Childminder in Barnsley

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/06/2014 07/10/2008

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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

 The children are happy and they have good opportunities to make safe and independent choices in their play. The childminder places a strong emphasis on supporting older children's eagerness to learn about letters and numbers in readiness for them starting school.  The children have good relationships with the childminder. Through fun activities, such as 'busy feet', children engage in a wide range of activities that encourage them to be active and healthy.  The childminder implements good safety practices and procedures, including teaching children about dangers and keeping themselves safe to ensure she safeguards children.  The childminder liaises very well with parents, other professionals and external agencies when supporting and meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder's arrangements for tracking some children's progress are not always of a consistently high standard.  Partnership working and information sharing with other providers are not always highly successful to consistently promote continuity when planning for children's learning.

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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 had a tour of the premises and observed children playing indoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed children's learning records, planning for children, a selection of policies and procedures and the childminder's self-evaluation process.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through letters and discussions with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of qualifications of the childminder, and suitability of the childminder and other household members.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, close to Barnsley town centre. The whole of the ground floor, the first floor bathroom and the garden are used for childminding. The family has two pet dogs. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops, park and other places of interest with children on a regular basis. She takes and collects children from local schools, nursery and pre-schools. There are currently seven children on roll, three of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and

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

 strengthen tracking of children's progress to ensure assessments are precise, sharply focused and of a consistently high standard to promote very high expectations and rich and varied learning experiences for all children

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

 build on the already established working relationships with other providers involved in children's learning by enhancing the information shared about individual children's progress to promote continuity and highly successful strategies to support planning for children's exceptional learning.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how young children learn and develop. Overall, the quality of teaching is good and this means children are progressing well in their development across all areas of learning. The childminder is actively involved in children's play and she uses this time to skilfully encourage, question and support children in their learning and development. This includes building on child-led activities, which results in children being active learners who approach their play with enthusiasm. When children choose to play with the trains, the childminder uses open-ended questions to encourage them to solve problems and work things out for themselves. As a result, children fix the train track together, creating an elaborate track that weaves around the room. Overall, the childminder makes good use of her observations to monitor and assess children's progress across all areas of learning. Through her observations, she has a good

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who attend

understanding of children's next steps in learning and she plans for these well. This includes building on older children's eagerness to learn about numbers and letters, which prepares them well for when they start school. Children thoroughly enjoy finding and sounding the letters in their name, or looking for objects that begin with certain letters. In addition, they have fun as they count and look for numbers on the poster. These activities effectively promote children's development in mathematics and literacy. However, although observations support planning for children's next steps, the childminder's arrangements for tracking children's progress are a little inconsistent for the new children in her care. For example, she is not always tracking their progress as comprehensively as the other children. Therefore, their assessments are not as precise and sharply focused to promote high expectations and consistently high standards in the quality of teaching.

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who attend

Children have good opportunities to make safe and independent choices in their play. The childminder ensures children access a wide variety of resources and activities to support their learning across all areas. Children use their imagination as they pretend to drive their car, stopping at the traffic lights and explaining they need to wait until the light turns green before they can set off. Through drawing and painting, children express their own ideas, such as drawing pirate ships sailing on the sea. These activities effectively promote children's development in expressive arts and design. The childminder fosters children's development in understanding the world. She involves them in planting activities and they regularly discuss the changes in the weather, such as talking about the thunderstorm the previous day. Children enjoy going on walks, visiting local museums and learning about the community in which they live. Children's communication and language skills are

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who attend

developing well. Older children are confident speakers who engage easily in conversation, ask questions and competently describe what they are doing. In addition, the childminder supports younger children to build up their vocabulary and language skills. This is through her positive interactions with them, such as repeating words and by pointing out things of interest to them on walks.

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who attend

The childminder has good relationships with the parents. She regularly discusses children's progress with them and what aspects of learning and development she is working on with their child. Therefore, parents are able to support their child's learning at home. She shares with parents her progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, including any concerns she has regarding a child's development. This ensures she works with parents to seek early intervention so that children receive the support and help they may need. Parents know what to expect from the service through their open discussions with the childminder and through a number of written policies and procedures.

