Childminder in Medway

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/07/2014 06/08/2012

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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 childminder does not implement appropriate procedures to ensure the suitability of adults caring for children. She also cannot demonstrate a sufficiently robust understanding of safeguarding procedures to protect children This compromises children's welfare.  The strategies used to manage children's behaviour are not all appropriate and are not consistently applied by the adults working in the setting.  Assistants, who at times are left alone with children, do not all have the required first- aid qualifications.  The childminder does not maintain a sufficiently accurate record of the hours of children's attendance or the name of the adults who care for them.  Risk assessments are not effective in identifying potential risks to children posed by being left in the sole charge of unvetted adults.

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It has the following strengths

 Children like the childminder and her assistants, and concentrate well on the activities they provide.  The childminder promotes children's health well by providing nutritious food and teaching them about the importance of good personal hygiene.

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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 viewed all areas used by children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, assistants, children and a parent during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the interaction between the adults and children during a range of activities.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a selection of documentation including children's progress records and recruitment files.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2011. She lives with her husband and three children in Rochester, Kent. Childminding takes place on the ground floor and children use the lounge, kitchen-diner and two other rooms. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder has four assistants who work with her at different times throughout the week. There are a maximum of three adults working together at any one time. There are currently six children under eight years on roll, five of them are in the early years age group. The childminder also provides care for children who are aged over eight years. The childminder receives funding for the provision of free early education for children aged two, three and four years.

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Information about the setting

The childminding service includes transportation to and from local schools and nurseries.

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must:

 ensure that robust arrangements are implemented to determine the suitability of people looking after children

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must:

 develop sufficient knowledge and understanding of the appropriate procedures to follow in the event of an allegation being made against a member of staff

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must:

 ensure that any assistant, or assistants, who are left in charge of children when the registered provider is not present, hold a current paediatric first-aid certificate

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must:

 maintain a clear and accurate record of the names of the children being cared for, their hours of attendance and the names of their key person

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must:

 review the strategies for managing behaviour to ensure that these are all positive and appropriate for children's ages and stages of development

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must:

 improve risk assessments to ensure that these cover all risks to children's safety, including the suitability of assistants and arrangements for transporting children to and from school.

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who attend

Children are making sound progress in their learning and development and enthusiastically join in the activities planned for them. There are some strengths in the quality of teaching. The childminder and her assistants offer activities and experiences which children enjoy. Their enthusiasm successfully engages children and motivates them to concentrate for long periods on specific tasks. However, the routines of the day, including the organisation of activities, tend to be too adult-directed. This means that children do not always receive a great deal of opportunity to make choices and to develop their independence.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistants know children well and are able to confidently discuss their abilities and the next steps planned for their learning. However, the overall monitoring of children's progress is not sufficiently precise to support the childminder in accurately determining the success of educational programmes. This means that she does not successfully ensure that there is equal focus and appropriate challenge across all areas of learning. The childminder completes the required progress checks for two-year-old children.

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who attend

Adults talk to children as they play and use of a lot of language specific to the activity taking place. This helps to extend children's vocabularies as well as promoting their knowledge of the world. For example, while working together to build a neighbourhood from construction bricks, an assistant talked about the different buildings the children wanted to include. This led to a discussion about supermarkets, fire stations, doctors' surgeries and gardens. Children are very knowledgeable about their local community. They refer to their experiences during recent outings, such as a visit to the supermarket, when deciding what features to include.

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who attend

The childminder takes children outside to play for a period of time each morning and each afternoon. Those who go to school are also able to spend time outside each day. During this time, they engage in physical games and exercise including activities specifically aimed at promoting skills such as throwing and catching balls. There is a lot of clear floor space for very young children to develop their mobility in the childminder's home.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistants act as individual key persons for the children attending. Each takes responsibility for sharing information about their key children with parents. This generally takes place verbally and parents are encouraged to share information about what children have been doing at home.

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

The key-person arrangements within the childminding setting are effective in helping children to form trusting relationships with adults. However, there are significant weaknesses in the arrangements to ensure the suitability of assistants. As a result, children's well-being is compromised.

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

Children are friendly, polite and generally behave well. The childminder and assistants offer appropriate verbal praise and positive reinforcement. The childminder is aware of the importance of helping children to understand why certain behaviour is unwanted. However, there is some inconsistency in the way in which adults deal with situations. For example, the occasional use of an adult-directed 'time-out' strategy is not effective in helping children to learn how to manage their own behaviour. Also, the childminder has not considered how achievable the reward system she uses is and the potential negative effect on children's emotional well-being if they fail to reach the targets.

