Childminder in Hertfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 1 July 2015 28 May 2009

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This inspection: Good 2

Previous inspection: Outstanding 1 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Good 2

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This inspection: Good 2

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is good

 The well-qualified childminder demonstrates a consistently good quality of teaching and uses a playful approach to maintain children's interests. For example, he spontaneously sings with the children and uses a range of stimulating instruments.  Partnerships with parents are well established. The childminder strives hard to encourage parents to continuously contribute to their child's learning. For example, he emails regular photographs of activities children take part in and alerts parents to progress updates so that they can extend children's learning at home.  The childminder promotes children's well-being because he prepares them for the next stage in their learning. He takes children on school collections to help them to become familiar with the routines. In addition, he encourages them to practise letter sounds and develop their pencil control to gain the essential skills that they require.

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This provision is good

 The childminder has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. He is aware of his responsibility to record and report any concerns he may have about the welfare of a child. He completes regular safeguarding training to ensure his knowledge is kept up to date.

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It is not yet outstanding because:

 Occasionally, activities to promote mathematics are not planned to suit the needs of younger children so that they are consistently provided with rich and varied learning experiences to promote optimum progress.  The childminder does not consistently use all available opportunities to promote children's awareness of healthy eating. Therefore, he does not fully develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 focus more precisely on how mathematics is taught to younger children by, for example, using current expert knowledge to make activities fun and inspiring to enable children to make the best possible progress  strengthen opportunities to develop children's awareness of healthy eating, in order to contribute towards their understanding of leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed children's activities indoors, outside and during the lunch and snack time routines. She talked to children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector held joint discussions with the childminder in relation to observations of children's play, learning and progress.  The inspector sampled the childminder's documentation, including policies, self- evaluation form and training certificates. She also viewed children's learning journals as part of an online software system.  The inspector took account of the views of parents through discussions on the day and recently completed questionnaires.  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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who attend. This is good

The childminder promotes the learning and development requirements well as he provides children with a range of challenging experiences, both indoors and outside. He follows children's interests to encourage them to test their ideas through trial and error. For example, children build a tower and follow his guidance to investigate possible ways to balance their toy vehicles. Children's communication and language skills develop well as the childminder uses information from recent training to plan activities to meet their individual needs. He introduces new words for children learning to speak English as an additional language and focuses on aspects of speech where children need extra support. However, the childminder does not always apply his expert knowledge of how children learn to promote younger children's mathematical skills to the maximum. The childminder completes precise assessments of children and consistently follows through their next

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who attend. This is good

steps in learning. This supports all children to make good progress.

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good

Children have developed affectionate bonds with the childminder and enjoy reciting the humorous rhymes he has taught them. The childminder offers flexibility in the hours that children attend to meet the individual needs of both parents and children. He uses a gradual increase in hours when children first start to enable them to settle in at a pace that suits them. Children follow the house rules, such as not excluding others that want to join in with their play. Therefore, children behave well and play cooperatively together. This supports their developing relationships. The childminder reminds children to wear a hat in warmer weather and to take regular drinks when they are thirsty. This helps them to learn to keep themselves healthy and safe in the sun. However, he does not always use available opportunities to talk to children about making other heathy choices as they enjoy a range of balanced foods. The childminder ensures dietary requirements are carefully

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good

followed and provides information on all food ingredients to promote children's good health.

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provision is good

The enthusiastic childminder has successfully addressed both of his previous recommendations. He uses a software system to ensure planning and assessments are precise and clearly show the overall progress children have made. He uses self-evaluation effectively and attends regular network meetings to continually reflect upon his practice. The childminder has a professional development programme in place to support continuous improvement. Future plans are to evaluate the impact of this training on children's progress to identify further areas of focus. The childminder works well alongside his co-childminder and is open to her suggestions about the practice she observes, in order to maintain his good quality teaching. He has established effective links with a wide range of other professionals. These partnerships support him to provide continuous learning for children who attend other settings and ensure his knowledge remains up to

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY244777 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 848335 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 11 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 20

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Telephone number

The childminder was registered in 2003 and lives in St Albans. He operates all year round from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder works alongside his wife who is also a registered childminder. He holds a recognised childcare qualification at level 3 and provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. The childminder supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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Telephone number

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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Telephone number

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Telephone number

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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Telephone number

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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