Childminder in East Sussex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/07/2014 23/09/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder lacks an effective knowledge of the procedures to follow to safeguard children's welfare and well-being adequately.  The childminder has a limited understanding of the learning and development requirements. As a result, she fails to do enough to promote children's learning effectively. She does not engage successfully with parents and others to support and promote children's progress.  The childminder does not maintain all of the necessary records to help ensure she meets children's needs and that the legal requirements are met.  The childminder does not evaluate her practice to ensure she is meeting children's needs, identifying plans for her own development and including the views of parents.

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It has the following strengths

 There are positive relationships between the childminder and children, helping children settle well and gain confidence.  The childminder engages with the children as they play, so they enjoy their time with her.

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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 the children and childminder during play activities.  The inspector had discussions with the childminder.  The inspector checked evidence of safeguarding knowledge and self-evaluation.  The inspector viewed the rooms used by children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1995. She lives with her husband, and with her adult daughter and her partner and young child. The home is close to shops, parks and schools. Rooms on the ground floor, including the toilet and lounge, are used for childminding, with a bedroom on the first floor for young children to sleep. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The family has a dog, rabbits and a guinea pig. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is currently minding 10 children; of these four are in the early years age range. The childminder collects children from the local school and attends toddler groups on a regular basis.

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must:

 develop a confident knowledge about the process to follow if there are allegations of abuse made against you or any person living at the premises

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must:

 keep a record of any complaints received and their outcome and ensure that the record of complaints is made available to Ofsted on request

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must:

 obtain written permission from the child's parent and/or carer before administering each and every medication to a child

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must:

 maintain records to help ensure the needs of all children are met, such as obtaining information about children's language, culture and religion

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must:

 effectively assess children's starting points, monitor their ongoing progress, and plan challenging and enjoyable experiences for each child across all areas of learning

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must:

 completing the required progress check reports for children when they are aged between two and three years.

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

 strengthen partnerships with parents and others involved in children's learning and development, encouraging a two-way flow of information about children's achievements at home, and at other settings

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

 develop systems to help identify strengths and areas for further development that will improve outcomes for children, involving the views of others, including parents and children.

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who attend

The childminder does not have a secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage to help her promote children's learning and development. In the past, she has not completed the required progress check for two-year-old children. She was recently given a suitable document to use for the report. However, she lacks the understanding of how to complete it, to provide parents with relevant detail about children's personal, social, emotional and physical progress, as well as their communication and language development. The childminder has a general awareness of children's abilities. However, she does not use observations and assessment to help her identify and plan challenging experiences for children's next steps in their learning. Her current methods mean she is not able to note if there are any gaps in children's learning to address. The childminder records a monthly summary of children's achievements but does not share this with parents. This detail does

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who attend

not help the childminder monitor and track children's progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder verbally shares information about the children's day with parents, but this focuses more on children's welfare and care needs. The childminder does not engage parents in supporting children's learning at home.

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who attend

The childminder gets to know children's interests and makes sure that their favourite toys are available. She engages with children as they play and this helps children play to develop their concentration. Children visit local groups with the childminder where they learn to mix with others, supporting their developing social skills. The childminder generally supports children's developing language, as she talks to them and asks questions. However, she mostly uses closed questions requiring single word answers. This does not challenge children's thinking or encourage a wider use of vocabulary. She provides activities that enable children to experience some creativity, such as exploring modelling dough. Children are given various tools helps develop their physical skills. The childminder supports some outdoor play, and has a tray of sand or boxes of rice and water for children to play with. Children can take other toys outside, such as the toy

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who attend

garage and cars. The childminder talks to children about going to school and encourages them to have some independence skills, such as putting their own shoes on. However, her lack of knowledge and understanding means she is not able to prepare children effectively for the next stage in their learning, such as nursery or school.

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

The childminder's failure to make sure that all legal safeguarding requirements to promote children's health and safety are met compromises children's well-being. Although she maintains a medication record, the childminder does not obtain clear written consent from parents to administer medication. This is a breach of requirement for the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. She does not note useful information about children to help ensure she meets and promotes their needs. At the last inspection, the chidminder was asked to obtain detail about children's language, culture and religion but this is not clearly evidenced on her records. The childminder produces informative accident records and shows she informs parents when they sign.

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

The childminder develops friendly and caring relationships with children. They settle well, are happy and confident. This helps support their emotional development and well-being. Children's favourite toys are out in the lounge and they know they can ask for other resources from the storage room. The childminder manages children's behaviour appropriately. She is consistent in what she tells them they can or cannot do. She praises children when they willingly help tidy the toys away. Children happily share resources. The childminder talks to parents about children's care needs, such as toilet training or sleep routines. She provides snacks for children that she knows they will like. Children are able to locate their own drink bottle easily throughout the day. Children make independent choices about their play, using an age-appropriate range of toys. They use the garden for some play in the fresh air, or go for walks and make trips to the local recreation park to

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

use play equipment, which help to promote their physical development. Children are beginning to learn to keep themselves safe as they practise road crossing with the childminder.

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provision

The childminder does not meet all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and this has a negative impact on children's safety and well-being. The childminder has a general awareness of possible indicators that would cause concern about a child's welfare. However, she is not aware about who to contact if she does have concerns, or if there are allegations made against her or other household members. Furthermore, in addition to not obtaining written parent consent for administering medication, she does not keep a complaints record to ensure relevant detail is available when requested. These are breaches of the legal requirements for the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder did not maintain an accurate record of children's attendance, as up until a few months ago she did not record times of attendance. However, following advice, she now records the relevant detail to meet the legal

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provision

requirement. The childminder risk assesses her home to help ensure the premises are safe and secure. For example, there are safety gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. There is a safety catch on the kitchen cupboard containing chemicals that may harm children.

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provision

The childminder respects the views of others, such as parents, but she does not use these to help her evaluate her practice. She has not thought about plans for improving her practice or outcomes for children. The childminder completes training, such as first aid and safeguarding, although her child protection knowledge still lacks some relevant detail. The childminder has a limited understanding of the learning and development requirements. She is not aware of the need to monitor the educational programmes to identify and narrow any gaps in children's learning. There has been limited progress made on the recommendations set at the last inspection. In particular, there is no effective observation, assessment and planning system to promote children's learning. There are no effective partnerships with parents and others to enable the sharing of relevant information to ensure continuity of care and education for individual children. The childminder is keen to

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provision

improve and develop her knowledge and practice but recognises she needs outside support to improve her service and outcomes for children.

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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:

 keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  make available to Ofsted, on request, a summary of complaints and the action that was taken as a consequence (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a record of a parent/guardian/carer's consent to administer any medication (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  keep and implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  make available to Ofsted, on request, a summary of complaints and the action that was taken as a consequence (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a record of a parent/guardian/carer's consent to administer any medication

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

(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 505560 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 843284 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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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