Childminder in Solihull

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/08/2014 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

 Children develop positive relationships with the childminder because she is friendly and welcoming. As a result, children are happy and settled in her care.  The childminder implements effective risk assessments within her home and when on outings. Consequently, children are adequately protected from harm.  The childminder ensures the educational programmes cover the seven areas of learning. As a result, children make some progress.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not implement robust systems for ensuring she has written permission from parents before administering medication to children.  The childminder's inconsistent approach means that children do not always learn what is expected of them with regards to their behaviour.  Planned activities do not always meet the needs of younger children or take account of their interests. This means that they sometimes take part in tasks that are not achievable or do not encourage their full participation.  Parents are not always well supported to be involved in their children's learning as the childminder is yet to fully explore ways to share ideas with them to promote children's learning at home.

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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 indoors and outside.  The inspector held discussions with the childminder.  The inspector completed a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability of the childminder and her husband.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed with the childminder a range of policies, procedures, and records, including the childminder's self-evaluation form.  The inspector took account of parents' views from their written comments.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2014 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged four and two years in the Shirley area of Solihull. The whole of the property and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She transports children to and from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder operates all year round, except for bank holidays and family holidays, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. There are two children on roll, both of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions.

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must:

 obtain prior written permission from parents before administering any medication to children

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must:

 ensure that adult-led activities are closely tailored to the individual learning needs and interests of each child and actively support their learning

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must:

 support children to learn about the expectations for their behaviour by developing their understanding of consequences and helping them to learn that some behaviour is unacceptable.

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

 build further on the partnerships with parents so that they are more fully involved in their child's learning and are better supported in guiding their development at home.

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who attend

In general, children make some progress, but the quality of teaching needs improvement because they are not making consistently good progress across every area of learning. They think for themselves about what they will need during activities. For example, children are encouraged to join in story-telling sessions. They creatively find props to uses and take turns to act out roles from the story. Equally, children are encouraged to role play using their own experiences, such as being at home or going to the doctors. The childminder to some extent enhances their learning by joining in when appropriate and supporting children to extend their games. The childminder has some knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and use this to help children make some progress. For example, she knows the children well and can pinpoint areas of development in which they achieve well

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who attend

or need extra support. She makes use of information about children's developmental starting points from initial observations and discussions with parents, in order to inform planning when children first start.

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who attend

Overall, the quality of teaching is inconsistent and varies between activities across different age groups. There are times, during adult-led activities, when the childminder fails to support younger children to learn because she prevents them from exploring for themselves. For example, during craft activities children have to wait too long to explore resources as the childminder hands out materials one by one for them to stick on. Equally, she takes materials away as they begin to use them incorrectly. She focuses on the end product of the activity rather than on the children's learning. As a result, young children quickly lose interest in the activity she has planned and become frustrated. Furthermore, adult-led activities do not always stem from young children's interests or prior learning. Consequently, young children are given tasks outside of their current capabilities and therefore, are not always motivated to join in or learn. Nevertheless, some other activities

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who attend

do encourage all children to play and learn together.

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who attend

Support for children with additional needs is generally sound because the childminder effectively uses her observation and assessment information to inform the planning and to target areas of delay for these children. In addition, she is knowledgeable and works well with parents and professionals to ensure that she intervenes and supports children where they are doing less well. Partnerships with outside agencies are generally effective. Relevant information is shared so accurate assessments of progress are made, which means that achievement gaps are to some extent narrowed. Links with parents mean that the childminder keeps them informed about their child's progress, but partnerships do not yet fully support parents to be involved in their child's learning in the setting, or support them to guide their child's learning at home. However, the childminder does not always take account of children's individual interests when planning for their future learning. This

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who attend

means that planned activities do not always fully interest and engage children, in order to promote their learning as well as possible. On the whole, however, children are acquiring the basic skills and attitudes they need to be ready for school because the childminder has regard to all areas of learning throughout her planning and provides opportunities for children to develop their mathematical and literacy skills during each session.

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

The environment is safe and secure because the childminder is knowledgeable about assessing risk and encouraging children to take responsibility for their own safety. For example, older children know not to go upstairs to the bathroom without asking, but are allowed to use this independently. Equally, all children are involved in cooking activities and understand the safe use of potentially dangerous equipment, such as the oven and knives. As a result, children develop a sense of personal safety. The childminder promotes health and hygiene through mostly positive practices. For example, children go outside regularly in the fresh air, wash hands after toileting and before eating, and have drinks and healthy meals. The childminder encourages children to make healthy choices for themselves and promotes their independence. For example, from a very young age children are supported to wash their own hands, try a variety of foods and to feed

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

themselves. As a result, children are learning about making healthy lifestyle choices. The childminder seeks verbal permission from parents to administer medication to children and in some instances secures written consent trough pre-signed registration forms and text messages. However, there are times where written permission has not been sought prior to administering the medication. While the impact on children is minimal, this is a breach of requirements and children's best interests are not fully supported.

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

The childminder has a generally positive regard to personal, social and emotional development. For example, she teaches children to share resources and take turns throughout games and activities. As a result, children are learning to understand that they have to wait for their turn. The environment is warm and welcoming. Consequently, children are confident and happy within the house as they demonstrate self-motivation by engaging in various activities independently.

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

Children have formed secure relationships with the childminder. For example, children seek out opportunities to enjoy stories with her and include her in their games. They are also keen to show her their achievements. Parents' comments about the setting highlight that they feel their children are well cared for. The childminder has an effective settling-in procedures and daily information sharing procedures that enable parents to know their children are happy and settled. Therefore, children feel emotionally secure. However, at times the childminder fails to effectively help children learn about her behaviour expectations. Therefore, some unwanted behaviours remain unchallenged and children are not always actively encouraged to take responsibility for their actions.

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provision

The provider has some understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the foundation stage. On the whole, the monitoring of the educational programmes ensures that all areas of learning are being covered, however, it is not sharply focused enough to ensure all children make rapid progress in all areas. The childminder has an appropriate understanding of safeguarding procedures and her role in protecting children from harm. She has undertaken safeguarding training, so is clear about the action to take if she has concerns about a child's welfare. She is also well informed about what to do in the case of an allegation being made against herself. As a result, children in her care are adequately safeguarded because procedures and practice generally promote children's safety.

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provision

The childminder holds a suitable early years qualification and is considering improving on this in the future by obtaining a relevant degree. The childminder continually seeks to gain additional knowledge and training. However, this has not prevented the breaches in the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage or a breach of the requirements of the Childcare Register. The childminder completes some self-evaluation of the setting. She sets a few targets for improvement and is beginning to take action to drive changes. The parents and children make contributions to the evaluation process. For example, she uses discussions and questionnaires to collect feedback.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are not yet fully effective. The childminder does make use of information from parents on entry and attempts to continually discuss children's development with them. Parents report that they feel included in their children's learning. However, areas in children's communications books and learning journals are rarely used by parents, because they are not supported effectively to make a contribution. Therefore, strategies to fully engage parents to share activity ideas and support children's learning between the setting and home are not yet fully developed. Partnerships with outside agencies are strong as the childminder works with the local children's centre staff, other childminders, speech and language therapists, social services and local nurseries and schools. This secures appropriate intervention for children with additional needs and ensures progress is made in areas of delay for these children. These partnerships also help

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provision

children in preparing for their move on to nursery and school. This is because the childminder shares information about children's development with the nurseries and schools so they are well prepared for children's arrival.

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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 records of medication being administered are kept, including parent/guardian/carer's consent, for a period of two years. (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 EY474435 Local authority Solihull Inspection number 961539 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 2

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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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