Childminder in Salford

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/06/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The childminder and the assistants have a secure knowledge and understanding of how to manage any safeguarding concerns to protect children's welfare.  Children make good progress because the childminder and the assistants are skilled in providing appropriate levels of challenge and identifying areas in development that need addressing to prevent future difficulties.  Partnership working with other professionals is a strength of the childminder's practice, driving continuous improvement through the seeking of their views and working in tandem to support individual children's needs.  The childminder has effective communication routes in place to inform parents about their children's well-being and learning during the day. She also shows a high level of commitment to consolidating partnerships by visiting children at home.  Self-evaluation is firmly embedded in the ethos of the childminding setting, and the

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This provision is good

childminder continually strives to enhance the provision for children's well-being and learning by accessing regular training for herself and the assistants.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to enhance the ways in which activities are used to help children learn how to sort objects into groups, and to recognise when to wait longer for a child to respond to talk or actions, to enhance the support for thinking and communicating.

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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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Inspection activities

 A tour of the areas of premises used for childminding was made.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the qualifications of the childminder and the assistants, along with evidence of the suitability of adults living or working on the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The childminder's and the assistants' knowledge of areas, such as safeguarding and individual children's learning, was ascertained through discussion.  A joint observation was carried out by the childminder and the inspector.

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Inspection activities

 Samples of documentation relating to children's welfare and learning were examined by the inspector, as well as documents relating to evaluations that the childminder makes in order to bring about continuous improvement.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2013 on the Early Years Register. She lives with her husband and four children aged one, four, five and seven years in Salford, Manchester. The lounge, dining room and playroom on the ground floor of the house are used for childminding. There is an enclosed rear garden available for outside play. The childminder operates from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Thursday and from 8.30am until 12.30pm on Fridays. It is closed for school holidays and Bank Holidays. There is flexibility to work outside of these hours by prior arrangement, including for overnight care. The childminder employs three assistants and is qualified to level 3. There are currently 17 children on roll in the early years age range, who attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years and receives support from the

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

 enhance the use of sorting activities in order to develop children's thinking skills

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

 enhance the opportunities for children to respond in their own time to questions or when activities are modelled for them, to further support their development of communication skills.

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who attend

The childminder and assistants make detailed and frequent observations of children's learning in order to assess their progress and then make plans to extend this. For example, they note when a child in the playhouse pretending to wash their hands says they are doing this before a meal, and recognise how this learning has taken place through experience and songs. The childminder makes thorough assessments of children's achievement when they join, in order to check they are making good progress from their individual starting points. Children's individual interests are used well, including spontaneous moments, such as when children bring toys from home that they have discovered over the weekend. For example, when a child brings a large toy fish from home, the childminder uses it to develop children's turn-taking skills and also to extend their knowledge of words by emphasising that they must 'squeeze' it for a noise to be

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who attend

made. She also incorporates learning about where fish live and provides play with water in the garden so that the toy can be used for this. This also helps to motivate children to learn as their interest is being used to drive their activities. Parents are increasingly involved in their children's learning because the childminder makes learning plans in conjunction with them on a regular basis and as children's needs change. This means that planning and the resulting educational programmes are accurately targeted to enhance children's progress, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder uses information about the progress of individual children and groups of children in order to further supplement the breadth and precision of her planning, by working closely with the assistants to identify any specific areas of learning to work on. Overall, children are very well prepared for their next

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who attend

steps in learning, given their individual needs and starting points.

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who attend

Children delight in participating in the song and rhyme activities which are provided at least twice a day, confidently joining in the actions and repeating some words. The childminder makes effective use of traditional Hebrew songs for children to teach them about Jewish culture, and supports them as they learn good manners and self-care skills. Children also learn to sing some words in Hebrew, supporting their language development. The childminding setting also offers specialist teaching in French and Hebrew during some sessions as an assistant, who is a qualified teacher, provides this. Children respond enthusiastically when offered the opportunity to use props, such as cards with fastenings, when the childminder sings number songs with them. She helps them to develop an understanding of quantity by asking children to remove pictures of ducks or monkeys as they count down from five. This supports children's early learning in mathematics. The

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who attend

assistants also make good use of simple mathematical language as they support children's play with sand and water, by emphasising words and concepts. For example, they reinforce words like 'full' and 'empty', and words concerned with size and colour. Children enjoy pouring water down funnels attached to long tubes, learning that it is still in the tube when they cannot see it. The assistants help children to understand how sand behaves differently in some ways to water, when children try to pour sand from a spout that is too narrow. However, there is scope during these exploratory play activities for quality of interaction to be enhanced by giving children more time to make responses by action or talk, based on their individual progress in communication skills.

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who attend

Children have access to a range of resources that support their progress across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage, including small world figures of animals. The childminder and the assistants make good use of play with these to develop children's communication skills, by emphasising describing words and names of animals. Children listen as their interest is sustained well by adults pointing out characteristics, such as long necks on toy giraffes or the manes on lions. However, full use is not made of these activities to also extend children's ability to think critically. For example, by adults demonstrating how all the herd animals can be put together or all the cats gathered together. Children enjoy making marks with a variety of media, such as paint or crayons, as well as being able to shape dough or experience other materials used for messy play. This helps to develop children's manipulative skills in preparation for the ones needed later

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who attend

for writing. Books are accessible to children to support their enjoyment of these, including ones in both English and Hebrew, and the childminder displays text in both languages to support children's learning in literacy.

