Childminder in Oxfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/06/2014 21/03/2012

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder skilfully supports the language and communication of younger children by talking to them and listening carefully to their responses. This encourages children to think about their response and supports their thinking skills.  The childminder uses positive praise and encouragement to teach children to share and take turns. As a result, they behave well and engage in play with each other.  The childminder is committed to fostering children's independence and self-care skills. As a result, children are developing the necessary skills in readiness for school.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder's assistant does not hold a current paediatric first aid certificate to help her treat children's minor accidents and injuries. This is a breach of requirement as she has sole care of children for short periods.  The childminder is beginning to complete more routine assessments on each child's learning. However, she does not routinely use these to plan children's next steps in their learning and development to provide more challenge in their activities.

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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 carried out a discussion with the childminder.  The inspector observed children during activities inside and outdoors.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the childminder.  The inspector spoke with parents during the inspection.  The inspector scrutinised a range of relevant documentation.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1993. She lives with her husband, one adult child and one school-aged child in a small village near Abingdon. Children play on the ground floor of the childminder's house and rest or sleep in a bedroom upstairs. There is an enclosed rear garden for outside play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder works with an assistant at times in order to increase the number of children in the early years age group to five. She currently cares for a total of 13 children including three children over eight years of age before and after school. All children attend on a part-time basis. The family has a variety of large and small pets. The childminder walks to local schools to take and collect children and attends a local carer and toddler group.

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must:

 ensure that an appropriate paediatric first aid qualification is held by any one in sole charge of children, for any period of time

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must:

 use children's assessments to plan to extend children's learning and development further by providing sufficient challenge during activities across all areas of learning.

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who attend

The childminder has sufficient knowledge of how children learn through child-based activities. She uses suitable opportunities to broaden children's experiences and awareness of the natural world. For example, she collects tadpoles with children to investigate the life cycle of frogs. These experiences give her chances to develop children's communication and language. She asks open questions to encourage children to think about their response, and this supports their thinking skills. As a result, the children are motivated and engaged as they learn about the world around them. For example, children hear a chicken cluck and the childminder asks the children what they heard. They reply 'chicken' and she asks them why they think the chicken made the noise. One child replies that the chicken had 'laid an egg'.

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who attend

Children's physical development is sufficiently supported by the childminder inside and outdoors. She has adequate resources inside to promote physical development. For example, children use construction sets and build train track sets. She provides opportunities for young children to be active by taking children on walks to the local school to collect older children. The childminder offers children regular outdoor play. Children choose, from the equipment available, to ride on balance bikes and kick footballs around the spacious garden. This promotes children's balance and control well.

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who attend

As children play imaginatively with the pretend food, the childminder introduces other areas of learning such as, mathematical language. For example, she encourages the children to count how many slices of pizza there are and how many people, to investigate if there will be enough for everyone. The children show confidence in their awareness of numbers as they count. The childminder adequately promotes children's interest in books by ensuring there is a wide variety for all ages and displays them for children to choose. Children select their choice of book and sit on the childminder's lap while she reads them the stories. Additionally, the childminder uses these opportunities to develop children's communication and language. She asks open questions to encourage children to think about their response, and this promotes their language skills well. For example, when reading the children a story, she asks them questions about the illustrations, which leads

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who attend

one child into a discussion about a trip away with their family. She provides some materials for drawing and writing and selects a variety of materials for the children to express their creativity, for example, play dough. This allows children to be creative and develop their own ideas.

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who attend

The childminder provides activities and experiences for the children using their interests, for example, splashing in puddles when children bring their Wellington boots from home. This means that children enjoy their time at the provision. Children make adequate progress as they engage in play with regular interactions from the childminder to build upon their learning outcomes. This shows that the childminder has a satisfactory awareness of how to promote the learning development of young children.

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who attend

The childminder records satisfactory observations on children's achievements, including photographic observations. She is developing her system to record the next steps for individual children more frequently. This shows that the childminder is gradually implementing her recommendations from her last inspection. She is in the early stages of carrying out frequent routine assessments on each child's learning. However, she does not routinely use children's next steps and assessments to inform her planning. This means she does not always extend children's learning and development further by providing sufficient challenge in what they do.

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who attend

The childminder welcomes parents into her home and encourages them to provide her with adequate feedback either verbally or through written daily diaries. She completes progress checks on two-year-olds and parents use this information to provide health visitors with a summary of their leaning and development while in the childminder's care. Overall, she shares satisfactory information between all involved in each child's learning and provides some continuity of care.

