Childminder in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/12/2014 12/11/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 3 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 3 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 3

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder has an adequate understanding of safeguarding in order to help protect children. Daily checks and suitable risk assessments help to minimise potential hazards and keep children safe from harm.  Partnerships with parents are promoted well. Information is shared on a daily basis, which means parents feel reassured and happy with the care provided for their children.  The childminder has formed secure attachments with the children to promote their emotional well-being.

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It is not yet good because

 The quality of teaching is variable. The childminder does not fully support children to be engaged, motivated or to think during her interactions with them. This means children are not supported to make consistently good progress in their learning.  The childminder does not plan effectively for next steps. This is because her observations and assessments of children's progress are not accurate enough to identify what children need to learn next.  The childminder does not always ensure that she follows good hygiene procedures during snack time. This means that children's physical well-being is not fully promoted and they do not learn about keeping themselves healthy.

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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 looked at the areas of the premises that are used for childminding purposes.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times and looked at and discussed a range of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account parents' written comments supplied to the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked the evidence of the suitability and the qualifications of the childminder and looked at her self-evaluation form and improvement plan.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a sample of children's assessment records and discussed their progress with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children as they played indoors and at snack time. She engaged in the children's discussions and imaginative play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1994 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her adult daughter in a house in Telford, Shropshire. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding. The family has two cats and five dogs as pets. The childminder collects children from local schools. There are currently five children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age range. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder receives funding for the provision of free early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The childminding provision operates all year round, from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for some bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder is a member of Telford and Wrekin Childminding Network and the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 identify each child's level of development by observing and assessing their progress accurately, and use this information effectively to plan for their next steps in learning and to ensure that they make consistently good progress

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must:

 encourage children to become engaged, motivated and to think for themselves by improving the quality of teaching and interactions, for example, through providing opportunities for children to explore, become deeply involved, concentrate and build on their own ideas.

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

 encourage children to learn about the importance of good hygiene procedures and staying healthy by, for example, acting as a good role model to demonstrate and explain hand-washing and cleaning procedures, particularly at meal times.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is variable. The childminder offers children a suitable range of activities, but does not use these effectively to encourage children's learning. For example, when adding flour to a pre-prepared salt dough mix, the childminder does not encourage children to have a go for themselves, or to explore the resources. She does not ask children questions or engage them in conversation to encourage them to have their own ideas or choose their own ways to do thing. This means that, on occasion, children become bored with activities and lack motivation for learning. The childminder does, however, model to children how to make different shapes in the mixture and talks to the children about these. This, to some extent, builds on their mathematical knowledge.

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who attend

The childminder has sought support from her local childminding network about how to improve her systems to observe and assess children's progress. However, she is not completely confident about this and, therefore, does not always identify children's next steps in learning and plan suitable activities to meet these. Information is sought from parents on entry about what their children already know and can do. This two-way flow of information supports children's learning because the childminder is able to use what she learns about children to plan some activities that they enjoy. However, because the childminder does not have an accurate understanding of children's achievements and next steps, some of the activities provided do not sufficiently meet their needs. Consequently, children sometimes appear bored and not interested in what they are doing.

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who attend

Children, to some extent, develop skills they need for the next stage of their learning, including school. For example, the childminder teaches them to be kind to one another, so they learn how to make and sustain friendships, and they learn to respect and care for their environment because the childminder involves them in looking after their toys and resources.

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

Parents bring in children's food and the childminder is careful to follow their instructions about when and what children should have to eat. Children enjoy eating healthy snacks of cereal and fresh fruit. However, the childminder's knowledge of how to support children's health and well-being requires improvement. For example, the childminder uses the same table for crafts and mealtimes but does not always follow good hygiene practices. For example, she does not ensure that the table is cleaned before children eat food off it. In addition, children are not always reminded to wash their hands before eating. This means that the childminder does not consistently set a good example to children, so they learn how to keep themselves healthy.

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

The childminder ensures that children form appropriate attachments with her, so they feel secure and happy in her care. She understands that she is a significant person in their lives and performs her key-person role effectively, so parents are fully included in their child's care. She helps to prepare children emotionally for their future learning, such as nursery or school. The childminder regularly walks younger children to the local school as she takes and collects older children. This means that young children become familiar with the journey to school and are getting used to seeing the school buildings. Children learn about what is acceptable behaviour. The childminder supports children to play cooperatively together and talks to them about unwanted behaviour and how this makes others feel. She gives children firm boundaries, so that they understand what is expected of them. As a result, children behave appropriately for their age.

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

The childminder provides children with regular opportunities to engage in physical exercise as they walk to and from school each day. She takes the children to the park and local amenities to offer different opportunities to observe their surroundings and engage in different activities. The indoor environment is safe and adequately resourced. Equipment and toys are stored in clear boxes that are labelled, so that children are aware of what is available to them. She reminds children to be careful when pushing toy pushchairs around indoors to encourage children to become aware of managing their own safety in her home.

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provision

The childminder has a suitable knowledge and understanding of how to effectively safeguard children in her care. She has written policies to underpin this knowledge and seeks the support from other professionals to keep up to date with changes to legislation. The childminder seeks visitor identification and ensures that Disclosure and Barring Service checks are carried out on all adults residing with her. She understands the different types and symptoms of abuse and knows what action to take if she had a concern about a child's welfare. Her home is secure and she prevents unauthorised access by keeping the front door securely locked. Daily checks and suitable risk assessments help to minimise potential hazards and keep children safe from harm. Children are, therefore, suitably protected in her care.

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provision

The childminder has appropriately addressed the previous recommendations set at the last inspection. She is aware of the need to adhere to childcare ratios and records children's daily attendance to evidence this. She now obtains detailed information from parents with regard to what their children already know or can achieve when they join her setting. She has implemented a new system to observe and assess children's development. However, this is not yet fully embedded, which means that the childminder is not sufficiently clear about children's next steps in learning, or how to teach them effectively, so that they make consistently good progress in their learning and development. The childminder has attended recent training courses on how to develop and extend children's early language development. This shows that she is keen to improve her provision. She has highlighted as part of her self-evaluation process that there is room to improve the quality of teaching

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provision

and the experiences offered to children to promote their learning. The childminder uses her links with other professionals to address the weaknesses she has identified. For example, she meets with other childminders to discuss practice and share ideas to promote children's learning.

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provision

Partnerships with parents are appropriately established and the childminder ensures that she shares information appertaining to their children on a daily basis. This means that parents are kept well informed about their children's care and the activities they take part in.

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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 208359 Local authority Telford & Wrekin Inspection number 995769 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 5

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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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