Childminder in Derbyshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/05/2014 29/10/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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 very happy and settled and show high levels of confidence in the childminder's welcoming and comfortable home. This helps to support children's emotional well-being.  The childminder teaches and interacts well with children to engage their interest and extend challenge. As a result, they make good progress in their learning and development given their starting points.  The childminder manages her setting effectively. She follows successful safeguarding procedures to keep children safe and evaluates her practice carefully to promote ongoing improvement.  Partnerships with parents are good and information about their children's learning is shared regularly and effectively. This helps to ensure the children's needs are met.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope for the childminder to extend opportunities for children to talk about events in their lives or begin to learn to read by themselves.  The book area, which the childminder has created, is not inviting for children to choose or use books independently.

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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 held discussions with the childminder and spoke to children throughout the inspection.  The inspector observed activities indoors, outside and at mealtimes.  The inspector held a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled relevant documentation, including the childminder's qualifications and suitability, her policies and procedures and self-evaluation documentation.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2005 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and child aged 10 years, in Long Eaton, in Derbyshire. The childminder's partner is her assistant. The ground floor of the house, which includes bathroom facilities and a bedroom upstairs for resting and sleeping, is used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder provides care from Monday to Friday, 7.30am and 6pm, all year round, except for Christmas, bank and family holidays. The childminder is currently minding 17 children, of whom six are in the early years age range. The childminder is able to care for one child overnight. The childminder holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 3. She drives or walks to the local schools, pre-schools and playgroups to take and collect children. She attends the local toddler groups and takes

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Information about the setting

children to the local library and parks. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years and receives support from the local authority. The family has a dog and two tortoises.

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

 give children more opportunities to talk about events in their lives or 'read' by themselves, for example, by making books containing photographs of themselves and each other about experiences, such as 'A Day at the Farm' or 'Going to the Park'

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

 make the most of the books available for the children to use, by creating an inviting and comfortable book area that children can easily access, to help their independence.

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who attend

Children enjoy attending at this childminder's home. The childminder has a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She teaches well and interacts with interest and enthusiasm in children's play. She supports them closely to help them to feel confident to explore. She provides activities linked to children's interests and encourages them to lead their own play and exploration. The childminder plans and monitors children's progress accurately. She records observations of children in their learning journals and uses this information to assess their interests, style of learning and achievements. From this, the childminder identifies children's next steps in their learning. In addition, she uses the information she gathers to inform her future planning. This means she can plan activities that challenge children. As a result, children make good progress in relation to their starting points. The childminder

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who attend

works effectively with parents to promote children's learning together. She provides parents with reports of children's progress for them to contribute to, as well as the required progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. This all keeps parents informed and involved, to further promote their child's development.

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who attend

Children are curious and keen to question learning and this is celebrated by the childminder. The childminder stimulates learning and adapts resources to promote the play. She has good knowledge of each child's development and teaches appropriate activities that are planned to enhance their learning. For example, the childminder knows that one child loves mini-beasts. She uses this knowledge and encourages the child to count the caterpillar legs and calculate how many legs the spider has on each side of its body. This helps develop children's mathematical skills well. Language and communication is especially supported and consequently, the children's conversational skills flourish. The childminder's consistent support during activities ensures children are able to think about how to use their imagination. This helps children to pursue their interests with encouragement. As a result, children are extremely well supported in developing their

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who attend

future skills for their next stage in their learning. Children love playing outside. They hunt for mini-beasts using magnifying glasses and dig for worms in the soil. They use a selection of wheeled vehicles to develop balance and coordination. To enhance children's physical skills, the childminder takes them regularly to the local park, so they can use larger equipment and learn to take risks for themselves.

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who attend

Children love using books; they sit with the childminder listening to stories and in the main, they use the books independently. They turn pages correctly and discuss the pictures on the page. This helps children to understand that books bring pleasure. However, there is scope to extend this further, for example, by introducing child-made books containing photographs of the children, to help them to talk about events in their lives and begin to 'read' by themselves. Children have access to writing materials for them to practise making marks and writing for a purpose, such as writing letters. These opportunities enhance children's literacy skills. There are many opportunities for children to develop their handling skills, as they use paint brushes, build using construction toys and manipulate play dough. They enjoy being creative and using their imagination, as they make drinks in the play kitchen and pretend to make pizzas for tea.

