Childminder in West Sussex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/05/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 childminder provides close supervision at all times and effectively assesses risks and hazards to strongly protect and maintain children's safety.  The childminder has built strong relationships with children and her continual interest and encouragement develops children's curiosity and increases their exploration and learning.  The childminder plans and organises children's care to include regular opportunities for appropriate outdoor activities to meet children's age and stage of development.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder has not obtained written permission from parents to take children on outings and this is a requirement to protect children and ensure parents are informed.  The childminder verbally encourages children to share but has not introduced more innovative ways to help them develop these skills 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 inspector explained the reason for the visit on arrival and showed identification documents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector accompanied the childminder and children on a visit to the park and gained evidence through discussion and by observing activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector returned with the childminder and viewed the premises and a range of documentation.  The inspector provided feedback and gave the inspection judgements.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2012. She lives with her child in a first floor flat in the village of Fishbourne, near Chichester, West Sussex. The family live close to village amenities and schools. Children play in the sitting/dining room and use the kitchen at times. They sleep in both bedrooms on the same floor; there is also a bathroom on this floor. The childminder is registered on the Early years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently caring for five children on a part-time basis; all the children are in the early years age group.

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must:

 ensure that written parental permission is obtained for children to take part in outings

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

 find more innovative ways to encourage children to share and take turns.

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who attend

The childminder has a strong understanding of promoting children's learning through play and she is very closely involved and engaged with children at all times. She uses clear dialogue and interacts at every opportunity to increase children's understanding. In this way she fully promotes younger children's early learning, especially their communication skills and their developing language. The childminder uses her knowledge of individual children's interests to provide daily outdoor activities. She knows and understands when children need to be active outside and she ensures that this takes place everyday. For example, the childminder walks regularly to the local park to provide fresh air and exercise. She fully encourages children to notice their surroundings by finding snails on the pavements and talking about these as she moves them to a safer place. Children see and talk about the cars and the trains, they show interest in the dogs they see in the park

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who attend

and they learn new words. The childminder encourages children to make choices when using the play apparatus and she supervises their movements at all times to ensure their safety.

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who attend

The childminder follows children's interests well and she skilfully extends activities to increase children's capabilities. For example, she suggests using crayons and pencils to draw and children are keen to make marks on the paper. The childminder is very aware of the short concentration time of younger children and she suggests drawing circles and then encourages children to practise drawing around their hands. Children automatically count the number of hands they have drawn and this develops into a game of naming parts of their face. The childminder plays a repetitive game and makes the younger children laugh by pressing their nose and making a beep sound. Older children continue to practise their skills of writing letter shapes and they instantly link this with making corresponding letter sounds. The childminder praises their ability and this encourages children to continue and develop further.

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who attend

The childminder has clear learning records in place for all early years children attending and these demonstrate the wide range of activities she regularly provides. For example, children take part in cooking, they use many natural resources for printing and they collect these during their outings. The childminder has previously provided tadpoles to enable children to observe the life cycle of frogs and they have collected items and helped to build an indoor rock pool. The childminder provides many opportunities for craft and construction activities to increase children's practical skills and their understanding of the world around them.

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who attend

The childminder regularly shares children's learning records with parents and she successfully provides a summary assessment of each child's progress once they have reached two years. She includes daily verbal dialogue with parents, and organises and plans meetings to meet parents' needs. The daily diaries the childminder provides for younger children clearly enable parents to share information and contribute to children's ongoing development. The childminder has good experience as a reception class teacher and this gives her a strong understanding and knowledge of preparing children for moving on in their learning. She effectively and continually promotes children's progress.

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

The childminder demonstrates through her record keeping that she completes most documentation in advance with parents to support children's well-being. This enables her to provide for children's individual care and include their daily routines. However, the childminder has not obtained written parental permission for all areas of care and this is a requirement of the Early Years Register to protect children and ensure parents are informed.

