Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 06/05/2014 06/08/2013

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder places a good focus on children's individual learning needs. As a result, children join in a wide range of activities and make good progress in their learning and development.  Children are cared for in a welcoming family home where the childminder and her assistant form close attachments with them. This means children are happy, settled and content in their care.  The childminder has a good understanding of how to promote the safety of the children in her care. She has assessed the risks to her premises well and has minimised these so children are able to play, rest and eat in a safe and comfortable environment.  Children benefit from the successful partnerships that the childminder has established with parents. This ensures continuity of care and learning for children between home and the childminding environment.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The opportunities for children to understand that print conveys meaning have not been fully maximised.  There is room to enhance the range of role play resources available to support children to develop a greater awareness of diversity.

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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

 During the inspection the inspector viewed the areas of the childminder's home which are used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her assistant and interacted with the children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documents, including children's learning records, policies and procedures and the childminder's self-evaluation form.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1982 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her two adult children in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham. The childminder works with her daughter, who is an assistant. The ground floor of the home and the first floor bathroom are used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder walks to the local school to take and collect children. Her home is in walking distance of local amenities, such as parks and shops. There are currently seven children on roll, five of whom are in the early years age group. All of the children attend on a part- time basis. The childminder operates Monday to Friday from 7.30am until 6pm, all year round.

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

 enhance the use of print and written word in the environment to further develop children's understanding that print conveys meaning, for example, by labelling toys boxes

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

 expand the already good opportunities for children to develop their understanding of diversity, for example, by extending the range of role play resources available.

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who attend

Children are making good progress in their learning because the childminder effectively uses the information from their parents to identify their starting points. She demonstrates good teaching skills and a clear understanding of how children learn. The childminder engages children with activities that are linked to their emerging needs and interests. Consequently, children are making swift progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder works closely with her assistant and both demonstrate that they know the children well. They plan a good range of play experiences across the seven areas of learning and as a result, there is a good balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. This supports children's future learning well. The childminder records children's progress through observations and photographs. Assessment arrangements work well and provide parents with an overview of their child's achievements and progress. This means

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who attend

that they are able to contribute to their child's next steps in learning and continue this at home. Furthermore, the childminder ensures the progress check at age two is shared in a timely fashion. Consequently, any areas of concern are identified, so that early intervention can be sought to plan to meet children's individual needs as necessary. The childminder makes good use of questions to help extend children's language skills. She encourages younger children to repeat simple words as they look at favourite books of animals and children enjoy copying familiar animal sounds, such as a frog. This helps to increase their vocabulary. However, there are some missed opportunities to provide further support for children to see words in print within their play environment to further develop children's understanding that print conveys meaning. Young children enjoy manoeuvring beads around an abacus and concentrate well as they attempt to get each

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who attend

one from one end of the bar to the other. This promotes their concentration skills. The childminder skilfully combines this activity with learning about mathematical concepts. For example, she supports children to count out loud and recognise the various colours as they move the beads around the apparatus. She furthers their interest by encouraging children to join in number rhymes and encourages them to act out the actions. This means children develop their confidence in social situations. Consequently children are acquiring the key skills needed for the next stages in their learning and development.

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who attend

Children express their own ideas and regularly join in craft activities which allow them to express their creativity. For example, they enjoy junk modelling, aqua painting, collage and cooking activities. Children use a good range of writing resources and particularly enjoy drawing and colouring. They develop their pre-writing skills during outdoor play as they chalk on the paving slabs and make marks with water. Children love spending time outdoors in the garden and use a good range of larger equipment to develop their physical skills. Their understanding of the natural world is fully nurtured as they experience planting and growing seeds, such as beans, and have great fun searching for insects and using magnifying glasses to investigate and explore them further. Children join in a variety of planned activities that represent other festivals which are celebrated around the world, such as, Eid and Chinese New year. There is a good range of role play resources, although

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who attend

there are fewer which further extend and promote their awareness of diversity.

