Childminder in Hertfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/12/2014 28/10/2009

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early years provision

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

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This provision requires improvement

 The childminder engages children in purposeful dialogue and adapts her teaching methods to ensure activities offered are enjoyable for all ages. This supports children to make some progress towards the early learning goals.  Children are happy, polite and behave well. They have formed close attachments to the childminder and her family. This suitably supports their well-being.  The childminder has established appropriate links with parents and informs them of the activities their children take part in. This means that they can continue the learning at home.

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It is not yet good because

 The childminder does not accurately maintain daily records on children and is not aware of her responsibilities in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. This compromises children's safety and welfare.  The childminder does not complete regular assessments on all children to show their accurate levels of attainment or gather relevant information from parents when children start. Therefore, she is unable to ensure planning includes any identified gaps in learning for existing children, or the current abilities of new children, to fully support all areas of their learning.

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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 children's activities indoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed adult-led activities and discussed the intentions and learning outcomes with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled the childminder's documentation including policies, a hard copy self-evaluation, training certificates and children's learning journals.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through recently completed questionnaires and a selection of written references.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector saw evidence of the suitability of all persons living on the premises and other documentation in relation to the safeguarding and welfare requirements.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2001 and is on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and their two adult children in a residential area of Wheathampsted. The premises are accessible by a low step to the front entrance. The whole of the ground floor is available for childminding and a first floor bedroom is used for children to rest. There is an enclosed area available for outdoor play. The family have a dog and three cats as pets. The childminder operates from 8.30am until 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, all year round, except for family holidays and bank holidays. There are currently five children on roll, two of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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must:

 ensure regular assessments are completed on all children to show accurate attainment levels and to help inform planning through identified gaps in their learning

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must:

 maintain a record of the children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance

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must:

 develop an awareness to ensure that all the responsibilities under the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 are met, including appropriate procedures for taking and storing photographs of children.

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

 extend the initial information gathered from parents when children start, to include children's capabilities and what they already know, to complement the consistent observations made and further support establishing accurate starting points for each child.

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who attend

The childminder has a suitable knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She uses this understanding to offer a range of experiences and activities for children to cover all the seven areas of learning. There is an appropriate balance between adult-led and child- initiated activities. For example, children use their free time to self-select from the variety of resources she provides. This supports their imagination as they engage in role play with their peers. During planned activities, the childminder adapts each activity with ease to ensure the enjoyment of all children. For example, the childminder encourages the older children to help and gives them extra responsibilities, raising their self-esteem. The childminder ensures younger children have the time to persevere and try things for themselves, but offers support as needed. This demonstrates how, on occasions, she chooses timely moments to intervene and extend children's learning. However, the

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who attend

teaching, at times, is variable as the childminder uses general plans for each age group, which do not take into account individual needs or learning styles. This is because; the childminder does not currently complete regular assessments on all children. Therefore, she is unable to accurately identify their skills, knowledge and abilities against the approved childcare guidance she has access to. This means that the plans she makes are not precise and do not always offer children the opportunity to reach their full learning potential in all areas, by providing suitable challenge. Furthermore, the childminder does not gather initial information from parents on what children can already do to support her initial observations further and help establish accurate starting points for each child to work from.

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who attend

The childminder adequately supports children to manage their own personal needs. For example, she helps them to dress themselves and manage any smaller buttons or zips. This promotes their developing independence and smaller physical skills. The childminder teaches older children the specific areas of learning, such as literacy and mathematics. For example, she encouraged children to use numbers for counting as they played a variety of matching games. Furthermore, children use their problem-solving skills, as they complete a selection of age-appropriate puzzles. Children spend time using the available resources, such as wipe clean books and pens, to practise their early writing skills. Furthermore, they concentrate as they direct the glitter glue to secure decorations and write their name on their finished products. This helps to develop their finger grip needed to master pen control. However, as the childminder is unaware of each child's current stage of

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who attend

development she cannot effectively support them to gain all of the skills needed to move on to the next stage in their learning.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are generally sound, as the childminder uses daily discussion to involve them in their children's learning. She informs them of the activities children take part in and their response to these. Furthermore, she will often provide resources, such as, seeds to grow, to encourage the learning to be extended at home. The childminder carries out regular observations on all children to help her plan activities and experiences that they enjoy. She shows awareness of children's interests and offers further activities to fuel their concentration. This supports their creativity and imaginative development and helps them to make some progress in their learning. The childminder engages children in purposeful dialogue. For example, children enjoy recalling previous activities and talking about what they did at the weekend. The childminder encourages children to take turns and listen to each other to support their speaking and listening skills.