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

The childminder operates a key-person system in order to support children's emotional well-being. Key persons demonstrate a good knowledge of the children assigned to them, and therefore support their welfare and development effectively. For example, they know children's interests, preferences for activities and routines well. As a result, children are supported to settle rapidly when joining the childminding setting, and parents praise the skill of the childminder and the assistants for this. The information obtained from parents in order to provide for children's initial care and learning is highly comprehensive. This underpins the effectiveness with which the childminding setting is able to support children's physical and emotional well-being. For example, the childminder seeks information regarding how much experience children have had of playing with others and how they react to new people in order to plan ahead for these factors. As a result,

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

children are emotionally secure in the childminding setting and demonstrate this by confident speech or vocalisations to communicate with adults and other children. Children's behaviour is managed well by adults setting simple but firm boundaries to help children learn what is appropriate and respect others around them. For example, they provide explanations of why turn taking is necessary, and supervise this to ensure children carry out their instructions. The childminder and the assistants model the use of good manners continually and praise children fully when they copy this. There are opportunities planned each day for children to learn to help themselves and others, such as by helping to tidy up or to serve themselves fruit at snack times. Children also have independent access to their water beakers through the day, and non-mobile babies are offered drinks frequently so that they learn to meet their own needs for this as they progress.

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

The premises are exceptionally clean and well maintained, with effective measures in place to support children's safety. For example, all rooms used for sleeping have either auditory or video baby monitors. These are with the childminder at all times so that she can supplement her frequent checks on sleeping children by being able to see or hear them wherever she is on the premises. The premises are secure and the identity of all visitors is checked using the intercom, to protect children from unauthorised entry. The childminder makes sure that the assistants are aware of when she has to leave the childcare rooms or the garden at any time, so that they can re-deploy themselves to cover for this. As a result, children's safety is further supported. Children have good opportunities to learn to take reasonable risks in their physical play as they can enjoy a range of age-appropriate equipment to support this. For example, the youngest children

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

are pushed on baby swings, and mobile children are encouraged to play on the slide and the trampoline one at a time. This helps children to develop their whole body coordination and also their ability to take turns on equipment. The childminder has given considerable evaluation to how to structure the day best in order to meet children's needs. For example, when children arrive to attend an afternoon session, they all begin by having lunch to help settle them in and become used to who else is present. This provides further support for children's emotional well-being. The childminder has effective strategies in place to help children learn about safety measures, such as by altering traditional nursery rhymes to raise children's awareness about always wearing a safety belt when in the car.

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

Partnership with parents is a strength of the childminder's practice, and parents are highly appreciative of the individual approach she takes with every family and child. Home visits are used frequently by the childminder, prior to children joining, so that she can see their behaviour and confidence in a familiar environment. She also arranges further home visits with parents if she feels that children need more support in order to settle. Children attend visits of gradually increasing length, with parents staying for less time in order to help them adjust to the childminding setting. This is very flexible and based on children's observed progress in developing confidence. There are also effective measures to support children's emotional well-being by working with parents and next settings when children leave to attend school or nursery. The childminder ensures that all children's dietary requirements are met. She maintains a kosher kitchen with the maximum hygiene rating.

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

Food is healthy and there is a strong emphasis on meals being shared occasions to develop children's social skills. Parents receive daily information through discussion, text messages and written notes so that they are kept very well informed about their children's welfare and activities.

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provision

The childminder and assistants have undertaken comprehensive training in safeguarding so that they have a good knowledge of how to manage any concerns they may have about children's welfare. All adults living or working on the premises are checked for suitability in order to protect children's welfare. Risk assessments for the premises and any outings are thorough, and daily checks are made of the premises in order to support this. The childminder and assistants have valid qualifications in paediatric first aid in order to deal correctly with any emergencies of this type. All documentation and record keeping is in place to meet statutory requirements and support the safe and effective running of the setting. The childminder has rigorous recruitment systems to ensure that she employs staff who meet her high expectations of practice. Staff performance management is effective due to frequent staff supervision meetings and daily feedback from the

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provision

childminder. This means that assistants adjust their practice rapidly in order to continually enhance their skills. The childminder has implemented a robust ongoing training programme for herself and the assistants covering topics concerned with both children's welfare and learning, in order to support their professional development. She has a secure understanding of staff deployment and ratios, which ensures that the childminding setting is correctly staffed at all times in order to effectively support children's learning and well- being.

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provision

Planning for children's learning is effective because this is based on detailed observations of their progress to date, in order to meet children's individual learning needs. Assessment to ascertain children's progress is achieved by comparing observations with established developmental milestones. The childminder and her assistants can then see if children's progress is appropriate for their age, above or below in order to plan further interventions. This includes seeking support, with parents' permission, from other agencies. The childminder works effectively with other professionals to address gaps in children's development, in order to minimise difficulties in future progress. She has robust systems to monitor the quality of observations and assessments made by the assistants in order to support children's good progress, including that of children with emerging special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder frequently monitors the educational

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provision

programme offered to children to ensure that she provides a balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated play in order to provide effective support for their development.

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provision

Evaluation of the childminding setting is already well embedded, with the childminder drawing on a broad range of views in order to drive continuous improvement. For example, she uses the views of advisers from the local authority and seeks the views of parents soon after their children begin attending, in order to identify where further enhancements can be made. Staff are encouraged to offer their views at all times, whether this is during daily discussions after children have been collected, in their individual supervisions, or in whole staff meetings. The childminder also makes good use of partnerships with other early years providers who carry out 'mock inspections' of her childminding setting in order to identify areas where there is scope for enhancement. The childminder has established very strong partnerships with parents through highly effective communication methods, and as a result, children benefit from the continuity offered by

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provision

this exceptional aspect of practice. For example, with parents' permission, she sends photographs to them during the day to show children engaged in activities as a group, to help parents engage with their children's learning.

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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 EY457991 Local authority Salford Inspection number 928706 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 5 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 17

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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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