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

The childminder organises space appropriately so that children can move freely around the main playroom and the garden. There are a suitable range of toys available to promote all areas of learning. This provides children with choice and they engage in play as they learn. The children benefit from regular fresh air during outdoor play and on daily walks to collect older children from school. The childminder uses these outdoor experiences to teach children about the world around them. She teaches children about road safety as they pass train crossings and traffic lights. Consequently, children take part in physical exercise as they learn how to keep themselves safe. The childminder reminds children to take care when running outside, which encourages them to stay safe. As a result, children slow down and take care. She follows her accident procedures by accurately recording children's accidents and obtaining parents' signatures as she informs them of what

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

happened. However, a welfare requirement has been breached by the childminder leaving her assistant in sole charge of children for short periods with no first aid qualification.

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

The childminder is supportive towards the children and encourages them to make relationships with each other. She uses lots of praise during play. For example, when children complete puzzles together, they show the childminder and cheer when they succeed. The childminder then congratulates them which boosts their self-esteem. The childminder takes children to weekly play groups, where she supports them in making early friendships with their peers. This encourages children to develop confidence away from the main care setting. These adequate strategies manage the children's behaviour and as a result, the children play and socialise well with each other. In addition, she displays children's work on a board in the main playroom to praise their creativity. This builds children's confidence and self-esteem as they point out their own picture to visitors.

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

The childminder shows appropriate commitment toward children's hygiene and encourages them to develop independence to increase their own self-health and care. For example, she reminds children to wash their hands after feeding the rabbit and before lunch. She uses books and illustrations to encourage children to brush their teeth daily. This promotes children's personal health and hygiene.

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

The childminder gathers adequate information from parents on the children's needs when they start by asking them to complete 'all about me' forms. This provides her with starting points on the child's need, interests and basic comments on each learning area. She offers flexible settling-in sessions to allow parents and children to adapt and get to know her. This means that the children settle in to her care quickly. A daily diary is completed by both the childminder and parents which provides continuity of care for the children. This means that any changing needs are met. For example, parents make comments on children's progress with toileting over the weekend for the childminder so she is aware of their home achievements.

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

The childminder is committed to fostering children's independence. Children are learning to toilet train confidently. Children are encouraged to wash their own hands after outdoor play and before meals to develop their self-help skills. Children use cutlery confidently to feed themselves their lunch. Overall, children learn all of the necessary skills to move to their next steps in learning or school.

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provision

The childminder has adequate knowledge of how to safeguard children in her care. She has suitable awareness of signs and indicators of all types of abuse and the procedures to follow if she has concerns about a child. She knows who to notify if an allegation was made about her or her assistant. The childminder has satisfactory policies and procedures in place and reviews these regularly. The environment is safe and the childminder completes and reviews satisfactory risk assessments. For example, she completes risk assessments to take children out on walks, identifies any hazards and actions she will take to minimise risks. Appropriate vetting procedures are in place for household members to ensure their suitability which helps ensure that children are safe and secure in the home. The childminder holds a first aid qualification. However, she has not ensured that her occasional assistant gains a qualification in paediatric first aid. This is a breach of a

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provision

welfare requirement because anyone left in sole charge of the children, even for short periods of time, must hold a current paediatric first aid certificate.

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provision

The childminder is developing reflective practice to enhance her provision by communicating with parents and expanding on children's interests to ensure they are included in her self-evaluation. Since the last inspection, the childminder has built a regular trail of written and photographic observations on children's achievements and progress. Children enjoy a range of learning opportunities through a variety of resources. However, the childminder does not consistently include children's assessment outcomes towards her future planning. This does not fully extend children's learning and development further by providing more challenge in their activities.

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provision

The childminder seeks the views of parents and children verbally. Parents comment very positively on the use of daily diaries and how well she promotes children's impendence and self-care. The childminder is building adequate relationships with the local pre-school and works in partnership with them to communicate basic information between the pre- school and the parents. The children visit the pre-school regularly with the childminder, and also collect other children from school and have therefore met many of the teachers. This emotionally prepares the children for the move to school.

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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 that at least one person caring for children holds an appropriate first aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  ensure that at least one person caring for children holds an appropriate first aid qualification (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 133377 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 842918 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 13

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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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