Childminder in Liverpool

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/04/2014 22/12/2008

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 The quality of teaching and learning is good. There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led experiences that ensures there is ongoing challenge for children's age and stage of development. Consequently, they have ample opportunity to make effective progress in their learning and development.  The childminder places a high priority on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development and their listening and communication skills. She is skilled in helping children to form secure emotional attachments. As a result, children develop high levels of self-confidence and independence.  Excellent partnerships with parents and other professionals ensure that children's individual needs are exceptionally well met.  The childminder has an in-depth knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Therefore, children remain safe and secure while in her care.  This highly motivated childminder continually updates her own professional

p.1

This provision is good

development by attending training courses and regularly monitoring her practice, taking into account the views of parents and children. As a result, she has a strong capacity to improve this already very good setting.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to further develop the outdoor environment to extend children's learning and development in all areas of learning when outdoors.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector checked all areas of the home, both indoors and outside, used for childminding.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled children's assessment records and planning documentation and looked at a selection of policies and procedures, including safeguarding and risk assessments.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder and discussed children's learning and development.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of the childminder and considered her self-evaluation form.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the children and childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and observed a variety of activities both indoors and outside.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents by reading a number of comments on questionnaires and letters given to the childminder.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1996 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two adult children in a house in Liverpool. Two rooms on the ground floor, an upstairs bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends toddler groups and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops, library, local parks and places of interest on a regular basis.

p.3

Information about the setting

There are currently three children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 8am to 6pm, Tuesday to Thursday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

p.3

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

 improve outdoor area to provide an inspiring and stimulating environment, which extends children's development across the seven areas of learning, outdoors on a daily basis.

p.3

who attend

The quality of teaching is good. Children have many opportunities to participate in a wide range of activities and experiences that promote their communication and language development. They are well supported to speak and listen, through stories, songs and lots of discussions. The childminder places a strong emphasis on children learning through play. She has very high expectations of herself and of the children in her care. The childminder has an excellent understanding of how to support young children to achieve the best they can, given their age. There is a good mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities that are open-ended, allowing the children to make choices in what they would like to do with a particular resource and to fully express their own ideas. The childminder expertly joins in the play as she observes and supports the children. She models how to use resources, such as musical instruments to shake, bang and blow. The childminder

p.3

who attend

provides activities that meet the current learning needs of individual children, such as dressing-up as princesses and fire officers. A well-organised activity, such as making and playing with dough, gives children the opportunity to roll, squeeze and squish the dough into shape, to make buns and sing related songs and to mix and match colours. In this way, children are developing their individual creative expression. The childminder takes children to playgroups, the library story time and on various outings in the local area. Consequently, children learn about their own community and socialise with other children. An excellent range of displays effectively support children's number, literacy and understanding of the world. For example, celebrations, including birthdays, Chinese New Year, Eid, Passover, weddings and Christmas, children point to the photographs and remember these celebrations with affection. In this way, children are

p.3

who attend

very accepting of each other and learn to value and respect similarities and differences. The childminder interacts positively with the children at all times. She encourages children to freely access the wide range of well-organised resources, in order to follow their interests to support their learning. Children explore, problem solve and develop an understanding of shape and size in everyday play. They choose and read a variety of books and find recycled materials to build towers and bridges. The childminder provides a good range of natural materials to explore and there are many interesting resources for children to examine different textures. However, there is scope to extend the range of resources and activities in the outdoor area to further stimulate and challenge children's learning.

p.4

who attend

The childminder has very good settling-in routines. On pre-admission visits, parents share information about their child, which enables the childminder to assess children's individual needs and interests, prior learning and stage of development. She then plans activities that capture the children's interest and support their learning. This information is added to the children's learning journal records, which are full of photographs of activities and outings that the children take part in, with text to tell the reader about their learning. Regular and accurate observations help the childminder identify the children's next steps in their learning, and support progress. They also enable parents be involved and to actively contribute to regular summaries that the childminder provides. This includes the progress check at age two years, which is used to identify any gaps in learning and is shared with health professionals. Parents and the childminder share information on a daily

p.4

who attend

basis, for example, the childminder gives comprehensive information about the children's day and includes how they have been feeling. The childminder supports children to identify numbers and letters, to pick out their own name from a range of name cards and to use resources correctly. In this way, children are well prepared for school.

