Wells, Karen

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/11/2014 22/01/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 Children are very happy and settled and feel secure with the childminder. She has a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures, which helps to keep children safe.  The childminder develops friendly relationships with parents and she sends out questionnaires to gain formal feedback on the care and learning she provides. Consequently, she reflects on what she does and involves parents well, which supports consistency and continuity in children's care and learning.  The childminder effectively teaches children as she uses good questioning techniques that make them think and respond and she reads stories to them regularly. This successfully promotes their language and literacy development, so that they make good progress in these areas.  Children have formed close bonds and have good relationships with the childminder as she is caring, attentive and competent. This supports children's emotional needs

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not always maximise opportunities for children to fully develop their own ideas during adult-led, creative activities because she occasionally overly directs their play.  The childminder does not always use opportunities during meal and snack times effectively, to further promote children's independence.

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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 had a tour of the premises and observed activities and routines in the living room and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder's training certificates, children's observation and assessment records and the self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers from information included in the childminder's own parent surveys.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of the suitability of the childminder and household members.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2008 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and children aged 12 and seven years in a house in Killingworth, North Tyneside. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden is used for childminding. The family has a pet cat. The childminder visits the local shops, parks and various groups on a regular basis. She drops off and collects children from the local nursery and school. There are currently 14 children on roll; three of whom are in the early years age range and they attend for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision operates all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 maximise opportunities for children to fully develop their own ideas during planned creative activities, by allowing them more time and choice with the creative resources and by not overly directing their play

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

 promote children's independence further during routines, such as at snack and meal times, by giving them further opportunities to be involved in preparing their own food.

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who attend

The childminder's planning is flexible and very much based around children's interests and what they would like to do. Therefore, she encourages them to make choices from the range of equipment on offer. Activities then become firm favourites, such as familiar stories and playing with large interlocking bricks and farm animals. Overall, planning is effective as this incorporates a good mix of child-initiated play and adult-led activities and outings. For example, children attend regular groups during the week, such as 'toddler tales' at the library, messy and creative activities at the local Sure Start centre, singing groups and soft play centres. The childminder also invites other childminders and their minded children into her home so that children are able to socialise and play together. She is aware of the importance of building on children's interests to extend their learning. For example, when children build houses out of bricks for the farm animals, she plans walks to

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who attend

the local farm so that they experience the real animals and see where they live. She also spontaneously engages children in singing popular songs relating to animals, animal noises and farms. This ensures that children benefit from a range of stimulating opportunities that help them to make good progress. On most occasions, children are supported very well in their learning. However, occasionally the childminder does not always allow children sufficient time, space and choice of creative resources to test out their own ideas. For example, a pre-designed, collage firework picture, made by the childminder so that children can copy, does not always fully promote their creativity and on some occasions she overly directs their efforts.

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who attend

Children enjoy regular reading and quiet times with the childminder. They choose their favourite story books and sit comfortably with her on the settee. Children recall familiar stories as they confidently finish the endings of sentences. The childminder uses effective teaching strategies to help children learn and enjoy the stories, as she changes her voice to make them exciting. Children confidently ask, 'can I read it?'. They sit with the book, turn the pages correctly and begin to recall familiar words and sentences from the stories. This shows that they are confident to have a go and make good progress in their literacy development. When children ask questions about the story, such as why spiders eat flies, the childminder uses effective questioning techniques, makes statements and gives good explanations, which allow children to consider this. For example, she encourages children to think about what they like for lunch and she talks with them about why a spider would

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who attend

not eat the same as them. This helps children to develop their critical thinking skills successfully. Children choose different sized farm animals and make comparisons, such as picking up a big animal and stating, 'this is daddy'. The childminder then talks to children about sizes and colours, points out smaller ones and asks children which ones are the babies. This helps children to understand simple mathematical concepts, such as 'big' and 'small'.

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who attend

The childminder has a good knowledge of where children are at in their learning. She regularly refers back to relevant criteria to ensure that children are demonstrating typical development for their age. She knows that children who have been attending for a long time are developing very well. For children who have not attended as long, she is beginning to establish their starting points and builds on what they know and can do. The childminder completes the required progress check for children between the ages of two and three years, and provides effective summaries for parents. She records observations, links these to the areas of learning and plans for the children's next steps. She supports pre-school aged children who attend nursery to develop self-help skills, such as encouraging them to put on their own coats and shoes. This helps them to move on in their learning and prepares them well for school. The childminder completes individual

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who attend

daily diaries on all the early years children that attend and these are sent home regularly, which gives parents the opportunity to add their comments. This, along with daily verbal information, ensures that parents are well informed about what their children do and enjoy. The childminder finds out what children do at home by chatting with parents and by listening to the pre-school children who often talk about their weekends of dancing lessons and swimming. This demonstrates that that the childminder shares relevant information about what children do at home and in the setting, which encourages parental involvement and provides good consistency for children's care and learning.

