Childminder in Nottinghamshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/05/2014 20/11/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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 are stimulated and keen to learn in this inclusive and welcoming environment. Consequently, they have lots of fun and show high levels of curiosity and imagination.  Relationships and attachments between the childminder, her assistant and children are good. This means that children are happy, feel safe and are secure in their care.  The childminder and her assistant safeguard and promote children's welfare and learning well. They ensure all reasonable steps are in place to maintain a safe, clean and stimulating learning environment. They do this effectively by implementing clear policies and procedures and by being actively involved in children's play.  Partnerships with parents are strong. As a result, all children and their families are included in the setting and children's skills and achievements are recognised and valued.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to enhance the partnerships with other providers of settings that children attend, in order to ensure information about children's learning and development is more effectively shared and makes a strong contribution to children's overall learning and development.  The outdoor environment is not sufficiently utilised to fully support children's learning through the use of a wide range of resources and experiences.

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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 activities in the hallway and playroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, assistant and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journey records, planning documentation, the childminder's self-evaluation form and a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability of all household members over 16 years and checked the qualifications of the childminder and her assistant.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three children aged 15, nine and six years in a house in Mansfield Woodhouse, North Nottinghamshire. The whole of the house is used for childminding but care is mainly provided on the ground floor and downstairs in the lower level breakfast kitchen area. There is an enclosed rear garden for outdoor play. The childminder works with an assistant. The childminder and assistant attend a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre and visit the shops and park on a regular basis. The childminder collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently 19 children on roll, of whom 12 are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder is in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children

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Information about the setting

aged two years. She operates Monday to Friday all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, except for bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder holds an early years childcare level 3 qualification.

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

 strengthen partnership working by ensuring there are robust communication links with all the early years settings that children attend, in order to further support children's good learning and development

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

 enhance the outdoor provision by providing a stimulating range of resources and experiences, which are accessible and open-ended, to allow children to further explore, build, move and role play.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistant have a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children enjoy the time they spend with the childminder. The childminder offers a warm and welcoming environment in which children can learn and play. This helps them to feel valued, safe and happy and empowers children to make their own decisions. As a result, children are enthusiastic learners and concentrate for age-appropriate periods of time at their chosen activities. The indoor environment is stimulating and enables children to follow their own interests. However, the outdoor play area for children currently does not provide extensive opportunities to cover all areas of development in an inspiring environment. This means that some children's learning outdoors is not always maximised to continually allow them play and explore for themselves. The childminder demonstrates high expectations of

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who attend

children and plans an educational programme that has depth and breadth across the seven areas of learning. For example, when playing shops, the children handle fresh fruit and vegetables. They are keen to show the inspector what they have brought at the childminder's shop and can name all the items. Teaching is effective and children are making good progress given their starting points. Children begin to explore vocabulary because the childminder and her assistant talk with them consistently about what they are doing and encourage them to respond.

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who attend

Children talk about the different textures as they wash a variety of clothes in the water play. The childminder monitors how the assistant talks with the children to encourage open-ended questioning. Children are very caring as they take on the role of a mother in caring for the baby doll. They change the doll's nappy and give lots of cuddles. The younger children sit with the assistant and roll the ball to each other. This helps the younger children's social skills as well as their physical skills. The older children when drawing, pay good attention to detail as they draw their mother and include facial features and earrings. They also confidently write their own name with recognisable letters. Children are given lots of praise for their mark making, which builds up their confidence. The older children enjoy using the magnetic letters and numbers. They place the numbers in the correct sequence of one to five and use their phonic knowledge as they link the

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who attend

sounds with the letter. Furthermore, a well-organised, child-accessible, stimulating and inviting learning environment helps children to acquire the skills and dispositions required for the next stage in their learning. This means that they are well prepared for starting school.

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who attend

The childminder gathers a range of information from parents about their child's interests and abilities before they begin to attend. Alongside the childminder's own initial observations, this shared approach helps to identify children's starting points. The childminder and her assistant observe children during activities and make sound assessments of their abilities. The childminder now uses a web-based system to record and monitor children's development and progress. Parents can access their own child's records and can add their own observation of what the children do at home. Children benefit from a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and the routine is very flexible to enable them to pursue their own interests. The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibility to carry out progress checks for two-year-old children.

