Childminder in Buckinghamshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2014 16/09/2008

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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

 The childminder provides fun and challenging learning opportunities for children that enable them to make good progress in their learning.  The childminder has a good understanding about how to promote the health and safety of the children in her care. She has assessed all risks to her premises and has minimised these so children are able to access all areas safely.  The childminder has strong partnerships with parents who feel reassured by the positive care that their children receive.  The childminder reflects on her childminding service well to make continuous improvements and, therefore, improve outcomes for children and their families.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 Although children enjoy playing outdoors, they do not have access to a wide range of materials and resources to further ignite their ideas and play experiences.  The childminder misses some opportunities to develop children's understanding of the world, for example, through providing pictures, photos and stories about themselves or their families and other people.

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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 lounge, dining room and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder's self-evaluation form, a selection of policies, parent consent forms, children's records and observations of children's activities.  The inspector took account of the written views of parents.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2006. She lives with her husband and two adult children in Chalfont St. Giles, Buckinghamshire. The whole of the ground floor of the house and a first-floor bedroom are available for childminding, and there is a garden for outside play. The family has a small dog. The childminder walks and drives to local schools to take and collect children and she attends the local pre-school groups. The childminder's provision is open all year round from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Thursday, except for family holidays agreed in advance. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently minding four children in the early years age range. The childminder has completed a diploma in home- based childcare.

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

 support younger children's understanding of the world further by making family books with photos of family members, significant people in the child's life and familiar everyday objects

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

 extend the range of outdoor activities and resources so children can further explore and develop their ideas.

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who attend

The enthusiastic and caring childminder has a good understanding of how children learn and progress. She plans activities according to the children's interests, so children are keen to be involved and actively learn. The childminder provides toys and resources in low-level boxes to entice children to explore and investigate independently. Each child has an observation file, which parents have open access to. The file contains information for parents about the educational programme, a record of the children's progress and their next steps for learning. The childminder also takes photographs of children during their play and keeps a selection of their artwork, to support her evidence of their progress. During all activities, the childminder uses effective teaching techniques, such as encouraging children to listen and respond to questioning, and to think for themselves. Therefore, children make good progress towards the early learning goals.

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who attend

The childminder makes good use of the daily routine to provide good learning opportunities for children. During the inspection, the children were highly involved in making their lunch. They developed their independence skills as they washed their hands and made choices about what they wanted to eat. The childminder made suggestions to help children achieve. For example, as they had difficulty buttering their bread, she suggested they put it in the microwave to soften. The children extended their understanding of how things work as they pressed the buttons on the microwave. The childminder fully encouraged many discussions about colour, number, size and shape. She provided support to help children achieve as they used the knife to cut their bread. The children enjoyed the activity and they were proud of what they had made.

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who attend

The childminder provides many good opportunities for children to practise mark making. Children make marks with their fingers and different tools, in paint, dough, rice and shaving foam, for example. They are showing an interest in early writing as they use pencils, chalks, crayons, and big brushes with water, to make marks on the patio or fence. Children enjoy listening to a range of stories, and the childminder makes good use of puppets to extend their interest. Furthermore, the children visit the library and, sometimes, the librarian lets the children stamp the books they have chosen. The childminder encourages children to explore different sounds and to join in with music, songs and rhymes. This successfully supports their communication and language, and literacy skills.

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who attend

Overall, the childminder provides opportunities for children to make good progress in their physical skills as they push along toys, ride cars, climb and slide on apparatus. However, they have fewer opportunities to select from a wide range of materials and resources to further promote their own ideas in the childminder's garden. Children enjoy outings to the park and pre-school groups, which broaden their experiences of their local community. The childminder teaches children about the world in which they live. They learn to care for living things as they plant spring bulbs and cress, and they feed the ducks at the park. Children discover how things work as they use cash tills, magnifying glasses and many press button toys. They learn about other people's beliefs as they celebrate festivals, such as Diwali. The childminder provides a range of multicultural toys and resources to help children to understand about the differences between people. However, she does not

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who attend

provide photographs or stories about the children, their families or other people to further develop their understanding of the world.

