Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 03/12/2014 23/03/2009

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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 quality of teaching is good because the childminder provides a wide range of stimulating and challenging activities and effectively supports children to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development.  The childminder forms secure attachments with children, which effectively promotes their emotional well-being. As a result, they are happy and settled in her care and confidently explore the environment.  Children's health and well-being is a priority and appropriate safeguarding procedures are in place to protect children from harm. The childminder carefully assesses the risks within her home and minimises these, which helps ensure children's safety as they play.  The childminder has developed effective partnerships with parents. Children's overall development is discussed in detail to ensure that their individual care needs are promoted.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder shows variable skills in asking open-ended questions. This means children are not consistently encouraged to build on their rapidly developing critical and creative thinking skills.  The childminder is not making the most of opportunities to maximise access to the outdoor area, so that children frequently have opportunities during the day to be active outside.

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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 spoke with the childminder throughout the inspection and interacted with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the home and carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the childminder's safeguarding knowledge and evidence of the suitability of adults living at the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records, planning documentation and a range of other records, policies and procedures.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1992 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her son in a rural area, near Alnwick in Northumberland. The whole of the ground floor except for the family sitting room and the first floor bathroom of the house is used for childminding. There are enclosed areas available for outdoor play. The family has hens and a goat. The childminder collects children from the local school and nursery. There are currently six children on roll, five of whom are in the early years age range and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision operates all year round, from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 make more effective use of open-ended questioning to provide children with consistent opportunities to build on their emerging language skills in response to questions, as they learn to think even more creatively and critically

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

 maximise children's access to the outdoor area so that they frequently have opportunities during the day to be active outside.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates a secure understanding of how children learn and develop through play and provides a well-organised and well-resourced environment to meet children's varying interests. In conjunction with parents, the childminder identifies the starting points in children's learning when they start with her. As a result, the children's interests and needs are met from the outset. The childminder carries out and records frequent observations as they settle which gives her a good understanding of children's starting points. She completes a summary of their development every six months, which shows her the progress they are making and if there are any delays or gaps in their learning that need to be addressed. The childminder appreciates and ensures that activities are provided based on the level of learning that suits each child. This means that children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are fully included due to the

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who attend

childminder skilfully building on their learning. This means she successfully plans the next steps for children's development and means they are ready for school when the time comes. Children benefit from a wide-range of challenging activities that are tailored well to motivate, engage and meet their needs. The quality of teaching is good and children learn through a balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities. Children's vocabulary is continuously extended through everyday activities. For example, when children point to the animal that pops up when they press a button, the childminder asks them 'What is it? Children say 'abbit' and the childminder reinforces the correct pronunciation by saying 'r' for 'rabbit'. Children make a good attempt at repeating it. Younger children communicate by pointing to what they want. The childminder shows her understanding of what they are trying to tell her and names the resources such as 'shaker', when she gets out the

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who attend

resources that they want. However, the childminder is not consistent in using open-ended questions with children. On occasions, such as when children are making jigsaws, she tells them which piece is next rather than asking them which one they think it should be. This means children are not always encouraged to think for themselves. Children are very comfortable with the childminder, and stay by her side while playing and turn to her for cuddles as a comfort when needed. The childminder carefully considers how she can best promote children's learning, for example, she has developed story bags, which contain props to support stories that she reads to children, such as a story about Noah's ark. She provides two of each animal for children to handle, and has finger puppets that she uses while she reads to them. She encourages children's involvement in the story as they pretend to chop down trees and hammer the wood. When the wind and rains come, she

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who attend

provides children with ribbon sticks for them to swirl round. At the end, she introduces new words to children's vocabulary, such as 'rainbow'. Children take pleasure in repeating this word. Through this careful planning, children are motivated and challenged in their learning and concentrate for a period from a very young age.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are promoted well. The childminder talks to parents daily when they collect their children. This informs them about what children have been doing and parents update her on anything children have done at home. The childminder completes the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. She provides a written overview of children's progress, including any areas that require additional support, which she shares with parents. Parents take their child's development file home periodically so they can see what children do and the progress that they are making. This all helps parents to continue their children's learning at home and keeps the childminder updated on children's interests, which she includes in her planning.

