Childminder in Kingston upon Thames

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 08/12/2014 24/02/2010

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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 forms strong and secure relationships with children. They are happy, very sociable and confident, and so are well prepared for the move to preschool or school.  The childminder engages children in a good range of activities to support their understanding of the world and interest in healthy food and physical exercise.  The childminder makes effective use of questioning and conversation to encourage children to think critically and to make good progress in their communication and language.  The childminder's commitment to improvement is demonstrated by her achievements since the last inspection and current plans for the future.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder's observations of children are perceptive but she does not always fully use what these tell her to identify and plan activities that challenge children comprehensively.  Opportunities for children to be creative are not as effective when the childminder plans art and craft activities that have a pre-determined end result.

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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 took account of the views of parents.  The inspector discussed the childminder's practice with her.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the childminder's safeguarding and welfare documentation and children's assessment records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the children's play indoors and involved the childminder in this process.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 1994. She lives with her husband and adult son in Chessington, Surrey. The whole of the childminder's house is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. Local facilities include schools, parks and toddler groups. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is currently caring for two children who are in the early years age group. The childminder has a pond and keeps coy carp.

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

 strengthen use of observation and evaluation processes to identify ways to further enhance the good progress children are already making in all areas of learning

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

 extend opportunities for children to create and design independently, and for young children to explore and experiment with a range of manmade and natural items.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of child development. She gathers good information about children's personalities, capabilities and particular play and learning interests from parents before they start attending. The childminder uses this information effectively to help the children settle in and to make an assessment of their level of ability. The childminder makes effective use of observation to assess and track children's progress. However, her use of these processes to inform and guide her planning, to help children make better than good progress, is not yet developed comprehensively. Opportunities to plan activities that build on what they can already do are sometimes missed. For example, toddlers can already use a pencil with good control and fit pieces of puzzle together. They show they have well developed imagination and critical-thinking skills. However, the childminder makes some use of templates and pre-cut resources for

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who attend

art and craft activities. Children have not been introduced to scissors yet. Opportunity, therefore, for children to create and design using their own ideas are not as well embedded into practice.

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who attend

Children make good progress in their communication and language, including those learning English as an additional or dual language. The childminder engages children in lots of conversation. She repeats words to babies, teaches them simple action rhymes, to clap hands and wave bye-bye. They listen to her very carefully, showing good understanding when she refers to a familiar routine, such as snack time. The childminder encourages children to think critically and models the try again approach very skilfully. For example, when a child said 'I can't do it', referring to fitting a puzzle piece, the childminder suggested the child try to match the shape of the piece with the space in the board. The childminder encouraged the child to keep trying by highlighting her own mistakes, then praising the child for 'being better than me at this'. The child's sense of achievement was etched all over their face. Later on during the inspection the same child seated a doll to

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who attend

the table and gave them a puzzle. The child proceeded to mimic the childminder, for example with 'look for the shape' and 'what can you see?' recollecting their earlier experience confidently.

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who attend

Children experiment with water and sand using different size containers, which helps them to understand about weight, volume and capacity. The childminder plants the seed of thought into children's minds to encourage them to use their own ideas, for instance to build a staircase from oblong bricks. They sing number rhymes together and when playing shops the childminder playfully asks them to tell her how much her shopping comes to. Babies thoroughly enjoy emptying the contents of the play kitchen cupboard which is full of pretend and very realistic food such as cabbage and carrot. However, in the main most of the resources provided for them are made of plastic. The children do not always have consistently good opportunities to explore and investigate everyday and natural resources, such as pots and pans, wooden spoons and cardboard boxes.

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who attend

Children enjoy helping the childminder's husband to grow a wide range of fruit and vegetables in the garden. Children dig potatoes and carrots for their dinner from the ground and pick cherries and blueberries from the trees and bushes. Children learn therefore that this is where they come from, not the local supermarket. Children also enjoy digging freely for worms and feeding the childminder's coy carp in the pond. The childminder takes children on a bus, train and boat trips so children gain understanding of the everyday working world.

