Childminder in Kent

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/11/2014 25/01/2010

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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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder provides a caring and nurturing environment where children form secure emotional attachments and enjoy their play.  The childminder provides toys and activities, which support children's interests and, which they can choose easily for themselves.  The childminder and assistant have high expectations of children's behaviour and consistently use age appropriate strategies to reinforce this good behaviour.  The childminder develops good relationships with parents and the nursery teacher. This helps to ensure a daily exchange of information to ensure consistency for children.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not use supervision meetings for the assistant to discuss ways to support the improvement of the quality of teaching and interactions with the children.  Planning and assessment systems are not effective to ensure play experiences, and activities are always challenging.  The childminder's system for self-evaluation is not fully embedded.  The childminder does not always offer parents opportunities to become involve with their children's learning by sharing ideas for home 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 and the quality of the childminder and co- childminder's interaction with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through discussion with a parent, childminder and from information from letters.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and completed a joint observation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed a selection of policies and procedures including safeguarding.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2008. She lives with her two children in Margate, Kent. The whole ground floor of the childminder's house and the upstairs bathroom are used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder works with an assistant. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register, and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently caring for thirteen children of whom two are in the early years age range. The family has a two dogs and two cats. The childminder and her assistant walk to local schools, and pre-schools to take and collect children. They attend the local carer and toddler groups.

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must:

 strengthen supervision meetings for assistants to include support, and advice to increase the quality of the learning and interactions for the children

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must:

 use information from observations of children's interests, knowledge and skills to plan challenging activities to move forward the children's learning.

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

 develop self-reflection systems to monitor the strengths and weaknesses of the practice, taking into account the views of the parents and children

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

 offer more opportunities to involve parents in their children's learning

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

 enhance the environment to develop further children's understanding of mathematical concepts, particularly written numerals.

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who attend

Children are happy to attend this friendly and nurturing childminder's home. The childminder is caring, attentive to the children's needs and committed to her role. She has a sound knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and understands that children learn best through play. The childminder knows her children well and this is because she has strategies in place to gather information about the children, for example their interests and abilities, before they start in her care. She continues to build on this information through observations and photographs to identify the children's current skills, abilities and interests. This means she is able to provide activities that are of interest to the children, supporting their self-selection and promoting their independent play. However, she does not always use this information to plan challenging activities according to the children's individual next steps to extend their learning further. This means that children's learning is

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who attend

not always maximised to their full potential. As a result children make sound progress in their learning, and are working within the typical range of development expected for their age and are acquiring the basic skills they need for school or their next stage of learning. The childminder has a good relationship with the parents and regularly gives them photographs of the children engaging in the different activities. However, the childminder does not fully engage parents in their children's learning to support and guide the children's learning at home.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistant foster a language rich environment, which allows the children to develop their communication and language skills. They constantly talk to the children encouraging the development of two-way conversation, sustaining eye contact, and giving the children time to think and respond. The childminder and her assistant provide a running commentary about what they are doing to introduce new words in a meaningful way. For example, labelling the mathematical shapes as the child posts the shape into the correct hole. Consequently, children make sound progress in their language development and the childminder identifies any potential learning gaps.

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who attend

The childminder supports the children with a broad range of opportunities to help their small muscular movements and handling skills. For example, the younger children pick up bricks and build a tower, while the older children are encouraged to sound out and write their names. Consequently, children are developing skills, which will help them in their next stage of learning. The childminder extends the children's understanding of mathematical language through the children's self-chosen activities. She encourages the children to recognise shapes as they use them in a posting activity, using language, such as big and small when talking about the trucks, and counting the number of bricks in a tower. However, the childminder does not always provide opportunities for the children to see and use the written number. The children are keen learners, and concentrate on their chosen activities because the childminder knows the children, she knows how they learn

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who attend

and has activities available that follow the children's current interests.

