Childminder in Leicestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/10/2014 04/02/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The childminder has a good knowledge of the learning and development requirements and she has established robust systems for observing, assessing and planning for children's individual needs. Consequently, children make good progress.  The childminder's home is very well resourced and provides children with a varied environment, which they actively explore and investigate. This means that they develop their skills while engaging in activities they enjoy.  Children are secure and form strong attachments with the childminder. They are independent, curious learners, who display a strong sense of belonging.  The childminder has an excellent understanding of how to keep children safe and has good systems in place to underpin her practice. Her close working partnership with parents and others, provides children with consistency and continuity in their learning and development.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Resources, which can be used in different ways, such as boxes and bags are not routinely accessible, to encourage children to play and explore their own ideas.  The childminder does not make the best use of the outdoor learning environment. Children are not encouraged to extend their learning across all seven areas in this environment. This means that their progress is not as swift, especially for those, who learn better out of doors.

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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 in the childminder's home and talked to the childminder.  The inspector assessed aspects of safety in the home.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's assessment records and other required documents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents, as recorded in parents' feedback forms and children's individual folders.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1995 on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three adult children in a house in Wigston, in the South of Leicestershire. There are local amenities, such as, a park, shops, town centre, primary schools and playgroups nearby. Access to the home is via a small step. The whole of the ground floor of the property is used for childminding, except for the kitchen/dining room and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder currently has 13 children on roll, five of whom are in the early years age group.

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

 increase the range of accessible resources for children to use in different ways, such as fabrics, boxes and bags, in order to encourage them to play and explore their own ideas

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

 enhance children's learning opportunities in the outdoor environment by extending the resources and activities to make this a more exciting, enabling learning environment for them.

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who attend

Children are secure and content within the childminder's home because they form good relationships with her. Interaction is good and affection is readily given and received. The childminder has a detailed understanding of how to support children in their development. She knows their likes and dislikes and introduces new activities, which interest and excite them. For example, she extends children's spoken language with open-ended questions, as they enjoy a favourite role-play activity. She asks the children what they will do when their baskets become too full to carry, as they play at shopping. The childminder repeats words and phrases that children use to reinforce correct usage and as a result, they are confident speakers, who are developing good skills for their future learning. Children have easy access to books, looking at these independently or with the childminder and together, they sing familiar songs and rhymes. They enthusiastically join in with the

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who attend

actions and key words of their favourite tunes and use musical instruments as an accompaniment. This encourages their creative development alongside developing their understanding that print carries meaning. However, children have fewer opportunities to access open-ended resources, such as boxes and bags, to use in different ways to encourage further independence and imaginative play. Children participate in purposeful play and exploration. They enjoy an appropriate balance of opportunities to play indoors and outside. Adult-led and child-initiated activities enhance active learning well and help children to develop in confidence. For example, children are very confident and comfortable with the childminder as they self-select activities from a variety of resources at child-level. For instance, children pretend to be shopkeepers and some are customers. They fill their baskets and name the foods they are buying. Through

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who attend

practical activities, children develop an awareness of number, shape and colour. For example, they look at the shopping baskets and compare their sizes. The childminder introduces words, such as bigger and smaller, to describe them and with the children, compares how heavy they are. In addition, children also have access to the childminder's garden, where they can use a range of toys and resources. Children's physical development is encouraged through a variety of activities and experiences in the outdoors, including visits to nearby parks and walks through the local neighbourhood, as well as daily access to her garden. However, the childminder does not make the best use of her outdoor learning environment. There are fewer resources to extend children's learning across the seven areas and consequently, their progress is not fully supported in the outdoor environment. In particular, this means that children, who learn better out of

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who attend

Nevertheless, planning covers all areas of learning and provides a good level of challenge for all children. Individual planning means that the childminder is successful in meeting the needs of all the children well. This is because she observes and assesses each child's progress and identifies their individual next steps in learning to inform future activities. The childminder uses supporting documents, such as Early Years Outcomes, to identify each child's stage of development and to link experiences together. For example, she introduces counting in various activities, such as singing, small world play and making models. This enables her to challenge children's understanding and continually strengthen the knowledge they already have. Parents are encouraged to be actively involved with their children's learning and development. They contribute regularly to the children's assessments and help the childminder identify their child's starting points by discussing

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who attend

what they can already do when they first start. The childminder also encourages parents to support learning at home. Parents' comments show that they feel completely involved and they value the support, which the childminder extends to them, to help them to build on their child's learning from home. The childminder has carried out the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, who are in her care and shared this assessment with parents.

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

The childminder strives to provide a consistent routine between children's home life and the care she provides. She is attentive to children's interests and needs and works in partnership with parents to ensure individual requirements are met. For example, she uses the same kind of language for significant events as children do at home. Children benefit from the individual attention given to them by the childminder. They develop positive relationships with her and they feel safe, secure and develop a sense of belonging. The childminder is caring and sensitive to the children's needs and responds swiftly to their requests. Good communication with parents enables her to meet their needs on a daily basis as any changes are quickly communicated and acted upon. The childminder also works closely with the local pre-school to provide consistency from one setting to another and to ensure children's learning is not duplicated as they move from her care to the pre-

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

The childminder models good behaviour and focuses on the children's positive actions with lots of praise and attention. Consequently, they behave well. Children learn to be kind to each other, share and take turns. They learn to show respect for themselves and for other people. This helps them to get along with their peers and consequently, means that they are emotionally prepared for attending settings, such as pre-school and school. The childminder also ensures that children's independence develops well. This also prepares them for their next stages in learning as they are able to attend to their own needs. For example, they make choices with regard to their play and are encouraged to be independent when preparing for and eating their snacks.

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

Through the childminder's thorough knowledge of the children in her care, she ensures that she meets children's personal needs, including any dietary requirements and ensures that they are comfortable and content. Children access the outdoors regularly through walks in the local area and visits to the park. They are developing an awareness of healthy lifestyles as the childminder actively promotes balanced meals and snacks. All safety measures are in place and rules for keeping safe are consistently explained to children to help them to understand why they are in place. Consequently, children are developing an understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they know it is important to hold onto the hand rail on the stairs when going up to wash hands. The childminder also teaches them about road safety during outings in the local area.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a very good understanding of her role and responsibility in relation to the safeguarding and welfare requirements. All required safeguarding checks and documentation are up to date and on display for parents to view. A robust safeguarding policy is also in place and is available for all parents to access at anytime. Suitable security of the premises and a robust collection procedure means that children are kept safe as they move around the setting and at home times. The childminder ensures that the play environment is safe and secure, using stair gates and safety locks to minimise risks in all areas of the home. All children's resources indoors and outside are inspected daily and are in a good state of repair.

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provision

The childminder is well organised and shows a high level of commitment to her work. She has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements for the Early Years Foundation Stage and uses this to plan a wide range of engaging activities that enable children to make good progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder is skilful in planning, monitoring and evaluating her educational programme and consequently, children benefit from a full and engaging programme linked to their needs and interests. The childminder has very good partnerships with parents. She has a good understanding of the importance of involving parents closely in their child's care and learning and talks to them on a daily basis. She uses children's individual books to communicate significant events. Records of children's progress include her observations and their own work. Consequently, parents are kept fully informed of their child's progress and the activities

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provision

they enjoy. The childminder has begun to seek the views of parents about the care she provides and uses this feedback to reflect and improve on her setting. The childminder has worked hard to forge positive relationships with other providers, such as the local pre- school. This ensures that children receive a shared and consistent approach towards their care and learning.

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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 225749 Local authority Leicestershire Inspection number 876430 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 13

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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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