Squirrell, Lee

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/08/2014 18/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 3 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder forms secure relationships with parents which securely promotes children's individual needs.  Children behave cooperatively; they learn to respect boundaries and expectations and develop skills which enable them to form secure relationships with the childminder and each other.  Children have access to a suitable range of activities and resources. They are happy and interested in the activities which enable them to make choices, explore their senses and to make sound progress in all areas of their learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder provider failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event in accordance with regulations.  Systems to monitor and plan for children's progress are not sufficiently thorough to ensure they consistently target all children's individual learning needs.  The childminder does not consistently use open-ended questions during activities to further support the children's communication.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are:  scheduled at least once in every inspection cycle – the current cycle ends on 31 July

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  scheduled at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the play areas and spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the visit.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at assessment records, planning documents and a sample of documentation relating to children's welfare.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the childminder's and household members' suitability and qualifications.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the provider's self-evaluation and written feedback by parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector invited the childminder to carry out a joint observation of children playing.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2008. She lives with her husband and their four children in Newton Abbot, Devon within walking distance of schools, pre-schools and other local amenities. Children play predominantly on the ground floor of the house and in the enclosed garden at the rear of the house. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The family has a cat and rabbits. The childminder receives funding to provide free early education for two, three- and four-year-old children. The childminder has nine children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age range.

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must:

 improve consistency in monitoring children's development to ensure that all children are making good progress from their starting points.

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

 improve the use of open-ended questions in conversations to further support the children's communication.

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who attend

The childminder has a sound understanding of how children learn and develop. She provides a suitable range of activities and experiences across all areas of their learning. As a result, children are supported to make steady progress, inside and outside of the home. She engages parents continuously from the outset as she obtains written information from them about children's needs and interests when they start. From this information, she plans activities that build on children's interests and meets their needs securely. The childminder shares her planning of activities with parents and has ongoing discussions with them about their children's progress to involve them appropriately in their children's learning. However, the childminder's assessment processes are not implemented effectively to ensure a consistent approach that accurately monitors all children's progress and development. This means that although activities such as cooking and stories engage

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who attend

the children's interest and generally keep them busy, they do not always challenge children sufficiently to support them in making good progress. The childminder has implemented the required progress check for two-year-old children, demonstrating an appropriate understanding of the purpose of the assessment to support the children's learning and to identify further goals.

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who attend

The childminder encourages children's mathematical awareness and teaches them to become familiar with numbers, by counting during routines and introducing the children to classifying objects, by colour, for example. For instance, children become active learners, confidently taking turns to weigh the ingredients by identifying the numbers on the scale. Additional activities enable younger children to engage. For instance, they use their senses and develop hand control as they explore the texture of pasta, by stirring it with a spoon, and feel the texture of the pasta dough in their hand. The children follow instructions appropriately and copy the childminder as she shows them how to flatten the dough ball with their hands. She introduces some descriptive language to encourage this action, and to develop their vocabulary. Therefore, children talk about the consistency of the mixture and observe how this changes shape and form when cooked in the oven. However, the

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who attend

childminder often uses questions that only require yes and no answers, which does not always challenge children to think and to extend their language and communication further.

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who attend

Children learn about the living world and how to care for the animals. For example, they have supervised access to the rabbits and kittens and the childminder makes the most of incidental opportunities to study wildlife, such as woodlice, in the garden. Activities are fun: children are encouraged to make shapes from the orange peel, for example, and they try to design an animal. Children use language securely to express to other children how peeling their fruit makes them feel, saying, for example: 'I always get juicy and messy.' There is a balance of adult and child led activities and the childminder knows when to introduce further activities. For example, young children dig and explore the sand and experiment with the additional water containers provided. They are introduced to early mark-making activities; for instance, they are shown how to make pictures on the mat with a water pen.

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

The childminder establishes warm relationships with the children and this securely promotes their emotional well-being. Children are happy, relaxed and enjoy their time with the childminder and respond to her sense of humour. For example, the younger children sit closely on the childminder's lap, snuggling in for a story. They show interest as they point and gesture and use single words, to which the childminder appropriately responds. The childminder's activities promote the children's inclusion securely. For instance, she brings the bowl from the work surface to the younger children's level, to enable them all to engage in mixing and stirring the biscuit ingredients. The children are supervised as they move appropriately between the play areas and have access to a suitable variety of resources and toys. This enables them to make choices.

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

Children behave cooperatively; they learn about expectations and boundaries as the childminder encourages their awareness of routine expectations. As a result, her calm approach means children learn to share, take turns and to communicate with others. Children are consistently praised by the childminder. This helps children to develop appropriate levels of self-esteem and confidence and suitably prepares them for their next steps in learning and their eventual move to school.

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

Children develop an appropriate awareness of their own self-care skills in the daily routine. For example, they are supported in developing independence when washing and drying their hands. Children help prepare nutritious fruit snacks and are given choices, and this develops their awareness of healthy foods. Children engage in activities that securely support their physical skills and health. They have daily access to fresh air and exercise. For instance, the childminder encourages the children to walk, and to use their physical skills in the park and while using the garden equipment. Children also learn about in safe practices, as they engage in fire evacuation and learn about road safety procedures.

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provision

The childminder has a secure understanding of the learning and development, and safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has a clear safeguarding policy, including a policy on the use of mobile telephones and cameras, and demonstrates an appropriate awareness of what to do to protect children should she have a concern about their safety and wellbeing. The childminder completes visual risk assessments of her home and thinks about potential hazards before going on outings, and this helps to keep children safe from harm overall. She has also maintained her first aid qualification and accessed training to further develop her knowledge and practice. However, the childminder has not notified Ofsted of a family member turning 16 years old, as required, and this means that she has also failed to meet all requirements of the Childcare Register. On this occasion, Ofsted does not intend to take action regarding this

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provision

The childminder establishes secure relationships with the parents. She provides written notes and discusses children's progress, activities and achievements with parents on a daily basis. Parents' feedback emphasises the social aspect of the childminder's home as children build relationships with the other children. The childminder liaises with parents about children's progress when attending other settings, with the aim of taking a shared approach to children's learning and development so that children experience continuity in their care.

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provision

The childminder has made sound progress overall since the last inspection and demonstrates a secure awareness of her strengths and areas for progress. She appropriately reflects on her practice and this has resulted in developing some procedures for assessing children's progress in each area of their learning and introducing planning of activities to consider their interests and improve 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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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:

 inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person aged 16 or over working or living on the premises  inform Ofsted of the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person aged 16 or over working or living on the premises

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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 EY379823 Local authority Devon Inspection number 815774 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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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