Childminder in North Somerset

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/11/2014 04/08/2011

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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

 Children form strong bonds with the childminder. She provides a loving and warm environment for them to explore and make independent decisions about their play.  The childminder interacts well with the children to promote their communication and language skills.  The childminder provides a balance of experiences, overall, across all areas of learning.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not use her observations of children's achievements effectively in order to respond to their individual needs and challenge their learning fully.  The childminder has not assessed her evacuation procedures fully to ensure they remain effective throughout the day.  The childminder does not consistently encourage parents to contribute to children's learning as the information they share mainly relates to children's care needs.  The childminder does not consistently encourage children's early writing skills.  The childminder does not always identify weaknesses in her provision and plan how to address them in order to maintain continuous improvement.

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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 children playing inside.  The inspector observed the childminder's interactions with children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including written views of parents and self-evaluation.  The inspector discussed safeguarding practice.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1997. She lives with her husband and their two adult sons in Nailsea, North Somerset. Childminding mainly takes place on the ground floor, with access to the bathroom on the first floor. There is an enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently ten children on roll; of these, five are in the early years age range and attend on a part-time basis.

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must:

 use observations of children's achievements to plan for their next steps and fully extend their learning with challenging activities that respond to their individual needs

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must:

 ensure risk assessments consider how space is used throughout the day, particularly the hallway, in order to make sure that children can be evacuated quickly and safely in the event of a fire or an emergency.

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

 extend arrangements for gathering information from parents about children's achievements at home to help plan their ongoing learning as soon as they attend

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

 provide further opportunities for older children to recognise and write their name and for younger children to engage in sensory experiences in order to encourage every child's early writing skills

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

 develop self-evaluation processes further to help identify and address key areas for improvement and meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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who attend

Overall, the childminder provides children with a suitable range of activities to promote their learning across most of the educational programme. She obtains some information from parents when children first attend. This helps her to plan some initial activities around their interests. The childminder provides parents with ongoing information about their children's achievements. However, she does not encourage parents fully to provide information about children's achievements at home to help with her future planning. The childminder takes photographs to record children's engagement in activities. She identifies some next steps to develop their learning. However, she does not consistently monitor children's progress effectively to ensure that she plans activities tailored to their individual needs. Consequently, she is not always ready to challenge and build on what children already know. Therefore, children do not always progress well in their learning. The

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who attend

childminder understands her responsibility to complete the required progress checks for two-year-old children.

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who attend

Children play happily. They initiated their own games and enjoyed interactions with the childminder. For example, children hid the sorting beakers and asked the childminder to find them. Children used language well and helped the childminder in her quest. They stated that she was 'ice cube cold' when she was far away from the hidden object and 'boiling' when she was close. The childminder introduced mathematical language and questioned the children on how many beakers they had to find. The childminder encouraged early calculation skills with older children, asking them to count how many blue beakers and how many red ones and then combine the numbers accurately. Children also enjoyed turn-taking games, such as dominoes, where the childminder encouraged them to count cards and match pictures. Children used mathematical language in their play, such as 'the snake goes next to this one'. Consequently, the childminder promotes

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who attend

children's mathematical skills appropriately.

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who attend

Children played nicely together. They communicated well, such as when instructing other children where to sit and pass the aeroplane to each other. This demonstrated how they are developing good physical skills as they aimed and pushed the wheeled vehicle. Children developed their language skills as they engaged in imaginative play. The childminder questioned children appropriately to support their imagination. Children explained how they were going on a long journey to Spain and how they would be travelling on an aeroplane and then in a taxi. The childminder repeated children's descriptions to consolidate their thinking and sensitively develop the correct pronunciation of words.

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who attend

Children used writing tools appropriately to draw and began to describe what they were drawing. They used hands and potatoes to print as they made poppies. However, babies were not encouraged to explore the paint and be actively involved in developing their senses and early mark-making skills. The childminder explained to the children that she would put their names on their creations to share with parents later. However, the childminder did not encourage children to look at the letters she had written or learn the letter sounds. Likewise, she did not encourage older children to attempt to write their name independently to help them in the preparation for their move to school.

