Childminder in Essex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/08/2014 24/10/2008

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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 effectively identifies children's starting points of learning in partnership with parents. She has good procedures in place to assess children's skills and plans purposeful activities to support their development.  Teaching is good. The childminder tailors the educational programme to the next steps and interests of children, who engage well in activities and make continuous progress in their learning and development.  The childminder effectively implements the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage in practice. She has a good knowledge of child- protection procedures, so she is able to protect children in her care.  The childminder participates in regular training and professional development opportunities to continuously improve the experiences and outcomes for children in her care. She regularly consults parents and maintains purposeful self-evaluation methods

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This provision is good

to monitor the quality of her provision.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Children do not have the maximum opportunity to independently access the full variety of toys and resources on offer to enhance their imaginative development and extend their learning to the very optimum.

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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 held discussions with the childminder and interacted with children throughout the inspection.  The inspector had a tour of the indoor and outdoor areas used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities with children, snack and lunch time. She conducted a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment and planning records. She looked at a range of other documentation, including the written policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents in recorded feedback letters. She discussed with the childminder, the self-evaluation procedures in place.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder's training certificates and checked evidence of suitability for all adult household members.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three children aged two, four and eight years in a house in Waltham Abbey, Essex. The whole of the ground floor and garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends toddler groups and activities at the local children's centre. She visits shops and parks on a regular basis. The childminder collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently four children on roll, one of whom is in the early years age group. They attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round, from 6.30am to 9.30pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 enhance the opportunities for children to independently access a variety of resources and toys, across the seven areas of learning, in order to maximise their play opportunities and further expand their imaginative development.

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who attend

The childminder has a secure understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She provides individual children with a learning journal, where she records their progress and celebrates their achievements. The childminder promotes the initial partnership with parents well. She engages parents in identifying children's starting points and interests. Parents complete the 'All about me' form with information about their children's preferences, aspects of their personalities and current skills. The childminder effectively uses the information to settle children in her care. For example, during initial sessions, parents share that their children enjoy being outside because they often visit parks with the family. The childminder ensures that children have plenty of outings to the park to meet their interests. She effectively promotes the ongoing partnership with parents and regularly shares their children's

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who attend

learning journals with them. Parents contribute to their children's planning with observations of their skills and interests at home. This enables the childminder to effectively promote children's individualities at her provision. For example, the parents and the childminder work together to support children in developing their physical skills. They share ideas of activities, such as colouring, drawing and modelling dough, to enhance children's manual skills at home and at the provision.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is strong because the childminder has a good understanding of the next steps and interests of children in her care. She maintains a comprehensive assessment and planning cycle for individual children, in order to understand their stages of their development. The childminder regularly observes children's skills and has a good understanding of child development. She makes references to documents promoted by the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure children's next steps are effectively identified. The childminder plans purposeful activities to support children's progress. For example, she provides children with two batches of textured and scented modelling dough, one cold and one warm. The childminder supports the children to gain confidence in using their hands to explore it. This is because the learning objective of the activity is to enhance children's learning by providing them with interesting textures to explore. She encourages children

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who attend

to smell and touch the modelling dough, so the activity stimulates all their senses. The childminder provides children with different tools and uses good open-ended questions to engage them as they learn with interest. For example, children and the childminder discuss the colour, texture and temperature of the modelling dough. She explains to the children why the warm dough is softer than the cold dough. The childminder effectively links the activity to the outing, which they recently enjoyed together, where they observed boats in the local park. She engages children in problem solving as they critically think about how to recreate the boats using modelling dough. The childminder maximises children's learning by organising activities outside her provision. For example, she attends toddler groups, visits parks and organises play dates, so children develop their social skills. The childminder completes the progress check for children aged between two and three

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who attend

years and understands the importance of early identification of possible delays in children's development, in order to provide them with the support they need.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with stimulating opportunities to learn through play. She prepares the learning environment well to ensure they have resources and toys to support their play. The childminder provides children with a good range of adult-led activities and allows time for children to play independently. However, there are some occasions when opportunities to maximise children's imaginative development are missed. This is because children cannot always independently access the maximum variety of toys on offer. In spite of this, the childminder teaches children early literacy and numeracy skills well and incorporates key vocabulary and counting in activities and play. For example, children play with the toy farm and enjoy placing animals of the same types together. They learn the different names of the animals and count how many of them there are. The childminder provides children with a variety of activities to extend their learning and ensures that they

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who attend

develop skills to support their future learning at school.