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

The childminder promotes children's health well by providing nutritious snacks and meals and making sure there are always drinks available to them. Children speak confidently about the different food they are eating and make healthy choices. The childminder's home is clean and adults preparing food follow appropriate hygiene practices. Children learn about the importance of personal hygiene, such as washing their hands after using the toilet and before eating.

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

There is an adequate range of resources for children and they make good use of these during planned activities, although they are not always able to explore these independently. Space is used well, with areas for children to sleep and rest, as well as engaging in more lively games.

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

The childminder works alongside parents to prepare children for their move to school. She speaks to them positively about school life, drawing on the experiences of the older children in her care. She also ensures that each key person prepares transfer records for children's Reception teachers.

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provision

This inspection took place following information from an outside agency that raised concerns about arrangements for collecting children from school and the quality of activities provided for children. The concerns were that a large number of different people collect the minded children and that their identity is not always known by school staff. In addition, the concern states that, on occasion, too many children travel in a car and are not appropriately restrained. The records of children's attendance and the adults looking after them are not sufficiently clear or accurate to check compliance. However, scrutiny of records held on assistants show that the childminder does not have sufficiently robust procedures in place to ensure that they are suitable to work with children. This includes assistants who are regularly left in sole charge of children. In addition, none of the childminding assistants hold current paediatric first-aid qualifications. They are sometimes

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provision

left to care for children in the childminder's home when she leaves to attend appointments and it is a requirement that they are trained in first aid at these times. Therefore, the childminder is in breach of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage by failing to ensure that adults caring for children are suitably checked and trained. The childminder holds a current first-aid qualification although since her last inspection there has been a one year period during which she allowed this to lapse. This highlights a weakness in monitoring her provision.

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provision

The concerns also suggested that children were unhappy when they are collected by the childminder. Observation of the interaction of the childminder and the children present during the inspection found that relationships are strong. The children happily approach her for reassurance. The concerns relating to the quality of activities centre on children being expected to complete chores in the childminder's home. The activities observed during the inspection were all appropriate for children in the early years age group. Young children receive suitable encouragement to tidy up their own toys after use. In addition, older children are rewarded if they choose to join in a more thorough tidy up of play areas. These are appropriate, voluntary activities aimed at teaching children skills which will help them in later life.

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provision

The childminder has a suitable range of written safeguarding policies in place but is not familiar with their contents. She is generally aware of the procedure to follow if she has concerns about the welfare of any child. However, she does not know the required process for responding to an allegation against anyone living or working on the premises. The childminder's home and garden are secure and there are appropriate precautions in place to keep children safe as they move around her home. However, the childminder does not have appropriate recruitment procedures and does not adequately conduct risk assessments in relation to using assistants to transport children from school. As a result, the childminder is not adequately protecting children.

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provision

The childminder understands her responsibility to promote children's learning and development. However, her systems are not sufficiently effective in supporting her to do this well. The childminder and her assistants communicate effectively and positively as they interact with the children and this creates a harmonious environment. The childminder has begun to undertake supervision and monitoring of the assistants but these arrangements are not fully established. She conducts a degree of self-evaluation by discussing elements of her service with her assistants and with parents. However, this has not been successful in helping her to identify the breaches of requirements and significant weaknesses in her provision.

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provision

Parents receive a friendly greeting when they arrive to collect the children. They also receive a range of written information about the childminder's service, including letters updating them on the assistants working in the setting. The childminder also recognises the importance of working in partnership with other professionals, where care of children is shared, to provide consistency.

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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 children receiving childcare are safe from harm (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that at least one person who is caring for children holds an appropriate first- aid qualification (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  develop understanding of how to implement appropriate procedures for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for, from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children and is of integrity and good character (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep and retain for two years, clear and accurate daily records of the names of the children looked after and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  ensure that children receiving childcare are safe from harm (voluntary part of the

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

Childcare Register)  ensure that at least one person who is caring for children holds an appropriate first- aid qualification (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  develop understanding of how to implement appropriate procedures for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for, from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  implement effective systems to ensure that any person caring for, or in regular contact with, children is suitable to work with children and is of integrity and good character (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep and retain for two years, clear and accurate daily records of the names of the children looked after and their hours of attendance (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 EY420696 Local authority Medway Towns Inspection number 980829 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 10 Number of children on roll 6

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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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