Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/05/2014 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

 Safeguarding is a high priority and children's safety is well considered, through the effective organisation of resources, close supervision and robust risk assessments.  A flexible settling-in programme that is tailored to individual children's needs ensures that children and parents build strong relationships with the childminder and children are happy and motivated to learn.  Children make good progress from their starting points due to the consistent high quality of the teaching.  Children's good health is protected; the childminder provides nutritious meals and snacks and is committed to offering physical activity.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Relationships with other providers are not sufficiently developed to fully support children's move on to new settings and their readiness for school.  There is scope to build on the already good relationships with parents to engage them more in the self-evaluation of the provision.

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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 looked at a wide range of documentation, including observations, assessments, planning, and relevant policies and procedures.  The inspector observed several activities in the areas used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection.

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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 parents in a house in Sandbach, Cheshire. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and the sensory room at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools. She provides funded education for three- and four-year- old children. The childminder works with a co-childminder on the premises. There are currently six children on roll, of whom four are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She holds a level 3 childcare qualification. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early

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

 build further on the good relationships with parents to engage them more in the evaluation of the provision so that their views influence the future improvement of the setting

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

 develop relationships with other providers further, so that when children are ready to move on to other settings, such as school, they are emotionally well prepared.

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who attend

Children are skilfully supported in their learning because the childminder is knowledgeable about how children learn and has a clear understanding of their interests and abilities. The childminder gathers evidence about each child's abilities on entry to the setting from parents and through detailed observations. She summarises their development in the prime areas and assesses the next steps in their learning accurately. 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. Regular observations of the children are used to direct the planning, which means that activities are purposeful and appropriate to children's individual stages of development.

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who attend

Children are confident to select the things they want to play with independently and are keen to voice their ideas and wishes. Children are enthusiastic and motivated to learn through the good role modelling of the childminder. She encourages them to have a go and this has a positive impact on developing their confidence. For example, when toddlers make a sticking picture, the childminder names the animals for them and skilfully uses questioning to extend the children's learning. She names the peacock, teaching new words and repeats words to help the toddler's pronunciation. She gives choices and harnesses opportunities to teach letters, for example, stating 'Let's look for the letters in your name'. Consequently, the children are able to recognise and identify the letters in their names and the childminder gives positive praise routinely to encourage their learning further. The childminder is purposeful at extracting learning from the different play activities and

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who attend

making the children's learning fun. For example, she knows the children likes birds and therefore, they play in the conservatory so that the children can see them in the garden. The childminder points them out in the trees and names them. She carefully observes their interests to ensure that she plans activities that the children enjoy.

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who attend

Children learn to socialise with other children and adults and benefit greatly by attending the sensory room at the children's centre and weekly visits to the library. Children experience dance and physical activities as the childminder has engaged a dance teacher to come fortnightly to the setting as children have expressed a keen interest in this type of activity. Consequently, the children have extended opportunities for learning, which is celebrated in daily diaries, completed for parents to read. The childminder encourages parents to add their own comments so she can use this information 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. They are highly independent in their selection of activities and resources. The childminder scaffolds learning opportunities in all aspects of the provision. For example, drawers housing high-quality resources have photographs and labels on so that children are able to select independently and also learn the names of the equipment. The childminder supports children's choices with photographs on a key ring, this also supports children to make choices for themselves. Children feel valued and develop confidence in their learning through the strong, nurturing and sensitive relationships with the childminder. She knows the children well and sets challenges for them using everyday situations to reinforce learning. For example, children are helped to identify fruits on posters displayed on the wall. Children choose the ones they want for snacks by pointing to the posters.

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

Children enjoy cuddles and tickles and the childminder uses positive praise and distraction to effectively manage children's behaviour. The children behave well and are excited to learn. The childminder is fully committed to positive strategies to reinforce good behaviour. There are house rules, that are shared with the parents which encourages a collaborative and consistent approach. Children's creative work is displayed imaginatively in the setting and shows the children that they are valued and their contributions are important. 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 children are safe and happy. The childminder makes sure her provision is inclusive and posters reflecting images and words of other cultures are a

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

feature of the environment. Consequently, children learn consideration for others and acceptance of difference. The childminder knows when children are tired and need a nap, and she responds positively to their individual needs. Relationships with parents which means that relevant information about children's care needs is regularly shared and is used positively to ensure that individual needs are met.

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

Healthy lifestyles are promoted and children are able to choose healthy snacks of fruit, with water to drink. Water is available at all times so that children can help themselves to their own bottle. Hygienic routines are followed, such as hand washing after toileting, before food preparation and eating. Children develop good self-help skills. For example, the babies learn to feed themselves independently. Children play in an enclosed outdoor space, where they are able to get daily fresh air and exercise and take carefully supervised risks, thereby learning to keep themselves safe. The childminder has developed the area so that children can find out about bugs and splash in the puddles and they are excited to investigate.

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provision

Children's safety and welfare is promoted well because the childminder is knowledgeable about safeguarding and how to keep the children safe. She is able to identify signs of abuse and knows the correct procedures to refer concerns. The childminder carries out thorough and highly detailed, daily risk assessments, indoors and outdoors and additional ones for visits to the library, children's centre and the journey to school. The risk assessments include prompts for particular areas of the garden so that the childminder and her assistant use consistent messages with the children to teach them about safety.

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provision

A fully comprehensive range of policies and procedures meet all the welfare requirements and ensure the safe and efficient management of the setting. These are routinely shared with parents during the settling-in process so that they are informed and understand how children learn. Children are progressing well from their specific starting points and the childminder uses observation, assessment and planning effectively to meet the needs of individual children. She has a clear understanding of how to build on children's prior knowledge and incorporate all seven areas of learning in her planning. Consequently, children's experiences are broad and wide ranging. Children's assessments are accurate and demonstrate that they are making good progress for their age and stage of development. Children's files are detailed and record children's progress with annotated photographs and thorough summaries of learning. The childminder completes the

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provision

progress check at age two in line with the learning and development requirements and demonstrates a secure knowledge of how children learn. She recognises the importance of working with other agencies in supporting children when they move on to other settings. However, not all of these relationships with other providers are sufficiently robust to ensure that all relevant information is shared, in order to provide children with the maximum support possible.

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provision

The childminder uses self-evaluation and monitoring to improve teaching and learning and this improves experiences for individual children. She has monthly discussions with her assistant to plan for the children's learning and they observe each other's teaching to plan improvements and maintain the quality of teaching. The childminder and her assistant have attended training in safeguarding, first aid and food hygiene and are well informed of how to keep children safe. Although self-evaluation is generally robust and the childminder has a realistic view of the strengths and areas for improvement of her setting, she does not have clear strategies in place to encourage parents to contribute to this process. This means that she is not able to take full account of their ideas to drive forward the overall quality of the provision.

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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 EY471216 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 942487 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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