Childminder in Enfield

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/03/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Applicable How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder establishes positive partnerships with parents to keep them informed and involved in all aspects of their child's care and learning.  Children benefit from the provision of a healthy and nutritious diet throughout the duration of their attendance.  Children benefit from the childminder taking them to under fives' groups and other community groups to support their learning and social skills.  The childminder has begun to take appropriate steps to evaluate her practice and to identify strengths and weaknesses in her service to improve outcomes for children.

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It is not yet good because

 Children have access to a limited range and variety of play resources, which does not fully support their development in all seven areas of learning.  The childminder does not maintain records of children's attendance as required.  The organisation of space during snack and mealtimes does not effectively promote children's social and independence skills.  Children do not have good free access to drinking water to support their health and individual needs.

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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 the childminder and her assistant work together, in their care of the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the childminder prepare the area used for sleeping and how she and her assistant manage children's sleep time.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the play resources, furniture and equipment available for the children's learning and welfare.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the documentation maintained by the childminder. This included the systems the childminder uses to reflect on her practice and the feedback she seeks from parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector engaged with the childminder to explore how she organises the day to meet children's care, learning and developmental needs.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2010. She lives with her partner, one school age child and one pre-school age child in Ponders End, within the London Borough of Enfield. Children have access to the whole of the ground floor and a bedroom on the first floor of the childminder's home. There is an outdoor area for play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of Childcare Register. The childminder employs three assistants to work with her, should the need arise and they are employed on a part-time basis. Currently, there is one assistant working alongside the childminder in a consistent pattern of attendance. There are currently four children on roll in early years age range, who attend on a part-time basis. The childminder is able to take and collect children from the local school. The childminder lives within walking distance of the children's centre, a playgroup, the book library and park.

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must:

 ensure the daily records of attendance are accurately recorded to reflect all children's hours of attendance, regardless of their patterns of attendance

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must:

 increase the range of play materials in the setting to reflect all areas of learning, to offer children a broader range and variety in their learning opportunities.

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

 introduce the use of picture and text labelling to resources to promote children's independence and to enable them to make choices about what they play with

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

 reorganise the accessibility of drinking water for all children, to promote their independence and support their health

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

 improve the organisation of meal and snack times to allow children to sit in comfort, socialise as a group, with each other and adults and to develop their independence skills.

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who attend

The childminder has an appropriate knowledge of children's individual stages of development and how to assess their progress. She provides a satisfactory range of play resources and activities but these do not robustly promote children's development. The childminder does not consistently provide the children with a broad range of new learning opportunities, or offer them a good level of challenges. The childminder has a sound understanding of the relevance of observational assessment of children's learning. She uses the information gained from observations for planning learning experiences to enable children to move on to the next stage in their learning. Parents are encouraged to share information about their child during the settling-in period and on an ongoing basis. This enables the childminder to meet children's care and learning needs appropriately. The sharing of the daily diary records, the exchange of information verbally and the

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who attend

introduction of formal parent sessions keep them informed consistently and involved. The organisation of the play resources are at low level, however they present no indication to children as to the contents and some are mixed up. This has an impact on children's opportunities to make selections independently or be aware of what they can play with.

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who attend

Children look at books from the large range stored on the bookshelves. There are some resources for children to explore shapes, by posting them into shape sorters or place on a tray to develop their mathematical skills. The children enjoy the cause and effect resources, where they have opportunities to explore operating switches and digits. There are a few soft dolls and a pushchair, to allow children to explore imaginative play, by dressing them and nurturing them. The childminder supports children learning English as an additional language well as she is aware of the importance of supporting their language skills by communicating with them in their home languages. In addition, she is aware of including parents to teach her specific key words in the home language should the need arise. This enables children to communicate in a language they are familiar with and confident to use but also to be supported to learn English. This is because the childminder

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who attend

recognises the importance for using English alongside the home language.

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who attend

The childminder puts children's work on display in an area of the lounge and a small range is included in the children's individual record books. These reflect the range of creative and messy play activities the children have explored, such as painting, printing, free drawing and sticking. Children have wipe boards to develop early writing skills and they have construction materials to build models with. The information gained from parents about their child's interests and experiences gained at home enables the childminder to build on these experiences in the setting. This helps them consolidate learning and make further progress. Children confidently initiate their own play ideas, such as putting the dolls to sleep using cushions and blankets they locate themselves. The childminder and assistant support children's communication and language development through their engagement with them. The childminder supports young children's developing language

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who attend

by taking time to carefully listen to their developing language and using clear words and sentences to teach them new skills. Children have access to some musical instruments to explore different sounds and develop skills required in how to use them. Although there are daily plans in place, the lack of a good range of resources has an impact on children's individual and different learning needs across all seven areas of learning.

