Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 17/11/2014 29/04/2009

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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

 The childminder displays a good understanding of how to keep children safe. He is aware of how to report any concerns and ensures children are fully supervised to protect them from harm.  Children make good progress in their learning and development as the childminder provides a wide range of exciting and stimulating activities that are linked to their interests and individual stage of development.  Children's learning and development is enhanced in the childminder's care and in their own homes. This is as a result of good working partnerships between parents and the childminder.  The childminder has developed strong bonds with the children. Consequently, they are secure in his care and feel safe to explore and learn. The childminder encourages them to express their preferences and ensures children are able to easily select resources for themselves. This helps them grow in confidence and independence.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to promote children's creative development further by providing more activities that encourage their exploratory skills and imagination such as messy play.

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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 taking place in the indoor and outdoor learning environment.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.  The inspector looked at documents of suitability for adults living in the home.  The inspector took account of the views of written feedback from parents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning records, the accident and medication record and children's information records.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2003 and is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. He works with his wife who is also a registered childminder. They live in Macclesfield. The whole of the ground floor of the property and one bedroom on the first floor are used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The family has a pet cat. There are 22 children on roll, eight of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 extend children's creative development by becoming more involved in children's messy play to enhance their learning.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of how children learn and plans effectively to extend and develop their recently acquired skills. He carefully observes children to find out about their immediate interests in order to plan activities or experiences to enhance their learning. The childminder records children's progress through observations and takes photographs of them as they play to illustrate the activities they enjoy. The childminder has high expectations of all children because he finds out about what they can do before they start at the setting in order to plan for their learning needs. The childminder works effectively in partnership with parents to support their child's individual needs and discuss their progress. Parents are encouraged to share information about their child's learning at home, which aids the childminder's assessment of their children's learning. In addition, parents have good opportunities to become involved in their child's learning because the

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who attend

childminder shares ideas and activities with them that they can do at home. This two-way flow of information and shared knowledge enables them to plan together and think through ideas of how to move their child forward.

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who attend

The childminder gives good priority to the prime areas of learning with children aged under three years. He supports the development of young children very well and provides a broad and interesting range of activities for the children in his care. However, there is room to extend the range of creative development opportunities. The childminder does not fully engage in messy play, encouraging children to maximise their exploratory play instincts. Nevertheless, the childminder's teaching skills are good. Younger children begin to use new vocabulary because the childminder talks with them about what they are doing. He encourages them to respond to him and they babble and copy single words as they play. This enables children to use their growing skills and become confident communicators. The childminder ensures all children are involved in shared activities, helping them to include one another in their play. As a result of his gentle guidance,

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who attend

children behave well and form caring relationships with one another.

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who attend

Children have access to a range of books, which they enjoy looking at with the childminder. Both the indoor and outdoor environment are rich in print, which is effective in supporting children's early literacy skills. Children readily help themselves to toys and resources to support their play as the childminder provides a well-organised environment. They confidently move around to investigate the activities because the childminder ensures there is novelty and interest in the environment. For example, he encourages children to explore different materials, such as a variety of soft and hard fabrics and fir cones. The childminder uses words, such as 'soft' and 'hard' to describe the textures as children explore the interesting objects with their hands and mouths. Children enjoy building towers with bricks and using tape measures to compare sizes. As a result, children are gaining the necessary skills they need for the next steps in their learning.

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

Children's emotional development is promoted well as they develop secure, trusting relationships with each other and the childminder. For example, he holds young children close to comfort them when they are tired and they are clearly comfortable in his nurturing care. The childminder makes sure he finds out about children's preferences and their daily routines by gathering good information from parents. Good settling-in procedures, tailored to each child's needs, means the move between home and the childminder's home is a positive experience. For example, he encourages parents to bring each child's favourite toys and comforters from home, which helps to promote children's sense of security and belonging.

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

Children's safety is given priority as the childminder ensures his premises are secure. Daily checks of the premises ensure children play in a safe and clean home. The childminder encourages children to be active and explore their environment, while teaching them to be safe. He helps children learn about taking small risks as they use the climbing equipment outside and negotiate steps. The childminder acts as a good role model in the calm and consistent way he approaches behaviour management. He helps children to understand about sharing as they take turns with the toys and treasure baskets. The childminder offers lots of praise which helps children to feel good about what they do.

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

Flexible routines incorporate free flow between in and outdoor play environments. Children enjoy being able to play outdoors in all weathers as they have a partially covered outdoor play area and a semi-outdoor environment where they can access more physical activities such as wheeled toys and a ball-pit. Children enjoy this outdoor play, which effectively promotes their physical development. The childminder makes good use of local venues, such as parks, to extend the options for physical play so that children benefit from fresh air and exercise. Children develop independence as they make their own choices about what and where to play. They are able to interact with their older aged peer group all day long. This helps to prepare young children for the move to nursery and school. Children's health is promoted very well. For example, after toileting and before snack, the childminder teaches children about hand washing and talks about keeping germs away.

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

This means children develop their understanding of how personal hygiene helps to contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Babies and young children demonstrate good independent self-care skills, as the childminder encourages them to feed themselves. They enjoy snacks of banana and pancakes and competently drink water from cups. The childminder uses snack and lunchtimes as an opportunity to talk to children about why we should eat healthy food. This results in children becoming aware of what foods are good for us and what foods are better eaten in moderation.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and how to meet them. He fully understands what to do if he has a safeguarding concern and has a comprehensive written policy in place to underpin his sound practice. He has completed relevant safeguarding training and has also completed paediatric first-aid training. Consequently, he is knowledgeable about how to promote children's well-being. The childminder has a good understanding of how to keep children safe. Resources are clean, well maintained and stored safely. They are at a low-level for children to safely access them. Comprehensive risk assessments are available for activities and all areas are checked, including the indoor and outdoor areas and destinations for outings. As a result, children stay safe during a wide range of challenging learning experiences and their welfare is well protected.

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provision

Detailed, well-organised documentation shows the educational programmes, across all seven areas of learning, support children to make good progress. Observations clearly show children's next steps in learning and feed into planning to provide appropriate learning opportunities for children. Tracking of children's progress is clear and children consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. The childminder has a good understanding of how to monitor and evaluate children's learning. The enthusiasm, commitment and drive of the childminder results in a warm, welcoming, safe and stimulating environment, where children can thrive. An effective self-evaluation process is developing well, where strengths and areas for development are clearly identified. This promotes an ethos of continuous improvement to ensure the standard of quality childcare provision is maintained.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are strong. A journal and regular letter is sent home to parents, which enables them to contribute to continuously improving the quality of provision. Daily routine information in the diaries informs parents of the types of activities, foods and outings children experience during their time with the childminder. Information is gathered from parents relating to children's likes and dislikes. The requirement for progress checks for children between the ages of two and three years is fully understood and the childminder is clear about how this should be shared with parents. As a result, children's individual needs are well met. Partnerships with schools and other professionals are already well developed and this continues to be enhanced. This means that children are supported to meet their goals and achieve their best, because all professionals are working together to achieve this.

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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 EY264029 Local authority Cheshire East Inspection number 860601 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 22

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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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