Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/05/2014 30/09/2009

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Educational programmes have breadth and depth across the seven areas of learning. Therefore, children are motivated to learn and make good progress.  The childminder has very good knowledge of safeguarding children. Rigorous checks of provision and a clear understanding of the possible indicators of abuse ensure that children are very well protected.  Partnerships with parents are effective. The childminder works closely with parents to ensure all children's needs are met.  The childminder demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement. Therefore, she prioritises improvements that benefit children the most.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Sometimes the childminder's conversations with children are a little fast paced. This does not maximise opportunities for children think and respond and elaborate on their own ideas.  There is more scope to extend the very good resources available outdoors, for example, providing more open-ended resources, such as boxes and textiles to allow children to expand their already very good imagination and physical skills.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector had a tour of the childminder's home that are used for childminding purposes.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the childminder while she interacted with the children and her co-childminder.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at some paperwork, including the childminding portfolio, children's development records and the childminder's policies and procedures.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The childminder ensured the views of parents were taken into account by means of e-mails.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder has been registered since 2009. She works with another registered childminder and minds from her co-childminder's house in the Preston area of Lancashire. The co-childminder's husband and grown up son live at the property. Children are accommodated in the conservatory, lounge and dining area and separate utility/ kitchen area on the ground floor with access to an enclosed outdoor area. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and grown-up child in the Lostock Hall area of Preston, in Lancashire. Children are accommodated in the lounge and dining area on the ground floor and have access to bathroom on the first floor. There is also access to an enclosed outdoor area at the rear. They are currently caring for six children, six of whom are in the early years age range. They also offer care for children aged over five to 11

p.3

Information about the setting

years. The childminder offers care from 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday all year round except for bank holidays and family holidays. Both childminders have equal responsibility for the childminding practice and they also operate a key person system.

p.3

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

 provide more open-ended resources, in particular in the outdoor area to further promote children's extended thinking and imagination skills

p.3

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

 ensure conversations held with children allow them sufficient time to think and answer, in order to further extend their already good thinking and language skills.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has a secure knowledge and understanding of supporting children's learning and development. She interacts with children well, following their lead and this means the quality of her teaching is very good. On occasions, conversations with children are a little fast paced and the childminder can answer questions posed to children a little too quickly. This can be limiting to their thinking. However, children's language and communication development is very well supported in other areas, for example; the childminder is proactive in ensuring children have weekly access to activities, such as jingle tots and story and rhyme time at the library.

p.3

who attend

Before children are left in her care, the childminder ensures that she works with parents by collecting a wealth of information about the child. She completes initial assessments of children's skills to identify their starting points. The childminder ensures the children have access to a vibrant, safe and stimulating environment where they can play learn and develop. The activities and resources she provides take into account children's individual interests and stage of development and have breadth and depth across the seven areas of learning and development. This means that children are effectively challenged and that their learning is extended because activities are interesting and individualised to meet their needs. Consequently, children are acquiring the skills they will need for their later transition to school. The childminder is vigilant in working in partnerships and has effectively evaluated her provision for meeting the needs of her busy parents. For

p.3

who attend

example, she uses daily e-mails and texts to inform them about their children's learning. This contributes to successful relationships being formed and helps parents to extend their children's learning at home.

p.4

who attend

The childminder is extremely supportive of children in her care and fully understands the importance of promoting their personal, social and emotional development, their communication and language and physical development. She spends good quality time with the children, supporting them while also giving them the opportunity to be independent. She takes the children on regular outings to local toddler groups, the library and activities at the local children's centre. This ensures that children get the opportunity to mix with peers. This helps children to further develop key skills, such as sharing and turn taking and builds their confidence away from the home setting. Children's physical development is very well fostered. For example, children dig in the garden and talk about weeding, extending their vocabulary and knowledge about the natural world. There is access to sand and water and a range of ride-on bikes, plus push and pull toys. Children

p.4

who attend

also go for walks to the local park, this gives them the opportunity to use and develop their large muscle skills as they access a wide range of equipment, which tests their physical capabilities and offers them sufficient challenge.

