Childminder in Wokingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/05/2014 22/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 1 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The quality of teaching and learning is good. There is a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led experiences that ensures there is ongoing challenge for children's age and stage of development.  The childminder effectively raises children's awareness of the importance of staying safe, and having good health and behaviour. She is a positive role model and encourages a good understanding of how to achieve a healthy lifestyle and manage risk.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder is currently caring for too many children in the early years range. This is a breach in requirements.  The childminder does not always keep a full record of the accidents that occur in her care or suitably inform parents if the accident is only minor.  The childminder does not model or promote handwriting in a way that supports children's move to school.

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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 areas of the premises used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children playing and invited the childminder to make a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and spoke to the children present.  The inspector sampled childminding documentation.  The inspector observed interactions between the childminder and children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1992 and lives with her husband and adult daughter in Woodley, Berkshire. The ground floor of the premises is mainly used for minding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She offers funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four. The childminder is currently minding six children in the early years age range. The family have a pet dog.

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must:

 ensure that the ratio requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are maintained and that no more than three young children are cared for at any one time, with the exception to the usual ratio allowed if caring for a sibling baby or own child only

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must:

 inform parent's and/or carers of any accident or injury sustained by the child and keep a written record of accidents or injuries and any first aid treatment given

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

 support children in their emerging mark making by increasing the range of resources and opportunities for children to see print written in variety of contexts.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their learning and development because the childminder has a secure knowledge of how young children learn and recognises that they develop at different stages and in various ways. The childminder gathers plenty of information from parents before children start attending, so that there is a shared understanding of their stage of development and interests. She accurately assesses each child's development during their time with her, in order to identify the progress they are making. This allows her to successfully plan for the next steps in their learning.

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who attend

Teaching is good. The childminder provides children with a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated opportunities. They benefit from the time and attention the childminder gives to their learning. She participates in children's play in a sensitive way, supporting their communication and language well. For example, as they sit and read a book together, she encourages them to follow the story and take part by repeating some of the key phases they have read together. This supports young children's emerging language skills. Regular visits to the local library help to promote their love of books and reading further. Children's understanding of number and mathematical concepts is promoted well as the childminder supports them as they play, for example, counting and designing patterns with colourful beads. There are opportunities for children to develop their physical skills everyday as they play in the childminder's garden or visit the local parks and

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who attend

indoor play areas. Children enjoy expressing themselves creatively through music, play dough and messy play activities at local drop in centres and community groups. The childminder teaches older children skills to ensure their school readiness. For example, she follows children's interests in mark making by helping them to write their names on their pictures, which supports children's understanding that written words have meaning. However, because the childminder does not generally model writing in her setting, older children write their names in a mixture of upper and lower case letters. This does not fully support their school readiness.

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who attend

The childminder has established good partnerships with parents. She regularly shares information with them to enable children to settle quickly and happily. This is through discussions, communication books and examples of the children's learning and development records. These are sent home daily so that parents can see what their children have been involved in. Parents are also made aware of the planned next steps in their child's learning, which helps them to continue this learning at home. The childminder is fully aware of the progress check for two-year-old children and ensures her records of children's individual achievements concentrate on the prime areas that are relevant. Accurate observations show how children are developing consistently in their expected development bands and are acquiring skills for their next steps in learning.

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who attend

The childminder works closely with local schools and pre-schools to provide children with continuous support while in her care. They share information such as children's next steps and the childminder discusses how she talks to staff to link some aspects of her planning to children's interests and stages at local pre-schools and nurseries.

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

Children are happy and settled in the warm and friendly environment. They are clearly comfortable and at ease with the childminder and enjoy their time with her. By understanding children's starting points through discussions with parents, she can settle children quickly. This encourages them to be confident in her environment and helps them to learn and develop well. The childminder creates a relaxed learning environment. Older children access a range of resources to prepare them for school readiness such as mark making and reading materials that promotes their interest in linking sounds to letters and learning to write their own name. Younger children show a strong sense of belonging as they move around the house and help themselves to the toys which suitably meet their needs when they are based at home. These are generally of good quality and used effectively to support their learning. However, as much of the day is spent at local

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

community groups and indoor play areas, the children generally access their main range of play opportunities at these settings. Photographs show that they enjoy a suitable selection of sensory and creative play opportunities at these groups and children talk excitedly about going to their favourite groups, such as messy play. There are suitable resources to support the care and well-being needs of the children, with equipment to support routines such as daily rest times and mealtimes. However, because of the number of children the childminder currently cares for, some younger children are made to walk long distances in the day in order to complete school runs. The equipment to support this does not effectively meet children's needs because the childminder is limited to the use of a double pushchair, which does not accommodate the needs of the three younger children for whom she cares.

