Childminder in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/04/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children make good progress from their starting points due to the consistent, high quality of the teaching and range of experiences that the childminder provides.  Partnerships with parents are strong as the childminder is committed to working together with them to ensure continuity of care and learning for children. She keeps them well informed both by written information and daily verbal communication.  Strong relationships with the childminder ensure that the children are happy, settle in well and are confident and enthusiastic learners who are emotionally prepared for their future transitions.  The childminder has a good knowledge of safeguarding policies and procedures, which are detailed and implemented rigorously. Therefore, parents are assured that their children are safe.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to improve support for children's transitions by further development of relationships and partnerships with other providers.  Self-evaluation is still in its infancy and as such, requires time to ensure that it is well embedded and having maximum impact on maintaining the already good quality provision for children.

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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 children in the main play areas of the provision and discussed with the childminder how she supports children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the children and childminder at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of policy documentation, including planning, children's assessments and parents' views.  The inspector discussed the childminders self-evaluation and plans for improvement.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2013 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged nine and 11 years in a house in Chester. The whole of the ground floor, two bedrooms and bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and the local library. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre- schools. There are currently four children on roll, all of whom are in the early year's age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 embed self-evaluation to clearly demonstrate how the very highest levels of achievement will be reached and maintained for all children over a sustained period of time

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

 build upon and strengthen existing relationships with other providers to support children's transitions into a new setting and readiness for school.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates that she has a good knowledge of how children learn and develop. Children's assessments are accurate and demonstrate that they are making good progress for their age and stage of development. Children's learning journey records show photographs and written observations of them accessing a broad range of activities and document their progress visually and through written summaries of their learning at regular intervals. Overall, children make good progress from their starting points and are developing a wide range of skills needed for the next stage in their learning, including school because of the high quality of the teaching delivered by the childminder. However, there is scope to develop, build upon and strengthen existing relationships with other providers to ensure children's smooth transitions into their next setting.

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who attend

Children are enthusiastic and motivated to learn because the childminder is an excellent role model and she carefully observes their interests to ensure that she plans activities that they enjoy; activities are purposeful and appropriate to children's individual stages of development. For example, one of the children likes being outdoors and she recognises that he learns better this way, therefore, in her planning she makes sure that she takes the children to the park every week, as well as offering opportunities for outdoor play in the garden every day.

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who attend

Children's communication skills are exceptionally well supported as the childminder skilfully interacts with them, listening carefully to the children and giving good eye contact. She gets down to their level and gives clear explanations of words that the children may not understand. She is skilful at questioning them, extending and challenging their learning; consequently, children learn to experiment and solve problems. Children are happy and enjoy their time in the setting because the childminder makes learning fun and she is skilled at extracting learning from different play activities. For example, when a child is building a bridge from large, interlocking blocks the childminder counts them and models counting. She finds big and small cars and encourages the child to see which will fit through the bridge, introducing mathematical vocabulary of 'big' and 'little' and setting the child small problems to solve. This approach challenges and extends children's learning.

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who attend

Children's learning is celebrated by daily diaries about their activities during the day for parents to read and the childminder encourages parents to comment, to support children's learning.

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

Children feel safe and secure in the setting and are confident to express their preferences due to the warm relationships built with the childminder. The childminder's flexible settling-in programme gives parents and children time to build secure relationships and ensure their confidence in the new environment. Children's additional needs and parents' wishes are noted and acted upon so that parents can be reassured their child is safe and happy. The childminder is sensitive and knows when the children are tired or need a nap and ensures that children's needs are met.

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

Children are highly independent in their selection of activities and resources which are of good quality and representative of a multi-cultural society. The childminder scaffolds learning opportunities into all aspects of the setting. For example, the children are happy and spontaneously sing rhymes as they go upstairs to wash their hands before snacks. The childminder counts the stairs on the way up to offer further learning. Children are learning to be independent in their self-care routines because the childminder gently prompts them to go to the toilet and wash their hands. She is skilled at offering healthy choices for snacks and meals and reinforces the routines of when to wash hands, through visual prompts in the environment. For example, children choose their own healthy foods and are supported by the childminder to make their own sandwiches for lunch. Mealtimes are a social occasion whereby the childminder talks to the children to find out their likes

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

and dislikes and therefore children feel valued and supported.

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

Children socialise with other children and adults by attending toddler group and going to the library each week. This way they are able to benefit from additional experiences to those offered in the setting. Children are learning about difference and tolerance and how to get along with others. The childminder is keen to present the children with extended opportunities for learning through experiences in the wider community and as a result, children thrive and are excited to learn. Children's behaviour is well managed and the childminder is an excellent role model and uses positive praise and distraction techniques to motivate and encourage children. Children routinely access a safe, enclosed outdoor space, where they are able to get daily fresh air and exercise and take carefully supervised risks. Children walk to school to pick up other children every day, which helps to build stamina and supports their physical development.

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provision

Children's safety and welfare is very well promoted and the childminder is knowledgeable about safeguarding and keeping the children safe. She is able to identify the signs of abuse and knows the correct procedures to refer concerns, which ensures the children's safety at all times. For example, she carries out comprehensive risk assessments, indoors and outdoors and additional ones for the visits to the library and toddler group. She ensures that resources are checked and any that are broken are removed or sent for repair as children's safety is a priority in the setting. These are effective in eliminating any risks to the children and their safety is assured.

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provision

There are comprehensive and effective policies which meet the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. These are shared with parents and are applied in the setting. The childminder has attended a local authority approved training course and is qualified in first aid. Consequently, she ensures that the children are safe in the setting and knows the correct procedures to adopt in the event of an emergency.

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provision

Children are progressing well from their starting points and have made significant progress due to the high quality teaching of the childminder. She uses observation and assessment of the children to develop precise planning that meets children's individual needs. The childminder has a clear understanding of building on children's prior knowledge and incorporating all areas of learning into her planning for children. Consequently, children's learning has breadth and challenge and children are consistently offered a wide range of experiences to support their good progress. The childminder is constantly reviewing her teaching to ensure that she sustains the quality for all children and uses self-evaluation and monitoring to improve teaching and learning and this improves experiences for individual children. However, this is still in its infancy and as such, has not had sufficient time to ensure that it is well embedded and having maximum impact on children's

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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

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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 EY445578 Local authority Cheshire West and Chester Inspection number 904826 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

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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

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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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