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

Children form secure, emotional attachments with the childminder because she is welcoming and is very focused on making children feel at home with her. Effective settling-in procedures are in place, which means children move smoothly from their home to the childminder's care and they become familiar with her as their key person. The childminder uses a positive and consistent approach to managing behaviour, which takes into account children's understanding and stage of development. She uses techniques, such as distraction, to successfully divert children's attention. Children are learning to care for the resources and show their understanding of routines as they enthusiastically help the childminder to put resources away before getting more out. She gives children guidance about safe practice when using resources, which helps them learn how to manage their own and others safety. For example, she encourages children not to throw

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

resources indoors, but shows them how to roll them across the floor.

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

The childminder is supporting children's progression well because she provides a stimulating learning environment to cater for their all round development and emotional well-being. Resources are easily accessible in storage cupboards in the living room. She sets out some each day and children make their own choices from the cupboard as they follow their own interests. This helps children to become independent. The childminder provides children with opportunities for physical development. Indoors they use the available space to push the dolls round in a buggy and enjoy sitting on the rocking horse and making it move. They go on outings in the local environment, visiting the beach and park. Children have access to outdoor areas where they experiment with drainpipes, as they run cars and water down. The childminder uses tyres stacked at different levels for children to climb on and planks for them to learn balancing skills. However, there are

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

missed opportunities to make the most of this more frequently to meet the needs of children who love to be outside and active. The childminder seeks to encourage and promote children's healthy lifestyles. At snack time, she teaches children the names of the different fruits that they are having and offers them a choice about what they would like. She raises children's understanding about where different foods and flowers come from through planting and growing activities. For example, they have grown peppers and sunflowers from seed.

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

The childminder has excellent procedures in place to help prepare children emotionally for nursery and school. She helps children learn how to put on and take off their own shoes and coats and to be independent in managing their own needs with regard to the toilet. Excellent relationships are fostered at the nursery. She talks to them daily about what they do with children and has shared children's development files with them. The childminder is happy to liaise between parents and nursery if there are any concerns about a child's development. This means that there is continuity in children's learning and development.

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provision

The childminder has a good awareness of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has attended child protection training to give her a secure knowledge of how to safeguard children from abuse. The childminder is knowledgeable about the local child protection procedures and understands the correct procedures to follow if she has a concern about a child in her care. Written risk assessments are in place, which show how the childminder has identified and minimised potential hazards to ensure children's safety both in the home and on any outings. All required documentation is in place and the childminder understands the need to complete this correctly to promote children's safety and well-being. The childminder completes a range of training on a regular basis, including core training, such as first aid. Courses are identified by the childminder based on the improvements that they bring to her practice.

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provision

For example, she has attended inclusion training and now uses documentation from the course to assess how children are progressing with their speech and language development.

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provision

The childminder has a good level of awareness of how children learn. She monitors how well her provision meets the learning and development requirements and uses detailed documentation for observing and assessing children's progress. The childminder ensures children are motivated and interested in their learning by providing a broad range of activities, skilfully tailored to enable children to make good progress. The childminder has a clear commitment to improving the service she provides. She has completed a written self-evaluation that highlights her strengths and areas for improvement. She encourage parents to feedback their views about her provision, and takes on board and implements their suggestions for how she can work with their children. Since Ofsted's last visit the childminder has demonstrated her continuous drive for improvement through the changes that she has implemented. For example, she has extended her written risk assessments to

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provision

include possible hazards and how they are addressed outside, to ensure children's safety at all times.

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provision

The childminder meets children's needs well because she works closely with parents. For example, policies and procedures are shared to ensure that they are clear about how the childminder's service operates. Through written comments left with the childminder, parents suggest how much they value her. They state that their children learn new words and skills frequently at the childminder's and their child is always excited when arriving. This has resulted in the parent having high confidence in the childminder's care of her child. The childminder is aware of the importance of liaising with local agencies and how children benefit from this collaborative working.

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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 506892 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 869303 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 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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