Squirrell, Lee

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 23 November 2016 6 August 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 does not ensure the safety of children at all times. At times, she leaves children unsupervised, which compromises their safety and welfare. She does not consistently implement procedures to keep children safe or teach them how to keep themselves safe, particularly when taking them on outings. This is also a breach of the Childcare Register.  The childminder does not use what she knows about children to plan activities that enable them to make sufficient progress in their learning. In particular, she does not encourage children to take responsibility for their own care needs, or support their mathematical development and their early reading and writing skills. Children do not make the progress of which they are capable.  The childminder does not work effectively with parents, carers or other settings children attend to gain information about what they learn elsewhere, to help plan and provide

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This provision is inadequate

experiences that meet children's needs.  The childminder does not manage children's behaviour consistently to help them learn the expectations and boundaries.  The childminder does not reflect successfully on her practice and provision to identify breaches of requirements and weaknesses and to take swift action to improve.

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It has the following strengths

 The childminder has positive relationships with children. They settle in quickly.

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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

 keep children safe at all times, particularly when walking on outings 07/12/2016

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Due Date

 ensure children are adequately supervised so they are safe and to meet their individual needs 07/12/2016

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Due Date

 improve the quality of teaching, and use the information from observations of children to support their next steps in learning, to help children make good progress 21/12/2016

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Due Date

 plan activities that build on what individual children know and can do, to extend their development in all areas of learning 21/12/2016

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Due Date

 improve partnerships with parents, carers and professionals involved in children's development, to obtain information about children's learning and plan activities and experiences that meet their individual learning needs 21/12/2016

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Due Date

 ensure children's behaviour is managed consistently to provide clear guidance to children about what is acceptable behaviour 14/12/2016

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Due Date

 provide more opportunities for children to practise skills that support their independence, mathematical and literacy development. 14/12/2016

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Due Date

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

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Due Date

 make effective use of self-evaluation to target actions to improve the quality of care, teaching and learning, and raise outcomes for children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed the quality of interaction and teaching, including during an adult-led activity, children's self-chosen play and on an outing.  The inspector took account of parents' written feedback.  The inspector held discussions with the childminder, including about safeguarding procedures, an evaluation of a planned activity and children's development.  The inspector sampled documentation, including children's assessment records, childminder's qualification and training certificates, and policies and procedures.

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

Safeguarding is ineffective. The childminder does not routinely consider children's safety. For example, when walking beside a busy road, she carries one child and their belongings and balances another child on her shoulders, who is not held securely. Another child is left to walk next to the road, and the childminder does not have a free hand to ensure their safety. This compromises children's safety. The childminder has a suitable knowledge of safeguarding matters and what action to take if she has concerns about a child protection issue. She routinely monitors children's development and identifies appropriate next steps in their learning. However, she does not match teaching and activity planning to these to help children make good progress. The childminder attends some training courses to gain new ideas. However, she has failed to implement any improvements. She does not accurately evaluate her practice to identify weaknesses or breaches of requirements, to

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Effectiveness of the leadership and management is inadequate

help her target actions and improve outcomes for all children.

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

The quality of teaching is poor. The childminder does not plan activities that challenge children effectively and which help to build on what they know and can do. She fails to provide effective support to encourage children to develop new skills. For example, she does not interact with a toddler, leaving them to play with a plastic spoon and a small amount of flour for a long time. Additionally, she does not provide sufficient opportunities for children to learn to count, or practise early reading and writing skills, despite identifying gaps in their literacy and mathematics development. Partnerships with others involved in children's care and education are not effective. For example, the childminder does not find out from parents and carers about the additional help their children receive from other professionals to support any developmental delays. She does not know what children learn at other settings, to enable her to provide consistency in children's

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Quality of teaching, learning and assessment is inadequate

experiences. The childminder does not encourage parents to contribute towards children's assessment and ongoing learning.

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

The childminder is in breach of requirements, which compromises children's safety and welfare. She routinely leaves children unsupervised, sometimes outside, for short periods. At these times, she fails to meet their individual needs and puts them at risk of harm, as children are not within her sight or hearing. For instance, she goes upstairs to help a child wash their hands, leaving another child standing on a chair, eating at the kitchen counter. The childminder is a poor role model for children and gives children mixed messages about what is acceptable behaviour, which does not help them learn how to keep themselves safe. For example, she repeatedly tells children that it is dangerous to stand on chairs but later allows them to do so and stands on a chair herself in front of them to reach a toy from a high shelf. The childminder does not encourage children to try to do small tasks for themselves to help them become independent. Children feel comfortable in

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Personal development, behaviour and welfare are inadequate

the childminder's company and show some consideration towards their friends.

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Outcomes for children are inadequate

Children do not make sufficient progress in their learning and are not developing the skills they need for future learning. For example, they do not learn to dress themselves because the childminder frequently does this for them. Gaps in their early mathematical and literacy development, and the lack of opportunities to be independent, limit children's abilities in readiness for school.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY379823 Local authority Devon Inspection number 1049175 Type of provision Childminder Day care type Childminder Registers Early Years Register, Compulsory Childcare Register, Voluntary Childcare Register Age range of children 1 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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Name of registered person

Date of previous inspection 6 August 2014

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Telephone number

The childminder registered in 2008 and lives in Newton Abbot, Devon. The childminder offers care for children from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, all year round and calls the setting 'Squirrels Childcare'. She receives funding to provide free early education for children aged three and four 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

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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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