Childminder in East Sussex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 2 February 2016 9 December 2014

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Previous inspection: Requires Improvement

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Effectiveness of the leadership and management Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Inadequate 4

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This inspection: Inadequate 4

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Inadequate 4

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This provision is inadequate

 The childminder lacks understanding of what to do if she has concerns about a child's welfare. This weakness in safeguarding means children are not sufficiently kept safe and is a breach of a legal requirement.  The attendance register is not always kept up-to-date. It does not include children's actual times of arrival and departure. This means a legal requirement is not being met.  The quality of teaching is inadequate. The childminder is not confident in her role in teaching children and monitoring their progress. As a result, children's learning and development is not monitored closely enough.  The childminder lacks understanding of the legal requirement to carry out checks on children's progress when they are aged between two and three years. As a result, these are not completed.  There was no evidence available on the day of inspection to confirm that the childminder holds a valid first aid certificate. This means it is not clear if she has the

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This provision is inadequate

relevant skills to manage children's accidents.  Weak arrangements for monitoring the quality of practice mean the childminder fails to identify what needs to improve.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder forms close relationships with the children she looks after.  Parents are happy with the care provided for their children.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

To meet the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the Childcare Register the provider must:

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Due Date

 develop a better understanding of the safeguarding policies and procedures in place and become confident in knowing what action to take if there are concerns about a child's welfare 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 improve understanding of the Government's statutory guidance 'Working Together to Safeguard Children 2013' and the Prevent Duty legislation and be confident in knowing what statutory agencies must be notified in the event of a concern about a child's welfare 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 maintain a current paediatric first aid certificate at all times 04/04/2016  maintain an accurate daily record of the names of children being cared for on the premises and their hours of attendance 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching to ensure that the individual needs, interests and stage of development of each child are taken into account in the planning of all activities 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 make better use of assessment to ensure that accurate and precise records are kept to monitor the developmental progress of each child and groups of children 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 implement a system to review the progress of children aged between two and three years and provide a short written summary of children's development within the prime areas of learning to share with parents or any other professionals 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 ensure every person caring for children is alert to any indications that a child may be suffering from harm (compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 ensure an appropriate first aid qualification is obtained (compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 implement the written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children, intended to safeguard the children being cared for from abuse or neglect (compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register) 04/04/2016

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Due Date

 maintain a daily record of the names of the children looked after on the relevant premises and their hours of attendance (compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register). 04/04/2016 To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

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Due Date

 make better use of self-evaluation to accurately review her practice, identify priorities for development and ensure all legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the childminder interacting with the children and assessed how well she supports their learning and development.  The inspector talked to the childminder about her knowledge of how to keep children safe and her legal responsibilities as a childminder.  The inspector checked to see how well the childminder keeps her home safe for children.  The inspector looked at the records the childminder keeps about the children and how she monitors their progress.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

The childminder lacks understanding of her legal responsibilities as a childminder. Safeguarding arrangements are not effective. The childminder's knowledge of what to do to protect children is not good enough. Although she has written child protection procedures, she does not always know how to apply these. She is not fully aware of new guidance, such as the Prevent duty, and lacks understanding of her responsibilities to keep children safe. Therefore, children's welfare is compromised. The attendance register was not up-to-date on the day of inspection and children's actual times of arrival and departure are not recorded in line with legal requirements. The childminder states that she has completed mandatory first aid training, but she was unable to provide evidence of this during the inspection. There is a basic system in place to help the childminder to reflect on her practice. She has rightly identified that she finds completing records difficult. However,

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

she has not recognised other priorities for improvement or checked that she is meeting all statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Partnerships with parents are developing well and information is exchanged on a regular basis regarding children's care needs. Some information is shared to help parents understand what their children are learning. However, as the childminder lacks knowledge of how to precisely monitor children's progress, this information is not always as accurate and informative as it needs to be.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

Teaching is weak because the childminder lacks understanding of how to plan for children's learning and development. She observes the children in her care but does not have the knowledge to precisely assess children’s learning. The childminder is unable to accurately monitor children's development and relies on the support of other childminders or the local authority advisor to help her. She is unaware of the legal requirement to monitor children's developmental progress when they are aged between two and three years. The lack of accurate and precise information about children’s development means activities are not planned to challenge and support them in their learning. The childminder cannot be certain that all children, and groups of children, are making the progress typical for their age. Poor teaching means any gaps in the progress children make are not closing. As a result, the childminder is slow to recognise where some children may need extra

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The childminder's limited knowledge of safeguarding procedures compromises children's safety and welfare. Despite this, she is attentive towards the children and supports their care needs well. She makes sure babies follow their individual sleep routines and introduces them to new experiences as they socialise with other children at toddler groups. Older children walk to and from school each day and visit the park regularly. This supports their healthy development. Children learn about the importance of keeping safe and being kind and courteous to one another. For example, school-aged children helped to think of 'house rules' and recognise the importance of taking turns and sharing.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Weaknesses in teaching and assessment mean children do not benefit from well-planned activities to help them continually develop their skills and understanding. This has an adverse impact on the progress they make. For example, when it was identified that a child needed extra support with language development not enough relevant activities were planned to address this and monitor their progress. Despite these weaknesses, some opportunities are provided to help babies develop new skills. The childminder shows them how to do things independently, such as feeding themselves and exploring the sounds different musical instruments make.

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Setting details

Unique reference number 505560 Local authority East Sussex Inspection number 1034221 Type of provision Childminder Day care type Childminder Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection 9 December 2014

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Telephone number

The childminder has been registered since 1995. She lives in a residential area of Uckfield, East Sussex. All areas of her home are used for childminding. She cares for children during the week, throughout the year. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently caring for children aged from eight months to 10 years.

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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 reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Telephone number

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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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