Childminder in Devon

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/06/2014 10/01/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder establishes warm relationships and effectively supports the development of children's language and communication skills, which helps them to develop friendships with children.  Partnerships with parents are well developed. Consequently they are kept involved in their children's experiences and development.  The childminder frequently praises children efforts and achievements, to help build their confidence in the setting.  There are a good range of resources and activities available each day, to keep children interested in an exciting variety of play opportunities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not fully utilise all opportunities to support the development of children's self-care skills.  The childminder evaluates the setting to make general improvements to the provision. However, systems are not fully developed to enhance the quality of teaching and learning further.

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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 childminder establishes warm relationships and effectively supports the development of children's language and communication skills, which helps them to develop friendships with children.

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Inspection activities

 Partnerships with parents are well developed. Consequently they are kept involved in their children's experiences and development.

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Inspection activities

 The childminder frequently praises children efforts and achievements, to help build their confidence in the setting.

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Inspection activities

 There are a good range of resources and activities available each day, to keep children interested in an exciting variety of play opportunities.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2003. He lives with his wife, who is also a registered childminder. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder and his wife currently have 12 children on roll, of whom all are in the early years age group. Children attend at various times of the week and the childminders also offer overnight care. All the areas of the childminder's bungalow are used for childminding, except the main bedroom. Children have access to an enclosed garden and a playroom outside. The childminder has a large dog. The childminder has completed his Early Years Professional Status (EYPS) qualification.

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

 increase opportunities further for children to develop their self-care skills independently, such as through helping to prepare food for meals

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

 continue to develop evaluation systems to provide a broader overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the practice, to enhance the experience of all children.

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who attend

The childminder gathers information about children's starting points through discussions with parents during initial settling in sessions. This helps him to provide a range of experiences which children enjoy and are relevant to their learning styles and needs. He provides children with interesting and varied learning opportunities. He knows the children well and makes sure that activity planning is guided by their interests and next steps. The childminder follows their lead in play, encouraging them to make their own choices. For example, a child shows an interest in watering plants in the garden and so the childminder provides several watering cans to encourage all children to join in. Children make good progress, as the childminder clearly understands how children learn. He uses appropriate resources to enable him to provide a good level of challenge.

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who attend

Children's achievements are documented in 'day logs' which provide parents with a running record of their children's progress. He also provides a written progress summary of children's ongoing development every six months, which highlights children's changing interests, strengths and any gaps in their learning. Parents can access this information online at any time, which keeps them involved in their children's experiences. They are invited to share children's learning at home, which helps the childminder plan activities to extend children's skills further. This all means that children make good progress in their learning.

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who attend

The teaching is engaging and children listen attentively to stories read with enthusiasm. The childminder captures their imagination through the use of exciting tones and changes in pace. For instance, when he reads a favourite book, the characters are given voices, so the children are truly transfixed. Children are encouraged to look closely at the illustrations on each page and the childminder assesses their understanding of the story through effective use of questioning. He introduces new vocabulary as children play. For example, a child is fascinated by the sounds made by a tree as it moves it the wind and the childminder tells the child it's 'creaking'. This fully supports children's communication, language and literacy skills effectively.

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

The childminder provides children with a warm and welcoming environment. Resources are stored at low level to enable children to make choices in their play. Children enjoy and freely choose a good range of toys to lead their own activities and exploration. They join in action songs with energy and excitement. Children breathe fresh air and exercise daily using physical play equipment in the garden. The childminder encourages children to wash their hands after handling insects and provides fresh drinking water for children throughout the day. Children sit together at the table and eat healthy meals and snacks. This all helps children to develop healthy lifestyles. Children are supported to undertake small self-care tasks such as tidying up after play and using appropriate cutlery during meal times. However, on occasion some opportunities are missed to develop children's independence skills further, such as when preparing fruit for snack.

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

Children's behaviour is good. This is because the childminder reinforces boundaries and acceptable behaviour through praise. For example, children are reminded to take turns and share. Consequently, children feel secure because they know what is expected of them, which helps them to develop social skills to establish friendships with other children. The childminder acknowledges children's achievements through frequent and meaningful praise and encouragement. For example, when a child correctly counts to six, he indicates that the child should 'high five' him, which they do with pride. This effectively supports children's emotional wellbeing. As a result, children rarely get distressed and are often able to self-soothe with little reassurance. The childminder maintains an enthusiastic and exciting character as he interacts with children. They regularly congregate around him and invite him to participate in their play. This means that activities are effectively extended

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

and consequently, children focus their attention for sustained periods of time. Therefore, children recive effective support to help them move onto the next stage in their learning, such as the move onto school.

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

The childminder has a good understanding of signs and symptoms that would cause him concern, and how to raise these with other professionals. This means that he is able to support children's welfare through effective safeguarding procedures.

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provision

The childminder has a secure knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. He has a good understanding of his role and responsibilities to help safeguard children's welfare. He completes thorough risk assessments of his home and carries out daily checks to help ensure any potential hazards are minimised. Fire evacuation drills are carried out to help children learn how to keep themselves safe in the event of an emergency. This further supports to keep children safe at all times and allows children to confidently explore the secure home environment.

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provision

The childminder has implemented key improvements to his provision since the previous inspection. He has developed the use of registers to include accurate times that children arrive and depart each day. This helps him to assess the number of children in his care at any one time, to ensure he works within appropriate adult to child ratios. Additionally, he has refined assessment systems to share children's progress with parents on a daily basis. Children's achievements are monitored and the childminder uses this information to plan interesting and suitably challenging activities. Therefore, children make good progress in their learning which prepares them well for the next stage in their learning. However, self- evaluation systems do not always fully consider the quality of teaching upon children's development and overall experiences.

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provision

The childminder has a range of robust policies and procedures, which he shares with parents through the setting's website. He provides parents with clear information about his provision. Parents state that they 'highly regard the childminder as a superb carer', and that their children 'absolutely love attending'. This all helps the childminder to further develop his provision in working effectively in partnership with parents and children. Additionally, the childminder understands the importance of developing relationships with other professionals and settings that children attend, to provide consistent approaches and plan complementary experiences.

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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 EY261846 Local authority Devon Inspection number 965276 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 12

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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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