happy, comfortable and confident in their surroundings.

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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 observed the childminder engage in a range of indoor learning activities and daily routines with children.  The inspector held discussions with the childminder and spoke with children.  The inspector looked at safety within the house and outside area.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2008 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and four children aged nine, six, four and three years, in the Shirley area of Solihull. The whole ground floor of the childminder's house, except for the front room, is used for childminding, with access upstairs to the bathroom and a front bedroom used for sleeping children. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder is currently looking after three children in the early years age range. The childminder takes children to and from local schools. The childminder provides care all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays, Christmas and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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enforcement action:

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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enforcement action:

improve knowledge of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure compliance with the ratio requirements

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enforcement action:

ensure permission is obtained from parents to administer each medication so that children receive medication safely and that written records are kept of accidents or injuries and first aid treatment administered

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enforcement action:

promote children's welfare by ensuring that required documentation is maintained; this is with specific regard to records that detail their full name, date of birth and address, their dietary needs, the address of every parent and/or carer who is known and their emergency contact details

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enforcement action:

keep a daily record of the names of children looked after and their hours of attendance and display the certificate of registration

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enforcement action:

ensure the daily experience of children in the early years and the overall quality of the provision meets children's individual care and learning needs and improve knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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must:

 improve the planning of challenging and enjoyable learning experiences for all children through planned, purposeful play and by offering activities that help children to develop their critical thinking skills; in addition, ensure assessments are accurate to support children's next steps

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must:

 ensure confidential information and records about parents and children are held securely and are only accessible and available to those who have a right or professional need to see them.

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must:

 promote children's welfare by ensuring that required documentation is maintained. This is with specific regard to records that detail their full name, date of birth and address, their dietary needs, the address of every parent and/or carer who is known and their emergency contact details

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must:

 keep a daily record of the names of children looked after and their hours of attendance and display the certificate of registration.

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who attend

The childminder provides poor quality learning experiences for children because she cares for more children than she is legally entitled to care for, in addition to her own child. This affects the quality of her teaching as she cannot give all the young children in her care the time and individual attention they need, in order for them to make consistent progress in their learning. As a consequence of this, children do not fully engage with the activities and the childminder is unable to plan for individual children to ensure that they are all sufficiently challenged in their learning and development. For example, at times, younger children spend long periods in car seats or in highchairs while she attends to more mobile children. During these periods, they have a toy to explore but receive little interaction from the childminder, which does not promote their learning or communication skills. This

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who attend

results in some children lacking interest and enthusiasm. Likewise, when the childminder turns her attention to the younger children, she is unable to meet the needs of the older children, who want her to continue playing and engaging with them. This shows that teaching practice is poor as the childminder is unable to respond to the differing learning and development needs of children she is caring for. That said, children do enjoy some of the play and activities on offer. For example, they have the opportunity to participate in activities and experiences that the childminder plans for the whole group, such outings to local groups. At times, she listens to what some children say and responds appropriately, for example, by getting resources out when they ask for the dolls stored in a box.

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who attend

Despite some weaknesses in promoting children's communication skills, the childminder does, at times, ask them appropriate questions to encourage their language. For example, when she does engage with younger children, she encourages them to repeat words and to name pictures in books. Some children are provided with opportunities to be imaginative, for example, with a range of imaginative play resources, such as, dolls, prams and highchairs. These keep children occupied but too little is done by the childminder to help children learn through their play. Nevertheless, they hug the dolls and walk around with them tucked under their arms, putting them in the toy highchair like the baby. The childminder sometimes joins in with children and at these times, she offers appropriate support for their language and mathematical development. For example, she encourages children to count how many objects they can see on the flash cards and to name the

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who attend

objects. However, this activity lacks sufficient challenge and does not maintain children's interests. As a result, they wander off to create their own ideas for play. Despite children having some fun in their self-chosen games, the childminder does not help them to acquire the skills they need to be successful in their future learning.

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who attend

The childminder says that she observes children and assesses their progress and development through recording her observations in children's learning journals. However, these were not available for the inspection because she had loaned all children's journal to another childminder. While these are not required in written form, she is unable to evidence verbally that she confidently knows children and their needs. She is unable to demonstrate how ongoing assessments are an integral part of the learning and development process for children. Although, the childminder seeks information from parents in relation to their children's likes and interests, she does not utilise this information to provide individual learning experiences for children to help them make good progress. This also means she unable to demonstrate how she fully supports children and promotes their readiness for school. The childminder has some knowledge about the

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who attend

requirement to check the progress of children aged two years and states that she intends to discuss this with parents when the times comes to complete it.

