Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/09/2014 27/02/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: 2 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 their early communication skills through discussions with the childminder and her assistants. They learn new words as they play with puzzles and take part in role-play activities, which supports their language development.  Suitable partnerships are in place with parents, which helps children continue and extend their learning at home.  The childminder has an adequate understanding of safeguarding procedures and this enables her to promote children's well-being and keep them safe from harm.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not always plan a wide enough range of activities to provide sufficient levels of interest and consistent challenge to engage all children in order to help them make the best progress.  The childminder does not complete the progress check between the ages of two and three years. This means that any significant emerging concerns may be missed.  Opportunities to help children learn about the importance of consistent hygiene routines are not fully utilised.  The system for self-evaluation has yet to be fully developed in order to provide an accurate reflection of the setting's strengths and weaknesses. Parents and children's views are not regularly shared to help identify all future priorities.

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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 the childminder engage in a range of indoor and outdoor learning activities, play and daily care routines with the children.  The inspector held discussions with the childminder, her assistant and children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning documentation and a selection of policies and procedures.  The inspector looked at other areas of the home, including the kitchen and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability of the childminder, assistants and household members.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1990 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband in Rednal, Birmingham. There are shops and schools within easy walking distance. The childminder takes children to local toddler groups and the park. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom on the first floor is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed back garden for outside play. There are currently 13 children on roll, six of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round, from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, excluding family and bank holidays. The childminder collects children from one local school and nurseries and attends several toddler groups on a regular basis. She works regularly with assistants, including her husband.

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must:

 ensure children's individual interests and stages of development are used to plan a mix of adult-led and child-initiated activities, which clearly match future learning needs

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must:

 improve knowledge of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, in order to be able to report on progress to parents and involve them in their children's assessment.

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

 provide more opportunities for children to learn about and adopt good hygiene practices, for example, by ensuring that hand washing routines are consistently implemented

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

 develop the system for improvement by more accurately identifying and planning for all future priorities and give parents more opportunity to share their views and ideas.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates a suitable knowledge of how children learn and develop. She works with assistants to ensure children receive appropriate support to promote their learning and development. The childminder observes and takes photographs of children to help identify what they need to do next. She provides a suitable range of activities for children, which provide adequate levels of challenge children. For example, younger children learn new words as they complete inset puzzles, while older children have appropriate puzzles for their development. However, she does not make effective use of children's interests and their next steps to plan accurately for individual children. The lack of a wide range of planned purposeful activities means that children soon lose interest and look for other toys to play with. They often initiate their own play, which does not support effective learning to help them to make good progress. On some occasions, children do

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who attend

not always receive enough appropriate levels of support during some child-initiated activities. As a result, children make satisfactory progress.

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who attend

The childminder teaches children new words as she talks and ask questions about what they are doing. She helps children learn as she makes suggestions about which puzzle pieces to find first. Children recognise colours, numbers and shapes as they play with jigsaws and look at books. They develop their imagination as they enjoy role-play activities where they pretend to pour drinks in a cup and play with cars on the floor. Babies enjoy one to one interaction from the assistant who talks and smiles to support their early communication. They begin to roll over and hold their head up, which supports their physical development. Children develop their creativity as they enjoy sand play in the garden. They fill up small buckets and moulds with sand, and learn new words such as 'pat'. They talk about textures as they describe how the sand feels cold.

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who attend

Although, the childminder is aware of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, she has not completed this to provide parents with a short written summary of their child's development in the prime areas of learning. This potentially means appropriate information has not been shared with the health visitor if required. In addition, parents do not consistently receive an accurate assessment of their child's progress or are they made aware of any gaps in learning that may require early intervention. The childminder ensures children take part in daily outdoor activities in the community to support their physical development. They enjoy trips to the soft play centre and the park where they feed the ducks, which helps them to learn about animals. In the garden, they use the slide, cars and ride-on toys to support their balance and coordination. The childminder talks to parents about activities, which they can continue to

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who attend

do at home to extend children's learning. For example, she encourages parents to help children learn about colours and numbers, which prepare them for the next stage in their learning.

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

Children are happy and have a close bond with the childminder and her assistants. The childminder encourages parents to attend the toddler group with her where she collects a suitable range of information to support the transition from home. Prior visits and several settling in sessions help children to become familiar with the childminder, her assistants and her home, which supports their emotional development and reassures them. For example, assistants hold babies close to them and talk to them while they feed them. Comfort items such as blankets are kept in children's bags so they can help themselves when they need them. Children have regular opportunities to attend local toddler groups, which helps them to socialise with other children and support their self-confidence. Discussions and outings to local schools also help children prepare for the next stage in the learning, such as starting nursery or school. The childminder supports positive

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

behaviour through regular praise. She encourages children to play together, take turns and share toys.

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

There are some appropriate procedures in place to reduce the risk of cross infection, such as cleaning tables and the changing mat after use. However, at snack time, children are given food without washing their hands and this does not consistently support their understanding of good hygiene practices. Children benefit from daily fresh air, which helps to maintain a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy daily outings in the community to ensure they have regular fresh air and exercise. Parents provide main meals for their children, which meet their individual preferences and dietary needs. The childminder supplements this with snacks of fresh fruit and yoghurt. Older children drink from cups while younger children have beakers, which support their growing independence. All children develop appropriate self-help skills as they feed themselves with their hands and appropriate cutlery.

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

Through discussions and routines, children learn about being safe. For example, children check the slide when playing in the garden to see if it wet. They clean it with a towel before they use it, which helps them to take responsibility for their own safety. On outings in the community, children look out for cars on driveway and know they have to walk close to the childminder, which helps to protect them. There is a wide range of age- appropriate toys and equipment, which supports children's interests and learning. Toys are organised in clear plastic boxes and on the floor, so that children can make independent choices about their play. There is a wide range of activity centres for babies, which make sounds and light up to support their development.

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provision

The childminder has an appropriate knowledge and understanding of her responsibilities relating to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which helps to keep children safe and promote their welfare. She understands the signs that indicate a child may be at risk of harm and has a clear safeguarding procedure to follow. Assistants also have suitable training and knowledge of how to protect children and promote their welfare. The childminder has conducted risk assessments for her home and garden to help protect children. Suitable procedures are in place for car travel and outings in the community to further help to keep children safe. Safety equipment, such as, stair gates, high chairs and the use of smoke alarms help to keep children safe and secure in the home.

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provision

Parents receive daily verbal and written feedback on children's care and learning, which keeps them adequately informed of their children's progress. Thank you cards and letters from parents state that children are happy and they are pleased with the care they receive from the childminder. The childminder provides a suitable range of play opportunities to help children make satisfactory progress in their learning and development. However, there is not a wide enough range of activities to fully engage and sustain young children's interest. This means that the educational programme does not always match the needs of individual children. Children do not currently attend other settings, which delver the Early Years Foundation Stage, however, the childminder has a clear understanding of how to extend and complement children's learning.

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provision

Suitable procedures are in place to ensure assistants have the necessary skills to help care for children and they have a suitable knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures to protect children. The childminder has regular meetings with her assistants to update them on children's care and learning, which enables them to help support their development. However, the system for self-evaluation is not robust enough and does not currently identify all areas, which require further development. Parents and children have not had sufficient opportunities to contribute their ideas and views; this means they are not fully involved in developing the service. This hinders the childminder's ability to continually develop the provision for the benefit of children who attend. However, she has made some improvements, such as updating both her and the assistant's training, which ensures they have the necessary skills to care for young children.

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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 504592 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 872303 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 18 Number of children on roll 13

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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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