Childminder in Camden

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/06/2014 16/03/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 2 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The safeguarding and welfare requirements are not well understood by the childminder, which compromises children's well-being. Risk assessments are not robust. The childminder does not keep required records for attendance, accidents, children's and parents' details, or parental permissions relating to outings and her assistant.  The quality of teaching is not good enough. The childminder does not ensure that she works with parents to understand all children's capabilities on entry. She does not plan suitable activities or provide sufficient toys. The educational programme to promote children's language and development is weak so children's progress is slowed.  The childminder does not ensure that there is appropriate and sufficient equipment for children to eat their meals comfortably together.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder has a clear understanding of child protection and knows the procedures to follow if she was concerned about a child's welfare.The childminder has a good awareness of the importance of children developing a love of books and has many story-times throughout the day.

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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 completed observations with the childminder, the assistant and the minded children present in the kitchen and bedroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection about the systems she has in place for observation, assessment and planning.  The inspector looked at documentation the childminder uses to support her practice.

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Information about the setting

The childminder opened in 1999 and registered with Ofsted in 2001. She lives with her husband, two children and an adult lodger in the London Borough of Camden. The childminder uses the ground floor kitchen, one bedroom and toilet on the first floor for childminding. There is an enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The childminder works with a registered assistant. She currently cares for a total of seven children in the early years age range, some of whom attend on part-time basis. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder holds a relevant qualification at level 3.

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must:

 ensure that a daily record of the names of the children being cared for, their hours of attendance and the names of each child's key person is maintained to show the children present and to demonstrate that ratios are maintained

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must:

 ensure that records are maintained for each child including their full name; date of birth; name and address of every parent and /or carer; which parent(s) and/or carer(s) the child normally lives with and emergency contact details of the parent(s) and/or carer(s) so that these are available when needed

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must:

 ensure that parents'/and or carers' permission is obtained to leave children with an assistant

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must:

 ensure that parents' written permission is obtained for outings

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must:

 ensure that a written record of accidents or injuries and the first-aid treatment given is maintained

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must:

 ensure that the risk assessment identifies aspects of the indoor environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and how the risk will be removed or minimised

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must:

 ensure that there is sufficient and suitable furniture and equipment for children to eat their meals

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must:

 improve the planning to consider the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child and use this information to plan and provide age appropriate resources and experiences to support each child's development

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must:

 improve knowledge of how to help children to increase their communication and language skills as well as possible by talking aloud, describing what children are doing and encouraging them to comment on their play activities

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must:

 involve parents in their children's learning by improving the exchange of information on entry, encouraging them to share their views to support their children's learning.

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who attend

The childminder has a limited understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Although she undertakes observations of some children, this practice is not consistent for all children, particularly newer attendees. The childminder does not gather sufficient information from parents about where their children are developmentally or their interests. This means she does not know about children's capabilities on entry, so cannot meet their learning and development needs straight away. She does not use information gained from observation effectively to plan and provide a suitable range of interesting activities and to help identify key areas to help individual children's development. For example, children play in the kitchen area and are provided with a box full of assorted odd toys. The toys are not presented attractively and children show little interest because the resources do not capture their imaginations.

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who attend

This leads to children wandering around the kitchen aimlessly and not engaged in purposeful play. When the assistant suggests a posting-box activity, children gather around all trying to take part at the same time because there is something to do that interests them. The lack of organisation leads to upset because not all children can fully participate. This does not promote children's personal, social and emotional development and shows the weak quality of teaching.

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who attend

The childminder and assistant have a better knowledge of using books to support children's learning and ensure a selection of books is accessible. Story time is used effectively and children enjoy sitting together listening to stories and looking at their favourite books. Children are not supported sufficiently in developing their language and communication skills. Although the childminder and assistant talk to the children, this tends to be through instructions rather than by modelling language and commenting on the activities the children are exploring. This restricts development and does not ensure that children are fully supported to make adequate progress in their learning generally, and for communication and language development in particular. This means that the childminder is not preparing children well enough for the next stage of their learning.