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

The childminder forms strong bonds and attachments with children. She provides them with a welcoming, 'home-from-home' environment. The childminder works closely with parents to ensure children's individual needs are met in her care practices. She obtains meaningful information from parents about children's routines at home and ensures her routines are suitable for them. Therefore, children settle well and are happy in her care. The childminder also obtains important information about children's dietary requirements and allergies to ensure they are provided with suitable options during meals. She provides parents with daily feedback about their children's time and experiences with her. This ensures that parents are kept informed about how children's needs are met at the provision.

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

The childminder shares information with parents about how she manages children's behaviour. For example, she shares with them the house rules, so they are able to discuss those with their children. Children behave well and the childminder maintains discussions with them about what is right and wrong, so they learn their boundaries. For example, children learn to take off their shoes before entering the house, they learn to respect the safety gates, toys and equipment. The childminder ensures children understand their daily routines and maintains a consistent agenda of activities and outings to ensure they are comfortable during their experiences with her. She effectively teaches children to be independent, to take risks and learn about personal safety. For example, she takes children to different parks and provides opportunities for them to freely explore the natural environment. Children climb on trees and balance on tree trunks under the close

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

supervision of the childminder, as recorded in photographs of diverse experiences they have outdoors. The childminder is very attentive and caring towards the children. She forms a trusting relationship with them. Children are very comfortable to approach the childminder and she dedicates her full attention when interacting with them. Children listen to her instructions and they are very attentive to her guidance. For example, older children play with the castles and knights set on the floor where younger children have their toys. The childminder patiently explains to them that it would be a good idea to move their toys to a more convenient and spacious area. She enthuses children and engages them in finding the right place to set up their toys, so their younger friends are also able to explore the play area. Through discussions with children, the childminder teaches them to respect each other and play cooperatively together.

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

The childminder incorporates healthy living in all aspects of her provision. She provides children with nutritious options for snacks and meals. The childminder shares ideas of healthy meals with parents and includes children's favourite food options in her menu to ensure they enjoy what she prepares for them. Children effectively participate in choosing their snacks and preparing their meals. They also participate in cooking activities and plant fruit and vegetables with the childminder on her allotment. The childminder organises a variety of activities for children to exercise and develop their physical skills. Children benefit from the opportunities to participate in local outings where they experience different weathers and enjoy fresh air. They are provided with fresh water to drink throughout their time at the provision. The childminder supports them to be independent with their personal hygiene. For example, children independently wash their hands after

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

activities and before meals. The childminder has good links with local schools and pre- schools. She is very involved in supporting children during their transition to school and effectively teaches them about school life. For example, she takes the children to visit their new setting, participates in open days and discusses children's individual needs with teachers. This dedication effectively supports children emotionally and helps them to confidently progress to school life.

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provision

The childminder understands her responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She ensures the effective management of her provision by maintaining policies in line with current legislation. The childminder shares a welcome pack with parents, where she outlines her procedures to ensure they understand her practice, especially the importance of working together to support children's needs and details of how she keeps them safe. She maintains records of suitability for all household members and holds a valid first-aid and safeguarding training certificates. She has a good understanding of the steps to take should she become concerned about the well-being and welfare of children in her care. She conducts robust risk assessments of her provision and of all outings for the children and implements effective safety measures to ensure that any identified risks are minimised. She supervises

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provision

children well at all times and ensures that her premises is secure, both indoors and in the garden.

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provision

The childminder regularly participates in professional development and training opportunities to ensure children are provided with good standards of care and education. For example, she has completed a food safety course, which she undertook to ensure the safe preparation of meals and snacks. She ensures children make continuous progress in their learning and development by monitoring their progress in the seven areas of learning. The childminder regularly assesses children's skills and translates this information effectively into planning for each child's needs. As a result, all children progress well in their learning and development. All children benefit from and enjoy their experiences in the childminder's care.

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provision

The childminder is dedicated to improving her practice. Since the last inspection, she has effectively developed her knowledge, in order to provide a secure assessment and planning procedure for individual children. She works alongside the local advisory team to ensure the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements are effectively implemented in practice. The childminder regularly consults parents to identify their expectations and frequently invites them to update the 'All about me' form with current and relevant information about their children's needs. This enables her to reflect on ways to ensure her practice develops according to the needs of the children. The childminder has a sound understanding of the support available to children and parents at the local children's centre. She promotes a very inclusive practice and makes provision to meet the needs of all children. The childminder assesses her practice and maintains written improvement

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provision

targets using a self-evaluation form provided by the local authority. She effectively reflects on how to continuously improve children's outcomes, in order to ensure they are safe, happy and ready for school learning. The childminder understands the importance of working in partnership with practitioners, who provide shared care, including schools and specialised professionals for supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY367673 Local authority Essex Inspection number 821174 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

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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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