Childminder in Manchester

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/04/2014 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 thrive in the stimulating and homely environment, both inside and outdoors, which meets their individual needs well.  Teaching is good because the childminder listens to children and has good questioning skills, which supports them in thinking creatively and learning in all areas.  The childminder meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements well. She conducts thorough risk assessments in order to minimise hazards to children and has robust procedures in place to protect children from harm.  Partnerships with parents are well established. This supports children effectively, emotionally and educationally because there is continuity in their care and learning.  The childminder has a strong drive to improve her practice and provision so that children receive good quality care and education.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to further enhance the opportunities for children to learn more about healthy lifestyles and how things grow in the outdoor environment.

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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 playing indoors and outside and the childminder's interactions with them.  The inspector spoke to the childminder at convenient times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a selection of regulatory documentation, policies and procedures and children's information and developmental records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the process of self-evaluation and how the childminder obtains the views of all the users.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the written feedback from parents and children within questionnaires.

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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 own child aged two years in a house in the Wythenshawe area of Manchester. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools. There are currently five children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age. They all attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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

 enhance children's understanding of healthy eating further, for example, by providing more opportunities to grow their own vegetables.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how children learn, which means she is able to provide them with a wide range of interesting and stimulating activities. This ensures that children are engaged and motivated in their learning. For example, children are able to select age-appropriate resources that reflect their interests from low-level storage boxes and baskets. The childminder deploys resources well and she regularly uses the library and toy library to extend the range of resources available to the children. The children enjoy using the interesting resources in the garden. For example, playing with the handles and latches on the fence, painting and making marks with large brushes. The childminder's good knowledge of child development and how children learn means that babies are provided with a vast range of sensory experiences and everyday resources. This gives them lots of opportunities to explore using all their senses. The children show

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who attend

an interest in early literacy, as they show good control holding a pencil and enjoy making marks. The childminder extends this by looking at the letters on their name cards, encouraging them to recognise individual letters and the sounds they make. They are encouraged to count the Russian doll pieces as they play with them, compare the size of them and begin to calculate how many there are altogether if they add one more. These simple activities help children to develop the skills they need to be ready for when they go to school.

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who attend

Teaching is good and the childminder is skilled at extending play as well as providing adult-led activities for children. Children's language development is well supported by the childminder, who chats to them and encourages their communication by responding enthusiastically to them, repeating words and modelling language. Children are encouraged to express their views as the childminder listens to them and skilfully asks them open-ended questions. Children's fine motor skills are promoted well as the childminder provides plenty of opportunities for them to use different tools, such as paintbrushes and chalks for making marks on the chalkboard outside, threading laces and using a knife to chop up their snack. Children have lots of opportunities to express their ideas and imagination as there are lots of exciting everyday resources that enhance and encourage role play. For example, children pretend to drive a car using a real steering

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who attend

wheel in the garden and real telephones, pots and pans are provided in the toy kitchen and 'mud kitchen' outside. These all encourage the children to develop their imagination and enable them to play independently for sustained periods of time.

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who attend

Parents complete an 'All about me' sheet detailing their child's routines, likes and interests. In addition, the childminder gathers information from parents about their child's development and capabilities, which enables her to clearly identify and plot their starting points. Parents are kept informed about activities that are happening through verbal feedback, texts, daily diaries and planning which is displayed. Clear observations of children's learning are recorded in their learning journals and the childminder regularly summarises children's progress in each of the areas of learning. This, along with the 'mind maps' that she creates to follow children's interests, helps her to identify and plan for their next steps in learning. Planning is flexible and adapted to follow the children's lead. The childminder tracks children's progress, using the development bands to aid her in identifying any gaps in their learning. This ensures that she is able to meet their individual

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who attend

needs effectively. The childminder demonstrates she is aware of how and when to carry out the progress check at age two and how to share this with parents. Parents are involved in their children's learning. For example, the childminder encourages parents to share learning from home and this is added to the learning journeys. Parents also contribute to 'family books', which children enjoy looking at with the childminder.

