Childminder in Durham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/11/2014 15/07/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 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 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder has a good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She is skilled in using a wide range of different teaching strategies to promote children's learning development.  The good range of accessible resources and equipment offers a stimulating and rich environment for the children. This results in successfully capturing children's ongoing interests, to explore, investigate and become active learners.  The childminder has good understanding of safeguarding and how to promote the health and safety of children in her care. As a result, children are well protected.  Good self-evaluation practice is in place, which helps to consistently identify priorities for development that continue to improve quality.  The childminder communicates with parents effectively. Ongoing communication means the childminder and parents work closely together to meet the needs of the children.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not always use different teaching strategies, such as, open-ended questions to enhance children's communication skills.  On occasion, children do not have sufficient time to formulate their answers to the questions the childminder poses, which does not ensure that every opportunity is used to maximise their communication and language development.

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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 toured the areas of the house used for childminding.  The inspector observed activities in the childminder's playroom and kitchen.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of records including children's details, learning information, written policies, planning, risk assessments, training certificates and a selection of other documents.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the evidence of the suitability of the childminder and her family.  The inspector took account of the views of parents from written statements.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is registered to work with an assistant. She lives with her family in Etherley Dene, Bishop Auckland. The whole of the ground floor, except for the conservatory, are used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools. The childminder cares for children from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays. There are currently four children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions.

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

 enhance the use of a wider range of teaching strategies, for example, by using even more open-ended questions to enhance children's communication skills

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

 strengthen the educational programme for communication and language, by enabling children to have more time to formulate their answers to questions.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She fully understands how to promote children's learning and development through play and carefully planned activities. The childminder gains valuable information about children and their starting points through initial meetings with their parents and settling-in sessions. The childminder has good systems in place to record children's development. She makes detailed observations of the children, assessing their achievements and progress. The childminder effectively uses her observations to identify next steps in the learning of the children. Children benefit from a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities and the routine is very flexible to enable them to pursue their own interests. Individual learning journals are in place for all children; these include photographs, examples of children's work and observations of them at play. These

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who attend

are linked to the seven areas of learning and are used well to identify the next steps in children's learning and assess their progress. Children show high levels of independence, curiosity, imagination and concentration. This is because the educational programme reflects a range of rich, varied and imaginative experiences that are exceptional in meeting the needs of all children. This ensures that teaching continually challenges children, so they make good progress in their learning and development. Consequently, children are acquiring the skills they need to be ready for the next stage in their learning. Children make good progress in their learning. Teaching is good and the childminder skilfully intervenes and extends children's learning during child-initiated activities. An emphasis is placed on the development of language and communication. The childminder talks to the children constantly, listening to what they are saying and extending

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who attend

vocabulary that is appropriate to the children's level of understanding. However, opportunities for children to enhance their communication skills and respond in sentences are not fully developed, as the childminder does not always use open-ended questions. Also on occasion, children do not have sufficient time to formulate their answers to the questions the childminder poses, which does not ensure that every opportunity is used to maximise their communication and language development. The childminder demonstrates skill as she listens carefully and models words and sentences, for example, by introducing vocabulary, such as 'squash' and 'roll' and 'pat' when children are playing with dough. This means that children are confident to try new words and sounds for themselves and are becoming confident communicators. Literacy activities are embedded in all areas of the environment. For example, children find letter shaped cutters and use these to make letter

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who attend

patterns in the dough, recognising the sounds the letters represent. Children choose particular favourites from the attractively displayed range of books in a cosy area under the stairs. This supports children in developing skills in reading. Literacy skills are supported further in an environment that is rich in print, photographs, labels and signs. Children have lots of opportunities to practise making marks and use various media to support them. For instance, in the outdoor environment the children enjoy making marks on large pieces of paper with chunky pens. This helps develop their early writing skills. The childminder supports the development of mathematics well. When children are playing, she takes the opportunity to encourage discussion about colour, shapes and patterns. They use the terms circle and square to describe shapes and initiate counting as they play. Counting is part of everyday activities. This means that children are making

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who attend

good progress in mathematics. Good use is made of displaying children's work and pictures, resulting in a sense of pride and achievement for the children. The childminder ensures she portrays positive images of diversity in her environment through posters, books and role-play toys. As a result, children learn to value and appreciate the similarities and differences between themselves and others. Planned visits to the park, museum, beach and farm develop children's curiosity about the world in which they live.

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who attend

The childminder meets children's needs well because she works closely with parents. She provides a wealth of information for parents to ensure that they are kept fully informed about the setting and the Early Years Foundation Stage. This means parents are confident to actively contribute to their children's assessment records, and helps them in supporting their children's learning at home. Regular information is shared with parents about the activities their children enjoy, through daily discussions and diaries. The childminder shares journals of observations and photographs with parents so that they know where their children are in their learning. Parents are also encouraged to discuss activities that happen at home with the childminder. Consequently, parents are kept informed about the progress their child is making.

