Childminder in Rotherham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/12/2014 28/03/2012

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 Previous inspection: Not Met 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder is warm and caring. Children have a secure attachment with the childminder and are confident and happy in her care.  The childminder supports children's independence well and they are confident within her home, which helps them to gain some skills in readiness for school.  The childminder has sufficient understanding of her responsibility to keep children safe. She has appropriate procedures in place to protect children from harm.

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It is not yet good because

 Assessment is not fully effective in tracking children's progress. As a result, children's next steps are not clearly identified and they are not challenged to make the best possible progress over time.  The childminder does not have sufficient knowledge and understanding of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years to ensure that she can provide parents with relevant information and quickly identify if a child is falling behind in their learning and development.  The childminder does not support parents effectively to share information about what children already know and can do when they join the setting.

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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 in the playrooms.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, children's records, planning and assessments, and evidence of the qualifications and suitability of adults in the household.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers from information included in the childminder's own parental questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1992 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband in a house in Rotherham. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder attends a toddler group. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools. There are currently four children on roll, one of whom is in the early years age group and attends for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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must:

 ensure that the observation, assessment and planning cycle is developed further so that children's next steps in learning are clearly identified and are used to provides challenging activities and experiences that help children to make consistently good progress from their starting points

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must:

 implement the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years to ensure a review of children's progress is made and a written summary of children's development in the prime areas is provided for parents.

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

 support parents more effectively to share information about what children already know and can do on entry, and use this information as part of arrangements for assessing children's starting points, in order to support them more effectively to make good progress from the outset.

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who attend

The childminder generally supports children's learning and development. Information regarding children's interests is mainly sought by the childminder when the children first attend. However, parents are not completely involved in discussing their child's starting points or in planning their child's learning journey, so the childminder does not have all of the information she needs to support children to make consistently good progress from the outset. The childminder has only a limited understanding of the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. This means that she does not meet the requirement to provide parents with a written summary of their child's progress and is not well placed to quickly identify if a child is falling behind in their learning and development. She observes children and what they do. However, her methods to evaluate these observations are not robust enough. She does not use her observations to fully identify

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who attend

children's next steps in their learning or to plan accordingly. This means children are not challenged sufficiently in their learning to help them to make the best possible progress. Nevertheless, the activities offered and the interactions of the childminder enable children to make some satisfactory progress in relation to their starting points.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with a wide range of toys and activities. The dedicated playroom provides opportunities for children to choose resources from low-level shelves and storage boxes. This enables children to make active choices about their play. The childminder gets down on floor level to play with the children and she interacts with them well using lots of eye contact, praise and encouragement as they play and learn. Children are making progress in their language skills because the childminder repeats single words so young children can hear them clearly. For example, she repeats the different names of the transport vehicles the children are playing with. She talks to them about what they are doing as they play and throughout everyday care routines, which helps children to gain some of the skills they will need in readiness for school. Children enjoy expressing themselves creatively and using their imagination as they participate in a variety of art and

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who attend

craft activities. The children are comfortable moving around their environment and handle resources with care.

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who attend

The childminder works in partnership with parents and, to some extent, keeps them informed about their child's learning and development. She records the activities children have enjoyed in their daily diaries, which helps to reassure parents that their children are happy. Children find out about the local community and develop an understanding of the wider world around them, as they go on various outings to local parks and visits to the local toddler groups. The childminder supports aspects of children's physical development through providing a range of activities, both indoors and outside, that challenge them to use their bodies.

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

The childminder provides a homely and inclusive environment and establishes good relationships with the children in her care. This is because of the effective settling-in procedures she has when parents first approach her to care for their child, along with the information she collects in order to meet their child's care needs. New children are supported to settle because the childminder invites parents to bring children to visit several times and gradually extends their time with her. She liaises with parents sufficiently to establish interests and care routines from home. This supports consistent care between her and the families, and helps prepare children emotionally for the transition into her care. This results in children demonstrating that they feel emotionally secure with her, due to the care and support she gives to them from the start.

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

The childminder has basic house rules in place to help the children be aware of the behaviour that is expected from them. The childminder models how to behave and encourages children to be polite and respectful. She offers praise to children throughout the day and encourages mutual respect and turn taking. Hence, children behave well. Children learn to keep themselves safe appropriately because the childminder discusses safety with them and provides them with practical experiences that build on their understanding. For example, they talk about road safety on the school run and practise the emergency evacuation drill.

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

The childminder helps children to develop good health routines. For example, children are reminded of when they need to wash their hands. Children have opportunities to explore the community around them, develop their physical skills and spend time in the fresh air. They visit the local park to enable them to take part in more physical play. This also provides them with opportunities to manage risk for themselves, as they carefully negotiate large play equipment. Children have opportunities to meet people from the wider community because the childminder takes them to a toddler group, where they are able to form new friendships and socialise in larger groups. This helps them to prepare for starting school.

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

The childminder provides healthy, nutritious meals to promote healthy lifestyles and to ensure that all children are well nourished. Children help themselves to a drink as they become thirsty and are encouraged to feed themselves at mealtimes. Overall, they develop an understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle and learn the independence skills they need to be successful in their future learning. However, because the childminder is not clear about children's next steps in learning, they are not always challenged sufficiently to make the maximum progress possible in preparation for school.

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provision

The childminder demonstrates an adequate understanding of the safeguarding procedures. She knows how to recognise potential indicators of abuse and neglect and knows the procedures to follow if she has a concern about a child's welfare. Children are supervised closely and play in a safe environment. The childminder holds a current first- aid qualification to help her to provide appropriate care if a child has an accident. She implements a range of written policies and procedures effectively, to protect and promote the children's well-being, and all appropriate documentation is in place. Daily safety checks and risk assessments are carried out on the premises so children are protected and can play safely throughout the day. The childminder ensures that all adults in the home have the relevant checks completed to ascertain their suitability.

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provision

The childminder has a self-assessment system in place that identifies areas of her provision that she would like to improve further. She has made a positive attempt to address the recommendation from her last inspection and has made some changes to her monitoring and tracking of children's progress. However, the educational programmes are not monitored closely enough to identify where requirements are still to be met. Consequently, next steps in learning are not clearly identified and children are not fully supported to make the best possible progress from their starting points. The childminder has some regard for her own professional development and attends mandatory training, such as first aid, to ensure that her knowledge and skills in this area are kept up to date.

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provision

The childminder maintains satisfactory partnerships with parents and keeps them suitably informed of their child's daily activities. Testimonies, letters and cards from parents confirm they are happy with the childminder's provision. However, partnerships are not fully robust as they do not always support parents fully to share information about their children's learning. The childminder understands the need to have partnerships with external agencies to ensure that children receive the appropriate support and interventions they need to support their progress.

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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 303180 Local authority Rotherham Inspection number 955960 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 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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