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

The childminder has good procedures to gather detailed information from parents so that she is aware of children's needs, interests and abilities. This enables her to offer children the appropriate support, resources and activities. The childminder ensures that she is fully aware of their preferences and usual routines and incorporates these into her daily care. The childminder encourages the parents to stay with their children for as many settling-in sessions as children need. This enables children to form close attachments with the childminder, which helps them to feel secure. As a result, new children settle quickly and enjoy their time at the setting. Parents comment that the childminder 'was very reassuring during the gradual admission process'. The childminder has a range of toys and books from a range of cultures. This encourages and supports the children to learn about similarities and differences and gain an understanding of equality and diversity.

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

The childminder is a very positive role model. Gentle encouragement by the childminder supports young children in understanding and managing their behaviour. She frequently praises them and supports them to take turns and share resources with persona dolls and books, as a result, children are happy and confident. The childminder takes time to talk about and show the children new toys and resources, this supports them to value these and learn how to use them independently. Children develop a good understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they recall what they have to remember when crossing the road. The children also learn how to stay safe as they carry out regular evacuations and the childminder talks to them about the importance of this. The childminder's home is warm and welcoming. The childminder takes time to display children's work, family books and learning journeys in beautifully displayed books. This

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

demonstrates to the children and families the importance of the children's work and progress. Children's independence is promoted well as they are supported and encouraged to explore the resources and initiate their own play indoors and outside. The door to the garden is open most of the day, which means children are able to independently access the garden. They are competent in managing their self-care skills as they use the toilet independently, set the table independently and serve themselves at mealtimes. This all supports children to be confident and independent.

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

The childminder is fully aware of the importance of preparing children for the move to school and has plans in place to visit schools with the children and make up her own books with photographs of the new room and teacher, to help the children become familiar with the new setting. She also provides parents with leaflets which contain ideas for supporting their child with the move to school. Children regularly visit local toddler groups so they are familiar with socialising in larger groups. The childminder encourages children to develop a suitable awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles. For example, they have daily opportunities to go outside, using the garden and local parks. Children also use their own towels to wash and dry their hands before eating. The childminder cooks meals with fresh ingredients and has a book of photographs, which the children can look at to encourage discussion on healthy eating and what they like and

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

dislike eating. The childminder has also attended training on healthy eating and portion size, which has given her a good knowledge of how to prepare healthy meals and snacks. The childminder talks to the children about how things grow while they are outside and while looking at books. However, there is scope to further enhance the opportunities for children to learn more about healthy eating and how things grow in the outdoor environment.

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provision

Children are effectively safeguarded because the childminder demonstrates a secure knowledge of her role and responsibilities with regards to protecting children. She has clear written procedures and information in place to support this area. The childminder meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements. The childminder completes thorough risk assessments of the premises and outings as well as a daily risk assessment of her home and garden, in order to ensure that children can play in a safe and secure environment. For example, she ensures that the children's buckets are emptied of water each morning. She shares a range of clear policies and procedures with parents that she implements into her daily practice.

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provision

The childminder is committed to improving her practice and is constantly reviewing this. She meets with a network of other childminders and attends a local authority quality forum. Through self-evaluation, the childminder identifies areas for improvement and training to enhance her professional knowledge of early years topics, including schemas. She gains verbal and written feedback from parents and children to support her in further identifying areas for development. For example, following a discussion with parents she altered the way she informs parents about their child's day, recognising that while one parent likes to receive text messages others prefer daily diaries. The childminder has recently completed a local authority childminding qualification, has a childcare qualification at level 3 and previously worked in a nursery with 10 years' experience in childcare. As a result, she has a very good knowledge of the Statutory framework for the Early Years

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provision

Foundation Stage and child development. The childminder has developed a system to track children's progress, based on her good observations and summaries. This allows her to monitor the progress of the children and identify any gaps.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong. Her good procedures for working with parents means that children's care is consistent and parents are well informed about their child's activities and progress. For example, she shares information on a daily basis, both verbally and through the diaries and children's assessment records. Parent's comment that their children 'love going to her house and they enjoy getting out to playgroups'. The childminder is also fully aware of the importance of establishing links with other early years settings, in order to exchange information so that they can work together to promote children's learning and development.

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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 EY470614 Local authority Manchester Inspection number 940214 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 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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