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

Children feel very secure with the childminder who takes care to ensure she obtains information from parents about likes, dislikes, needs and children's routines and her knowledge of them is very clear. Good relationships exist between the children and the childminder. The childminder has a warm and calm manner; she treats children with kindness and respect and acts as a positive role model for them. The children receive her complete attention, which helps them to feel very special, happy and well supported. They enjoy cuddles and close contact when reading a story together and enjoy the childminder joining in during role play and imaginative play activities. The childminder is calm and caring and children relate very well to her. As they play, they chat about things that are important to them. They giggle and laugh as they dress up. The childminder offers frequent praise and eagerly responds to children's efforts and acknowledges their

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

achievements to build their self-esteem, such as celebrating when they are able to count. Behaviour is very good and children develop good self-care skills. Feelings and behaviour are managed sensitively by the childminder and a positive approach supports the children to deal with their emotions. Additionally, the childminder is a good role model for children to show them how to behave, for example, by thanking them for passing her a plate. These skills help children to learn about their own feelings to enable them to form positive relationships. As a result, children display high levels of confidence and self-esteem and are emotionally well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

Children play in a welcoming, homely environment, which is very clean and well maintained. Children are encouraged to tidy up and understand the need to tidy up before getting other resources out. As a result, they can move around safely in the setting, knowing that they are keeping themselves and others safe. The environment is well resourced and equipment is accessible to all children. This means that children can practise and become independent learners. Children display high levels of confidence and self-esteem. For example, they move around the home freely selecting their own activities from a range of resources and respond enthusiastically to activities. Resources are stored on low-level shelving and storage units for children to freely select. Storage boxes have pictures of the contents attached. This allows children to make independent choices in their play and helps them when tidying up. Good use is made of open-ended natural

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

resources; this helps promote children's sensory experiences and learning further. The outdoor area is well resourced to provide adventure and excitement as well as enabling children to develop their physical skills. Children enjoy balancing on beams, crawling through hoops and negotiating obstacles. Children's safety, health and well-being are well promoted through the childminder's clear and consistent policies and practices. Children are aware of risks in the environment as they are involved in the risk assessment process. Children are supported to have a good awareness of safety as the childminder gently reminds them to be careful as they play.

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

The childminder is committed to encouraging a healthy lifestyle. She helps children to develop an awareness of the importance of fresh air and exercise. Children have daily opportunities to be active and have daily access to the childminder's garden. They also regularly visit local play areas and parks, which provides opportunities for children to challenge their skills and learn to take sensible risks on a wide range of larger apparatus. Consequently, children begin to learn about keeping themselves safe. The children have independent access to drinking water throughout the day. The childminder provides a range of healthy meals, supplemented with fresh fruit for snack. She consistently reinforces good hygiene procedures, such as hand washing. As a result, children are beginning to learn how they can keep themselves healthy.

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provision

The utmost priority is given to children's safety and welfare. The childminder has a thorough knowledge and understanding of safeguarding procedures. She has a good awareness of the possible signs of abuse and knowledge of how to report any concerns appropriately. The childminder is conscientious in ensuring the safety and supervision of children. All children enjoy an extremely safe and secure play and learning environment because the childminder completes comprehensive daily checks. Her house is very secure and no unauthorised person is able to gain entry. Records show risk assessment and health and safety checks are rigorous. The childminder has a good awareness of her responsibilities when administering medication and treating minor accidents and holds a valid first-aid certificate. Robust procedures and systems are in place and are followed, which enhances safeguarding practice. These, together with a comprehensive range of

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provision

policies, mean that children are well protected.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of how to meet children's learning and development needs. She has created effective procedures to monitor the overall educational programme for each child. This involves her tracking children from their starting points to when they leave, monitoring their progress over time. This ensures any delayed development or gaps in progress can be quickly identified and effectively addressed, with any identified need being made in conjunction with parents. The childminder monitors the interaction of her assistant with the children to ensure children are provided with consistently good learning opportunities. She also carries out regular supervision meetings and appraisals with her assistant. This results in a good quality learning environment where the activities provided are well matched with children's needs. The childminder is enthusiastic and committed to improving the overall quality of care and

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provision

learning that she provides. Record keeping is well organised and a range of robust policies and procedures underpin the safe and efficient management of the provision. The childminder has a good commitment to improving her service to families. She reflects on activities and uses this information, along with her secure knowledge of children's interests to help with future planning. Parents are involved in this process and children are encouraged to express their views in order to help her to evaluate her provision verbally. She has addressed all the recommendations from the last inspection. This demonstrates that the childminder has a good capacity to improve further. Continuous professional development takes high priority and, as well as a National Vocational Qualification at Level 3, the childminder has attended a good range of early years courses and workshops. This helps to promote her own learning and ensures her practice is current, all of which very

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a commitment to work in partnership with parents to meet children's learning needs. She has detailed daily discussions with the parents to support her good working relationships with them. She involves parents in children's learning and successfully builds on their home interests. As a result, parents are aware of how their child is progressing in their learning and development. Parents' written and verbal comments are highly positive. For example, parents state that their children, 'Receive individual attention and learning information is shared on a daily basis', 'My child's development has been fantastic' and 'The childminder discusses how we can help our child at home with her learning and development'. The childminder has a good understanding of the importance of building partnerships and links with other settings that children attend, to support their future learning when the time comes for them to move onto other

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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 EY419994 Local authority Durham Inspection number 879996 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 4

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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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