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

Children are cared for by the childminder in a well-maintained and safe environment. The childminder has a good range of toys to meet the needs of the children attending. New children are helped to settle in through a gradual process. Babies are able to sleep at times consistent with their home routines, and are able to rest comfortably in a cot. The childminder works very closely with parents on meeting babies' routine care needs. The childminder joins up with another childminder regularly and sometimes more than one. Children know these adults and the children they care for well. If the childminder is ever ill or on holiday the childminders cover for each other and the children are always happy to go. Children show appropriate levels of caution when meeting unknown adults and are quickly reassured by the childminder because they trust her. Two-year-olds show overwhelming kindness towards babies, for example as they offer them toys and attempt

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

to read them picture books. The childminder teaches children to put on their own shoes, ensures they are toilet trained, and helps them develop confidence in social situations. This helps to prepare them for school. Wherever possible the childminder takes children to visit their new nursery or school before they start so it becomes more familiar to the children.

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

The childminder inspires children to try new and healthy foods by involving them fully in the process, beginning with picking or digging up their own fruit and vegetables, and making a pie. Children thoroughly enjoy the childminder's home-cooked meals, such as lamb hotpot. The childminder sits with the children at the table, teaching older children to cut using a knife. Children have great opportunities to engage in physical activity. The childminder takes the children to many different outdoor venues. They also spend a lot of time in the garden, for example, as cosy story times are taken on the swing chair. The childminder strives to support children's health needs as much as she possibly can. For example, when a child was showing anxiety about going to the dentist, the childminder took them with her to her own appointment. This ended up being fun activity for the child, especially as they had a turn in the moving chair, and helped to reduce fears.

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

The childminder teaches children about safety as they go about their daily routines. For example, they always cross the road using a pelican crossing on outings and know why. The childminder teaches them the importance of wearing sunhats in the summer and explains why they cannot play outside in the middle of the day during hot weather. Older children learn what to do when the smoke alarm goes off and the childminder challenges them to think about what to do if they were upstairs. When they do cooking activities the childminder teaches the children the importance of not touching the oven.

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provision

The childminder has a secure understanding of her responsibilities regarding safeguarding and protecting children's welfare. She is able to confidently explain exactly what she would do in a variety of situations if she is concerned about a child's welfare. The childminder completes regular and effective risk assessments on her home and the places she takes children to. For example, she checks on sleeping babies every 10 minutes and checks out parks before taking children there to identify if they are safe or not. In addition, she avoids certain community places that are too busy, unhygienic or present safety risks to keep children safe. The childminder has a detailed procedure in place for keeping children safe on outings and for responding to a lost child situation. The childminder always visits busy public places with at least one other childminder so they always have an extra pair of hands. The childminder's pond is raised about four feet off the ground so the water is not

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provision

Parents say they are very satisfied with the quality of care provided by the childminder for their children. They are pleased she has emergency childcare in place for them to use if she is off sick or on holiday. They say children enjoy attending and that their progress is obvious by the new words and gestures they demonstrate at home. The childminder and parents exchange daily information about babies' care routines. They plan together for supporting children's learning and development needs. For example, toilet training is about to start for some children so the childminder has purchased some story books about using a potty. She is in close discussion with parents to ensure they are all consistent in the support they give a child during this time. The childminder has clear and effective plans in place for establishing a strong partnership with the local nursery to ensure the children receive consistent learning support as they move on to other early years settings.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates a strong drive to improve her practice and the outcomes for children. For example, she has established a new process for carrying out observations and assessments on children, particularly the progress check for two-year-old children. The childminder makes good use of her network of childminding friends to help her reflect on her practice. Together they search the internet for ideas and plan special activities for the children. For example, on the day of inspection they were going out for Christmas lunch at the garden centre to enable the children to enjoy a social activity together. Next week plans include visiting the farm to see a reindeer and going to a childminding Christmas party. The childminder's current improvement plan is heavily focussed on improving outcomes for children. She is updating her safeguarding training, obtaining some story and rhyme CDs to promote the home languages spoken by children, and to

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provision

continue to develop ideas for creative play.

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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 131873 Local authority Kingston upon Thames Inspection number 813769 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 2

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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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