Setting

Summary of complaint

On 18 August 2017 we received a complaint, that the childminder had not been supervising children effectively and had exceeded the numbers of children she is able to care for. We needed to consider whether the setting was meeting the Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage (eyfs).

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Summary of complaint

We looked into this concern to see whether the setting was meeting the requirements of the early years foundation stage relating to ‘Staff:child ratios’ and ‘Childminders’. In particular, the requirements that state: children must usually be within sight and hearing of staff and always within sight or hearing and at any one time childminder may care for a maximum of six children under the age of eight.

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Summary of complaint

We do not investigate to prove or disprove a complaint but we look into the information we receive to see if the childcare provider is meeting all legal requirements.

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Summary of complaint

We carried out an unannounced visit to the premises and found that although the childminder was not caring for minded children on the day of the visit the premises were not in a suitable state to care for children. We decided to return the following day when the childminder was caring for children to check that the eyfs requirements were being met. The childminder told us that she had been supervising children in the park when she had attended an event. She said that she had seven children with her, two of whom were over eight years old. The childminder could not find her records of children’s attendance. This was an issue that was raised at the most recent inspection in July 2017. When we returned the following day we found that although the premises was organised to a satisfactory standard, hygiene was not maintained to an acceptable level. We also found that the childminder or her assistant could not adequately assess and minimise risks constantly in the

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Summary of complaint

premises, for example, beads were left on the floor when they had been pulled off the shelf by a child.

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Summary of complaint

Following our inspection, we sent the provider a welfare requirements notice that asked them to, ensure that records of children’s attendance are easily accessible and available; ensure that the premises is organised in a way that meets the needs of the children, for example, by ensuring that all areas that are used for childminding are suitably hygienic and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure staff and children are not exposed to risks throughout the day and ensure that this is can be demonstrated.

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Summary of complaint

We carried out an unannounced visit and found that the premises was organised in a satisfactory manner and hygiene of the premises had improved. The childminder was able to show us the records of attendance, however, she was unable to show us the children’s details for some children who were over eight years old. The childminder told us that she had discussed the priorities with her assistant for dealing with risks in the premises. In addition the security of the premises on the day of the visit was not adequate as the front door had not been locked for the whole of the time we were there. We told the childminder that we had finished speaking to other professionals and we believed that during the incident at the park she had not been adequately supervising children the younger children in her care. We also said that we found through our discussions that there had been an incident where someone had said that a child had been choking and she

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Summary of complaint

At our inspection, we gave the provider a welfare requirements notice that asked them to, ensure that children are usually within sight and hearing and always within sight or hearing and ensure staffing arrangements meet the needs of all children and ensure their safety. We also issued a notice to improve that asked her to, ensure that children do not leave the premises unsupervised and ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to prevent unauthorised persons entering the premises and ensure that records of the child’s name, home address and date of birth are kept and retained for a period of two years.

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Summary of complaint

We carried out an announced visit to the premises. The childminder could tell us how she would ensure that children were adequately supervised. We observed on the day of the visit that the child attending was supervised by the childminder. She explained what she would do when she went on outings and knew that the younger children needed to be supervised more closely. The childminder told us that she would have assistants working with her when needed. The childminder had the door locked during the whole of our visit, although she was not sure why this had not been locked at the last visit, she told us that herself and her assistants now have the keys that they carry with them at the premises and make sure that they have locked the door. The childminder was able to show us the necessary records for the children over eight years old.

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Summary of complaint

The provider remains registered with Ofsted.

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Publication of complaints

We publish details of complaints made against childminders, home childcarers and childcare providers where we or the provider have taken action in order to meet legal requirements.

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Publication of complaints

We publish details of complaints for five years commencing on the date we complete our investigation.

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Publication of complaints

For further information on how we deal with complaints about providers, please view the Early years compliance handbook which can be found here at www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-years-provider-non-compliance- action-by-ofsted

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