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

The childminder provides a welcoming, well-organised and very clean home. The children play in a spacious living room and dining area and use the kitchen table for messy play and art activities. The bathroom is on the ground floor and the childminder provides children with child-size steps and their own individual towels. Therefore, children move around easily and safely and their hygiene needs are well met. The childminder offers reminders about why children need to sit on kitchen chairs properly and they receive certificates for taking part in fire drills. This ensures that they learn about how to keep themselves safe. The childminder helps pre-school children to be independent as they practise self-help skills. She encourages them to put on their own coats and wash and dry their hands. However, children are not always given sufficient opportunities to develop their independence further during other routines, such as helping to prepare their food

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

and snacks. For example, they are not given opportunities to peel soft fruit or butter bread for their sandwiches at lunchtime. The childminder walks everywhere with the children and they often play in the spacious back garden. They also have easy access to the field leading from her garden where they play physical games, such as football. They go on planned outings to the beach and visit soft play centres, which ensures that children get plenty of fresh air and follow healthy lifestyles.

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

Children's behaviour is good and they play together cooperatively. Older pre-school children 'read' books to younger children and they are learning to share resources well. The childminder has plenty of equipment, such as a good range of farm animals in different sizes so that there are plenty to go around. The childminder is down at the children's level at all times. She sits on the floor to play with them and provides lots of eye contact and positive interaction. The childminder also offers lots of positive praise during activities, which raises children's self-esteem and confidence. The childminder is kind, caring and responsive, therefore children relate well to her and they have formed close bonds. Children settle in quickly as some of the younger children's older siblings attend, so they are used to coming into the childminder's home. Newer children are helped to settle in as the childminder finds out all about them before they start. She completes, About me

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

forms with the parents, which show relevant information, such as what children enjoy doing, what hobbies they have, their dislikes and what their favourite foods are. The childminder offers short settling-in periods and gives parents a parent pack, which contains lots of useful information about her setting. This means that children and parents are helped to cope with any separation anxiety during the settling-in process as they move to a new environment. This supports children's emotional well-being successfully.

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provision

The safeguarding and welfare, and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are understood and followed by the childminder. Therefore, she has a good knowledge of how to keep children safe and she understands her child protection procedures. She has the relevant information from the Local Safeguarding Children Board and written safeguarding and complaints policies are in place and shared with parents. This ensures that she is aware of who to contact and where to seek advice and support if she has any concerns over a child's welfare or safety. The childminder clearly describes her mobile phone and camera procedure, to ensure that children are not at risk from the non-authorisation of anyone taking photographs of the children in her care. She obtains parental consent for her to take photographs to be used in children's files. The childminder maintains her recording and documentation well, such as precise

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provision

accident and medical records and she provides close supervision. This helps to keep children safe and further protect them from harm.

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provision

The childminder regularly reflects on what she does and knows where her strengths and areas for improvement lie. For example, she knows that she develops strong bonds with children and works well with parents. She also works alongside other childminders in the area to share good practice and provide more opportunities for children, such as planned outings and art and craft sessions. She is aware that she could be more proactive in accessing further training and be more precise with her written observation and assessment records. She has successfully addressed the one recommendation from the last inspection, which ensures that parents are involved in sharing information on children's starting points. For example, she has introduced About me forms and a parent pack, which has helped to strengthen engagement and two-way partnerships with parents.

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provision

The childminder is dedicated to the children that she cares for and she is a popular choice with parents. Many of the older children have attended since they were babies and parents often choose to send their younger siblings to her. She has an abundance of thank you cards and messages from grateful parents and children. Her parents' surveys are all highly positive and contain many nice messages, such as 'you are like a second mum to my children'. The childminder has appropriate relationships with the nursery staff that children also attend. She passes on general information when she drops off children at nursery and views their planning. She then incorporates any topics or themes into activities with the children in her home. For example, when the nursery requested that parents and carers bring in fallen autumn leaves, she aims to carry out these activities with the children. This helps to provide good continuity in children's 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 EY375879 Local authority North Tyneside Inspection number 858331 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 14

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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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