Childminder in Oxfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/09/2014 08/04/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 4 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 uses open ended questioning and introduces new and ambitious vocabulary to promote children's communication. As a result, they are developing language quickly and to a good standard for their ages.  The childminder has a good understanding of safeguarding and child protection which enables her to protect children.  Children have strong bonds with the childminder who offers them good emotional support.  Children make good progress in their learning as the childminder provides well planned and stimulating activities which meet each child's individual needs.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder takes children on outings and makes sure they spent time playing in the garden each day. However, children are not always free to choose to play outside at other times.  The childminder has begun to undertake some useful self-evaluation but this does not fully support her to identify opportunities to enhance her own knowledge and understanding.

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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 sampled documents including policies, registers, and children's records of their learning.  The inspector had a tour of the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children and play indoors and outdoors, and the childminders interactions with them.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a joint observation with the childminder.  The inspector held discussions with the childminder and the children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2011. She lives with her husband and two children in Thame, Oxfordshire. Children use the ground floor of the property for play and have use of two upstairs bedrooms for sleeping. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The family has a guinea pig as a pet, which is kept outdoors. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and is caring for five children in the early years age range. She is also registered on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She offers care on weekdays, including out of school care. The childminder collects and drops off children from local school and pre-schools.

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

 increase the opportunities for children to develop independence in their play by offering greater freedom for them to choose to play outside

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

 enhance self-evaluation arrangements to include more focus on ways to promote ongoing professional development.

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who attend

Children are happy and enjoy the time they spend with the childminder. They participate in a range of activities and enjoy regular visits to local events such as toddler groups, the library and parks. The childminder has a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and takes into account the different ways children learn. She teaches well planned activities which reflect children's needs and stages of development. For example, she extended children's learning effectively following a visit to see a fire engine at the children's centre. Children painted their own fire engine and the activity included identifying and naming two dimensional and three dimensional shapes found on the engine. Children also identified colours and details such as the siren and the mirrors.

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who attend

The childminder is responsive to children's interests, adapting her teaching to follow their lead. For example, children turn an activity about 'people who help us' into a building game. The childminder supports them by finding toy drills, hammers and screwdrivers. This flexible approach ensures children remain engaged in learning for extended periods of time. Children of mixed ages interact well and benefit from spending time together. Older children look out for babies, passing them toys, and older children become positive role models who support and encourage each other. Children demonstrate affection for each other, saying sorry if they upset anyone, and working well on collaborative projects such as making a spaceship out of construction bricks.

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who attend

Children are making good progress with their speaking and listening skills. The childminder has a good understanding of how to develop children's language. She looks towards them as she speaks and consistently models good sentences, encouraging children to do the same. The childminder takes every opportunity to extend children's thinking and effectively uses open ended questioning to encourage them to solve problems. For example, when a child is unsure how to make a toy move the childminder suggests they think about what would make it start, and to look carefully all over the toy. The child is excited to discover a small button which makes the toy drill turn, and rushes off to share this new discovery with the other children. The childminder often introduces new and ambitious vocabulary into play situations which challenges and supports children's language development. As children describe their houses and gardens the childminder

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who attend

asks interesting questions such as whether they are wide or narrow. Children explore these mathematical words and then start to use them independently in their own sentence.

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who attend

Children are becoming independent learners as they freely help themselves to resources and choose the games they want to play. The resources effectively meet the needs of a variety of age groups. For example, babies enjoy watching glitter and balls move in sensory bottles and older children enjoy dressing up in a variety of costumes to support their imaginative play.

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who attend

The childminder observes children and makes assessments on their learning to ensure they are continually making progress. She completes written observations and takes photographs of children as they play. She keeps these on a software programme that parents can access and contribute to. Weekly planning is effective and takes into account the children's interests and next steps in learning. The childminder completes the progress checks for two-year-old children, which helps parents become familiar with their children's stages of development. This close communication ensures that parents take an active role in their child's learning and results in children making good progress. Parents are very happy with the communication between themselves and the childminder. They report that she is helpful and supportive, and that children learn well through the large amount of outings and visits she organises.