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

Children enjoy a warm and caring relationship with the childminder and her assistant and this is evident through their body language and play. The childminder is knowledgeable about children's individual needs. For example, she is aware of the signs of when a child is getting tired or needs the reassurance of a cuddle. The childminder works closely with parents and obtains useful information during settling in time to ensure the routine she follows with each child is familiar and comforting. As a result, children settle well and are happy and relish the individual attention, which helps them to feel special. Their transition into other early years settings is addressed well because the childminder takes the younger children to collect the older children from school. This helps them to become familiar with the school environment and as a result, prepares them well for the next big step in their life.

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

Children are cared for in a welcoming home where space is organised effectively to create a child-friendly environment. Children move around freely and make choices about their play, which promotes their confidence and independence. Children's behaviour is good because they respond well to the childminder's and her assistant's calm and patient nature. The childminder acknowledges children's achievements with lots of praise and encouragement, which helps to build their self-esteem. Gentle reminders about being kind and sharing help young children to begin to understand what is expected. As a result, children develop their personal social and emotional development.

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

The childminder takes every opportunity to talk with children about keeping safe. They know that they must hold hands and stay close to the childminder on the way to or from school and stop, look and listen before crossing the road. As a result, children are kept safe. Children's welfare is effectively promoted. Both the childminder and her assistant hold up-to-date paediatric first-aid qualifications and appropriate systems are in place covering all aspects of children's care. This includes accident and medication recording procedures. Children's specific health, dietary needs and allergies are discussed fully with parents during settling-in time to ensure children's individual needs are well-met. Currently parents provide a packed lunch to meet their child's dietary needs which the childminder ensures are stored safely until needed. Children learn about healthy lifestyles and know to wash their hands at appropriate times of the day. In addition, good arrangements are in

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

place to prevent cross-infection during nappy changing routines. Children benefit from good opportunities to play outdoors in the garden. In addition, the childminder plans regular visits to the local parks to ensure children receive plentiful fresh air and exercise, which promotes their good health.

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provision

The childminder has a good awareness of her responsibilities with regard to safeguarding children and ensures that children are continually supervised while in her care. Necessary checks for all adults within the household have been completed and the childminder ensures that children are never left unsupervised with a person who has not been vetted. This ensures children's safety is fully protected. The childminder provides a written safeguarding policy for parents and has recently completed safeguarding training to ensure her knowledge is updated. She cares for children in a safe, warm, welcoming environment and carries out regular risk assessments on all areas of her home used for childminding to identify potential hazards in order to protect children from danger.

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provision

The childminder displays a good understanding of both the welfare and learning requirements and is clear about her role in the delivery of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder demonstrates good ideas and teaching strategies to support children in making good progress. She is an experienced childminder and demonstrates a strong commitment to continuous improvement. As a result, she has addressed the areas for improvement which were set at the last inspection. For example, the childminder has researched on the internet how to improve her knowledge of the welfare and learning requirements of the Statutory framework for the early Years Foundation Stage. Also, she has revised her safeguarding policy so that it is in-line with the Local Safeguarding Children's Board. She maintains an accurate record of children's hours of attendance and has implemented the progress check at age two and shared this

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provision

with parents. In addition, the childminder has improved the observation and assessments systems to ensure children's progress is effectively tracked so that their overall development is clearly monitored. This demonstrates that the childminder is keen to improve her provision. She reflects on her practice and uses self-evaluation to good effect. This enables her to identify areas of her practice that require improvement and consider ways to promote further development.

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provision

Parents are valued highly and children benefit from the strong partnerships that the childminder and her assistant have established with them. This makes a strong contribution to meeting children's needs. Parents are very complimentary in their feedback. For example, they make comments, such as, 'the childminder provides a nurturing, loving, homely and caring environment' and 'my child is very happy and does not want to leave'. Additionally, the childminder has a clear understanding of the importance of working in partnership with other settings and has established secure links with the local school and nursery. This means that children receive a consistent approach to their learning and development.

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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 504645 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 943214 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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