Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/07/2014 30/01/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 4 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

 The childminder makes suitable use of her garden and features in her area, such as local parks, to extend children's physical skills.  The childminder tunes in sensitively and responds to young children's needs, providing consistent levels of care. This supports children to build secure attachments, and a sense of belonging and safety.  The childminder makes good use of the progress check carried out for children between the ages of two and three years. This helps to identify children's strengths and areas of weakness where intervention may be required.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder lacks understanding of the need to deliver the learning and development requirements, during holiday periods, in order to continue and complement children's learning.  Self-evaluation does not routinely take account of the views of parents to enable the childminder to accurately identify areas for 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 viewed all parts of the home used for childminding, including the bathroom and garden area.  The inspector checked evidence of suitability of all adult members of the household.  The inspector observed teaching and learning activities in the living room.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed a range of policies and procedures, including safeguarding practices, and accident and medication administration, with the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children, aged four years and 22 months, in a house in Bedlington Station, Northumberland. The whole of the ground floor, the bathroom on the first floor, and the front and rear gardens 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. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently two children on roll, both of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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must:

 improve knowledge of how the learning and development requirements are delivered to children who attend during holiday periods, in order to complement and continue their learning in settings where they spend more time.

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

 build on self-evaluation by extending how the views of parents are incorporated, to further assist in identifying areas for improvement.

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who attend

The childminder provides a suitable range of toys, equipment and resources in the living room area of her home, covering all areas of learning. She provides appropriate activities for children to engage in, supporting them reasonably well as they play. For example, the childminder sits alongside children as they play with a set of plastic 'ice-creams'. They take it in turns to be the shopkeeper, pretending to buy them from one another. The childminder makes good use of open-ended questions, such as 'What flavours do you have today?' to extend children's communication and language skills. The childminder has a generally good understanding of how to support children's learning and development. She carries out regular observations of children who attend during term time and links this effectively to the areas of learning, planning appropriate activities and experiences to support them to make progress. However, she lacks knowledge of the requirement to

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who attend

support children when they attend for long periods of time during holiday periods. She does not build on the skills children have gained in settings where they spend more time. This results in a lack of consistency, and does not complement and continue children's learning and development needs during this time.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is generally good. The childminder promotes aspects of children's mathematical understanding through everyday play-based activities. For example, she encourages them to count the number of bricks, used to build their model house, and make comparisons between the different shapes they can see. This ensures children make steady progress in this aspect of their learning, and provides them with a reasonable range of skills for when they start school. The childminder makes suitable use of her garden area and features in her area, such as local parks, to extend children's physical skills. She provides large paint brushes and water, as well as scooters and water-play activities to encourage children to make large and small physical movements. Indoors, she provides equipment, such as bricks, to enable children to use their fingers and hands to build and construct.

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who attend

The childminder provides appropriate opportunities for parents to share their children's learning at home. Good use is made of information, and the childminder effectively threads this through into her daily planning. For example, when children begin to show an interest in exploring large physical equipment, such as slides, the childminder takes them to local parks where they can access a wider range of play equipment. Good use is made of information gathered for the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. The childminder accurately identifies children's strengths and areas of weakness where intervention may be required. Parents are kept fully informed of this information and signposted to local health visitors for support if this is necessary.

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

The childminder fully understands the importance of gathering good quality information from parents when children move from their own home environment into her care. She has settling-in arrangements in place, which ensures key information, such as sleep and feeding routines, specific dietary requirements and indicators that children are tired, are followed. Children make initial visits with their parents, gradually building up the time they spend with the childminder. This ensures continuity is provided in children's physical well- being and they are emotionally prepared for the move. Children are well supported when they start school. The childminder takes children to events hosted by local schools throughout the year. This helps children to become familiar with their new school environment and surroundings when the time comes.

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

The childminder provides a warm and welcoming home environment. A strong emphasis is placed on meeting children's physical and emotional needs. Children benefit from relationships that are close and supportive, and the childminder is skilled in recognising and effectively addressing their feelings and emotions. For example, she talks gently to them when they become upset. The childminder tunes in sensitively and responds to young children's needs, providing loving and consistent care. This supports children to build secure attachments, and feel a sense of belonging and safety. As a result, children thoroughly enjoy the time they spend with the childminder and are motivated and confident exploring the environment. Independence skills are promoted during the day. This is because the childminder encourages children to access their own water bottle to have a drink and to wash their hands before eating.

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

Children behave well in the childminder's home. This is because clear procedures are in place, outlining how the childminder responds to changes in children's behaviour. She uses clear and concise language when giving instructions. For example, children respond well when they are asked to tidy up the living-room floor. The childminder is a good role model for children. She believes in leading by example and demonstrates good manners. The childminder talks gently to young children, sitting alongside them as they play and reassuring them they are safe. She reinforces messages of safety throughout the day, such as informing children why they need to keep the floor space clear of too many toys. This helps children to develop an awareness of safety and provides surroundings in which children have freedom to move safely as they want. Children gain additional knowledge of safe practices and gain regular access to fresh air when they play in the garden area. She

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

ensures the environment is safe and secure, and places priority on informing children of areas of the garden where they must not go. Awareness of living a healthy lifestyle is further enhanced during mealtimes, when the childminder talks to children about eating healthy fruits and vegetables, and when they visit local shops.

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provision

Since the last inspection, the childminder has improved the service she provides in relation to the learning and development requirements and assessment arrangements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder received a monitoring visit and was found to have made sufficient improvement to her service. She has also worked well with local authority professionals, and has acted upon advice received and has attended relevant training events. As a result, the childminder has improved her knowledge of how young children learn and develop, and has implemented an effective system to assess and monitor the progress of most children who attend. Monitoring of assessments of children's learning and development provides the childminder with an overview of children's skills, abilities and progress. This enables her to identify areas where children may need additional support or intervention. However, it is not consistently thorough enough to

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provision

monitor all children who attend, particularly those who attend for long periods of time during the holidays.

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provision

The childminder has successfully addressed actions, set at the last inspection, in relation to safeguarding children. She has set up a detailed file with relevant information. This includes up-to-date contact numbers of professionals within her local area. The childminder demonstrates through discussion, the procedures she would follow and who she would contact if she has concerns about a child. She has good knowledge of the signs and symptoms of physical and emotional abuse, and recognises the importance of responding in a timely and appropriate way. Children are protected further as the childminder carries out ongoing risk assessments to ensure all areas of her home, accessed by children, are safe. Improvements have been made to the floorboards on the first floor landing area of her home to ensure children's safety. In addition, children are supervised at all times and wear suitable footwear when the access this space.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a positive approach to self-evaluation, regularly reviewing and reflecting on her service. She has reasonable awareness of the strengths of her practice, and talks confidently about actions she is taking that aim to support children's developments over time. For example, the childminder has recently started attending a drop-in session for childminders in her local area, where she can network, sharing activity and practice ideas, with other professionals. Self-evaluation provides an overview of the strengths and weaknesses of the childminder's provision. However, it does not routinely take account of the views of parents, to further assist the childminder in identifying areas for future improvement. The childminder is committed to furthering her professional development and is keen to attend further training to extend her learning further. The childminder has been proactive in contacting other early years settings children attend in

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provision

order to share learning and development information. She uses this information reasonably well during term time to complement and continue children's learning; however, she does not extend this practice when children also attend during holiday periods. Partnerships with parents are well-established and make a positive contribution to meeting children's individual needs. The childminder keeps parents regularly informed of children's progress, discussing any concerns she may have in an informal way.

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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 EY431790 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 965348 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 2

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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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