Childminder in Wolverhampton

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/08/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 The childminder uses her knowledge of how children learn to provide a wide range of resources based on their likes and interests. As a result, children are encouraged to learn through play.  The childminder is fully committed to building strong attachments with children, resulting in children feeling secure to investigate their environment. This reinforces children's self-confidence and emotional well-being.  The childminder actively seeks advice and guidance from other childcare professionals, in order to improve her understanding of children's care and education.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder has not yet successfully reduced potential dangers for children, with regards to the patio wall in her garden. Therefore, children's safety is not always given the highest priority.  Ongoing assessment is not used skilfully to precisely match all activities to children's learning needs or to identify gaps in children's learning so that early intervention can be sought if necessary.  Parents are not best supported in being involved in their child's ongoing learning, to help provide a united approach to helping children make best progress.

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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 compulsory part 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 as children played, and spoke to them when appropriate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder about the daily routines and children's individual learning.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability of the childminder and her assistant and other legal requirements.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at policies, risk assessments, children's assessment records and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at evidence of self-evaluation, including the views of parents from questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2014 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her child aged two years in a bungalow in Wednesfield, Wolverhampton. The whole of the premises, except for the main bedroom, is used for childminding and there is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre and collects children from local schools and pre-schools. She visits the local park and library on a regular basis. There are currently three children on roll, of whom all are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 ensure that the patio area of the garden is safe and fit for purpose, so that children are prevented from climbing on or over the wall, and they are not at risk from falling onto the lawn area below

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must:

 improve knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements so that ongoing assessment is used effectively to: ensure activities provide appropriate levels of challenge for all children to help them make best progress; identify particular gaps in children's development and to seek early intervention if necessary.

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

 support parents in being more involved in their child's ongoing learning and progress, for example, by helping them to know how to support their child's learning at home, to help children raise their attainment to the highest level.

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who attend

The childminder has a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, some aspects of learning are less well-planned for, as the childminder has not yet consolidated her knowledge of the learning and development requirements. The childminder collects valuable information about children's development, interests, likes and dislikes from parents during the settling-in period. She uses this information and her own observations as a starting point for how she will support children to learn more. She provides a range of adult-led and child-initiated activity that is generally suitable and based on children's interests. As a result, children are encouraged to learn through play. For example, toddlers take part in an activity extended from a previously observed experience where children played cooperatively as they investigated plastic fruit. The childminder provides a large range of fresh fruit and vegetables to encourage the children

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who attend

to play shops. Through meaningful interactions she encourages communication and language development. She identifies each item and toddlers are skilfully encouraged to repeat the name and investigate the items. As they learn new words they develop their understanding and speaking skills. However, toddlers are more interested in taking items out of one basket and putting them in another, than they are in playing shops. The childminder responds to children's individual interests through encouragement and close interactions. For example, children snuggle in on the childminder's lap as she reads a familiar story. They join in with repeated refrains and actions, supporting the prime areas of learning as they begin to develop an interest in literacy.

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who attend

Clear observations and next steps for learning are collected in individual development records. However, the childminder does not always make the best use of this information by accurately matching activities to reflect children's next steps in their learning. As a result, although children are learning through play they make satisfactory rather than good progress. Nevertheless, the childminder's well-organised, dedicated playroom and garden, ensures that children have easy access to a broad range of toys and resources. As a result they are actively encouraged to make individual choice from the resources available. For example, toddlers begin to play cooperatively with large plastic construction, the childminder encourages sharing and supports them in building towers and connecting trucks to make trains, promoting their physical, personal, social, emotional and mathematical development. Self-confidence grows as they engage in this purposeful and

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who attend

developmentally appropriate child-initiated play. This demonstrates that the childminder has a satisfactory understanding of how children learn and how to support individual children's interests. However, the childminder is not yet skilled with using routine assessment of children's development to map their progress. She has systems in place for evidencing and tracking children's learning. Also, she lacks knowledge and understanding in how to use these systems precisely to identify particular gaps in children's development and to seek early intervention if necessary.

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who attend

Parents are informed about their child's progress through daily chats and regular sharing of children's developmental records. However, the childminder's basic knowledge of the learning and development requirements, does not effectively support parents in always being involved in their child's ongoing learning and progress or in helping them to know how to support their child's learning at home. Nevertheless, the childminder fully understands and is committed to working in partnerships with parents. She understands about working with other settings so that important information about children's achievements that complements and enhances their care and learning is shared. The childminder supports children's curiosity and independence sufficiently so that they begin to develop social skills in readiness for the next stage in their learning. For example, there are regular opportunities to engage in conversation with the childminder and other

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who attend

children, promoting communication and language development and supporting personal, social and emotional development.

