Childminder in Hertfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/07/2014 13/01/2010

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early years provision

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

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder does not meet a number of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has not maintained adequate supervision of children, compromising their safety and welfare.  The childminder has not sufficiently addressed some risks and hazards. Household cleaning materials are left within children's reach and the front door is not secured to ensure children cannot leave the premises unsupervised.  The childminder does not ensure that all of the required documentation is maintained accurately and available for inspection, in particular, the daily record of children's attendance and evidence of written parental permission for trips and outings. This results in the lack of safe management of the provision.  The childminder does not fully support children's development because the planning of activities and experiences lacks challenge and children's differing learning styles are not

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It has the following strengths

 Children are content and enjoy regular cuddles from the childminder, demonstrating their emotional security.  Parents are kept well informed of their children's experiences including information about care routines, as well as their learning.

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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 activities on the ground floor of the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the childminder and children at various times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's records and a range of other documentation including evidence of suitability and qualifications of the childminder, and her self-evaluation form.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2003 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, a child aged 12 years and two adult children in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. The whole of the ground floor of the home is used for childminding together with identified rooms on the first floor. There is an enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder attends a childminder group and the local children's centre. She visits the local shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently nine children on roll, six of whom are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder cares for children all year round from, 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays.

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to:

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure children are kept safe on outings by assessing the risks or hazards which may arise and identifying the steps to be taken to remove, minimise and manage those risks and hazards

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

assess the risk to children's safety and take action to minimise the risk, in particular the presence of household chemicals and the security of the premises

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that children are always within sight or hearing to meet their needs and keep them safe

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The provision is inadequate and Ofsted intends to take the following

ensure that the premises are secure and that children are not able to leave the premises unsupervised.

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must:

 maintain an accurate daily record of the names of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance

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must:

 ensure that records are easily accessible and available for inspection

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must:

 improve the quality of teaching to provide children with good levels of challenge, following their interests and building on their ideas to extend their learning.

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who attend

The childminder has a suitable understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and is generally implementing it to meet the children's needs overall. The childminder makes regular observations and assessments of children's play and learning. These support the childminder in showing children are making suitable progress in their learning and development and identifies their next steps in their learning. However, the childminder does not use children's identified interests when planning their next steps. Some children are interested in superheroes and the childminder does not capture this effectively to engage them and focus learning about behaviour, emotions and knowing right from wrong.

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who attend

The childminder promotes children's language and vocabulary appropriately through sensitive conversations with them. These exchanges help children to develop their skills in speaking and understanding language for communication. Children experiment with different musical instruments and sing favourite nursery rhymes. They enjoy playing with the battery-operated toys and pretend to play the guitar. The childminder has a wide range of well-organised, interesting resources in plentiful amounts for children to choose from inside. She supports children to build a track and encourages them to roll the trains along this track. She follows children's interests in numbers as they point to the posters that are conveniently displayed at a low level.

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who attend

The childminder has recently introduced a toy bear to accompany children on their holidays and this is useful in obtaining information about children's learning at home. Parents are given useful information on their child's day as the childminder regularly shares her records of children's learning. This helps to give parents some knowledge of the activities children enjoy so they can support their child's learning at home and be part of their preparation for the eventual move to school.

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

The childminder does not fully support children to play in safety because of the failure to meet all of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Risk assessments are not effective in identifying and minimising hazards to children. In particular, the childminder has not fully considered all the risks when walking to and from school or on outings with children. The front door is not kept locked enabling unauthorised entry and exit to the premises and some chemicals are stored with in children's sight and reach. This compromises their safety and well-being. However, children have some chances to learn about playing without harm on the challenging play equipment in the garden and at the park. These visits enable them to begin to have an understanding of risks and how to manage them. The childminder suitably helps children beginning to understand about having a healthy diet. Children learn to eat well as they sit together for meal times, which the childminder

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

uses for promoting their social skills. Children chat with each other as they choose which fruit to have at snack time and this gives them helpful opportunities to become aware of what foods constitute a healthy meal.

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

The childminder provides a warm and friendly atmosphere where children settle easily. The childminder has frequent discussions with the parents to ensure children's routines, are suitably taken into account, including their sleep patterns. She works in close partnership with the parents to support children in the process of toilet training. Children are becoming independent in their self-care skills as the childminder encourages them to dress themselves and this helps them in their preparation for school.

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

The childminder generally supports children to play and learn together and develop control over their actions. Children are encouraged to take care of the equipment and to help tidy up. They are suitably praised for being kind and considerate to others. The childminder encourages children to take account of the needs of the younger children that do not know the rules. Children are making friends and move from playing alone to playing alongside others. They are beginning to feel confident in familiar surroundings when they attend the various toddler and music groups in the area. The childminder is available to give them reassurance so that they can continue to explore in unfamiliar environments. This helps children to be emotionally prepared for their move on to school when the time comes.

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provision

This inspection was prioritised following the appropriate notification of an incident, by the childminder, to Ofsted. A young child in her care was lost for a short period of time within the school grounds and found within the pre-school. The childminder informed the parents promptly, and in writing, and quickly reviewed her risk assessments to help her to make improvements to her provision. However, the inspection found that the risk assessments are not robust enough to ensure that a similar incident would not happen again. The arrangements the childminder has reviewed include expecting young children to hold onto the buggy rather than considering the use of strategies, such as wrist straps or reins. In addition, she has not included counted the children in her care before leaving the school playground. There are further concerns regarding safety within the home as household chemicals are left within children's sight and reach and the front door is not always locked.

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provision

This is not sufficient to maintain children's safety. The childminder keeps comprehensive policy documents and shares these with parents. However, some records are not completed in a timely manner such as the attendance record. In addition, some records, regarding individual children and the parental permission for outings, are not available for inspection. This does not ensure the safe management of the provision. As a result, some legal requirements for both the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register are not met. Consequently, children's safety and well-being is compromised. The childminder has sufficient awareness of safeguarding children, including the reporting procedures to follow if there were child protection concerns about a child in her care.

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provision

The childminder has set up a self-evaluation system and has recently achieved a quality assurance award. She has made suitable progress in addressing the recommendations made at the last inspection. The childminder meets regularly with other childminders in order to plan future training and update their knowledge. This helps her to reflect on her practice.

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provision

The childminder has appropriate systems for monitoring the children's learning and development. She tracks children's development through regular planned observations. This helps to ensure that children continue to make progress in their learning and she can seek early intervention if necessary. The childminder demonstrates that she can build suitable relationships with other professionals, which helps to ensure that children receive appropriate support. The childminder works closely with the other provisions that children attend to support continuity in their care and learning. Parents regularly take home their child's learning record including the progress check for children aged between two and three years. This keeps them well informed about their children's progress.

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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

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

 ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that a child is unable to leave the premises unsupervised (compulsory part of the childcare register)  ensure that all necessary measures are taken to minimise any identified risks (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the premises and their hours of attendance (voluntary 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 EY252519 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 980964 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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

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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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