Childminder in North YorkshireOfsted inspection, 12 May 2014

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/05/2014 18/11/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder has too little understanding of the safeguarding requirements and does not have robust procedures in place to report concerns. Therefore, there are times when children are not safe from potential harm.  Children's all-round development is not consistently promoted. This is with specific regard to the inaccessibility of the outdoor area and information and communication technology resources.  The childminder does not fully engage parents in their children's development. Consequently, valuable experiences of home learning are not shared and parents do not receive good information to best help them support children's learning at home.  The quality of teaching is not consistent in order to fully extend children's learning. In addition, the educational programmes are not reflective of children's interests.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder manages behaviour positively. As a result, children are beginning to learn how to work together and are able to form positive relationships with each other.  The majority of children show readiness for school and are emotionally prepared. This is because the childminder teaches them basic literacy and numeracy skills and prepares them for their transition.

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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 spoke to the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the premises used by children during the inspection and observed children's activities in the playroom.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents by viewing parent questionnaires.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documents, including a selection of policies, children's assessment records and checked evidence of the childminder and her assistant's suitability, including household members.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2005 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and her 16-year-old child in Eastfield near Scarborough. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom on the first floor is used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed rear garden available for outside play. The family has a dog and chickens as pets. The childminder attends a childminding group and the local children's centre. She visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and nursery. The childminder has an appropriate childcare qualification at level 3. There are currently nine children on roll; five are in the early years age group, who attend for a variety of sessions, and four are school-age children who attend before and after school. The childminder works with an assistant. The childminder operates all year round from

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Information about the setting

7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays and bank holidays. She receives support from the local authority.

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must:

 improve knowledge of the safeguarding requirements to ensure children are protected from potential harm; this is in relation to reporting concerns and the use of mobile phones where children are present

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must:

 ensure that the educational programmes cover all areas of learning, for example, by ensuring better use of the outdoor environment to develop children's physical skills and by making information and communication technology resources available to children, so that they develop the skills and understanding about the use and purpose of these

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching to ensure that it is consistently good in order to best support and extend children's learning, so that they make good progress towards all of the early learning goals.

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

 extend ways for parents to become more involved in children's development so they are able to fully support them with their learning at home.

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who attend

The provision for children's learning and development requires improvement to ensure that the quality of teaching is good. The childminder has begun to make observations of children and has started to use this information to consider children's next steps in their learning. Although the quality of teaching is inconsistent, children do make steady progress in the prime areas of learning. For example, the childminder extends children's interests in a creative activity and encourages them to make faces to represent happy feelings. She models language and asks some open questions. This encourages children to extend their vocabulary and talk about what they are doing as they add feathers to their picture. Children develop fine motor physical skills as they begin to use small tools, such as glue sticks and crayons with support. Children enjoy singing with the childminder and join in with some actions and words, asking for more songs. They use the role-play corner

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who attend

to act out familiar roles and express themselves creatively. However, learning is not always extended and this means children do not stay interested in some experiences for long. The childminder demonstrates she is able to consider more challenging experiences for older children and this means they are generally happy in her care. However, children do not develop skills in using information and communication technology resources as they are not available.

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who attend

The majority of children show readiness for school and are prepared for their transition because the childminder teaches them basic numeracy and literacy skills. For example, children accurately count building blocks and say number names as they use them to make a tower. They show some control over crayons and pencils. However, the childminder does not observe the grip that children use, nor does she support them to hold their mark-making tools more effectively, which does not effectively support the development of early literacy skills. The childminder is able to support younger children in the next stages of their learning and provides developmentally-appropriate experiences for babies. For example, she supports babies to develop sensory skills by providing paints, brushes and sponges, encouraging them to use their hands and feel the paint. She responds to children's needs, wiping the paint off when they demonstrate they are

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who attend

unhappy with it on their fingers, praising them for their efforts. As a result, children begin to express themselves creatively and are willing to have a go and try new things. Attendance at the local children's centre groups gives children the opportunity to play in larger groups, which helps with their transition into nursery. It also allows them to use additional equipment to support their development.

