Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/09/2014 30/03/2010

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

p.1

This provision is good

 The childminder has a good understanding of her responsibilities with regard to child protection. Her home is safe and good steps are taken to reduce potential dangers. Children are well safeguarded while in her care.  Strong emotional attachments are evident between the childminder and children. Consequently, children are confident and secure and they play happily in her home.  The childminder plans a fun, exciting and varied educational programme for the children that links to their individual needs. As a result, they make good progress in their learning.  The childminder establishes good partnerships with parents. Information is shared on a daily basis about children's learning and development. As a result, parents feel involved in their children's learning, and children benefit from continuity of care and learning.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not fully extend children's rapidly developing communication, language and literacy skills by including more print in the stimulating environment.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the interaction between the children and the childminder.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and interacted with children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the children's records, observations and assessments made on them by the childminder.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability of all adults in the household, the qualifications of the childminder and her self-evaluation.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and child aged 15 years in Sutton Coldfield. The whole of the ground floor and the upstairs bathroom are used for childminding purposes. There is an enclosed rear garden for outdoor play. There are currently 11 children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder takes and collects children from local schools and nurseries and walks to local parks, shops and libraries. She operates from 7.30am to 6pm Monday to Friday, all round, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association of Childcare and Early Years.

p.3

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

 strengthen the educational programme for communication, language and literacy even further by using print in the environment.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements and demonstrates good quality teaching skills. She offers a stimulating and fun learning environment, where children instigate their own play from the good range of toys and play equipment. The childminder gains valuable information about children at the start of the placement. She assesses where they are in their development and what they are interested in. The childminder then carries out regular observations and assessments to monitor children's progress across the seven areas of learning to identify what they need to learn next. She uses successful assessment systems, including the required progress checks for children aged between two and three years, to record the progress children make in their learning. Each child has a learning journal and the childminder includes photographs of children engaged in activities, along with her own observations. She

p.3

who attend

shares these regularly with parents. Transition reports are compiled for children who are preparing to go to school or to another setting, to promote continuity of care and learning. The childminder takes care to build relationships with other settings that children attend. This enables her to ensure consistency in meeting the children's needs and gives her a more in-depth understanding of their development. As a result, the children are securely prepared for the next stage in their learning and learn the skills needed in order to be ready for school.

p.3

who attend

Children have a fun time with the childminder as she engages very well with them. She sits at their level and joins in with activities, motivating them and encouraging their use of language. She listens to what they say, gives them time to think about their responses and offers plenty of praise. The childminder comments 'fantastic' as she is shown a picture coloured in by a child, who smiles with delight. This demonstrates that children's personal, social and emotional development is supported well. The childminder uses open-ended questions to develop and extend children's thinking and understanding, and builds on their vocabulary by extending their sentences. Young children learn to solve problems as they work out which coloured shapes go into the matching hole, or how build a tower with blocks. They experiment by placing one brick on top of another or put four together, building each construction up to see which one will fall down first when pressure is added.

p.3

who attend

The childminder enhances the available resources in response to children's interests and to extend their play further. When a child asks to use the splatter paints, the childminder challenges her to think about the colours she could use. She asks, 'If you use the dark paper and make splashes, what do you think it would look like?' The child tells her, 'I think it might look like fireworks'. The childminder introduces simple number problems to support children's mathematical development. She asks children, 'how many times can you splat the paint, shall we count together?' and introduces the concept of size as she asks 'which is the biggest spat and which is the smallest?' She successfully extends the activity, encouraging basic calculation as she gets children to think about how many more times they will need to splat the paint to make five marks and asks 'what number comes after four?'