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who attend

Children have many opportunities to explore the outdoors, such as regular outings to the park, the use of outdoor play area in the Children's Centre visited, and walks in the community. The children also visit the local book library, and a playgroup. These sessions support and extend children's learning and allow them to develop their confidence in meeting other children and socialising.

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

Children are settled, happy and show a sense of feeling safe in the care of the childminder and her assistant. They receive cuddles, warm words and comfort to reassure them. The childminder and assistant are very approachable and children seek them out for helping them resolve issues of sharing, to be a play partner or to share a book with. The childminder uses positive strategies to manage children's behaviour, which are age appropriate and consistent. Children develop an understanding of acceptable behaviour, as they receive praise and recognition for their achievements and good behaviour presented.

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

Children respond to the childminder's requests to address their personal needs, such as for nappy changing or to get ready for a sleep. Children rest according to their own individual needs, and have their own bedding. The atmosphere created is calm and the childminder ensures individuals have their comfort resources with them. This helps them settle to sleep quickly and promotes a sense of security for the children. Children benefit from the close supervision they receive at sleep time, as the childminder or her assistant are within sight and hearing to address any incidents and ensure they remain safe. In addition, they check on the children periodically to ensure they can give attention promptly. Children sleep in equipment appropriate to age, to prevent any falls, such as older toddlers have a bed guard and younger infants sleep in travel cots. Children learn about safety for themselves, as they are included in regular evacuation drills and the

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

childminder and her assistant use reminders to prompt their attention. For example not to stand on toys as they can hurt their feet and break things.

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

The childminder promotes children's health well. She encourages children to follow effective hygiene procedures and supports them positively with toilet training and hand washing routines. All play resources and areas of the home used for used for minding are clean and of acceptable quality. The childminder provides children with a nutritious diet that is rich in variety. She offers a positive reflection of different cultural diets and provides children with different tastes. The menu planning reflects the children's hours of attendance and supports them to be nourished throughout their stay. The childminder offers them drinking water but it is not readily accessible. In addition children are currently not able to help themselves to water as an when they want, to support them to become independent to address their own personal health needs. Meals times are arranged in the kitchen, however the space and furniture used do not allow for all children attending to sit

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

comfortably and for the adults to sit at the table with them. This does not build on promoting mealtimes as a social activity and to allow the children to eat and learn to feed themselves comfortably. Daily physical activities are planned to enhance children's physical development. This is because the childminder values the importance and need for children to adopt healthy lifestyles.

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provision

The childminder has an appropriate understanding of safeguarding children, as she carries out regular risk assessments and ensures both she and her assistant are well deployed at all times. For example, she is currently not allowing children to access the garden because damaged garden fences are in the process of being replaced. The childminder demonstrates a sound understanding of the safeguarding policies and procedures she has developed to help keep children safe. She shares them with her assistant and ensures parents have copies of these to refer to so they are aware of how the childminder cares for their children. The childminder recognises the importance of reviewing these, such as the procedure for administering medication, to make sure her practice reflects requirements. She has a range of guidance literature regarding safeguarding and promoting children's welfare to support her and her assistant in their roles if they have

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provision

concerns about a child's well-being. Both the childminder and assistant have a positive attitude towards training and developing their skills further. Both are trained in paediatric first aid, and the childminder is trained in current food safety practices. This contributes to children's safety and well-being. The childminder has begun to evaluate her practice and identify areas for further improvement in her provision to develop the quality and outcomes for children.

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provision

The childminder has built effective partnerships with parents from the onset. She helps children settle gradually to develop a familiarity with her and her assistant. The childminder promotes a trusting relationship with parents, communicating daily with them and ensuring they can contribute their views and ideas to help drive improvement in the quality of the provision. The childminder uses a range of mediums to maintain communication with parents. For example verbally, by email, text and by having a group forum to ensure general information is shared promptly with all parents. The childminder ensures she gains parental consent in writing, to support safeguarding children. For example, to allow her to take children out in the community and to allow the assistants to be left alone with children for up to two hours if required. The childminder maintains confidentiality with record keeping and her records and documentation are organised well.

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provision

However, the attendance records are not detailed and maintained to show children's hours of attendance. These are breaches of the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and the associated requirements of the Childcare Register. This has an impact on the childminder's safeguarding arrangements, particularly if there is a concern about a child's safety or their attendance. Parents express positive comments in written feedback records about the childminder's practice. These include about the engagement of children in a range of learning opportunities, the good use of outdoor play daily, the positive eating habits provided and the warm atmosphere offered by the childminder.

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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:

 keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (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 EY407148 Local authority Enfield Inspection number 954588 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 5

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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