Higgins, Susan Jean

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/10/2014 13/05/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder builds good relationships with the children enabling them to settle and feel comfortable and secure.  The childminder teaches children to lead healthy lifestyles. They enjoy nutritious snacks and meals and learn important self-care skills.  Partnerships with parents enabling a good two-way flow of information to meet children's individual care needs.

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It is not yet good because

 The process of observation, assessment and planning is not embedded fully. The childminder does not always identify next steps in children's learning to ensure the activities provided help them to make consistently good progress.  Children play with a range of resources, however, the younger children do not have access to a range of everyday and natural objects to explore and experiment with.  The childminder does not provide sufficient range of board, cloth books and stories to share with young babies.

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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 spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the observations of children's play and learning in the home.  The inspector viewed all areas of the home used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including policies and procedures, the register of attendance, risk assessments and the development records.  The inspector spoke with the childminder about her evaluation of the provision.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1987. She lives with her husband and older son in Southborough, Kent. The whole of the ground floor and one bedroom on the first floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder has a dog and cat.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She currently cares for one child in the early years age group. The childminder also cares for school age children on a part-time basis. The childminder's home is situated close to public transport links, schools, shops, parks and other amenities.

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must:

 improve the observation and assessment process to identify children's next steps in their learning and use the information to plan interesting activities to meet children's individual needs.

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

 further develop activities for the youngest children to explore and investigate using a range of natural materials

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

 develop further opportunities for babies to explore a range of books.

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who attend

Children play in a warm, child friendly environment where they are able to move around freely. The childminder encourages older children to lead their play, making choices or requests so they gain self-confidence and independence. The range of resources covers the seven areas of learning, providing stimulating opportunities. However, the babies do not have access to natural and everyday objects to explore and experiment with. This does not fully support children's awareness of different textures. The childminder sits with the babies talking to them about what they are playing with, offering some new vocabulary. She listens to their babbles, and where appropriate repeats single words back to them to support their communication and language skills.

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who attend

The childminder has a range of books for older children; however this is limited for the younger babies attending, which does not support children's early enjoyment of books. The childminder makes use of every opportunity to introduce the babies to mathematical concepts, counting when singing nursery rhymes. She helps babies becoming mobile by encouraging them to move towards toys and encouraging them to grasp, squeeze and throw, which helps in their physical development.

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who attend

The childminder has a sound understanding of the learning and development requirements. She provides a range of different activities and experiences for children both indoors and outdoors and consequently, children make sufficient progress in their learning. The childminder makes some observations of children's progress. However, she does not always use these effectively to analyse the learning that has taken place to identify children's next steps in their learning. The childminder has recently started to encourage parents to contribute to the assessment process to provide an accurate picture of their child's stage of development. The childminder is in the process of developing her assessments so that she is able to provide the progress check for children aged two years when required.

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

The childminder demonstrates a secure understanding about the importance of attachments and, consequently, has established sound relationships with the children. The childminder provides an adequate range of toys and resources that are clean and in sound condition. The childminder takes children to different toddler groups where they access additional resources and learning opportunities. This experience also supports children in learning to socialise with children of the same age and to learn to share and take turns. The childminder is supporting children to acquire skills ready for their move to nursery or school.

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

Children have daily exercise and fresh air. They play in local parks or visit local woods to regularly increase their physical development. The childminder is very aware of encouraging children to learn about healthy food. She provides healthy meals for older children and parents provide food for the younger babies. The childminder ensures that children wash their hands before meal times and after nappy changing. This encourages them to understand the importance of hygienic routines. The childminder organises the routines of the day to meet children's care needs. She clearly promotes periods of rest when babies need this to maintain their health and well-being.

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provision

The childminder has a developing understanding of her role and responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage, including those for safeguarding and welfare. The childminder demonstrates a sound knowledge of how to keep children safe. She has measures in place to minimise any risk when taking children on outings and in the community with a written policy for parents. She has written risk assessments to identify most potential dangers including the garden.

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provision

The childminder has a sound knowledge about protecting children in her care and of the procedures she would follow if she had any concerns about the welfare of children in her care. She has a written policy in place and contact details for outside agencies to help her in her protection of children. The childminder keeps written records of accidents and incidents and understands why this is important, as part of her ongoing safeguarding measures to protect children.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a commitment to providing a service that meets the needs of the children and parents attending her setting. She has not recently updated her self- evaluation, although she has a satisfactory understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. The childminder has addressed previous actions and safeguarding by attending training. She is starting to look at the prime areas for the progress check for children aged two years. She identified the weakness in her documentation, but is not fully aware of the weakness with observations and planning. Consequently, systems to monitor the provision are not fully robust to be effective in improving outcomes for children.

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provision

The childminder understands the importance of working in partnership with the parents and obtains children's personal details on the first visit. She shares written policies with parents and maintains the necessary documents and consents for aspects of care such as routine outings. Children's daily routine is shared in a diary to enable parents to know what their child has had to eat, nappy changes and any sleep. The childminder understands the importance of liaising with other agencies and settings the children may attend to support consistency in learning and development.

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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 125858 Local authority Kent Inspection number 842827 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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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