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

Children are comfortable in the warm and welcoming environment. They develop their independence as they make decisions about their play and selecting resources of interest. For example, children happily built robots, using construction kits, and described what they were building. Children showed pride in their achievements, holding them up for the childminder to see. The childminder organises the room appropriately to encourage babies to pull themselves up. They cruise the furniture as they choose from an appropriate range of toys and resources to stimulate their learning. Older children demonstrated sensitive care for the babies when copying the childminder and singing to them to reassure them. The childminder cuddles babies close as they feed. Consequently, this helps them form strong relationships with the childminder. Parents comment positively about the childminder being a 'constant figure in their week'.

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

Children become increasingly more aware of their own needs. For example, they inform the childminder when they need to use the toilet. Children begin to learn hygienic practices, such as washing their hands after using the toilet. The childminder helps children learn about safe practices, providing them with clear explanations. For example, she reminds children to keep their shoes on in the house so that they do not slip on the wooden floor. However, she has not practised a fire drill with the children. Consequently, she is not helping them to understand what to do in an emergency and how to keep themselves safe.

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

The childminder provides healthy and nutritious meals that meet children's individual dietary requirements. She provides parents with advice and works in partnership with them, such as encouraging children to eat their vegetables. Parents comment that 'all meals are well balanced and healthy'. Children learn to be more independent in readiness for their move to school. For example, they peeled their banana for lunch.

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provision

Generally, the childminder has a sound understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, she ensures the safe collection of children by known and authorised adults. However, there are a number of breaches of the Early Years Register and Childcare Register requirements. These do not have a significant impact on children's safety and well-being because the childminder's arrangements are adequate, overall. The childminder has a sufficient understanding of emergency evacuation procedures. However, she has not reviewed her procedures to ensure they remain as effective throughout the day. For example, she practised the fire drill with older children at the beginning of the year and she is clear about what to do. However, she has not practised the drill with the younger children, particularly when she is caring for four children in the early years age range. The childminder has not fully considered how she

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provision

uses her home throughout the day and whether this will make a difference to her evacuation procedures. For example, the childminder uses the hall for children to sleep in their buggies even though they sometimes obstruct the exit. Consequently, the childminder has not fully assessed the possible risk to children's safety at these times. The childminder has a suitable knowledge of child protection issues including the procedure to follow should she have a concern about a child in her care. However, she does not have written procedures for safeguarding or complaints to share with parents. This means that the childminder has not met the requirements for the Childcare Register.

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provision

Overall, the childminder has developed positive relationships with parents and the other early years settings the children attend. The childminder completes a daily communication diary. This means parents have appropriate information about their children's daily activities and routines, which helps promote children's well-being. However, the sharing of information about children's learning is inconsistent. Overall, children make sound progress in their learning and development as the childminder provides a suitable range of experiences, both planned and child-initiated. However, monitoring of planning and assessment arrangements is not consistent to ensure that activities sufficiently extend and challenge children's learning. For example, the childminder had identified children's next steps as recognising and writing their name. However, she did not use the opportunities that arose to support this and promote their early writing skills. Consequently, children do

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provision

not make as much progress as they could do.

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provision

The childminder has a suitable system of self-evaluation to drive improvement, overall. However, she has not identified breaches in the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Therefore, she is not always using her processes accurately to evaluate her effectiveness in meeting children's needs. Nevertheless, she has made some improvement since the last inspection, such as providing children with some technology toys. Consequently, this supports their learning in this area and enables them to develop their skills. The childminder attends mandatory training, such as paediatric first aid and safeguarding to support her knowledge and practice.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 take all necessary measures to minimise any risks to the health and safety of the children in their care (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep and implement a written statement of procedure to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  write a statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  share copies of written statements of safeguarding procedures and complaints procedures with parents (compulsory part of the Childcare Register).  take all necessary measures to minimise any risks to the health and safety of the children in their care (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  keep and implement a written statement of procedure to be followed for the

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  write a statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare Register and which a parent makes in writing or by email (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  share copies of written statements of safeguarding procedures and complaints procedures with parents (voluntary part of the Childcare Register).

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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 118449 Local authority North Somerset Inspection number 842754 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

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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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