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who attend

Children's progress is monitored using tracking sheets and assessments, such as the progress check at age two, are written and shared with parents. However, planning does not reflect children's areas of interest. This means children lose focus in some experiences, hindering their ability to develop as critical thinkers and active learners. The childminder has a basic understanding of how children learn through play. However, the way that the childminder supports and extends children's learning sometimes, is not always effective. Children's learning journey records show evidence of children participating in experiences and information regarding children's current stage of development is included. However, parents are not encouraged to contribute to the planning of activities or children's learning journey records and as a result, valuable experiences from home are not shared and parents are not fully supported in how best to guide their children's learning at home.

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who attend

Most children are working within the expected stages of development for their age.

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

Overall, children's well-being is compromised because the childminder has too little understanding of the safeguarding requirements, which means children are not always kept safe. The childminder teaches children about being healthy and encourages them to wash their hands after using the toilet. They discuss what germs do and show awareness of personal hygiene. Mostly, children are confident and independent because the childminder is supportive and caring. They develop a sense of safety as she gently reminds them not to climb up onto resources and to take pride in tidying up. Children can access resources indoors independently. However, use of the outdoors is not valued and children have limited access, which does not support their physical development or well- being.

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

The childminder manages behaviour positively and as a result, children learn to be kind to each other. For example, the childminder uses consistent boundaries and encourages children to share. She ensures there are enough resources and models behaviour to children to enable them to work together. A sticker reward system is in place to praise children for good effort and this is used for all children no matter what their achievements. The childminder has good relationships with children and they have a secure attachment to her. Consequently, they communicate their needs and feelings, including when they are tired or hungry, knowing that they will be responded to appropriately. However, because the childminder does not have a secure understanding of the areas of learning, in the main, activities are child-initiated and interventions are not consistent enough to effectively build on children's progress.

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

Children are settled with the childminder and information about their care needs is obtained from parents upon starting. The childminder communicates verbally with parents and families at the end of the session to relay general messages about what children have eaten or participated in that day, along with any messages from school. This ensures children benefit from continuity of care and have established routines. Therefore, they are comfortable and able to relax in their surroundings.

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provision

The childminder has too little understanding of the safeguarding requirements and therefore, children are not protected from potential harm. For example, the childminder does not have robust procedures in place if she has concerns about a child and mobile phones are used in rooms where children are present. Sufficient risk assessments are in place to ensure the indoor and outdoor environments are kept safe and secure and the childminder conducts regular fire drills with children so they learn about emergency practices. All household members and assistants who work with children are suitably checked to be in contact with children. For example, everyone living in the property and the childminder's assistant have Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

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provision

Since the last inspection the childminder has addressed the identified improvements that were needed. However, the monitoring of the educational programmes and in particular, the evaluation of her quality of teaching, is not effective. Children's behaviour is managed positively and the childminder observes children to assess their development, gathering some information regarding children's starting points. This means their next steps are better planned for. However, this is still inconsistent because home learning is not included. Children's health and hygiene is promoted and there are suitable toilet and nappy changing facilities. The systems to monitor children's development are not thorough enough to ensure that children are being helped to make the best possible progress.

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provision

The childminder has worked with the local authority to define actions for improvement based on the needs of the children and the outcome of the last inspection. She has accessed a range of training courses, including observation and Early Years Foundation Stage courses, and has made links with the local library and children's centre. However, the impact of this for children is still not reflected upon and this is still very much an ongoing work in progress. The childminder has made some attempts to obtain feedback regarding improvements and parents' views in the form of questionnaires. However, this has not been effective; therefore parents have not contributed to the self-evaluation process. This does not demonstrate that the childminder has a capacity to secure continuous improvement without further monitoring. The childminder is able to identify appropriate sources of support to enable her to seek interventions where children have

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provision

special educational needs and/or disabilities or English as an additional language.

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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 EY295121 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 963213 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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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