p.4

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

Children have a warm, loving relationship with the childminder, who fosters their sense of belonging and security. They happily play alongside each other and invite the childminder or other adults to join in their play. The childminder's settling-in process gives the children and their parents the opportunity to get to know her, the family and her home; this effectively supports children's emotional well-being. The childminder successfully continues with this support as the children prepare for school. She shares information with other settings and works with parents and children to ensure a smooth transition to school. Children's behaviour is excellent because the childminder is a very good role model She has simple, effective house rules, such as removing shoes on entry, 'kind hands', 'kind feet' and 'kind words'. She is sensitive and responsive to the children's needs feeling and interests and uses praise and encouragement to nurture their self-esteem and confidence.

p.4

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

Children enjoy the freedom to play and explore or to rest and relax comfortably in the knowledge they are safe.

p.4

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

Children develop excellent personal hygiene skills as they learn to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. They blow their noses and put tissues in the bin to reduce the risk of cross-infection. Nappy changing and toilet training routines are very well embedded. Children have a superb understanding of healthy lifestyles because the childminder provides healthy and nutritious snacks and meals. Milk and water are available for children throughout the day. The childminder provides a wide range of fruit and allows children to choose their favourite. She encourages children to taste a variety of fruit, such as, pineapple, kiwi, mango, apple, pear and grapes. Children eagerly help to peel and cut up the fruit. They talk about how it looks and feels, for instance, 'kiwi is green with a furry, spiky skin, but you can eat the skin if you want to.' They discuss what they like or dislike about the fruit and how seeds can be dried for planting and growing. Children take

p.5

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

part in regular fire drills, which the childminder records. They know that when the alarm sounds they must stop and listen and follow the evacuation route carefully. Children have ample opportunity to develop their physical skills as they are taken to the local park most afternoons. They use the large climbing equipment, play in the caves and have an extensive area to run around. Children learn to take risks and to support each other's play when climbing, sliding and running.

p.5

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

The childminder puts very high importance on children's personal, social and emotional development. She fully supports them to form positive relationships with others and to become confident in social situations. The childminder plans interesting outings to local places of interest and attends childminders' group sessions as appropriate. She encourages children to share resources and to support one another during play activities. The childminder listens as children talk speaks calmly, gives reassurance and asks open- ended questions to encourage further conversation. Therefore, children feel valued and respected.

p.5

provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of her role and responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a high regard for children's safety and cares for them in a child-centred environment. Comprehensive risk assessments are in place for all areas of her home used for childminding, outings and visits. She regularly checks her resources for cleanliness and breakages. All required policies and procedures are in place, well implemented and underpin the provision. Policies are regularly reviewed and shared with parents. The childminder has a very good knowledge and understanding of how children learn and the need to challenge and support learning and development. She plans well for individual children and regularly reviews and monitors their progress. As a result, children are highly motivated and show positive attitudes to learning.

p.5

provision

The childminder has excellent partnerships with parents. She shares her good practice through daily discussions and regular information about outings and activities. The childminder keeps a parents' information board and displays regular updates about her provision and ideas for home learning. Children's learning journey records are available for parents to discuss at anytime, especially at the end of each term or on transition to another setting. In this way, parents are well informed of their children's progress and children have continuity of care. Parents' comments in questionnaires and letters are extremely positive. They say that the childminder provides a very loving and caring environment for children. She takes them on interesting outings and ensures an active and positive learning and development plan for each child. They are given daily updates and regular summaries of children's progress. Parents feel that children thrive in the

p.5

provision

childminder's care because of the family friendly atmosphere and the range of activities provided.

p.6

provision

The childminder is extremely enthusiastic, highly motivated and fully committed to her work. She has developed her practice over many years and uses her knowledge and experience to provide high quality childcare. The childminder seeks to further her own professional development by attending a range of relevant training and demonstrates a strong capacity to improve. Since the last inspection, the childminder has improved her practice and met all recommendations. Her self-evaluation is ongoing and takes into account the views of parents, children and other professionals. She understands her strengths and has planned for areas of improvement, such as improving the outdoor area, continuing to challenge the more able children and develop her own practice further as the new early years curriculum is introduced. The childminder is willing to take on board any suggestions and new ideas she gleans from attending other settings. She shows an

p.6

provision

excellent capacity to improve and is rightly proud of her provision.

p.6

The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number 322246 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 868766 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 3

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10