Childminder in Bromley

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/04/2014 21/06/2011

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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 have a sufficient awareness of the safeguarding and welfare requirements to ensure that these are met at all times, including the adult- to-child ratios and risk assessment. This weakness compromises children's safety.  The childminder has failed to notify Ofsted of ongoing building work in her home. She is not fully aware of her responsibility to notify Ofsted of such changes.  The childminder does not make all required written records available for inspection.  Arrangements for self-evaluation are not sufficiently robust to identify and address all weaknesses, in order to drive improvement well.  The childminder does not provide children with sufficient access to materials for early writing or drawing in their self-chosen play.

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It has the following strengths

 Children respond well to the childminder and approach her confidently for attention.  The childminder understands how children learn and helps them to progress well.

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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 the areas of the house and garden used by children.  The inspector spoke with the childminder and children.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed a selection of documents, including records of children's progress.

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Information about the setting

The childminder stared in 1999 and registered with Ofsted in 2001. She lives with her partner and three children in Orpington, Kent. The childminder uses her kitchen/diner and a separate sleep room for childminding and there is also an enclosed garden for outside play. There are three steps leading to the front door.

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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. She is currently caring for five children under eight years, of whom three are in the early years age group. The childminder also provides care for older children before and after school, and during holiday periods. The childminder supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Information about the setting

The childminder holds a relevant level three qualification. Schools, pre-schools, toddler groups, shops and parks are within walking distance. The family has four dogs, a cat and a tortoise.

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must:

 develop a thorough understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, particularly in relation to knowing what type of changes must be notified to Ofsted, including specifically any changes to premises relating to building work

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must:

 ensure that the required adult-to-child ratios are maintained and, if any exceptions to the usual ratios are made, that the total number of children under the age of eight years being cared for does not exceed six

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must:

 ensure that required records, specifically records of children's attendance, are easily accessible and available to those authorised to view them

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must:

 ensure that arrangements are in place to demonstrate to parents and inspectors how risks are managed and children's safety is protected, particularly when building work is taking place

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must:

 establish effective systems to evaluate the provision so that all areas for development are identified accurately and addressed, in order to drive continuous improvement well

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

 review the organisation of resources to offer greater opportunities and encouragement for children to explore early writing in their play.

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who attend

Children have fun and make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder has a good understanding of the way in which children learn. She is sensitive to their differing personalities and interests. She provides activities which children thoroughly enjoy and which cover all areas of learning. The childminder completes observations of each child and uses these well to clearly identify individual abilities. She plans effectively to promote each child's learning and includes parents well in this process. Parents receive regular assessments of their children's progress and clear details of the childminder's future planning for what children need to learn next. They contribute their observations of their children's learning at home and sign to confirm that they agree with the goals set. These arrangements mean that the childminder and parents work together well to promote children's progress. The childminder has good arrangements to complete

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who attend

the required progress checks for children aged two years.

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who attend

The childminder knows that children learn through exploration and first-hand experiences. She supports children skilfully in their self-initiated play to help them do this. Children benefit from the freedom they have to explore their environment and to choose their activities. This choice helps them to develop independence in their learning in readiness for the eventual move to school. The childminder recognises that children particularly enjoy using their imaginations and playfully joins in their games. Her positive involvement encourages children to extend their play. The childminder contributes ideas which help children to consider practical issues, such as safety. For example, she reminds a child playing on a toy motor bike of the need to wear a helmet.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are developing well. The childminder speaks clearly in order to help younger children develop their vocabularies. This teaching is particularly effective when working with children who speak English as an additional language, which helps close gaps in learning. The childminder engages older children in many interesting conversations, enabling them to practise and expand their rapidly developing language.

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who attend

The childminder places good focus on promoting children's physical skills. Children choose to play outside for much of the day. They confidently use the slide, steer ride-on toys and run around with their friends. The childminder provides interesting activities to encourage children's coordination. For example, she fills a large tray with rice dyed in bright colours and provides cups for children to fill. This activity engages children's interest very successfully. They work cooperatively to carefully fill cups of rice and transport these to a nearby wheelbarrow. This activity shows how children are learning to work well with others ready for the move to school.