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who attend

The childminder establishes good relationships with others involved in the children's lives. She works closely with pre-school teachers to further complement the children's learning in her care. For example, in pre-school, the children are currently learning about nocturnal animals, so they collected leaves from the childminder's garden and used their imagination to create pictures of owls. Children clearly enjoy the time and attention they receive from the kind and caring childminder who helps to prepare them for their future education.

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

Children are very relaxed and at ease in the childminder's welcoming home environment. The childminder gathers information about the children when they first start and this helps her to respond effectively to their individual needs. This also supports an effective settling- in process and separation from parents, so they happily settle in to the childminder's care. The childminder has a good understanding of how to promote children's positive behaviour. There are clear house rules and the childminder praises children for their efforts, which promotes their confidence and self-esteem. Children are very familiar with the daily routine, which helps them to feel secure in their environment. Children form close relationships with the childminder and her family, and they learn to share and play cooperatively with each other.

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

Children enjoy fresh air and exercise every day. The childminder has a good-quality range of nursery furniture, toys and resources, to support each age and stage of children's learning. Children observe the childminder's good hygiene routines during the day. They follow suitable hygiene routines, such as hand washing, to promote their good health, and the childminder makes this fun by teaching children to sing a specific song. The childminder has completed food hygiene training and she provides healthy meals and snacks for children. Younger children sleep comfortably and securely in a travel cot in a first-floor bedroom and older children sleep on rest mats. They have individual bed linen and the childminder follows good nappy changing routines, which means that the possibility of cross infection is minimised. The childminder uses a baby monitor and regularly checks on them to make sure that they remain safe as they sleep. Children learn

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

to keep safe because, for example, the childminder teaches them about road safety and how to use tools such as scissors, safely, as they cut up dough. The childminder practises the fire evacuation procedures with children, so they know what to do in the event of fire.

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

The childminder follows good procedures for dealing with and recording accidents, and for administering medication. The childminder holds a first-aid qualification to make sure she manages any accidents appropriately. She helps children to keep themselves safe. For example, toddlers know the routine of the day and happily cooperate as they put on their safety harness in the high chair. Consequently, the childminder promotes the well-being of the children effectively.

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provision

The childminder is very organised. She has a good knowledge and understanding of safeguarding children and she keeps up to date by attending child protection training courses. The childminder knows the correct Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures to follow should she have concerns. She undertakes risk assessments to promote children's safety on the premises and when out and about in the community. The childminder takes steps to minimise possible hazards in her home, such as by installing safety gates and fire detection apparatus. The childminder shares all her policies and procedures with parents so they have an overview of her childminding setting. The keen and enthusiastic childminder evaluates the effectiveness of her good childminding service accurately and she obtains the views of the children and their parents. This leads to continuous improvement in the childminder's service.

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provision

The childminder has a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements and she plans effectively to help children to achieve these. Her planning and observational assessments clearly demonstrate how children make good progress in all areas of learning. The childminder identifies children's next steps for learning and she shares these with parents. She carries out the progress check for two- year-old children in relation to the prime areas of learning and this helps her to identify any gaps in children's progress and development. Parents comment that the childminder's observations of their child are consistent with their observation of their child's behaviour and development at home.

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provision

Partnerships with parents and carers are good. Children are secure and comfortable because their parents share information about their individual needs, interests and experiences with the childminder at the start of childminding arrangements. The childminder takes photographs of the children during their play as part of her assessment. Comments from parents indicate that they are very pleased with the childminding service they receive. The parents refer to the fact that the childminder takes great pride in her work and, therefore, they would highly recommend her. They say too they like to receive their child's development files and planning sheets. They also compliment the childminder on being pro-active in finding out where children are going to school, to help them to move on happily to their new early years setting.

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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 EY347212 Local authority Buckinghamshire Inspection number 828526 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 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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