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

The childminder forms warm and loving relationships with children. This is because she works successfully with parents to get to know children well and to help them to feel safe and secure with her. The childminder offers settling-in sessions and obtains clear information about children's care needs and routines. She implements a consistent, daily routine of activities around children's individual routines. This helps children to feel secure in the move between their home and the childminder's care. The childminder helps children to develop positive attitudes and to learn about the needs and feelings of others. She provides children with clear and simple messages and gently guides them on sharing and taking turns. The childminder represents a good role model with a gentle manner, listening to children closely and respecting their choices. As a result, children are happy, well behaved, play well together and show good manners. This helps to promote their

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

emotional well-being development successfully.

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

The childminder maintains a well-maintained home environment in which children move around freely and safety. Children show great curiosity and choose from a very good range of toys set out in low-level units and boxes that are labelled. They benefit from a playroom, which is imaginatively and creatively organised, with posters and children's photographs to help their sense of belonging. However, the book corner is over crowded with too many books. As a result, children cannot always select books easily without support from the childminder, which sometimes hinders their choices and independence. Children are safe and secure as the childminder has an in-depth knowledge of the safeguarding procedures and how to implement good practice. Specific procedures have been put in place to help children learn about how to be safe, such as evacuation drills. These are carried out sensitively to help children to learn about potential dangers, age-

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

The childminder provides outdoor play on a daily basis, so that children benefit from fresh air and physical activity. Children develop a positive approach to healthy eating as the childminder involves them in food preparation. She takes children to the local supermarket to choose fruit and gives them a choice about what they would like to eat. The childminder sits with children at the table as they eat and drink, supervising them closely. While children eat, the childminder talks to them about a range of different topics, so that snack and mealtimes are sociable occasions. The childminder uses puzzles and posters to talk about healthy choices and uses the pictures to help younger children learn to recognise healthy foods. Children wash their hands before all meals and older children tell the childminder they know this is to 'wash away the germs'. This all helps to further promote children's health. The childminder teaches children to be self-reliant and the

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

celebration of their input into activities, helps to build confidence and self-esteem. This offers stability and prepares them emotionally for the next stages of their education, which is usually school.

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provision

The childminder has a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development, and welfare and safeguarding requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a secure knowledge of child protection issues and the action to take should she have a concern about a child in her care. Training and written policies support her in protecting children from harm and informs parents of her responsibilities. The childminder maintains an extremely clean and secure environment for children through implementing thorough risk assessments, cleaning rotas and checklists for all aspects of her provision. This further helps to keep children safe and secure. The childminder monitors her educational provision effectively, ensuring that she is covering all areas of learning well and is meeting children's individual needs. She assesses children's progress effectively and is able to identify aspects of learning where individual children require additional support.

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provision

The childminder has a good awareness of children's individual needs and meets these well. There is an interesting programme of activities to help children progress in all areas of their development.

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provision

The childminder evaluates her practice carefully. She maintains a detailed self-evaluation document, which demonstrates that she is aware of the strengths in her practice and areas for further development. The childminder welcomes feedback from parents and she routinely talks to children and observes their responses to activities, so that she can use this information when evaluating her practice. She is proactive in addressing identified areas for development, such as finding out about training courses to support her awareness of children's speech and language development. The childminder makes good use of training opportunities to enhance her practice, such as obtaining her level 3 qualification in childcare. This increased knowledge helps her to make continuous improvements to her practice and improve outcomes for children. The childminder seeks support and advice from other early years professionals and identifies areas to develop.

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provision

She seeks the views of parents to help her measure the quality of the service she offers and take on board any suggestions and ideas they have for areas to develop.

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provision

The childminder works closely with parents and other early years settings children attend. For example, she links closely with the local playgroup as appropriate to support specific aspects of individual children's development, in order to promote continuity between the two settings. Consequently, there is continuity in children's care, learning and development. She seeks information from parents about their children's likes, dislikes, care routines and learning needs to help her settle their children when they first start. She regularly shares children's achievements and activities and keeps parents informed through daily discussions. Ongoing communication with them means together, they consistently provide learning experiences that promote children's progress. Parents write that they are 'extremely happy' with all aspects of the childminder's care and their children look forward to attending.

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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 EY298256 Local authority Derbyshire Inspection number 820180 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 17

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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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