Childminder in Salford

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 01/07/2014 03/06/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder and her assistants have a good knowledge and understanding of how to manage any safeguarding concerns in order to protect children's welfare.  The childminder makes detailed assessments in order to minimise risk to children. All areas of the premises used by children and the resources are clean and well maintained in order to support their safety.  Children make good progress, including those who speak English as an additional language, because the childminder and assistants are skilled in identifying areas of development that need addressing to prevent future difficulties.  The childminder establishes effective partnerships with parents in order to provide good continuity of support for children's learning and welfare.  Evaluation of the childminding setting is rigorous and draws on a range of views, including those of parents and staff. The childminder makes frequent reflections on

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This provision is good

practice in order to bring about continuous improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope for enhancing the use of routines, such as snack times, to support children's overall learning, including their independence skills.  The system for observing assistants to ensure their practice is effective is not yet fully embedded or used to best effect.

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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

 A tour of the areas of premises used for childminding was made.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the qualifications of the childminder and the assistants, along with evidence of the suitability of adults living or working on the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The childminder's and the assistants' knowledge of areas, such as safeguarding and individual children's learning, was ascertained through discussion.  A joint observation was carried out by the childminder and the inspector.

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Inspection activities

 Samples of documentation related to children's welfare and learning were examined by the inspector, as well as documents relating to evaluations that the childminder makes in order to bring about continuous improvement.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to children and parents as appropriate during the inspection to obtain their views.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and four children aged one, three, five and six years in the Higher Broughton area of Salford, Greater Manchester. The whole of the ground floor and the middle bedroom on the first floor are used for childminding, along with a loft bedroom. There is an enclosed yard to the rear and side of the house for outdoor play. The childminder operates from 9am to 3pm Monday to Friday all year round, apart from family holidays and Bank Holidays. There is flexibility in these times by prior arrangement. The childminder employs two assistants and can draw on other assistants as supply staff, if needed. There are currently eight children on roll in the early years age range who attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder supports children who speak English as an additional language. She holds a

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Information about the setting

level 3 qualification and is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. She receives support and advice from the local authority and private consultancies.

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

 enhance the use of routine opportunities, such as snack times, for children to take on small responsibilities to help them become more independent, and extend the use of these routines to support children's learning in other areas of their development

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

 embed, evaluate and refine the recent changes to the systems for observing on staff, in order to further enhance their practice when supporting children's learning and well-being.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistants make frequent observations on children's learning. They then use these in order to assess children's progress compared with expected developmental milestones. As a result, they can see any areas where more planning is required in order to further children's progress and prevent future difficulties in learning. Parents are involved in the planning process from the outset because the childminder discusses children's achievements and interests with them prior to children joining. She then writes children's initial plans with them and makes her written records of children's starting points, with parents signing an agreement to the assessment they have participated in. Parents have ongoing access to subsequent plans for their children's learning and the records of their progress, as these are kept with their children's belongings in the setting. Consequently, the opportunities for parents to be involved in

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who attend

their children's learning are a strength of the childminder's practice. Parents are also encouraged to contribute their own views and observations to the ongoing record of their child's progress, and this results in a deeper understanding of the child being gained. The childminder and her assistants provide good support for the children in the setting who speak English as an additional language. This is because they speak the children's home language and use this as a basis for introducing words in English. Children are encouraged to speak in either language in order to enhance their communication, language and social skills. Children's observed interests are also incorporated into the planning on a daily basis, in order to motivate them to learn. Overall, children are prepared well for their next steps in learning, irrespective of their needs.