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who attend

Children have suitable opportunities for outdoor physical play through playing in the garden, local parks or when going out to visit community groups.The childminder provides verbal feedback and uses daily diaries to ensure parents are aware of their children's day and the activities experienced. For example, the childminder takes photographs of the children at play and shares these with parents.

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

Children's overall safety and well-being are compromised by the childminder's lack of awareness of ensuring all hazards are minimised within the home. Children spend some time playing upstairs in a bedroom, however, the childminder fails to fully protect young children's safety because the stair gate is currently broken. This means that they have close access to a flight of stairs. This places children at risk of falling down the stairs. The childminder keeps children safe when out walking. She ensures that young children are safely harnessed into their pushchairs until safe to walk. She uses her assistant for school runs leaving some children in her care so that she meets adult to child ratios during this time.

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

Children demonstrate that they are settled in the childminder's and assistant's care and seek reassurance and cuddles from them. This shows that they feel secure and that they have established sound relationships. The childminder and assistant were seen to be kind and caring to the children, and generally children's behaviour was satisfactorily managed. Any minor difficulties were dealt with sensitively and children were reminded to be kind to each other.

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

The childminder's home is suitable for childminding purposes, however, she does not make the best use of the available space and ensure sufficient and appropriate equipment is provided. The childminder does not ensure enough toys are accessible for children to make independent choices about their play. These weaknesses restrict children's learning and development. There is a lack of equipment to allow all children to sit comfortably for their meals. Children sit in different areas around the kitchen, some of which are unsuitable. For example, children eat while seated in a buggy. This arrangement does not help children's understanding of social situations and encourage them to talk to each other. Some children were handed bits of food to eat by the childminder's assistant rather than being encouraged to try to feed themselves. These weaknesses do not promote children's growing personal independence in readiness for the next stage of development

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provision

The childminder does not meet a number of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, some of which also apply to the requirements of the Childcare Register, which is also not met. In particular, the childminder has not kept a record of children's attendance for use by her and her assistant in emergency situations and to help demonstrate that ratios are met. She has not maintained a record of accidents. In addition she does not ensure she has all parents' and children's personal details, including obtaining all parents' written permission for their children to go on outings. Furthermore, she does not have all parents' permission for their children to be left with the assistant for short periods of time during the day. The childminder lacks some understanding of the importance of ensuring all hazards in the home are minimised. In particular, she has not considered the implications of the first-floor stair-gate being broken

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provision

and how this could impact on young children's safety when playing upstairs. As a result of these weaknesses, children's safety is not sufficiently well protected. The childminder is suitable to work with children and makes sure that all those who live or work on her premises are suitable. She meets required adult-to-child ratios.

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provision

The childminder does not ensure she has sufficient and suitable equipment for children to eat their meals comfortably together. Nonetheless, the childminder shows a suitable understanding of child protection policies and procedures, and she is aware of her responsibilities if concerned about a child. The childminder and assistant both hold a current paediatric first-aid certificate, which supports them in their understanding of dealing with minor injuries or accidents.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates too little understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, she does not provide a suitable learning environment and does not promote the most important areas of learning sufficiently well, particularly for children's language and communication skills. Although the childminder has completed a self-evaluation of her provision, this has not been updated for several years and it fails to identify the many significant weaknesses in her practice. However, during discussion, the childminder demonstrated her commitment to make the necessary improvements to address her lack of knowledge of the requirements.

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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:

 ensure the following records are maintained : the name, address and date of birth of each child; the name, home address and telephone number of parents for each child looked after on the premises; a daily record of the children looked after and their hours of attendance; and any accidents that occur on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purpose of children are safe and suitable (compulsory part of the Childcare Register.  ensure the following records are maintained : the name, address and date of birth of each child; the name, home address and telephone number of parents for each child looked after on the premises; a daily record of the children looked after and their hours of attendance; and any accidents that occur on the premises (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises and equipment used for the purpose of children are safe

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

and suitable (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 102112 Local authority Camden Inspection number 976669 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 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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