Childminder in Essex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/04/2014 27/07/2009

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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

 The childminder has established strong partnerships with parents and other early years settings, that children attend. She encourages them to share what they know about their children. She keeps them fully informed about children's achievements and progress.  Teaching is good. The childminder offers activities that are inclusive of all children in her care, adapting these to meet the differing needs of the children.She uses effective strategies to support children in their creative play and problem-solving.  Children's personal, social and emotional development is promoted well as the childminder encourages children to cooperate and take turns. As a result, children interact very well together and show care and concern for their peers.  The childminder meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She conducts thorough risk assessments of the premises and any outings she takes the children on,

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This provision is good

to ensure hazards are minimised. Parental permission is obtained to allow the children to be transported in a vehicle.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Opportunities for children to further increase their independence, particularly in their self-care skills are not maximised.  The childminder does not fully support children in developing their understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

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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 childminder's house and talked with the childminder.  The inspector viewed the areas of the premises and garden used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of household members, and a range of other documentation, including the safeguarding procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents, as recorded in written questionnaires and reference letters.  The inspector reviewed the provider's self-evaluation form, prior to inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1998 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged 17 and 13 years in a house in the Church Langley area of Harlow, Essex. The whole of the ground floor, upstairs bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has two dogs and a rabbit. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently five children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 provide further opportunities for children to be more independent, particularly in their self-care skills, for example, by enabling them to select their own books and serve themselves at snack time

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

 extend children's awareness and understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle, with particular reference to hygiene procedures and a healthy diet.

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who attend

The childminder knows the children in her care well. She has a good understanding of how children learn, which means she is able to provide them with a balanced range of activities and experiences that cover all areas of learning. Children benefit from being able to make some choices over their play and the flexible planning enables the childminder to follow children's individual interests and to incorporate the next steps in their learning. For example, she follows the children's interest in counting by developing their number recognition and ordering of numbers. Some children are able to do simple addition of numbers to 10. The childminder engages in young children's play which helps to focus their attention and provides opportunities for her to develop their communication and language, supporting them in becoming confident in expressing their needs and views. She uses modelling language, using lots of repetition and introducing new vocabulary in

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who attend

the context of their play. For example, she discusses the walkie talkies used by the children as they dress up in police officers' outfits. The childminder uses positive teaching methods to help children find the correct answer, for example, when ordering the numbers, she holds up her fingers and prompts them in counting onwards from the previous number. As a result, children are becoming independent learners and take pride in their achievements.

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who attend

Children's personal, social and emotional development is promoted well. Children take turns and are able to express their wishes to each other in an appropriate way and display their care and concern for their peers. For example, they tell another child they will wait for her to finish her snack before starting the activity, so she can be included. Children engage in role play, finding different costumes to dress up in, such as a doctor. The childminder is able to extend this further by providing further props, such as a doll, for the child to care for and an older child engages in the play pretending to be the 'mummy'. Children know familiar stories, recognising the story from the pictures and use an interactive toy to press the letter buttons to make sounds. This helps them in sounding out familiar words and they are encouraged to write the letters themselves using the magnetic pen. Children recognise letters as they complete an alphabet puzzle and are

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who attend

becoming competent in using tools, such as scissors and holding a pencil correctly. These simple activities help children develop the skills they need to be ready for school.

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who attend

Clear observations of children's learning are recorded in their learning journals and the childminder uses these to identify the next steps in their learning , and then help to plan activities. She is able to link this information to the typical expected levels of development and track children's progress. This ensures that she is able to meet their individual needs effectively. The childminder has completed a detailed progress check at age two for the relevant children in her care. Parents are asked to share information about their children's starting points along with their likes and interests, when their child first attends, to enable the childminder to fully plot their progress and development. They regularly share the learning journals and verbally discuss their children's progress at regular parents' evenings and meetings with both the childminder and key person at nursery. They contribute information about the children's learning at home and talk to the childminder about the

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who attend

next steps in their learning. This ensures that children receive relevant support and continuity in their learning and development.

