Childminder in Sefton

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23/10/2014 10/02/2009

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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 does not always ensure that the ratio requirements are met. Required information about each child's dietary requirements is not always recorded. As a result, children's safety and well-being is compromised.  The childminder does not have sufficient knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage to plan effective activities for the next steps in children's learning across all areas of the curriculum. As a result, children do not make good progress.  The childminder has not asked parents what their child can already do on entry in order to establish starting points for children's learning. Ongoing assessment is weak as children's progress towards the early learning goals is not monitored and so parents are not supported in continuing their child's learning at home.  Children have fewer opportunities to explore the natural environment as the resources

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder has accessed appropriate child protection training and understands her responsibilities in protecting children, should she have concerns for their well-being.  The childminder has warm responsive relationships with children. Their emotional needs are met and so they feel secure and enjoy her company.

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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 to the childminder as appropriate during observations and checked organisational documents, such as, training and first-aid certificates, risk assessments and the safeguarding policy.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined children's enrolment records, learning files and checked documents, such as registers and forms to record medication administered.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the progress children have made with the childminder to assess her knowledge of children's learning and development.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the childminder's Disclosure and Barring Service check and the evidence of suitability of other adults living in the home.  The inspector viewed the areas of the premises used for childminding.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged 12 and 15 years in a house in Crosby, Merseyside. The whole of the ground floor, bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends toddler groups and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently six children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 ensure that the ratio requirements are met at all times to ensure children's safety and well-being is effectively promoted

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must:

 ensure that information about each child's unique needs is sought from parents; specifically ensure that individual dietary requirements are known and recorded

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must:

 gain a thorough knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage, with specific regard to the educational programmes, in order to provide a wide range of challenging, planned activities to support children's progress towards the early learning goals

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must:

 obtain all children's developmental starting points and observe children to make accurate, ongoing assessments of their progress, using this information to plan appropriate and challenging activities to support children's next steps across the seven areas of learning

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must:

 ensure parents are helped to support their children's learning at home by identifying the stage of development they have reached and their next steps in the progress check for children aged between two and three years.

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

 enhance opportunities for children to create, investigate and explore by extending the range of resources available, such as adding more natural resources.

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who attend

Assessment of children's learning is too weak to ensure that all children are making good progress. While the childminder observes what children enjoy doing, she does not plan activities with any specific focus on developing the next steps in their learning. Consequently, there is no planning in place to help them make suitable progress. Therefore, children are not learning a suitable level of skills to support their readiness for school. Parents are not encouraged to share what they know their children can already do when they enrol. As a result, there are no effective starting points in place, from which the childminder can begin to support individual children's development. Although the childminder does complete a progress check for children aged between two and three years, this is not linked to their stage of development and so does not identify the gaps in their learning. Consequently, parents are not kept sufficiently informed of their children's

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who attend

progress and so are not effectively helped to continue their learning at home.

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who attend

The childminder teaches children through their own initiated play. For example, when children show an interest in books, she reads stories in a lively and animated way. She asks open-ended questions and encourages children to look for and name familiar characters from the book. Consequently, children are appropriately supported in developing listening and speaking skills and are developing a love of books. The childminder knows when to step back and leave children to concentrate by themselves. As a result, children become engrossed in building a tower with blocks and she only intervenes when children ask for help to fit different types of blocks together. However, the childminder does not maintain an effective balance of planned activities and child-led activities in all seven areas of learning. She does not have a robust knowledge of the areas of learning and so does not plan a challenging range of activities. As a result,

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who attend

children do not make sufficient progress towards all the early learning goals.

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who attend

The childminder takes time to get children ready for the next stage in their learning by encouraging their developing self-help skills. For example, she encourages them to use the bathroom independently and wipe their own face after eating. Additionally, she takes older children to and from school and this helps younger children become familiar with the school environment and so they feel excited when the time comes to move on to school.

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

The childminder has recently looked after more young children than the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage allow, on a regular basis. As a result, children's safety and well-being are not assured. However, the childminder forms warm and responsive relationships with children and they enjoy her company and are happy and settled because generally, their needs are met. Parents discuss their children's familiar care routines at enrolment, however, sometimes required information, such as children's dietary requirements is not recorded. Consequently, the childminder's knowledge of each child's unique needs is not robust. The childminder begins to form attachments with children by offering flexible settling-in sessions. Children seek her out for cuddles when they are tired and are reassured when faced with unfamiliar people and this shows their emotional needs are well met.

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

Young children begin to learn about acceptable behaviour, when the childminder asks them to help tidy up and to sit down for snack time. She models good manners by saying 'please' and 'thank you' and praises helpful behaviour and so children are well behaved. The childminder gently reminds them to sit safely on their chair and to be careful walking downstairs, so they are beginning to learn how to play safely. The childminder takes children to local toddler groups which helps them develop appropriate social skills as they learn to share and negotiate with children of different ages. This helps them to adapt to larger groups of children as they move on to busier settings, such as school.

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

The designated playroom is bright and cheerful, with a range of colourful posters displayed around the walls. Resources are stored in accessible baskets enabling children to independently choose the resources they want to play with. While there are generally sufficient resources available to children to support teaching in all of the areas of learning, they are predominantly man made and so do not offer children opportunities to explore and investigate natural or found objects. This means that children have fewer opportunities to compare different materials using all their senses. Healthy and nutritious meals are provided and a choice of fruit or cereal are offered daily as a snack. The childminder tells young children fruit is good for them and water is power juice, encouraging them to drink plenty. Children play outside and the childminder takes them out regularly to a local park. This helps them to experience the local community and

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

allows them to play out in the fresh air on more challenging equipment, which satisfactorily supports their good health.

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provision

During the inspection, the childminder met the ratio requirements. However, her attendance records show that she has frequently minded more children than she is allowed to. This is a breach of the requirements. Record keeping is not sufficiently robust, as required information, such as children's dietary requirements, is not always recorded. As a result, children's well-being and safety cannot be assured. However, the childminder has a sound understanding of child protection. She is able to identify possible signs of abuse or neglect and knows who to contact should she have concerns. The childminder has a current paediatric first-aid qualification and keeps appropriate records for medication administered and accidents that occur. Written risk assessments for any possible outings are completed and the childminder ensures children are supervised and visually checks the environment to ensure it is safe. Consequently, on a day-to-day basis children are

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provision

The childminder is aware of some of her areas for development. For example, she knows that she is weaker in understanding the full requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Consequently, she knows that her assessment and planning to help children make good progress is not sufficient. As a result, children are not supported to make sufficient progress in their learning. However, the childminder is keen to develop and seek support to improve this.

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provision

The childminder keeps parents informed of what their children have done on a daily basis. She shares information with parents about her policies and procedures during settling-in visits and it is clear that she knows the family background for each child on roll. The childminder understands that sharing information between settings when children attend more than one provision helps to provide a coordinated approach to their learning. She regularly attends toddler groups and is a member of a small local network of childminders, who meet regularly. This gives her the opportunity to share ideas for good practice and build professional partnerships.

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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 EY363233 Local authority Sefton Inspection number 896183 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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