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who attend

Assistants sit with children to help them build towers, supporting their development of manipulative skills. They support children's thinking by asking them to find blocks of a particular colour for building, which helps children to think about colours and how to sort them. The assistants use simple language concerning size in both English and children's home language to reinforce the concept in both languages. This supports children's learning of early mathematical language. They also count the blocks in the tower, so that children hear numbers in the correct sequence and learn to repeat this. Children choose books independently and the childminder or the assistants ask them questions about the pictures to ascertain children's knowledge of words. They also provide children with new words using both English and Yiddish, to reinforce the learning in both languages. Children scoop sand with a variety of simple tools, and staff also show them how to use their

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who attend

fingers to carefully sprinkle it, to support the development of coordination skills. The childminder provides a variety of opportunities for children to explore messy play with rice, pasta, melted chocolate and play dough. Therefore, children have good opportunities for language development in terms of learning describing words for these materials as the adults caring for them talk about this during the activities. Children can also make marks in these textures, to support their early literacy experiences, and have ongoing access to pencils and crayons in order to create drawings and marks. They assign meaning to these, demonstrating that they have learnt that marks can represent objects or text. The childminder and assistants provide opportunities for children to experience song, rhyme and rhythm as part of their learning in literacy and music. For example, they sing songs in Hebrew, Yiddish or English and give children bells or shakers to use in time to the singing.

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who attend

Children are also taught actions to songs, which reinforces their physical coordination.

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who attend

The childminder provides resources that can be used flexibly, such as plastic crates and camouflage netting, for children to use to build dens to support their imaginative play. She encourages children to dress up in order to celebrate festivals, and this provides further opportunities for imaginative play. Children have access to simple cause-and-effect toys as part of their earliest experiences of technology and learn to push, pull or turn in order to bring about a change. The childminder uses outings to develop children's knowledge of the world and community around them, including the natural world. She takes children for walks in local parks so that they can learn about the characteristics of the seasons, such as through the changes to trees and plants. The childminder also borrows small pets, such as hamsters, so that children can see them first hand and learn about what they need to live. She takes children to see the collections of animals in local country parks to further

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who attend

support this. Overall, the childminder provides an interesting and varied programme for learning which supports children's progress well.

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

The childminder operates a key-person system in order to support children's emotional well-being. Key persons demonstrate a detailed knowledge of the children assigned to them, and therefore support their welfare and development well. For example, they describe children's interests, preferred activities and usual routines. As a result, children receive good support to settle quickly when joining the childminding setting. The information obtained from parents in order to provide for children's initial care and learning is comprehensive. As a result, the setting is able to effectively support children's physical and emotional well-being. For example, the childminder seeks information about children's dietary needs, including any allergies they may have, so that she can provide safe and enjoyable food-tasting activities. She also provides guidance for parents about the type of healthy foods to send for children's snacks and meals, prior to children joining,

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

so that they receive a healthy diet while in her care. The childminder stores food sent from home safely and hygienically in order to prevent spoilage, and therefore, supports children's good health. The kitchen and the areas used for meals are clean, further supporting children's health. The childminder maintains a kosher kitchen in order to correctly provide for children's cultural and religious needs. Children are frequently offered drinks and snacks, in order to meet their needs. However, there is scope to enhance the opportunities for learning during daily routines, such as snack times, in order to better support children's all-round development and particularly their independence skills. Toys and resources are placed within easy reach, and children are confident to tell the childminder when they want to select from other toys kept in cupboards.

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

The premises are clean and well maintained indoors and outside, with effective measures in place to support children's safety, such as for monitoring children when they are sleeping. The childminder makes use of auditory monitors in each room used for sleeping and also does frequent visual checks on children to make sure they are safe at these times. Clean bedding is provided daily and kept separately for each child in order to prevent cross-contamination. The outdoor area is observed to be clean and checked daily to minimise any risk in the section used for children's play. Soft mats show where children can play and staff supervise children well at all times when they are outside to ensure that they stay in the areas assessed as safe for them. For example, children are not allowed to play in some areas, such as the front of the yard and the refuse bins area. The premises are secure and the identity of all visitors can be checked using a spyhole at the front door,

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

to prevent unauthorised entry. Visitors also sign a book to show their arrival and departure times so that there is a record of when adults other than staff have visited the setting. As a result, children's safety is further supported. Children have opportunities to learn to take reasonable risk in their physical play as they use a range of age-appropriate equipment to support this. For example, children are encouraged to play on the climbing frame and slide or to push, pedal or ride on wheeled toys. This helps children to develop their whole-body coordination and also their ability to take turns on equipment. The childminder also makes use of local parks, playgrounds and soft play centres to provide further activities to support children's development of physical coordination and confidence. Children's behaviour is managed well by adults setting boundaries to help children learn what is appropriate and to respect others around them. Adults use effective strategies,