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

The childminder and her assistant have strong and positive attachments with children. They foster this well because they have good arrangements in place for settling children. For example, they gather and share good quality information with parents about children's needs, which enables them to follow young children's routines. When children first start, they gradually build up the length of time they are in their care. Children know how to behave and use their manners well. They help with the tidying up of activities and demonstrate that they know where things belong. Children are very aware of the routines that the childminder has in place and their independence is promoted very well. For example, the older children attend to their own hygiene routines and needs. Children demonstrate friendly behaviour, as they initiate conversations and form good relationships with familiar and unfamiliar adults. For example, they confidently talk to and interact with

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

the inspector as they ask her lots of questions about what she is doing or why she is there. The childminder and her assistant encourage children to be kind to one another. They remind young children about using 'kind hands' and to take turns with toys and equipment. The childminder and assistant praise children's efforts and achievements regularly, which helps to boost their self-esteem and confidence. Young children, when tired, go to the childminder and she cuddles them and they fall asleep in her arms. The childminder ensures she spends time with all children, so that they feel special and valued, which results in them having a positive self-image. Children demonstrate that they feel secure and form good emotional attachments with the childminder.

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

The childminder has a positive attitude to equal opportunities and welcomes all children and families into the home. Children have opportunities to learn about other cultures and beliefs as the childminder provides a range of resources to reflect today's diverse society. She plans activities and experiences for children to learn about different cultures and their celebrations or special festivals. This helps to enhance children's learning, in order for them to value and respect others and to challenge inappropriate attitudes and practices. Children have opportunities to explore the community around them, as they go out and about to different local places. They benefit from visits to different groups, which enables them to develop confidence in new experiences and helps them to socialise. Children learn about keeping safe as they take part in regular fire evacuation drills. The childminder has at times incorporated a visit to the local fire station to help children understand how to

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

keep themselves safe. Children have access to a wide range of stimulating resources, which are age and stage appropriate and support their independence as they make choices about their play.

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

The childminder promotes children's health well. The childminder and her assistant work with parents to meet all dietary needs and ensure that all children are nourished. They provide healthy snacks and home-cooked, nutritious meals. Children eagerly eat their meals and help themselves to a drink when they become thirsty. Through daily routines, such as hand washing, children develop their self-care skills as well as learning about the importance of good hygiene practices. The childminder ensures that she is fully aware of their preferences and usual routines and incorporates these into her daily care. She gathers detailed information about children's health, development and care needs prior to them attending. Therefore, the transition from home into the setting is managed well and children settle quickly. In addition, children accompany older children to school, which helps to familiarise them with another setting. This means that they are well prepared for

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

the next stage in their learning, such as starting primary school.

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provision

The childminder and her assistant have a secure understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have a good knowledge of child protection issues and have accessed appropriate training. This ensures that they are aware of potential signs of abuse and neglect and have a secure understanding of their responsibilities regarding protecting children from harm. For example, they know what they must do if they have any concerns and which agencies they must inform. Risk assessments are conducted thoroughly, so children play in a safe and secure environment. The childminder has effective emergency procedures in place. This offers parents reassurance that their children's safety and welfare is of high priority. The childminder successfully evaluates her provision to ensure that she meets all of the legal requirements and she includes her assistant in this process. She is fully aware of when to inform Ofsted

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provision

of any changes to her provision or herself that would impact on the care of the children. The childminder deploys her assistant well around her setting to ensure the needs of the children are fully met and to supervise the children at all times.

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provision

The childminder is now well organised with her documentation. She has suitable systems in place to ensure the assistant is suitable to be caring for children and that they are given appropriate support and guidance. For example, through regular appraisals, supervision and discussions. The childminder and her assistant demonstrate a positive approach to improving their professional development in order to enhance the learning, development and care of the children in their setting. They regularly attend training events to expand and enhance their knowledge and experience. For example, the assistant is currently working towards a level 3 childcare qualification. The childminder and her assistant also attend the local childminding support group meetings. Self-evaluation is good and supports continuous improvement for the benefit of the children who attend. Through parental questionnaires and discussions with the parents, assistant and children, the

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provision

childminder is positively striving towards involving others in her self-evaluation process. She has a positive and strong commitment towards monitoring and evaluating her service. The childminder regularly reviews and monitors children's progress records and planning documents to ensure they offer a broad range of activities across all areas of learning. Since the last inspection, the childminder has worked very hard and sought advice from the local authority in how to improve her provision and knowledge of child development. The childminder now keeps all required personal information about children and their parents. She ensures that all relevant documentation regarding her car is in place and readily available.

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provision

Both the childminder and the assistant's relationship with parents are very good. Parents are provided with a wealth of information about the childminder and her provision. They are given an 'welcome information pack' to read when they start and the childminder sends out newsletters to inform them of what the children have been doing. Parents are given regular information about how their child is progressing and the childminder shares ideas with them about how they can support their child's learning at home. However, the partnership with some of the other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage are not so well established. This means that information is not always effectively shared to ensure that providers are working together to meet the care, well-being and learning and development needs of the children. Parents speak very positively about the childminder. They state that the childminder is very easy to talk to and is very approachable. Parents'

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provision

comment that they are kept very well informed about what their children have done or achieved. They state that the childminder cares for the children like her own, it is very much home-from-home and they could not wish for a better childminder.

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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 EY399546 Local authority Nottinghamshire Inspection number 963359 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 19

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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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