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

Children develop a strong bond with the childminder and approach her readily for help or attention. The childminder teaches children some strategies to keep themselves safe. However, she does not have sufficiently robust safeguarding and welfare arrangements to ensure that she can always maintain children's safety, and to reflect the importance of safety to the children. For example, she does not maintain required adult-to-child ratios. Over-minding has the potential to compromise children's well-being. The childminder is unable to demonstrate how she maintains children's safety during building works.

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

Children behave well and develop effective social skills. This is because the childminder understands child development and knows how to deal with some incidents of frustration, so quickly calms children. As a result, children play cooperatively, showing they are learning how to share and take turns in readiness for school.

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

The childminding environment is appropriately clean. The childminder follows suitable hygiene arrangements when changing nappies. She teaches children to develop self-care skills, such as washing their hands after going to the toilet. Children bring in packed lunches from home and the childminder makes sure that drinks are constantly available. All these arrangements help protect children from cross infection and maintain their good health.

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

The childminder provides children with a range of interesting and well-maintained resources, many of which are set out for them to choose from for themselves. The organisation of toys in the garden is particularly effective in engaging children's interest. Indoors, the childminder displays a range of toys which children happily explore. Children know that they can ask for other items from the cupboard. This means that the childminder uses her resources well overall to promote children's learning. The childminder does not always offer early writing materials for children to reach independently, however, so that they can try to make marks or practise writing. This oversight restricts the encouragement they receive to practise drawing and writing in their freely chosen play ready for the next stage of learning.

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

All early years children accompany the childminder to and from the school when dropping off and collecting older children. This routine helps children to become familiar with the school environment. The childminder understands how to work with parents to prepare children emotionally for their move to school.

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provision

This inspection took place following concerns raised that the childminder was caring for too many children in the early years age group. While the childminder only accepts three minded children in the early years age group, she confirms that she sometimes also cares for one extra early years child. She explains that she does this as a favour for a family member or when providing cover for a childminding colleague. She was unaware that this action affects the overall number of children for whom she may care. As a result, she is in breach of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage relating to ratios. Furthermore, the childminder does not record details of the times when she looks after additional children. The attendance records available on inspection only date back a number of weeks. The childminder explains that she stores previous records in a storage unit which means that she is not meeting the requirement to have these records easily

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provision

available for inspection. The lack of accurate records of all children's names on her premises at any one time has the potential to compromise children's safety, such as in emergency situations.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements and promotes these well. However, she does not have a sufficiently robust understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements to ensure that children's well-being is protected. The childminder has failed to notify Ofsted of substantial building works being carried out in her home in order to provide a self-contained childminding area. There is no evidence that appropriate risk assessments have been completed in relation to the building work. Again, the failure to comply with requirements has the potential to place children's safety at risk. The childminder has made improvements to some aspects of her safety arrangements since her last inspection. She now has risk assessments in relation to outings and these include walking children to school. The childminder describes suitable arrangements to deliver and collect children from school. She explains that early years children remain with

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provision

her at all times. The childminder also describes appropriate arrangements to cross roads on the journey.

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provision

The childminder supervises children adequately when they play. She allows them to move freely between the indoor and outdoor spaces but is able to see them at all times. There is a clear and appropriate safeguarding policy relating to child protection that reflects the local safeguarding board guidelines. The childminder is aware of the procedure to follow should she have concerns about any child or should an allegation be made against her or anyone living in her home. Procedures to deal with accidents are appropriate and the childminder maintains records of accidents to children and any medication given to them.

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provision

There is some effective evaluation of educational programmes because the childminder monitors children's progress and receives feedback from parents. However, the childminder has failed to identify a number of areas where her practices are not effective in regard to the safeguarding and welfare requirements. These weaknesses demonstrate that her evaluation systems do not work sufficiently well to drive continuous improvement, which in turn shows that she is not making effective use of her qualification.

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provision

Written comments from parents show that they are happy with the progress that their children are making in their learning and development. The childminder recognises the importance of working in partnership with other professionals to provide consistent care for children. For example, she liaises regularly with staff at a local nursery.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment immediately where the need for an assessment arises(compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance and retain these records for a period of two years (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that the premises used for the purposes of childcare are safe and suitable (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  undertake a risk assessment of the premises and equipment immediately where the need for an assessment arises(voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance and retain these records for a period of two years

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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 159381 Local authority Bromley Inspection number 967952 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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