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

The childminder has excellent procedures to gather detailed, comprehensive information from parents so that she is aware of children's needs, interests, routines and abilities. For example, one section includes 'What I can do for myself'. This helps her in offering children the appropriate support, resources and activities. Children form close attachments with the childminder, which helps them to feel secure. For example, they affectionately call her 'nanny'. As a result, new children settle quickly and enjoy their time at the setting. Children have lots of opportunities to practise their social skills as they mix with others at the childminding setting and at toddler groups. As a result, children interact and play very well together, and are quick to help put the toys away before snack. The childminder agrees behaviour management methods with parents when the child starts. She gives clear explanations to support young children in understanding and managing their

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

The childminder encourages children to develop a suitable awareness of the importance of a healthy diet. Although, parents supply meals, the childminder provides healthy and nutritious snacks, encouraging children to try different fruits and vegetables. Children have daily opportunities to go outside, they walk to school and visit local parks, where they can climb and run around. The childminder previously hired a personal trainer to do an exercise workout with herself and the children to help promote their physical skills. The childminder practises robust hygiene procedures, such as providing individual hand towels and praises children for remembering to put their hand over their mouth when they cough. However, she does not always follow this up by talking to the children about why they need to wash their hands before eating or why it is important to drink regularly. Therefore, their understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and good hygiene

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

procedures are not promoted to the full. Children are developing an awareness of how to keep themselves safe. For example, children ask if they can play with the bubbles, and the childminder explains that they cannot use them indoors as it will make the floor slippery and dangerous. They begin to understand the reasons why they need to hold hands, while out walking and regularly practise the emergency evacuation procedure. Therefore, they are aware of how to escape in the event of a fire.

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

The childminder obtains permission from parents to share information with other early years settings that the children attend. She prepares children emotionally for their move to other settings by talking to them about what to expect, the changes in routine, reassuring them that she will come back to collect them. She arranges an additional visit to nursery with them to meet with the child's key person, so that she can begin to establish a strong working relationship. Children's independence is partly promoted as they are supported in exploring the resources and initiating their own play. However, opportunities for children to select their own books and serve themselves at snack time are limited. Older children are encouraged to take care of some of their personal needs, for example, putting on their coat and shoes and using the toilet independently. These simple activities help them to prepare for the move to nursery or school.

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provision

Children are effectively safeguarded because the childminder demonstrates a secure knowledge of her role and responsibility with regards to protecting children. She has attended safeguarding training and has clear written procedures in place to support this area. The childminder meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She conducts comprehensive risk assessments as well as daily visual checks of her home in order to ensure that children can play in a safe and secure environment. Thorough risk assessments are conducted and written parental permission is obtained with regards to transporting children in the car and taking them on outings. The childminder holds a current first aid certificate and is able to administer first aid if necessary. She follows clear procedures for recording any accidents and is aware of the need to inform parents and notify Ofsted of any serious accident to a child, while in her care. She shares a range of

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provision

clear policies and procedures with parents that she implements into her daily practice. The childminder is committed to improving her practice and has made significant improvements since her last inspection. She has started training for a level 3 qualification and has implemented changes to her assessment and planning. The childminder regularly attends training and keeps up to date with childcare issues through the childminder network group, she attends and the local children's centre. She uses these opportunities to update her knowledge and skills and uses the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance to support her in continually monitoring children's progress. The childminder is able to reflect and identify some strengths and weaknesses of the provision and seeks the views of parents and children to support her in this. She has devised action plans to bring about improvements to the provision. For example, she has developed further ways for parents

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provision

to contribute to their children's learning and being flexible in meeting the needs of parents, whose work patterns change regularly.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong and they are happy with the care their children receive. She ensures that she works with them to meet the needs of the children as effectively as she can. For example, regularly meeting with them to discuss the next steps in their learning. The childminder makes good use of the daily diaries and regularly shares children's assessment records. Her good procedures for working with parents mean that children's care is consistent and parents are well informed about their child's activities and progress and how they can share children's learning at home. The childminder has established good links with other early years settings that the children attend and regularly exchanges information both with them and through the joint meetings with parents to promote consistency in children's learning and development.

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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 202264 Local authority Essex Inspection number 960560 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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