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

The children show they are happy, and secure because they have formed a close bond with the childminder and her assistant. They are both warm, caring and aware of the children's individual needs. The childminder shares daily information with the parents so she is aware of each child's routine and can develop continuity of care. She is sensitive to the children's needs and knows each of the individual children's personalities. The childminder is aware of the children who are wary when she has someone new in the house and she knows who will confidently engage them in conversation. As a result she supports children's emotional needs and well-being well. The childminder's arrangements for settling new children are flexible and reflect children's individual needs. Initially the parent stays for the whole of the session then parents begin to leave the child for longer periods until the child is comfort being left alone. Thereby, ensuring they feel safe, and

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

become confident and familiar with their new surroundings. While the parents are visiting with their children the childminder verbally gathers information about their child's individual needs, such as sleep patterns, eating habits, current interests and likes and dislikes. This enables the childminder to build a picture of the individual child's personality and needs. Therefore, the childminder develops a good knowledge and understanding of their care routines. This enables children to settle quickly and start building close bonds with her from the start.

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

The childminder and assistant have high expectation about behaviour, and create a calm atmosphere that encourages this. They are both positive role models, and encourage respect and behaviour that is acceptable. The childminder has a policy and procedure, which she shares with parents, this allows for continuity for the child whether at the childminder's house or in their own home. She provides consistent routines and boundaries for the children to ensure they understand what she expects of them. For example, the childminder uses age appropriate techniques by encouraging the younger children to share by redirecting or distracting the children's attention. As a result the children behave well, they are polite and good mannered.

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

The childminder ensures that children have daily access to the outdoor through outings to the park, a walk to the school pickup and the garden. Consequently, children are encouraged to develop their physical skills through play activities. They benefit from the fresh air, and have opportunities to negotiate a range of physical play equipment using their large muscles while climbing, running, balancing and riding bikes. The children also have opportunities to develop their knowledge of the world around them. For example, they begin to understand the cause and effect when they jump in puddles, and how to be kind and care for animals. The childminder and assistant are aware of the children's safety when they are outside the home and they begin to develop the children's skills to allow them to manage their own risks. For example, they increase the children's knowledge of road safety as they cross the roads and how to safety use play equipment.

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provision

The childminder has a sound understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder and her assistant have an appropriate understanding of their roles and responsibilities to help safeguard children's welfare. They are aware of the signs, and symptoms they need to be aware of and what to do in the event they have any concerns. The childminder has recently attended safeguarding training and has updated the safeguarding policy that she shares with parents. Both the childminder, and assistant knows the procedure they would follow in the event of an allegation being made against them or any household members and the safe use of mobile phones and cameras is included within their policy. The childminder is now regularly working with an assistant. She has carried out suitability checks and verbally completed an induction to ensure the assistant is aware of her roles,

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provision

responsibilities, and the policies and procedures. The childminder also verbally completes supervision meetings. However, she does not allow opportunities to discuss existing knowledge, and training requirements to support the professional skills and improve the personal effectiveness of the assistant. On a daily basis, the childminder uses informal conversations as an opportunity to discuss and resolve any concerns there may be about the children's progress or well-being.

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provision

The childminder has a good partnership with the parents, at the settling visits she verbally discusses her service, and provides a range of policies and procedures. The childminder exchanges daily care information about the children with the parents and the children's nursery teacher exchanges information about the child's activities when she collects them. She also sends parents photographs of their children engaging in different activities, and annually gives the parents their children's learning folders to keep when she starts a new one. However, this information is often one-way and parents do not have opportunities to meet and discuss their children's progress with the childminder. As a result opportunities for continuity of learning, and development between parents and the childminder are lost. Parents speak highly of the childminder, and feel she is a warm and considerate person who is supportive and flexible. They also feel the children are safe and they appreciate the

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provision

The childminder has taken some steps towards evaluating her practice, she reflects on her day and how this could be improved. However, this system is in its infancy and the process does not involve the views of the children or parents. As a result the childminder is not fully aware of the strengths and areas for development within her practice.

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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 EY378832 Local authority Kent Inspection number 993030 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 12 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

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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