Childminder in Sheffield

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/07/2014 28/07/2009

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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

 Children engage in an interesting range of hands-on play experiences. The childminder continually chats and asks questions as children play, which supports their communication and language skills.  The childminder has a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures, which helps to protect children from potential harm. It also helps children develop a secure bond with the childminder as they feel safe in her care.  The childminder promotes children's self-esteem and confidence through her consistent use of praise and encouragement, and as a result, children behave well.

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It is not yet good because

 Assessment are not detailed and precise enough so that the information gained allows young children's progress to be robustly monitored, supported and shared with parents.  The childminder has not developed effective partnerships with other settings that children attend to enhance their progress and promote continuity of care and learning.  Opportunities for children to develop their growing independence are less effective in supporting their move to school or their next stage of learning.

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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 playroom and the outside learning environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning and development records and personal files.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of practitioners working with children, the childminder's self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers from information included in the childminder's own parent survey.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her child aged 11 years in Sheffield. The whole ground floor of the house, the first floor bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently 12 children on roll, of whom seven are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She works alongside her sister, who is also a registered childminder, and two assistants.

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must:

 develop assessment methods so that the information gained is more detailed and precise, and allows young children's progress to be more robustly monitored against all areas of learning and shared with parents regularly

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must:

 develop effective partnerships with other settings that children attend, to support their progress and continuity of care and learning.

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

 extend opportunities for children to develop their growing independence, for example, allowing them to pour their own drinks and serve their own food at mealtimes.

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who attend

The childminder maintains all the required documentation and information from parents to help her meet children's individual needs. She speaks to parents and collects information about children when they first start in her care. The childminder plans a suitable range of activities across the seven areas of learning. She observes children as they play and uses appropriate guidance to assess their abilities. However, assessment methods are not detailed or precise enough to allow young children's progress to be robustly monitored and shared with parents. This means her knowledge of children's stage of development is not detailed enough to effectively plan activities that consistently challenge and interest children. The childminder understands the requirement to complete the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, and shares these with parents. Children are developing appropriate skills they need for their next stage in learning, such as school.

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who attend

The childminder provides a wide range of quality toys and activities. The dedicated playroom provides opportunities for children to self-select resources from low-level shelves, which enables children to independently access a wide range of toys and resources and make active choices about their play. The childminder gets down on floor level to play with the children and she interacts with them well using lots of eye contact, praise and encouragement as they play and learn. She gives children opportunities to take part in a range of adult-led and child-initiated activities. For example, children enjoy playing shops and delight as they pretend to go up and down lifts to the different shops. The childminder supports their learning appropriately. For example, she explores the different foods they have in their shopping baskets and asks questions to make children think, such as, 'what colour is the strawberry?' and 'how many have you got?' The

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who attend

childminder responds to a child who tells her that their favourite colour is red by asking them, 'what else is red that you like?' These activities help to support their communication, language and mathematical development. Children are making progress in their language skills because the childminder repeats single words so young children can hear them clearly. Children enjoy expressing themselves creatively and using their imagination as they participate in a variety of art and craft activities. For example, they show pleasure as they decorate masks using a variety of resources and enjoy the feeling of the glue sticking to their hands. The childminder explores the sensory feeling of the glue and talks to the children about their hands being sticky. The childminder allows children to explore with the glue and to make marks on their masks. This helps them to explore different textures and to stay engaged with the activity. The children are

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who attend

comfortable moving around their environment and handle resources with care.

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who attend

Children find out about the local community and develop an understanding of the wider world around them as they go on various outings to local parks and visits to the local library. The childminder supports children's physical development through activities inside and outside. She keeps parents verbally informed about their children's progress and the activities they have enjoyed on a daily basis, which helps to reassure them that their children are happy. However, the childminder does not share effective information about children's learning with other providers they attend. This means that strategies of support for children are not always consistent to precisely support their learning between settings.

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

The childminder provides a homely and inclusive environment and establishes good relationships with the children in her care. This is because of the effective settling-in procedures she has when parents first approach her to care for their child, along with detailed information in order to meet their child's needs. This results in children demonstrating that they feel emotionally secure with the her due to the care and support she gives to them from the start. They sit happily beside her while sharing their recent experiences of going on a family picnic and are happy and confident during the time they spend with her. The children readily go to the childminder for cuddles when they feel tired or when they need reassuring. The childminder models how to behave and encourages children to be gentle and polite. She offers praise to children throughout the day and encourages mutual respect and turn taking, which encourages them to behave well.

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

Children learn to keep themselves safe appropriately through discussions about road safety and practical experiences within their everyday routines, for example, walking up and down the stairs. Simple but effective boundaries help children understand what is expected of them. The environment is welcoming to children and encourages them to independently access resources, which are clearly labelled and stored safely.

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

Children benefit from healthy snack and lunch choices. They enjoy a choice of fruit for snack and are encouraged to feed themselves at lunchtime. Generally, children are learning skills to help gain independence. However, the childminder does not offer sufficient opportunities for the older children to pour their own drinks and to serve themselves at mealtimes to fully support their growing independence.

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

Children benefit from regular fresh air and active play to promote their fitness and physical development. For example, they enjoy jumping on the trampoline and going up and down the slide. Children have opportunities to play and interact with children of different ages and regularly attend places of interest with the childminder, for example, the local library. This helps to develop their confidence as they learn to socialise with others, which suitably prepares them for moving on to pre-school and school.

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provision

The childminder has a satisfactory understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a secure knowledge of the procedures to follow should she have a concern about a child in her care, and understands her responsibility in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. This ensures that children are kept safe from harm. Children are supervised closely and play in a safe environment. The childminder holds a current first-aid qualification to help her to provide appropriate care if a child has an accident. She implements a range of written policies and procedures effectively to protect and promote the children's well-being, and all documentation, including insurances and permissions for outings, is in place. The childminder completes risk assessments for her home and outings. This helps her to identify potential hazards to help her keep children safe. In addition, the childminder makes sure that parents are fully aware of any

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provision

activities or routines children are involved in and confirms their agreement through written consents.

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provision

The childminder is currently developing her self-assessment system that identifies areas of her provision that she would like to improve further. She has made a positive attempt to address the recommendation from her last inspection and has made some changes to her monitoring and tracking of children's progress; however, these are not fully successful and require further development to give her a detailed understanding of children's developmental progress. The childminder works alongside a co-childminder and assistants. She carries out regular supervision on her assistants and ensures they possess a relevant understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder establishes positive relationships with parents. She keeps them informed through daily discussion about their children's daily routine, activities and care. Testimonies, letters and cards from parents confirm they are happy with the childminder's

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provision

provision. The childminder understands the need to have partnerships with external agencies to ensure that children receive the appropriate support and interventions they need to support their progress.

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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 EY387104 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 878982 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 12

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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

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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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