Childminder in Suffolk

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/12/2014 28/01/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 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 4 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder demonstrates very limited understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage especially with regards to the learning and development requirements.  The quality of teaching is poor as the childminder does not have effective systems for observing and assessing children's progress. She does not plan well for children's learning and does not provide stimulating and challenging learning experiences for children.  Children's progress is not assessed through the progress check for children aged between two and three years, as the childminder has no knowledge of this requirement.  The childminder does not use self-evaluation effectively to review and evaluate the success of her setting. This results in a number of weaknesses in the childminder's provision not being effectively identified and addressed.

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It has the following strengths

 Children are settled and confident in the childminder's care. They enjoy the interaction they receive from her and form close relationships with her.  Children have access to a huge range of toys, resources and creative materials indoors and outdoors. They guide some of their own play and safely access a selection of resources which are stored at their height.

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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 childminder's home.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed play and learning opportunities in the indoor and outdoor environment and spoke to children and the childminder at appropriate times.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at and discussed a range of policies, procedures and documentation with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed the suitability of adults and saw evidence of Disclosure and Barring service checks for the childminder through her work with a children's organisation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents shared through a large number of letters of reference, thank you cards and written testimonials.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1989 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 Haughley, Suffolk. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a cat as a pet. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently eight children on roll, two of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 develop knowledge and understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage, with specific regard to the learning and development requirements, so that effective support is given to all children to ensure that they make good progress

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must:

 implement effective systems for assessing children's development and use this information to plan stimulating, challenging and appropriate activities for children, that will help them to make good progress across all seven areas of learning

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must:

 implement systems to for completing the progress check for children aged between two and three years to provide parents with a short written summary of their child's development in the prime areas.

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

 use self-evaluation effectively to identify strengths and weaknesses of the provision and to inform continuous improvement.

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who attend

Children generally enjoy their time with the childminder. They participate in mostly freely chosen play. The childminder plans some adult-led or focussed activities, which are generally based around creative experiences. The childminder's lack of knowledge about the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage has an impact on her effective delivery of a suitable educational programme. She is unable to demonstrate how she assesses children's learning and plans stimulating and challenging experiences for them across all areas of learning. The lack of information about how children develop means that evidence to show whether children make appropriate progress in their learning is inadequate.

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who attend

Children's language skills are promoted by the childminder speaking clearly to children and asking appropriate questions to extend their thinking. She encourages them to name objects in their play and to talk about their experiences. Children converse proficiently, articulating their feelings and sharing their ideas. Children focus on a chosen task until completion; for example, they work together to complete a floor puzzle, following the picture on the box carefully to establish where each piece goes. The childminder generally supports them, by encouraging them to match the colours and shapes of the pieces of puzzle until they find the correct ones.

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who attend

Children's knowledge of the world with regards to cooking, planting and growing are promoted by the childminder offering appropriate activities. For example, they use scales to weigh ingredients for cooking, which helps to promote some mathematical skills. Children help to plant seeds and bulbs in the garden, which provides them with some knowledge about how things grow. They explore nature and look at wildlife that visits the childminder's garden. Children have some opportunities to practice their early hand-writing skills when they make marks with a selection of drawing tools.

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

Children settle well in the childminder's care. They approach her with ease and enjoy the interaction they receive from her. The childminder has very firm rules and boundaries in her home which she ensures children become aware of. This results in children understanding her expectations of them. Consequently, children behave well and follow the childminder's clear directions. The childminder uses praise and encouragement to promote children's self-esteem. However, her lack of knowledge of the learning and development requirements results in her not effectively delivering activities, which promotes children's personal, social and emotional development.

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

Children play in one of the two reception rooms within the ground floor of the childminder's home. They freely access a range of toys and resources from the huge selection available to them. This enables children to guide much of their own play and learning. The childminder's garden is used daily to provide children with good play and learning opportunities. It is very well-equipped; with a large selection of large scale physical play equipment, as well as role play resources, a sand pit and a selection of small scale equipment, such as bats and balls. Children enjoy playing outdoors and shriek excitedly as they kick the selection of footballs to each other.

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

Children's health and safety are given high priority by the childminder. She has clear procedures in place for ensuring that children follow good hygiene procedures, such as, washing their hands after using the toilet. The childminder provides children with healthy, home cooked meals and snacks and ensures that they remain well-hydrated at all times. Children enjoy their meals at the kitchen table with the childminder and her family. Children experience fresh air and exercise daily when they play in the childminder's garden and when they go for walks in the local area. At present the childminder does not attend toddler groups or meets with other registered childminders, therefore children have few opportunities to develop social skills, other than when they meet people on their walks in the local community.

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provision

Children are appropriately protected from harm, as the childminder demonstrates knowledge about the signs and symptoms of abuse and what action she would take if she had any concerns about the children in her care. She has attended some child protection training in the past. The childminder does not have a written policy on safeguarding children in line with the requirements for the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. This is a breach of the requirements of the Childcare Register. The childminder has also not implemented a written complaints policy, which is also a breach of the requirements of the Childcare Register. All adults living on the premises have been vetted and proof of the checks used to assess their suitability are available. The childminder ensures children play in a safe environment by carrying out daily safety checks and regular risk assessments.

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provision

The childminder has been an active minder for many years. Her knowledge of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage is limited. This results in her not effectively delivering an educational programme which covers all seven areas of learning, is challenging and is tailored to meet individual children's learning needs. The childminder does not have any systems in place for assessing children's progress and has not yet implemented the progress check for children between the ages of two and three years. The childminder was aware that she needed to use observation to identify children's next steps in learning, as this weakness was identified at the time of her last inspection. However, she has not effectively addressed this recommendation. As a result, the childminder is not able to demonstrate how she assesses children's starting points, reviews their learning, or plans appropriate activities across all seven areas of learning to

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provision

help them to make good progress. The childminder does not use self-evaluation to review and monitor her provision for children. This has resulted in a number of weaknesses not being identified. For example, the childminder has not kept abreast of changes to the documentation provided to assist with the effective delivery of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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provision

The childminder has a good working relationship with parents and liaises daily with them to keep them informed of their children's day. She is unable to involve parents fully in their children's learning as her systems for reviewing children's progress and development are weak. The childminder has close links with the local school and liaises with the reception class teacher to establish a good understanding of how to prepare children for school readiness.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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actions)

The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are

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To meet the requirements of the Childcare Register the provider must:

 keep and implement a written record of policies and procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguarding the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  implement a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare register and which a parents makes in writing or by e mail (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep and implement a written record of policies and procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguarding the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)  implement a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints which relate to the requirements of the Childcare register and which a parents makes in writing or by e mail (voluntary part of the Childcare Register)

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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 250816 Local authority Suffolk Inspection number 871443 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 8

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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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