p.4

who attend

The childminder constantly involves the children in conversations. She encourages them to recall their past experiences. For instance, when a child sees a bird in the garden, she immediately begins to ask questions and talk about the different birds they have seen. Children can then link this experience to a bird collage completed the day before, which is on display in the room. This demonstrates children's continual learning and allows for links in understanding to be securely embedded. The childminder skilfully questions children on most occasions. For example, she seeks children's opinions about the afternoon outing, through asking questions such as, 'Where do we want to go today?' and 'What will we need?'. However, on occasion she can be too quick in providing prompts and this limits children's ability to think and respond in their own time. Regular song and story time further support children's very good communication and language. For example, children

p.4

who attend

enjoy interactive stories using puppets and props.

p.4

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

Children settle well and have very good relationships with the childminder due to the individualised settling-in sessions she provides. During these sessions, the childminder gathers lots of useful information to ensure that she knows children well and is able to meet their individual needs. Children demonstrate they feel safe as they confidently explore the environment, interacting with the childminder when they need her. The childminder fosters their independence well. She encourages children to help with daily tasks, such as tidying up the toys, sensitively reminding children of dangers, such as falling over. She also encourages them to make choices about what they want to play with, following their lead without being too intrusive in their play. This allows children to be emotionally secure and further supports their very good confidence and self-esteem. In addition, the childminder understands the importance of ensuring children are well

p.4

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

prepared for their transition to school and she demonstrates a firm understanding of how she will do this when the time arrives, as she has very solid links with the local school.

p.5

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

The childminder and the co-childminder are excellent role models for children. Together they use clear and consistent approaches to manage behaviour. Therefore, given the children's stages of development, the children behave very well. The childminder supports the children's understanding of keeping themselves safe. For instance, she sensitively explains why it is not safe to have no shoes on in the playroom. Outside, she explains to children about road safety and the need to walk by her at all times when on outings. This further contributes to children's understanding of keeping themselves safe. Children have access to a wide range of resources, both indoors and outdoors which are safe, clean and age appropriate. These are well organised and accessible to children.

p.5

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

The good health of children is promoted by the childminder. She gives clear messages to the children about the importance of healthy eating and leading healthy lifestyles. For example, after using the bathroom she reminds children to wash their hands so they do not get germs in their tummy. Children are provided with their own coloured towel to keep them further protected. Additionally, children benefit from daily fresh air and exercise because they have daily access to a well-resourced and spacious outdoor area and they also enjoy regular outings in the local community.

p.5

provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, this is demonstrated further in her ongoing completion of the childminder portfolio which showcases her provision, her work with her co-childminder and most importantly activities and experiences for children. She has attended training including first aid, child protection and food hygiene. The childminder demonstrates a secure understanding of the possible indicators of abuse and of how she should proceed should she be concerned about any child or the conduct of her co minder. Rigorous daily checks and risk assessments ensure that children are safe while they play and explore. As a result, children are protected from harm while in her care.

p.5

provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements. Both her and her co-childminder work together to plan interesting and stimulating experiences for children across the seven areas of learning. The childminder tracks the progress of children accurately and plans next steps to extend and support children's learning. She completes the progress check for children aged between two and three years and ensures that this is shared with parents and other professionals. The childminder and her co-childminder are continually reflecting up on all aspects of their service. For instance, they hold meetings in quiet periods of the day or in the evening to discuss future plans and combine their ideas. On reflection of recent evaluations, they are also trying to involve parents more by offering them electronic daily communications about their child's learning and development.

p.5

provision

Partnerships with parents are strong and well established, parent comments are very complimentary about the service provided. The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of the benefits of working in partnership with other agencies and in particular with school teachers. She has already made good links with the local schools, ensuring that children receive a consistent approach in their learning. This also firmly embeds a smooth transition when the time arrives to move to the next stage in their learning.

p.6

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

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY384114 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 878907 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10