Childminder in LiverpoolOfsted inspection, 24 Nov 2014

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/11/2014 13/12/2010

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 1 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 uses exceptionally good teaching strategies, together with support and intervention, to match the needs of individual children. This ensures they make good progress.  The childminder uses her expert knowledge of the areas of learning and has a very clear understanding of how children learn. She provides varied and imaginative experiences for the children, which motives them to want to learn more.  Children, including those with special needs and/or disabilities, are progressing well towards the early learning goals, given their starting points. This is because the childminder knows how to meet children's individual needs and adapt activities to their different levels of ability.  The childminder offers a safe and welcoming home for all ages. Children form appropriate bonds and secure emotional attachments with the childminder because she is attentive to their physical needs and responds sensitively to their emotions.

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This provision is good

 Children's needs are quickly identified and very well met through very good partnerships between her, parents and other health and educational professionals.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 On occasion, the childminder does not group children in such a way as to offer each individual child immediate adult support so that they are able to succeed quickly and promote their self-esteem even more.

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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 carried out a tour of the setting, noting the environment, resources and displays.  The inspector observed activities in the childminder's home.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.  The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a meeting with the childminder and looked at a range of documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the day.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed safeguarding with the childminder and her systems for assessing risks and suitability of assistants.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2010. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her three children in a terraced house in Liverpool. The entrance is accessed via a few steps. She regularly works with another childminder or assistant. The whole of the ground floor, including a wet-room, and two first floor bedrooms and the bathroom are used for childminding. There is a rear garden for outdoor play. The childminder provides care for most of the year and is able to work flexible hours, overnight and weekends to meet the needs of parents. There are currently four children on roll in the early years age group.

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

 maximise opportunities for children to build their motivation and self-esteem even more, for example, by ensuring that adults can offer immediate support, where required, to help individual children succeed.

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who attend

Teaching is outstanding. The childminder has an excellent understanding of child development and how children learn, gained through achieving her foundation degree. She understands that children have different styles of learning and interests and therefore provides group and individual learning opportunities that stimulate all the senses. For example, she uses her wet room, with colour-changing lights, and explores making bubbles with differently shaped instruments. Children learn how to take turns and share resources. Children develop excellent thinking, language and vocabulary, as the childminder uses open questions to help children explore ideas or recall previous learning. The childminder is very adaptable and able to create a wonderful learning opportunity out of everyday occurrences. For example, when rice was spilled on the floor, she turned the accident into a learning opportunity, making pictures on the floor with the rice. This

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who attend

developed into making pictures of faces and then she further extended the unplanned activity to explore emotions. These activities support children's development to be adaptable, to explore and to be creative. As a result, they are gaining exceptional dispositions, which will help them move on to their next steps in learning or move to school.

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who attend

An effective key-person system supports engagement with all parents. She has attended a course aimed at working with families to support children with additional needs. Children who have chronic medical conditions are given excellent support to meet their medical needs, as the childminder works closely with parents and health specialists. The childminder varies activities throughout the day and ensures those children who need regular rest can access a comfortable and cosy area. Targeted strategies are in place, for example in conjunction with the speech and language therapist and physiotherapist, for children in need of additional support. The childminder has attended many courses over the last few years, including sign language, which supports children's communication and language development. She is involved in an active programme that supports children's physical development with the local school. A grant from the local authority enabled the

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who attend

childminder to adapt part of her home for children with disabilities. She has also worked with authorities to see how she can improve access to her home. As a result, all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are making very good progress towards the early learning goals over time.

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

Children, especially those in need of additional support, are forming secure emotional attachments with the childminder. This is because the childminder works in partnership with parents from the start. The childminder learns about the children's interests and dispositions, so she can plan for their emotional well-being and make them feel comfortable in her home. Photographs and displays of their work help children gain a sense of achievement. Some children require additional support due to their ongoing health or developmental needs and parents express how supportive the childminder is to the whole family. Parents describe the childminder as 'nurturing' and 'providing a secure family unit'. Children are supported appropriately and challenged to extend their learning. For example, the childminder has been trained and works with staff from a children's hospital, to ensure children receive appropriate health care information and practices. The

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

childminder understands how to adapt routines to ensure children's well-being. Young children are able to recognise their own health needs. This means that they are physically and emotionally prepared for their next stage of learning within the setting or for moving to school.

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

The childminder has an appropriate behaviour management policy and is a good role model. For example, she explains to children their actions and consequences as they take time to consider their actions. Children are polite and are learning to share and take turns. Her consistent praise for good effort motivates children to try new experiences, however, sometimes children are grouped in such a way that some individuals may not have the optimum amount of adult attention to enable them to be successful quickly and, thus, to fully promote their self-esteem. Children learn to take risks and manage their own safety. For example, an activity involving playing with rice gives an opportunity to make music shakers and make patterns. When children try to eat the rice, they learn that the taste is not pleasant, however, they will not come to any harm. Children visit the local park, where they can negotiate large play equipment and the childminder can assess the risk

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

dependent upon the ability of each child. The house has safety gates on most room doors, so the childminder can safely leave children temporarily, within earshot, to take another to the toilet. The childminder promotes healthy eating and lifestyles through various activities and the menu she offers. Overall, the childminder provides for children to explore their environment and take risks, with support close at hand.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of how to recognise, and react to, potential and actual harm to children. She and her assistant have attended training in safeguarding and first aid and she has good policies and procedures in place to respond to any concerns about children's health and safety. She accesses professional partners for children requiring additional support to ensure ongoing wellbeing of children. The childminder has a range of documentation in place to assess risks and the suitability of adults living or working on the premises. She has daily checklists to ensure the environment is safe before children arrive. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years and uses their templates for contracts, accident reporting and medication records. Therefore, children are fully supported by the childminder and feel safe in her care to explore and learn from their surroundings.

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provision

The childminder makes use of an effective tracking system, starting with base-line assessments agreed in partnership with parents. Ongoing records and evaluation of observations ensure children are progressing well, considering their starting points. She has targeted plans for communication and language development of children who are not achieving broad targets compared to other children of a similar age. Excellent partnerships with speech and language therapists and physiotherapists ensure children's individual needs are identified and appropriate interventions are sought to close any gaps at the earliest possibility. The assistant is supervised and her work moderated by the childminder. The assistant is currently enhancing her knowledge and skills from level 2 to level 3 in an appropriate childcare qualification. This ensures consistency in the quality of provision, so children receive the support they need.

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provision

The childminder works well with her co-childminder to organise their day and differentiate activities around children's interests, needs and routines. They consistently discuss strengths and weaknesses and thoughts on adding new resources or extending activities based on the enjoyment and involvement of children or parental questionnaires. She has close links with the local primary school, where she discusses how she delivers the Early Years Foundation Stage. The teachers liaise with her to ensure continuity of care and discuss how she can extend learning at home. The childminder keeps her professional knowledge up-to-date through industry newsletters and magazines. She hopes to extend her teaching methods by studying a post-graduate qualification. This conscientious approach to furthering her knowledge and skills ensures she is more than effective in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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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 EY412346 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 850007 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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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