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

such as re-direction, to prevent children who are showing unwanted behaviours like throwing toys, and provide them with footballs outdoors instead. Children learn about managing personal safety, such as not putting toys in their mouths, due to staff skill in using their interests for this. For example, if children put plastic toy builder's tools to their mouths, assistants remind them that well-known television characters who are builders would never do this. As a result, children stop this, preventing a possible hazard developing. The childminder and the assistants use good manners at all times and praise children enthusiastically when they copy this. Establishing partnerships with parents is a high priority for the childminder, in order to support children's development and emotional well-being. Parents receive information daily when collecting their children, through discussion and written notes, so that they are kept well informed about their children's

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

welfare and activities. Assistants sit with children as they complete these notes and ask children what they think should be written about their play and care that morning. This allows children to give their views and involves them in the partnership developed with parents. Parents praise the way in which the childminder rapidly accommodates changes to children's routines, as well as the childminder and her assistants' knowledge of their child's emotional and physical needs. When children join the setting, they attend visits of gradually increasing length, with parents initially staying with their child in order to help them adjust to the childminding setting. The time offered for this is flexible and based on each child's observed progress in developing emotional security. The childminder has also implemented effective measures to support children's emotional well-being by working with parents and next settings when children leave to attend school or nursery.

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provision

The childminder and her assistants have a good understanding of the procedures to be followed in the event of any safeguarding concerns about children. There are policies in place to support children's welfare, including those for safeguarding, and these are regularly reviewed to ensure that they continue to be effective. The childminder makes detailed risk assessments, including for the outdoor area, in order to help keep children safe. For example, children do not use the yard beyond the area where the soft mats extend to, so that they do not go near the locked front gate or the bin storage area. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed in order to check that they still meet the needs of children attending in order to support their safety. All staff are initially checked for suitability using the Disclosure and Barring Service. They also make subsequent ongoing declarations about this to ensure that children continue to be cared for by suitable adults.

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provision

Procedures for recruitment and induction of suitable new staff are robust in order to protect children's welfare. All documentation is completed in order to support the safe and effective running of the childminding setting, such as the daily record of attendance.

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provision

Children make good progress in their learning because the childminder and her assistants make detailed individual plans to support children's learning and progress as a result of observational assessments. The childminder monitors the balance of the planning to ensure that all children receive learning experiences that cover all areas of learning within the Early Years Foundation Stage. Quality of teaching is good, including for children who speak English as an additional language. This is because the childminder and her assistants speak both English and children's home languages when supporting them in their development of communication skills, among other areas of learning. The childminder establishes effective partnerships with parents from the outset of care, regarding children's learning and welfare. For example, she completes children's progress records in detail with parents, prior to children joining, in order to understand what

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provision

children already know, their achievements and stage of development. She then works closely with parents to make initial plans for helping the children to move forward with their learning. The childminder has a good understanding of the need to work with other agencies and settings to meet children's needs when this is required.

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provision

The childminder has effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the childminding provision. She uses a reflective diary based on her own evaluations and the views of staff, along with the views of parents, to inform her drive for continual improvement. The childminder then uses this information to complete the Ofsted self-evaluation tool regularly, in order to evaluate the setting and plan how she intends to enhance this. For example, the childminder identifies that making more observations on the behaviours children show when they are learning can enhance the planning for children. This is because key persons then have more information in order to further increase the precision of this. The childminder has recently implemented a more rigorous staff performance management process, by carrying out and recording regular observations on the assistants. This is in addition to the daily feedback she provides to assistants in order to

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provision

extend their skills. However, the impact of this recent development in practice cannot yet be fully ascertained as the new system is not thoroughly embedded in the setting. Staff's knowledge and understanding of policies and procedures is tested regularly using questionnaires for them to complete. This is so that the childminder can address any gaps in knowledge by providing additional training, either in-house or on an external course. Staff professional development is encouraged and they are expected to work towards childcare qualifications at level 3 in order to enhance their practice when supporting children's learning and well-being.

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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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

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Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. 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 EY404306 Local authority Salford Inspection number 979996 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 8

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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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