Childminder in Lewisham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/01/2015 08/08/2014

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early years provision

This inspection: 4 Previous inspection: 4 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 at times, exceeds the indoor space requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has failed to notify Ofsted about people working on the premises or gain written permission from parents to leave children in the sole care of the assistant. This compromises children's well-being and safety.  The childminder and her assistant do not have a secure understanding of child protection issues, such as the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk. This does not promote children's welfare.  The childminder does not plan stimulating activities that promote individual children's learning effectively. The lack of assessments mean that children's achievements are not recognised. Therefore, they do not receive effective support to make progress in their development.  The childminder does not always offer children healthy food options and fresh drinking water is not always easily accessible to children. This means that children are not

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This provision is inadequate

gaining an understanding of healthy eating.  The childminder and her assistant do not always work in a consistent manner when managing children's behaviour. This does not support children in developing their understanding of the behaviour expectations.

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It has the following strengths

 There is a suitable range of resources that covers the educational programmes.

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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 compulsory part 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 checked evidence of the suitability of people living and working on the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documentation, including children's files, risk assessments and records of attendance.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her assistant at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the childminder and her assistant's interaction with the children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2013. She lives with her three children in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham. The whole ground floor is available for childminding purposes. There is a garden available for outdoor play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently six children on roll in the early years age range. The childminder works with an assistant.

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must:

 ensure the number of children cared for at any one time does not exceed the maximum indoor space requirements , to ensure children's safety and well-being are effectively promoted at all times

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must:

 provide Ofsted with the details of people working on the premises so that their suitability can be checked

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must:

 obtain parents' permission to leave children with an assistant, including for very short periods of time

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must:

 develop an understanding of child protection issues with regards to identifying possible signs and symptoms that may indicate a child is at risk

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must:

 train all staff to understand the safeguarding policy and procedures to ensure they have an up-to-date knowledge of safeguarding issues and are able to identify signs and symptom that a child may be at risk

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must:

 improve assessment arrangements to gain a clear picture of children's stage of development and use this information to plan challenging and stimulating activities that actively promote their good progress across all areas of learning

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must:

 help children to adopt healthy lifestyles by ensuring that snacks provided to children are healthy, balanced and nutritious and that fresh drinking water is readily available to them.

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

 improve the range of books and resources which represent positive images of other cultures and disability, to fully promote children's understanding of diversity and differences

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

 ensure that the management of children's behaviour is consistent across the setting so children develop an understanding of right from wrong.

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who attend

Children are not making sufficient progress in their learning and development. The quality of teaching is inadequate and the childminder and her assistant have a poor knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's learning effectively. Although they provide some activities based on children's interests, this often results in children spending almost an entire session dancing and jumping on a musical play mat, with no interaction from adults. The childminder and her assistant do not effectively engage with children and spend very little time speaking to them. They do not use effective questioning in order to stimulate children's thinking skills. Babies' receive little by way of stimulation, for example, they are given a plastic brick and told 'you need to crawl'. Although they are held frequently, they are not spoken to and therefore are not tuned in to what is happening around them.

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who attend

The childminder generally promotes children's physical development satisfactorily. They practise how to handle objects as they play with construction toys and interactive toys. Children enjoy playing in the water in the front garden using a range of equipment such as funnels and bottles. This helps to develop their hand-eye coordination as they transport water from one vessel to another. Resources are plentiful and appropriately cover the areas of learning, but the childminder and her assistant are unaware of how to use these with children. This hinders the progress that children's make in their learning and development.

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who attend

The childminder does not clearly identify what each child needs, in order to provide activities that are tailored to their level of development. Although she observes children's play, she does not make meaningful assessments of their development or plan for their future learning. The childminder knows the children reasonably well, but she demonstrates a poor understanding of how to promote their learning and development effectively. Therefore, children do not make good progress from their starting points.

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who attend

Although the childminder helps children to develop some appropriate skills in preparation for their eventual attendance at school, such as putting on their own coats, this is not consistent. For example, she sometimes feeds children who are more than capable of feeding themselves and does not allow children to help themselves during snack times. This does not promote children's independence. Children attend other early year's settings and on a daily basis the childminder discusses their day with them. This provides some consistency in children's learning and development. The childminder and parents work in partnership to help children develop in some areas of their learning. For example, helping children to become less dependent on comforters and sharing books that children enjoy looking at.

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

The childminder does not securely promote children's well-being because she fails to meet some of the legal safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, she exceeds the indoor space requirements because of the number of children she cares for on certain days of the week. Therefore, children cannot always more around the environment freely and safely. Nonetheless, the childminder is warm and responsive to children, which supports their emotional well-being to enable children to settle in well. Resources are easily accessible and this helps children to direct their own play. However, there are no resources that promote diversity. This means children do not have many opportunities to see and learn about their own lives and the lives of people who are different from them. The childminder speaks with parents about children's individual care needs, which includes children's likes and dislikes when they first start. This

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

enables the childminder to appropriately meet the care needs of children.

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

The childminder provides children with three meals throughout the day. Snacks provided at midday are not healthy. For example, on a regular basis, children eat bread with jam and snacks in the morning include a biscuit. Drinking water is not readily available. As a result, children do not learn the importance of healthy eating or drinking regularly to promote their health. The childminder supports children to wash their hands before they eat their snack, which begins to introduce routines that promote good health.

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

On the whole children behave well when they are occupied. However, there are inconsistencies at times in the way the childminder and the assistant manage children's behaviour. For example, they often tell children not to do what they are doing, but do not give an explanation as to why. This does not help children to learn right from wrong. Although there is a suitable evacuation procedure in place, there is no evidence to suggest that children practise this. Children have regular access to outdoor play which enables children to have access to physical play and receive fresh air on a daily basis. The childminder and her assistant have attended the required first-aid training, which means that they can appropriately deal with accidents or injuries.

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provision

The leadership and management of the provision are inadequate. The childminder does not have a secure understanding of her role and responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. As a result, she is in breach of a number of legal requirements. For example, the childminder has recently employed an assistant and has failed to notify Ofsted of this. In addition to this, she at times leaves her assistant in sole charge of the children without written permission from parents. The childminder has a written safeguarding policy that includes the procedures to follow in the event of any concerns about a child in her care. However, the childminder and her assistant are unable to describe some of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse. This compromises children's safety and welfare.

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provision

The childminder has failed to identify significant weaknesses in the provision, including where there are breaches of requirements. She lacks a clear understanding of the learning and development requirements, therefore, currently teaching is weak and planning does not meet children's individual learning needs. However, she has successfully met some of the actions set at her last inspection and continues to seek support from her local authority. For example, she now has a detailed risk assessment in place which led to her making the garden safe for children to use. The childminder is also aware that monitoring of the educational programmes can be achieved through attending training. This demonstrates the childminder's sufficient capacity to drive ongoing improvement.

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provision

The partnership with parents is satisfactory and the childminder maintains this through daily communication about children's care and activities. The childminder recognises the importance of working closely with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage to help to ensure continuity of care and learning.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are

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

 provide Ofsted with the name, date of birth, address and telephone number of any person aged 16 or over working or living on the premises (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that parents give their consent for their child to be left with the childminding assistant (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  train all staff on the written statement of procedures to be followed to safeguard children from abuse or neglect (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure that any food and drink provided is wholesome and nutritious (compulsory part of the Childcare Register)  ensure children have independent access to drinking water (compulsory 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 EY472823 Local authority Lewisham Inspection number 987600 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 3 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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