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

The childminder speaks with parents about children's individual care needs and demonstrates an understanding of children's likes, dislikes and dietary needs when they first start. She invites parents to visit her home with their children prior to starting and builds up the time that they are left, so that they can get to know her and her childminding provision. This helps children to move happily from their home to the childminder's care. However, as the childminder looks after more children than she can adequately care for some children miss out on individual attention. This is particularly evident for the youngest children who sit for long periods in car seats or highchairs, while other children wander around. This means some children are not consistently able to form secure attachments with the childminder, which means their emotional well-being is not always secure. The childminder provides a range of toys and resources, which are

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

effectively organised on low-level storage facilities, which she rotates. This provides some opportunities for children to develop independence and make choices, as well as to direct their own play. The environment reflects some examples of children's artwork, number and alphabet friezes. These helps to promote some aspects of children's self-esteem as well as some areas of their learning.

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

Children are learning about what is acceptable behaviour as they respond to the childminder's behaviour management. She encourages young children to share and take turns from an early age and reminds them to use 'kind hands'. She uses behaviour charts for older children and stickers for the younger ones to reward their positive behaviour. Children learn about healthy eating through the provision of healthy choices of foods provided by their parents. For example, they enjoy fresh fruit at snack time and regular drinks throughout the day. Nappy changing takes place in accordance with children's individual needs, helping to promote their well-being and health. Their self-care is promoted through appropriate hygiene routines. Children learn about personal hygiene because the childminder ensures they clean their hands with antibacterial gel after nappy changing and before meals. Daily routines, physical play and activities provide opportunity

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

for children to be active. For example, they visit activity centres, a soft play area, parks and use equipment in the garden. Children are learning how to manage their own safety. They learn about the importance of assisting the childminder to put the toys away after using them, so they do not fall and hurt themselves. The fire-drill procedure is displayed and they practise the emergency evacuation drills and learn about road safety when going out. In addition, children always wear high-visibility jackets to ensure they can be easily seen when out with the childminder. However, their safety is not wholly maintained because she has failed to meet a number of legal requirements, which has a negative impact on their health and well-being.

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provision

The inspection was prompted due to concerns being raised about the childminder caring for more children than her registration permits. In addition, the concerns relate to the childminder's inability to adequately supervise the number of children she is caring for during school collection times. At the inspection, the provider was found to be in breach of a number of regulatory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. These relate to adult-to-child ratios, documentation related to the safe and efficient management of the provision for children and confidentiality. The childminder is also failing to meet the requirements of the Childcare Register with regards to records. These breaches mean that the childminder does not protect children's safety and welfare. The childminder has completed safeguarding training and is aware of the possible indicators, which may give cause for a child protection concern. She is aware of the procedures to follow and who to

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provision

contact should she have any concerns about a child in her care. However, the childminder does not keep an accurate record of the times of children's attendance. This is a breach in the requirements and means that documentation is not available to help safeguard children's welfare. During the inspection, it was apparent that the childminder is exceeding safe, legal adult-to-children ratios. The childminder was caring for three children in the early years age range, in addition to her child also under the age of five years. She said that she sometimes cares for four children in this age range. This demonstrates that the childminder has weak knowledge of the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The quality of children's care suffers as a result. Currently, none of the children cared for attend any other setting. The childminder is aware of the importance of liaising with other early years settings to support children's move from one setting to

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provision

another. She is also aware of the importance of working with other professionals if she needs to, in order to support children.

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provision

The childminder is unable to provide sufficient information regarding how she observes and assesses children's learning, or how she gains an awareness of where they are in their learning to support children their progress towards the early learning goals. She states that she has loaned all children's files, assessment records and their personal records to another childminder to show her the information she is required to keep. This is without the consent of parents and is, therefore, a breach in relation to confidentiality. This also leaves the childminder in a position in which she has little information to support her management of children's needs.

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provision

Self-evaluation is weak. The childminder does not reflect on her practices well enough to identify areas of weak practice and where she can make improvements to benefit children's learning and well-being. Partnership with parents is adequate, although, the childminder fails to seek their consent to share personal records. Nevertheless, she uses daily diaries to share information about children's care needs and routines with parents. The childminder also allows time at the beginning and end of each day for discussions and responds to parent's questions and queries through telephone calls and text messages. Parents receive some information, which outlines the childminder's role and responsibilities and provides them with information about the Early Years Foundation Stage. In addition, she has a poster of the areas of learning displayed for them. The childminder does not have the required written consent for administering medication to children and she does

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provision

not have records of accidents involving children or of children's hours of attendance. The childminder is unable to locate the certificate of registration from Ofsted and this is, therefore, not available for parents and carers' attention. These weaknesses demonstrate that the childminder has breached a significant number of legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, as well as the Childcare Register.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 display the certificate of registration in the premises on which childcare is provided (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of children looked after and their hours of attendance (compulsory 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 EY380147 Local authority Solihull Inspection number 952267 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 3 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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