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

The childminder has included organised settling routines and as a result, children clearly gain a sense of belonging. They show they are happy, settled and they have formed sound attachments with the childminder. She provides close supervision at all times and effectively assesses risks and hazards to protect and maintain children's safety. For example, the childminder uses the outdoor courtyard at times to provide a variety of physical play. This area is adjacent to the residential car park and is not secure, but the childminder supervises fully. She displays a notice to alert any neighbours or delivery vehicles using the drive way that children are present. She explains the safe routines to older children who use their scooters close to the courtyard. This increases their understanding of safety and they remain in her sight at all times. During outings on foot, the childminder continually focuses on safe places to cross the road. She is alert to risks

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

and hazards at all times and she talks to younger children about safety to increase their growing awareness and understanding. The childminder clearly explains safe routines to children at all times when using the stairs to the first floor. She has safety gate in place. She is diligent when using the play apparatus in the park and she avoids some apparatus that is not appropriate for younger children. In this way children develop an understanding and awareness of risks and hazards during their physical play.

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

Children's health is positively encouraged and they learn to follow regular routines to maintain cleanliness and hygiene. They wash their hands before snack and lunch time. They eat healthy food and have ample time for physical exercise and movement. The childminder suitably follows younger children's daily routines for sleep and rest times, and this provides a planned healthy balance to maintaining children's levels of energy.

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

The childminder uses ample praise to encourage and focus children's attention and she uses distraction well to promote positive behaviour. For example, children often want the same play equipment and the childminder explains clearly when they must take turns. She finds similar items and this enables children to copy each other's actions. Although these methods support even young children in learning about sharing, the childminder has not thought about other innovative ways of encouraging these skills further. Children have many opportunities to gain independence and make choices throughout the day as they have access to a wide range of resources at their level. The childminder plans and provides interesting learning opportunities; she is appropriately meeting children's all round development.

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provision

This inspection took place following concerns raised with Ofsted about the number of children in the childminder's care and concerns about risks and hazards to children's safety especially during outside play. The inspection found that the childminder has included clear systems for managing most areas of children's care to meet the requirements. She has sound evidence to support the number of children cared for and this fully meets the ratio requirements. However the childminder has not obtained written parental permission for taking children on outings and this is a requirement to manage the safety of children in her care.

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provision

The childminder has a sensible and fully explained system for supervising outside play at all times. She knows that children need outdoor activities and she provides these regularly during children's care. The childminder competently recognises the risks and hazards to children and she monitors these well and demonstrates high levels of concern for children's safety throughout all childcare routines. This includes the use of safety equipment indoors and a planned fire evacuation procedure. All fire safety equipment is also in place. The childminder carries out safe routines when walking and conscientiously supervises the safety of toddlers in the park. The childminder has a competent knowledge of child protection and she shares her written procedure with parents to ensure they know her duty to respond to any safeguarding concerns. She has separate policies and procedures to cover a range of childcare areas and this includes information about how

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provision

the childminder uses mobile phones and cameras to ensure children's privacy. The childminder is also soundly aware of ensuring the suitability of adults in the home to maintain children's protection.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the areas of learning and she positively promotes and encourages children's learning through play. She has effectively included systems to monitor and assess children's learning and in this way she is able to recognise and support children's individual progress. She has built good relationships with parents and this includes providing parents with daily information about care routines and the activities that children enjoy and take part in. The childminder ensures parents read and sign key policies prior to children's care. However she has not included a written complaints procedure and this is a requirement of the Childcare Register to ensure that parents have a response to any written complaints within a specified time frame.

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provision

The childminder has begun to evaluate her provision and she liaises with the early years network for guidance and advice. She has varied and increased the range of resources available to meet children's age and stage of development. The childminder has also developed and extended her systems of recording children's learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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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:

 include a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements and which a parent makes in writing or by email (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  include a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements and which a parent makes in writing or by email (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 EY456690 Local authority West Sussex Inspection number 971892 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 5

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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