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

Children gain a clear understanding of the importance of a healthy diet as the childminder provides nutritious snacks and teaches children about which foods are good for them during cooking activities. The childminder teaches children how to be healthy through talking about the importance of washing hands and how this gets rid of germs. Children learn skills of independence and manage personal needs competently. Older children take responsibility for tidying up when they have completed a task or activity. They talk about keeping the small beads away from the younger children to keep them safe, which shows a good regard to their own and others' safety.

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

The childminder places a suitable focus on children managing safety for themselves. She discusses how she encourages them to assess the height of any play equipment before attempting to climb it, in order that children learn to stay safe within their own capabilities. However, when children fall from play equipment at the park or have a minor trip of fall, the childminder does not keep a record of the accident if the child does not display any visible injuries. This means that she is unable to link her records of accidents effectively to her risk assessments. Therefore, her system to promote children's ongoing safety is not robust enough and requires improvement. In addition, because the childminder has failed to keep within the required ratios for the number of young children she is allow to care for, on occasions she is unable to supervise them sufficiently well to meet their needs. For example, when she is checking on sleeping children upstairs or

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

getting equipment ready for the school run, she leaves younger children to play unsupervised. This indicates that the childminder's risk assessment in terms of deployment for her arrangement to care for more children is not robust enough to assure their safety or meet their needs.

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provision

This inspection was brought forward by Ofsted as a result of a concern raised that the childminder was caring for too many children in the early year's age range. In addition further concerns were raised that the childminder had not fully renewed her first aid qualification, that she does not always document all accidents that occur in her care and that she on occasions she fails to supervise or interact with children in order to meet their care and learning needs. At the inspection, it was found that the childminder did have a full and current first aid qualification which she has successfully completed by attending all the required sessions. However, the childminder was found to be in breach of the ratios set out in the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage because she is currently caring for an additional child in the early years range that is not a sibling baby or her own child. In addition, she has also not met the requirement to inform parents of all

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provision

accidents that occur in her care because she does not always tell parents of minor injuries that occur, for example, when children bump heads or fall off equipment at the park. She also fails to keep a written record of these which is a requirement. This may compromise children's well-being should a child become unwell later, because full details of the accident have not been kept and parents have not been fully informed. Actions have been raised about these issues.

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provision

The childminder has an adequate regard to protecting children from abuse or neglect. She has attended training for safeguarding children and suitably discusses the reporting procedures to follow if she has a concern about a child in her care. All family members who live or regularly visit the home hold a Disclosure and Barring Service check. The childminder maintains appropriate records for attendance and administration of medication and has obtained permissions for outings. An appropriate range of policies and procedures underpin her generally sound practice. The childminder has suitable regard to keeping children safe and takes some measures to manage the risk to children. For example, when walking in the community, children wear fluorescent jackets so they are easily visible on the road and paths.

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provision

The childminder has an adequate regard to self-evaluation and completes an annual assessment of her strengths and weaknesses. She has identified some aspects of her practice that need improvement through the use of a local authority training opportunities and a more formalised audit aimed at identifying aspects of the environment and her interactions. However, this has not supported the childminder to identify the breaches in requirements or to address weaknesses in record keeping, resourcing, safety or supervision. The childminder does make better use of guidance to help her monitor children's learning and development. As a result, any gaps are in learning are quickly identified and children access a varied range of opportunities to meet their learning needs. Children and parents ideas are taken into consideration and she uses them suitably well to improve her provision.

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provision

Partnerships between parents are generally positive and they express great satisfaction with the levels of information shared with them and the care that their child receives. The childminder promotes a two-way flow of information between parents and other settings that care for the children through the use of daily diaries in which she shares information about the children's day and the activities they have undertaken. This ensures that learning and development is as successful as possible and children's individual needs are met.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Not Met

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: accidents which occur on the premises where childcare is provided (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep records of the following and retain them for a period of two years: accidents which occur on the premises where childcare is provided (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 148450 Local authority Wokingham Inspection number 962115 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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