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who attend

The childminder effectively prepares children who are moving up to school by ensuring they are confident in dressing and toileting themselves. She also ensures they are familiar with the school by taking them on the school run with her and allowing them to become familiar with the playground and the layout of the premises.

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

The childminder provides a stimulating learning environment for children. They access toys independently as these are stored in open boxes at a low level. Children enjoy the freedom they have to explore resources. For example, they confidently write on a black board, stack different measuring containers and explore a variety of musical instruments. Displays on the wall offer children opportunities to see different types of writing and mathematical concepts. They also feature multicultural images that extend children's understanding of the world as they celebrate diversity around the theme of 'people who help us.'

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

The childminder makes sure that children play outside every day. They benefit from being able to run, climb and explore the world around them. However, there are times in the day when children are not able to freely access the garden. This means that children, particularly those who learn better outside, are not able to make fully independent choices about their play.

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

Children settle quickly with the childminder. She ensures their families feel happy and comfortable before they leave their child with her. The childminder allows children to have as many settling in sessions as necessary. She encourages parents to take the lead on how long they need to stay with their child. As a result, children are happy and have close and secure attachments to the childminder. She is caring and affectionate, and children often move to her for cuddles and to share experiences.

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

The childminder is a positive role model and leads by example, saying 'please' and 'thank you' as she interacts with children. She speaks to them in a calm and reassuring way. She gives them full attention as they speak which makes them feel important and develops their self-esteem. This also supports children to develop a sense of security and belonging in the childminders home. They participate actively and enthusiastically in activities and are confident to explore and try new activities. The childminder has clear boundaries and sensitively helps children to understand these. As a result, children's behaviour is excellent. They get on with each other extremely well, playing together and sharing experiences.

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

Children develop their physical abilities on a daily basis. For example, the childminder notices their interest in jumping around the room and finds suitable objects for them to jump over. She steadily increases the challenge for children, helping them to develop strength and fitness. Throughout this activity children talk about making themselves strong and keeping fit. The childminder further encourages children to develop healthy lifestyles through good daily hygiene and safety routines. Children receive reminders to wash their hands before snack, which they do independently. Children are able to explain that they need to wash their hands to stop germs giving them a tummy ache. Signs in the children's toilets encourage them to wash their hands effectively. The children use this as a talking point, discussing whether they have all washed their thumbs properly, and if they have got enough soap to make bubbles. Children confidently talk through the

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

rules of the house, such as not jumping on the sofa, and know these are in place to keep them safe. Children enjoy healthy snacks of fruit and water and bring their own packed lunches from home. The childminder encourages parents to provide healthy foods and is able to offer advice on nutrition if needed.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of her legal responsibilities to implement the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. This helps her to keep children safe and secure. The childminder understands what to do if she has concerns about a child. She carries out regular risk assessments of the premises, equipment and outings to provide a safe and suitable environment. All adults living on the premises are vetted to determine their suitability. The childminder has a good range of written policies which detail her procedures for keeping children safe. These include her commitment to ensuring that visitors are not left alone with children and a clear policy on the use of mobile phones and cameras.

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provision

The childminder is well organised and regularly reviews the written policies she shares with parents so they have up to date information about her provision. She has begun to review and evaluate her provision and this is successfully supporting her to making ongoing improvements. The childminder frequently takes advice from external agencies, such as the Local Authority, to improve her practices. Since the last inspection she has made great progress as she has addressed all the actions and recommendations that were set at that time. However, the childminder's self-evaluation does not currently extend to identifying opportunities to support her own professional development through training.

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provision

The childminder works well in partnership with other professionals who support the children. She regularly visits the local children's centre and attends toddler groups and childminder groups. Close relationships with staff at the local school help the childminder to support children who are preparing for their moving on to school.

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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 EY439762 Local authority Oxfordshire Inspection number 977138 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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