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

The broad range of information the childminder shares with parents covers all aspects of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and ensures that they feel welcome in her home and confident in her abilities. This allows her to gain the necessary information needed to ensure that children's individual needs and interests are considered when planning for their attendance. The childminder offers settling-in sessions to help children to feel safe and secure. She places a strong emphasis on building attachments with children and encouraging them to get along with each other. For example, children are encouraged in taking turns as they play with bikes and trikes. They check back with the childminder, for reassurance, as they watch their friend get down from a bike, before taking their turn. This promotes their personal, social and emotional development in managing their feelings and behaviour.

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

The childminder promotes children's safety through relevant written risk assessments and daily checklists, including regular opportunities for practising fire evacuations. Childminding areas of her home and garden have been assessed. However, although potential dangers for children have been identified in the patio area of her garden and some steps have been taken to minimise the risk, the childminder has not successfully prevented children from the potential danger from climbing onto, over or falling, from the patio wall. Nevertheless, the garden is organised well, as physical activities are kept separated from quieter activities. For example, toddlers delight in meaningful interactions while they play a game of peek-a-boo from the inside of a large cardboard box on a rug, as others are confident to play in a sandpit in another area. This reinforces their sense of belonging, and results in children being confident to explore and investigate their

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

surroundings. Children are well supported in taking appropriate risk as they play outside with developmentally appropriate supervision and encouragement from the childminder in learning new skills. For example, as toddlers begin to climb large equipment in the garden, she reminds them that they need to use both hands and suggests she holds other pieces of equipment for them, until they have gone down the slide. As a result, children are encouraged to keep practising new skills. As their achievement is praised, children feel confident and encouraged to keep trying, strengthening the prime areas of development.

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

The childminder is a good role model. She uses positive reinforcement well to encourage children to share and get along together. They are polite and respect the childminder's home and use their manners well when talking to the childminder and each other. The childminder supports children in gaining an awareness of attending to their own personal care routines during nappy change and when washing hands for snacks and meals. The childminder further promotes independence as children are sensitively encouraged to take their bowls to the kitchen following snacks and meals. As a result, children gain self- confidence, self-awareness and an understanding of their own needs. Healthy lifestyles are promoted as the childminder includes regular opportunities for physical play in her garden and on trips to the local park. This ensures they get fresh air and exercise, and develop their physical skills. The childminder provides a balanced menu of healthy snacks

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

and meals, including a wide range of fruit and vegetables, guaranteeing children's dietary needs are met following discussions with parents.

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provision

The childminder has a clear understanding of the procedures to follow should she have any concerns about a child in her care. This includes how to respond to a safeguarding concern, or what she would do if an allegation was made against her. She demonstrates a general understanding of her responsibilities regarding the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, all required training is up to date and documentation and public liability insurance are in place and suitably maintained. The childminder understands about informing Ofsted of any significant events or changes and all adults living in her home as well as regular visitors, have completed suitability checks, ensuring they are safe to be in the proximity of children. The identity of visitors is checked and there are clear boundaries around the use of mobile phones. However, there are identified risks to children's safety in the outdoor area, which have not been addressed.

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provision

The childminder has not yet fully developed her understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and therefore, her practice is sometimes inconsistent. For example, she is aware of the requirement to provide parents with a written summary of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. However, she is not yet skilled in using information gained from routine assessments to effectively support children's best progress. As a result, she cannot always ensure that any gaps in their development are clearly identified and skilfully supported to assure early intervention if necessary. Nevertheless, the childminder has a reasonable awareness of the need to monitor the breadth of areas of learning in the resources provided. Partnerships with parents are generally sound, which contributes to continuity of care for children. Feedback from parents is positive, stating they are 'happy

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provision

with the service' and do not wish her to make any changes to her provision. There are clear procedures in place and permissions gained from parents to promote individual children's health and safety needs. All information is safely recorded and shared with parents encouraging effective communication. She is clear about sharing information between settings when children attend more than one provision, which enables them to work together to support children's learning.

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provision

The childminder is beginning to use self-evaluation to critically reflect on her practice and she seeks the opinions of parents in short questionnaires. This is reinforced through a passionate and committed attitude towards her work with children. The childminder recognises that opportunities for continual professional development will improve her practice in working with young children and is beginning to study towards a recognised early years qualification at level 3. She welcomes visits from the local authority early years development worker and she has built some relationships with other childcare professionals, who she can contact for peer support and encouragement. As a result, she is developing opportunities to regularly reflect on her practice so that it has a positive impact on learning outcomes for children.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 and equipment used for the purposes of the childcare are safe and suitable for that childcare (compulsory 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. 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 EY472965 Local authority Wolverhampton Inspection number 956392 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 3

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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