p.4

who attend

Children demonstrate increasing levels of concentration as they listen to a story, cuddling up to the childminder as she reads to them. Children access a good range of books. The childminder uses her good teaching skills to support children's increasing concentration, by introducing audio story books. She has a good range and selection of play materials and equipment stored on shelving in storages boxes in the playroom. However, the storage boxes are not labelled with photographs or the written word to help children fully benefit from a text-rich environment to develop their early language and literacy skills. Children's imagination is supported well as they play with a small world fairground with a range of play people, including some that depict positive images of different abilities and ethnicities, illustrating diversity in the wider world. In addition, a good range of books and planned activities help children to learn about their own and other cultures.

p.4

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

The childminder has a very caring and gentle manner, which creates a calm and reassuring atmosphere for children. She follows parents' wishes and at the start of the placement gains good information about children's individual needs and routines. She ensures that the children's and parents' needs are met from the outset. For example, during the settling-in process, she communicates with parents about the children's transition to her home. She offers short sessions where children visit and familiarise themselves with her, the home and family. The childminder gathers important details including children's staring points from the parents, and together they complete relevant forms about the child so that she has a full picture of their individual needs and interests. Parental partnerships are good and information about children's learning and development is shared daily in their journals and daily diaries. Children behave well because they are

p.4

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

taught to share and take turns. The home and outdoor areas are well organised to stimulate children's development in all areas of learning. The playroom is a welcoming space with toys mainly accessible to children so they can request certain toys they want to play with.

p.4

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

The childminder fully understands the importance of good hygiene. She encourages the children to develop good personal hygiene by modelling sensible routines. For example, she supports the children to wash their hands after toileting and uses wipes to clean their hands and faces before and after lunch. She offers children healthy, nutritious meals and snacks with a selection of fruits and yoghurts. Children are helped to understand about their own safety. For example, they join in the fire drill practises and discuss road safety. They colour in pictures about using the road safely, following their first journey to school on foot. The home in which children play is well maintained, which helps to support their good health. The childminder carries out regular safety checks on the house and on any outings that she undertakes with children. She has safety equipment in place to restrict access to the kitchen to ensure children are safe. When the playroom becomes too hot,

p.5

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

she explains to children that they have to move into the dining area where it is cooler. The childminder helps children to be emotionally prepared for school. She talks to them and reads stories about starting school, which helps them prepare for the next stage in their learning and alleviate any anxieties they may have.

p.5

provision

The childminder is fully aware of and understands her responsibilities to meet the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She completes detailed written risk assessments and reviews these regularly, ensuring these cover all aspects of the home and any outings she takes with the children. She has a good understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of having any concerns about children's welfare in her care. She ensures parents are fully informed about her responsibilities to safeguard children and shares the policy with them. The childminder has a good understanding about her responsibilities to meet the learning and development requirements. She uses her knowledge well, to provide activities that keep the children stimulated and interested. The childminder has a sound understanding of children's individual needs and interests, and plans a varied and exciting range of activities to help them progress in all areas of their development.

p.5

provision

The childminder recognises her strengths and accurately identifies areas for improvement, such as continuing to meet the needs of all children. This demonstrates that priorities for improvement are well targeted to benefit the children in her care. Her systems are effective in supporting her to monitor and improve the quality of care. The views of parents and children are sought and these demonstrate their high levels of satisfaction with the service they receive. Parents comment that, 'my child feels totally relaxed in your home and looks forward to seeing you' and 'I feel you genuinely care about my child'. Children clearly enjoy their time with the childminder; for example, some children will ask if they are going to play, and when they see her, they are excited. Consequently, parents are happy with the care and attention their children are given.

p.5

provision

Partnerships with parents are well established, ensuring children's development is effectively enhanced by precisely meeting their needs. Parents are able to share information about their children with the childminder. They discuss children's progress at drop-off and collection times and access the childminder's policies from the parent pack. The childminder has a clear understanding of her responsibility to work in partnership with other childcare providers and professionals to enhance learning opportunities. She has established links with the local nursery and school to ensure continuity of care and learning for all children and to support a smooth transition to nursery or school when the time comes.

p.5

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

p.6

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

p.7

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.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number EY393370 Local authority Birmingham Inspection number 873995 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10