Childminder in Sheffield

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/09/2014 21/10/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder has a poor knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation stage. Consequently, she is unable to demonstrate how she would provide sufficient challenge, to enable children to make good progress in all areas of their learning.  The childminder does not use effective planning, observation and assessment systems to plan interesting and challenging activities that promote children's development in each area of learning.  The assistant has not been made aware of safeguarding policies and procedures and, therefore, children are not safeguarded appropriately. Furthermore, the childminder has not considered the safe use of mobile phones or cameras as part of her safeguarding procedure.  Partnerships with parents are not established effectively. Parents are not provided with information about their child's learning and development or how they can guide their

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This provision is inadequate

child's learning at home.  Self-evaluation is weak and the childminder demonstrates a limited capacity to improve her practice.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are settled and secure in the childminder's care because she provides a warm and caring environment. This helps to promote children's well-being and self-esteem.

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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 children at play and their interactions with the childminder.  The inspector viewed parts of the home used for childminding and the outdoor area.  The inspector held a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documents, including a selection of policies and children's assessment records, and checked evidence of the childminder's suitability.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2005 and is on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and four children, aged between 12 years and 16 years, in the Stocksbridge area of Sheffield. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding and the first floor for overnight care. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. The family has fish and a cat as pets. The childminder is registered to work with an assistant. There are shops, parks, schools and public transport links in the local area. There are currently twelve children on roll, four of whom are in the Early Years age range and they attend for a variety of sessions and days. The childminding provision operates all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder takes and collects children from local schools and nurseries. She is a member

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Information about the setting

of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 update the safeguarding policy and procedure to include the use of mobile phones and cameras

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must:

 ensure the assistant is trained on the settings safeguarding policies and procedures, in order to keep children safe from harm

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must:

 improve knowledge of the learning and development requirements, in order to plan activities that take into account each child's individual needs, interests and stages of development to help them make good progress

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must:

 ensure that all children in the early years age range are regularly observed, so that an assessment of their learning can be made, any gaps in their progress identified and activities planned to help them develop in those areas

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must:

 introduce the progress check for children aged between two and three years, and provide parents with a short written summary of their child's development within the prime areas of learning

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must:

 provide parents with detailed information to help keep them up to date with their child's progress and development needs.

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

 improve self-assessment to accurately identify strengths and weaknesses in the provision, and use this to put in place an action plan, to ensure children are safe and make good progress in their learning

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

 ensure good hygiene practices are encouraged at all times to consistently promote children's health and self-care routines.

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who attend

The childminder has a very limited understanding of the learning and development requirements of the statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, teaching is ineffective as she is unsure of how to support children's individual learning and development needs. The childminder is not able to recognise where children are in their stage of development, because she does not carry out regular observations and assessments to help her monitor children's progress. The childminder does not plan activities, instead, she allows the children to choose daily activities that they are interested in. However, this practice sometimes means that children lack enthusiasm about their learning, as they are often left considering what to do next or just wander around the provision aimlessly due to the lack of adult direction.

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who attend

Opportunities to extend children's communication and language skills are not maximised. For example, during a creative activity and a game of picture dominoes, the childminder asks very few open-ended questions to enable children to develop their language skills and extend their vocabulary. The childminder is unaware of the requirement to carry out a progress check for children aged between two and three years and, therefore, has not completed this assessment for any children within her care. As a result, she has not planned appropriately for their next steps in development. Parents have also missed the opportunity to be involved in this process or discussion about their children's developmental progression in the prime areas of learning.

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who attend

The indoor environment has resources that are accessible within toy boxes and on shelves, which enables children to follow their own interests and make choices. However, children's learning experiences are not extended through these free-flow play opportunities, as the childminder does not see her role as a teacher to extend, enthuse and progress their individual development. Opportunities to develop children's learning experiences through everyday tasks are often missed. For example, whilst outdoors, the childminder was sweeping up leaves but did not engage the children within the activity, even though they were interested and curious as to why the leaves were there.

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

The children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure at the childminder's home. However, this is undermined as the childminder's assistant is not fully aware of how to safeguard children. Therefore, children are not fully protected. The childminder's home and garden area is adequately safe for children to play, and she carries out regular risk assessments to ensure this is maintained. The childminder has completed her paediatric first-aid training, which further promotes the safety of the children. The childminder ensures that children are content and enjoy their time in the setting, by getting to know the needs and preferences of individual children and by daily verbal discussions with parents. Children's feelings of self-worth and esteem are promoted by praise and reassurance from the childminder. The childminder is caring and welcoming, and has built strong relationships with the children in her care. They are offered reassurance by the

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

childminder when required. For example, a child who hurt her finger whilst outside immediately went to the childminder for comfort.

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

Children's behaviour is managed appropriately by the childminder. She uses suitable strategies to combat unwanted behaviour. She discusses the situation with the child to explain to the children why certain actions are wrong. Children listen and respond to this approach. Children's health and self-care routines are generally maintained by satisfactory hygiene procedures. For example, hand washing routines are encouraged after going to the toilet and taking part in creative activities, and children independently dry their own hands using paper roll. However, children do not always wash their hands before snack time, even after outdoor play. The childminder promotes children's health and well-being with lots of daily fresh air and physical play outdoors, including trips to local parks and playgrounds. She provides healthy food options, such as fruit and vegetables. Discussions during the settling in process enable her to find out the children's likes and dislikes with

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

regard to food and general routines. Children are encouraged to try different foods and the childminder successfully manages to increase the variety of foods they enjoy. For example, a child who was a fussy eater is now confidently trying new foods and, subsequently, ate a roast dinner for the first time.

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provision

The childminder has limited knowledge and understanding about how children learn. She does not effectively observe and assess children as they play. As a result, she is unable to identify children's starting points, interests and next steps to help them progress within their learning. Activities are not planned to effectively challenge children and keep them interested. The childminder shares some information with parents verbally when they leave and collect their children. However, as she does not carry out detailed observations on the children, she is unable to share information with parents about how their child is developing. This means that parents are not encouraged to be involved and contribute to their child's progress and learning. Self-evaluation is not effective as the childminder does not reflect on her practice. She was unaware she was in breach of legal requirements, as she does not refer to the Early Years Foundation Stage to evaluate her work. The

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provision

childminder has not taken any action to drive forward or seek support for the areas of weakness, even those she acknowledges she struggles with. The childminder does not take into account or record any views of parents to feed into self-evaluation.

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provision

The childminder has a suitable knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements, and how to keep children safe from harm. She is able to identify possible signs of abuse or neglect, and knows who to contact should she have concerns. However, she has not ensured that her assistant is aware of the safeguarding procedure to adequately safeguard all children from potential harm. This is a breach of both the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements and the Compulsory part of the Childcare Register. Risk assessments are conducted regularly and recorded, so children can play in a safe and secure environment. The childminder has a written safeguarding policy but this has not been updated to include the use of mobile phones and cameras within the setting, and the childminder has not considered the implications of the use of such technology. Due to the childminder's lack of knowledge on the Early Years Foundation Stage, she was not aware

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provision

of this legal requirement and, consequently, the childminder is not able to adequately safeguard children in all areas.

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provision

The childminder shares some information with parents verbally about the general wellbeing of their child. However, as the childminder is not carrying out regular observations and assessments, she is not able to extend these discussions into their individual learning and development needs, due to her own lack of knowledge in this area. Consequently, partnership with parents also requires further improvement. Furthermore, the childminder does not consult with parents regularly, to seek their views in order for her to monitor and evaluate her service.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 train all staff on the written statement of procedures to be followed to safeguard children from abuse or neglect (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 EY301486 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 820232 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 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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