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

Children enjoy their time with the childminder and have formed secure attachments to both her and her family. She responds to children's needs and offers immediate comfort to children when upset. This adequately supports their emotional needs. The childminder has some suitable arrangements in place for when children start, such as a gradual increase in hours if needed to help children settle. She gathers information from the parents on individual care needs, such as dietary requirements and sleep patterns. The childminder refers to this information each day and adapts her plans accordingly to offer children continuity in the care that they receive. This helps to ensure a smooth move between their home and the provision. The childminder keeps parents fully informed during this time as she records any information or concerns in a daily diary. As children get ready to move on to school the childminder talks to them about what to expect. In addition, she uses

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

expression cards to talk to children about how they are feeling. This helps them to express their own emotions and recognise and respond to the needs of others. Children access an array of resources to reflect diversity and other cultures. This increases their awareness of the similarities and differences of others and further prepares them to move on to the next stage in their learning.

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

The childminder supports children to be kind to each other and regularly reminds them of the rules and boundaries of the home. As a result, children are clear about expectations and behave well. She offers regular praise to children for their achievements and when they use socially acceptable behaviour, such as, by saying 'thank-you' without being prompted. This raises their self-esteem. Children enjoy regular outings to other early years groups and the toy library. These experiences provide opportunities for the children to negotiate relationships and practise their social skills further. The childminder promotes children's awareness of personal safety. For example, she reminds them to be careful when they wear the dressing-up shoes as they may slip. Furthermore, she regularly completes activities on road safety to support them in keeping themselves safe from harm. However, the safety and well-being of children is compromised. This is because; the

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

childminder does not accurately record the hours that each child attends. In addition, she is not fully aware of her responsibilities in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998 in order to handle and store sensitive data of children.

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

The childminder suitability promotes children's health as she provides a balanced nutritious diet. Children enjoy jacket potatoes with a choice of fillings for lunch and fruit for dessert. Furthermore, children show awareness of healthy food options as they talk about foods that are not healthy, such as chocolate. The childminder further promotes their understanding as she uses a home-made laminated card game to stimulate discussion on how to live a healthy lifestyle. She reminds children to wash their hands before lunch and provides separate hand towels for them to use. This reduces the risk of cross-contamination and promotes safe-hygiene practice. Children have access to an outdoor area and enjoy regular walks in the surrounding village to promote their physical development. For example, the childminder planned an activity to post cards to a variety of nearby addresses. She encouraged the children to determine the best route using the

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

door numbers provided. This supported them to think critically and offered them a suitable challenge to complete while they enjoy fresh air and exercise.

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provision

The childminder has recently attended a safeguarding children course. Therefore, she is aware of any indications that a child may be suffering from abuse or harm. In addition, she knows the procedure to follow if an allegation is made against herself or any other member of the household. The childminder displays a flowchart to offer her further reassurance for a variety of scenarios. Furthermore, all adults living on the premises have undergone full suitability checks. This helps to safeguard children. The childminder maintains an up-to-date first-aid certificate and follows a clear evacuation procedure. This helps her to manage any accidents that children have and know what to do in the event of an emergency. All access points to the home are secure to prevent unauthorised access. In addition, the childminder completes daily risk assessments. She removes any identified hazards immediately to ensure that the environment is kept safe.

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provision

These practices demonstrate that the childminder has a general understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. However, she does not keep an accurate record of children hours of attendance and is unaware of her responsibilities in accordance with the Data Protection Act (DPA) 1998. The childminder maintains a variety of permission forms from parents, but has not checked to ensure that these have been fully completed. Therefore, she does not currently have permission to take or use photographs for children to record their progress as she does. Furthermore, the childminder does not complete regular assessments on all children to meet the learning and development requirements and fully support children's progress. As a result, she is not currently meeting the requirements of the Early Years Register or the associated requirements of the Childcare Register.

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provision

The childminder uses self-evaluation to identify some strengths and weaknesses of her practice, although has only partly addressed a previous recommendation given. She acknowledges that she needs further support, and has established some suitable links with other agencies to help her to monitor the learning and development requirements. These links also provide her with access to specialist support if needed, for any child in her care. The childminder currently completes the core training required, but has not identified or attended any training to focus on the specific educational programmes to maintain her appropriate quality of teaching. This questions her capacity to support continuous improvement. Nonetheless, the childminder has developed suitable relationships with parents and values the feedback that they offer. She distributes annual questionnaires to them and has received a selection of references that clearly express how happy they are

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provision

with the care that she provides. In addition, the childminder talks to children about their preferences and repeats activities which they have particularly enjoyed. This demonstrates how she values and acts upon their input.

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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 a daily record of the hours of attendance for children looked after on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  keep a daily record of the hours of attendance for children looked after on the premises (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 149060 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 1000084 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

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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