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

Relationships between the childminder and children are good. The childminder knows children well because she gathers good information from parents when children first start in their care. She completes all relevant documentation and she uses settling-in-visits and information on her 'Starting points' document to find out about children's routines, likes, progress and needs. She gradually builds up the time children stay without their parents to ensure they become familiar with their new surroundings. The childminder ensures she incorporates children's individual routines into the day, such as their sleeping patterns. This contributes to promoting continuity for children, promoting positive transitions between home and the childminder's care. These effective transition arrangements, positive relationships and close bonds with the children ensure they feel safe and emotionally secure in the childminder's care. This promotes children's progress in their

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

personal, social and emotional development. The childminder also provides good opportunities for children to go to groups, so that they mix and play with other children. This contributes to supporting children's future learning, such as starting school or nursery. This is because the childminder encourages children to be sociable, independent and confident learners who have the self-assurance to positively embrace change.

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

The children have a good understanding of the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. This is because through everyday routines the childminder teaches them about the importance of adopting good personal hygiene practice and self-care skills. As a result, children routinely wash their hands, they know why they need to brush their teeth and they make healthy food choices. For example, they ask for banana and grapes for snack. Children have good opportunities to play outdoors and engage in physical activities. They enjoy playing in the garden, going on walks and visiting the park. In addition, through fun activities, such as 'busy feet', children enjoy dancing and moving to music. These opportunities enable children to be active, which supports their physical development and ensures children enjoy the health benefits of playing in the fresh air.

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

The childminder manages children's behaviour well. Through praise, she celebrates their achievements, and this means children have high self-esteem and confidence in their own abilities. The childminder is a positive role model for children and she provides consistent boundaries and routines so that children know what she expects of them. She handles minor disagreements well, such as reminding young children about sharing and being kind to their friends. This supports children in having cooperative and harmonious relationships with their peers. The children have a good understanding of how they can keep themselves safe. They confidently explain how they walk safely to school, such as holding hands and staying close to the childminder. In addition, they explain how they must wait for the green man before crossing the road.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has completed advanced safeguarding training and this contributes to her having a good understanding of child protection issues. Therefore, she is aware of the possible signs of abuse and neglect, and she knows the procedures for reporting concerns to the appropriate agencies. This knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues contributes to her protecting children from harm. The childminder provides a safe learning environment for children to play. She is able to manage this through her risk assessment procedures, daily safety checks and supervision of children. These arrangements contribute to the childminder putting in place good safety precautions to minimise the risk of accidents and injury. The childminder maintains and implements a wide range of

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provision

policies and procedures. These contribute to her having a good understanding of her responsibilities in promoting and safeguarding children's welfare. Her policies clearly outline how she handles concerns, manages children's behaviour and deals with accidents.

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provision

The childminder's commitment to improving her service and provision for children is good. Through training and self-evaluation, she has a good understanding of her strengths and areas to improve. This means she takes positive steps to improve the provision for children. This includes successfully addressing the recommendations from her last inspection. The childminder regularly observes children and she links her observations with the areas of learning to support her in identifying children's next steps, taking some positive steps to improving the arrangements for planning for children's learning needs. In addition, since the last inspection, the childminder has introduced a coloured sticker system to help her monitor the educational programmes. She looks back through the children's progress records for the coloured stickers, therefore quickly identifying any gaps in children's progress. This contributes to children accessing a wide variety of activities

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provision

across all areas of learning. The childminder's approach to promoting her personal effectiveness through a programme of professional development is good. For example, she accesses a varied range of training courses, such as behaviour management, nutrition for young children and Autism awareness, to develop her skills, knowledge and understanding. This promotes her personal effectiveness and contributes to improving the quality of the provision for children. For example, following Autism training, the childminder provides sensory, tactile and textured resources for children to investigate and explore using all their senses.

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provision

The childminder has good relationships with parents. When supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, she works very well with them and any other professionals or external agencies involved in children's care. She contributes to all meetings and shares good information to ensure any individual learning plans incorporate the views of everyone involved. Therefore, effective measures are in place to ensure children make good progress, given their starting points. However, there is scope to develop the relationships with other providers involved in children's learning, such as school and nursery, so that they are highly successful. The childminder discusses with teachers the activities children are experiencing in school or nursery; however, this is generally for all children and less about children's individual learning targets and goals. Through discussions, the childminder encourages parents to share their views and ideas

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provision

about the service or any improvements to support their children. In addition, comments from parents demonstrate they are happy with the service. The say their children are happy, well cared for and safe. They also say the childminder is supportive and meets the needs of all the family.

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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 EY370542 Local authority Barnsley Inspection number 821248 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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