Childminder in Liverpool

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/06/2014 06/07/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 Children develop positive relationships with the childminder, which helps them to feel happy and secure in the setting.  The childminder safeguards children appropriately and successfully assesses and minimises risks to children in his home and on outings.  The childminder has sound knowledge of child protection procedures because he fully understands his responsibility to protect the welfare of the children in his care.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not always implement effective observations that form the basis of planning, so activities are not always fully matched to children's learning needs. As a result, children are not making good progress.  The childminder has not resourced the outdoor environment with a wide range of age appropriate equipment so children are not sufficiently challenged.  The childminder does not work in partnership with other providers where children attend more than one setting so a consistent approach to learning has not been established.  Self-evaluation is weak, so there is not an effective system for maintaining improvement.

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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 observed activities in the indoor and outdoor environments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the childminder and spoke to adults and children throughout the inspection when appropriate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the children's assessment records the planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of adults working with the children and the childminder's evidence of self-evaluation.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2005 and is registered on the Early Years register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare register. He lives in Aigburth, Liverpool with his wife, who is a registered childminder and their three children, aged seven, 10 and 14 years. The whole of the ground floor of the property and an upstairs bathroom is used for childminding. There are currently 19 children on roll, of whom three are in the early years age range. The childminder provides care from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, all year except for family holidays and bank holidays. He collects children from local schools and pre-schools. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years and local childminder network.

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must:

 improve knowledge of how children learn, to help children make good progress and gain the skills to effectively prepare them for their next stage in their learning

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must:

 establish links with other early years providers where children attend more than one setting, in order to improve children's experiences so that children benefit from a common approach to support their learning.

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

 make self-evaluation an integral part for driving improvements in the provision for children

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

 improve the provision of resources in the outdoor environment in order to provide a more varied learning environment for all children.

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who attend

The childminder has poor knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and does not clearly understand the prime and specific areas of learning. This results in the educational programmes not having sufficient depth or breadth to meet the needs of the children who attend. The childminder uses suitable teaching strategies, for example, while children play with tools, he demonstrates, explains the function of the tools and praises children's efforts. He talks to children as they play, asking questions or making appropriate comments. As a result, children are developing adequate language and communication skills. The childminder helps children to count beads as they thread onto a string and he talks about the colours, so they are learning basic numeracy skills and are able to recognise and name some colours. Consequently, children are developing some of the skills necessary for their next steps in learning, including the eventual move

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who attend

to school. However, children are not always engaged in interesting, challenging activities or purposeful play. This is because the childminder has not carefully planned activities that consistently challenge children and motivate learning. Children choose activities and the childminder supports this, though adult interventions are not purposefully planned to improve learning. For example, when a child engages in playing the piano, at different speeds and volumes. The childminder effectively supports this using good vocabulary and effective questioning. However, the activity is not sustained and the child quickly moves to another activity without exploring all opportunities for learning. As a result, children's learning is not always well promoted and so they make satisfactory, rather than good, levels of progress.

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who attend

The childminder has a reasonable understanding of where children are in their development because he observes children to find out what they have achieved and what they enjoy doing. Observations are loosely matched to the areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage, though they are not always used to assess children's progress against age-related expectations. In addition, children's start points are not clearly identified so areas of underachievement are sometimes hard to identify and addressed promptly. The children are not consistently being prepared for the next stages in their educational journey, as activities are not always based on children's individual needs. In particular, children lack opportunities to develop and extend their skills outdoors because the range of resources are small.

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who attend

Parents express that they are happy with the care their children receive. They appreciate daily verbal feedback on their children's experiences. Parental input on development is recorded on entry to the setting. The childminder establishes good relationships with parents, so children and their families feel valued.

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

The childminder has a warm and welcoming attitude and children have formed positive relationships with him. Consequently, children have secure emotional attachments, which promote their well-being, as they are happy and settled. The childminder organises the main play areas of the home well, for example, there are open storage containers, which hold a variety of resources that children can access independently in their play. For example, role play tools appeal to the children's interests and threading beads are accessible to develop physical skills. Children learn the importance of tidying up toys to keep the learning environment safe.

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

Children know how to take sensible risks in their play as they have regular access to the outdoor environment in both the outdoor area and on regular outings. The childminder helps children to climb safely, which supports their developing physical skills. Children are further encouraged to develop their physical skills on an obstacle course and are confident to do this because they know the childminder is close by to help if needed. Children play with a range of equipment safely and listen to the childminder as he gives advice. The childminder ensures that children are kept safe on outings because they learn about animal safety, stranger danger and road safety.

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

Children know how to stay healthy by washing their hands because this is a regular part of their routine and the childminder reinforces this by talking to them about dirt and germs needing to be washed away before eating. At mealtimes, the children are helped to develop an awareness of healthy eating because the childminder talks to the children about what they are eating. In addition, children are able to draw links between outdoor activities, such as growing their own vegetables and eating them in healthy recipes. Consequently, children have a good understanding of keeping themselves healthy.

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provision

The childminder has a basic understanding of the safeguarding and welfare, and the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. He demonstrates a good knowledge of how to effectively safeguard children in his care and knows the procedures to follow if he has any concerns. This is supported by a detailed range of policies and procedures, which are successfully implemented on a daily basis. For example, appropriate documentation is in place to record accidents and incidents involving children. Risk assessments are completed for the indoor and outdoor environment to minimise hazards and ensure children are safe and secure. All records are well organised and relevant parental permissions are in place to ensure children are well cared for by the childminder. The childminder has attended relevant training in safeguarding and first aid to further develop knowledge and understanding of current practice and ensure children's

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provision

The childminder has not accessed relevant training to further knowledge of promoting children's learning and development. This means his skills are not fully up to date, so he does not always provide the best possible learning experiences for children. In addition, this lack of understanding results in the childminder not effectively monitoring the educational programmes provided for children to ensure that activities are addressing all areas of learning. Consequently, children's learning experiences do not have depth and breadth across all areas of learning.

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provision

Self-evaluation is weak, poor aspects of learning and teaching are not recognised and as a result, are not being addressed by the childminder. Together with his co-childminder, they are not accurately reviewing the impact of the care and learning experiences they provide on children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are established and parents are complimentary about the care their children receive from the childminder. The childminder is beginning to develop working relationships with other early years settings, though these are not yet established. He understands the benefits of working with relevant organisations to support the learning and development of all children.

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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 EY312048 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 862086 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 19

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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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