Rafferty, Gillian

Rafferty, Gillian

Unique reference number (URN): 310672 Address: 222 Liverpool Road South, Maghull, Liverpool, Merseyside, L31 7DQ Type: Childminder Registered with Ofsted: 13/10/1994 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Rafferty, Gillian

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

All children behave very well considering their age and individual stage of development. They recognise and understand the incredibly high expectations that the childminder has for their behaviour. The childminder skilfully supports children to understand the possible impact their behaviour may have on others. When required, the childminder gently and consistently supports children to manage their responses in different situations. Children learn how to play and get along with each other. This helps to promote a very harmonious atmosphere.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder develops incredibly close and trusting bonds with the children she cares for. All children demonstrate a strong sense of security from her presence. This helps to develop children's confidence and sense of security. The childminder adapts her routines to carefully reflect children's individual ages and stages of development. Children are encouraged to confidently engage in the opportunities provided and demonstrate extremely positive attitudes to their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents to help to remove any barriers and to establish good attendance and punctuality. Children enjoy attending and arrive on time. This helps to foster positive habits in readiness for school when the time comes.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder gathers information about children's care routines when they first start to attend. She meets with parents regularly to review the information she holds and to adapt her care practices in response to children's emerging needs. For example, the childminder has worked with parents to support children with possible food intolerances. She incorporates the guidance from any other professionals involved in a child's care to help ensure her care routines meet children's unique needs precisely.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder knows each child extremely well. She is responsive to children's individual needs and recognises when to adapt her routines accordingly. For example, the childminder knows the time at which children prefer to rest. Therefore, she plans learning opportunities to avoid these times to best promote children's high levels of engagement.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are taught to recognise and express their emotions in a positive way. The childminder talks to children about how they are feeling and lets them know that we all experience different feelings at different times. This helps to develop children's sense of emotional wellbeing highly effectively.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are supported to develop an understanding of the importance of healthy practices. For example, they learn to make healthy food choices and have regular opportunities to develop a wide range of physical skills outside. Children are reminded of the importance of remaining at the table and cutting their food into manageable pieces while eating. This helps to positively enhance children's understanding of personal safety and contributes to their overall excellent health and wellbeing.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including those with barriers to their learning, make secure progress from their individual starting points. Children develop a range of important skills that help to prepare them for the next stage in their learning, including school when the time comes.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop a confident understanding of language and generally communicate well. They listen carefully to questions and respond appropriately when given enough time to think and reply. Children demonstrate how they make links in their learning and readily apply what they know and can do in new situations. For example, they remember to touch each object as they count. They know this helps them to count accurately.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop a wide range of social skills. For example, they negotiate as they share resources. Children demonstrate high levels of independence, manage simple tasks for themselves and respond well to routines.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder provides a broad and ambitious curriculum. She makes decisions and adapts the curriculum based upon her accurate assessments of children's progress. Overall, this helps the childminder to respond to the individual learning needs of the children who attend the setting. For example, the childminder provides a wide variety of opportunities outside of the setting that help enrich children's experiences. This helps to build individual children's confidence and enhance their social, physical and communication skills in different situations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder gives high regard to developing children's communication skills. She immerses children in conversation, stories, singing and rhymes. Children know a wide range of number rhymes. The childminder skilfully uses these fun opportunities to reinforce counting and number-sequencing skills. For example, children eagerly work out how many ducks are left if one swims away.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder sensitively introduces children to new vocabulary and helps them to use previously taught words in new contexts. For example, she helps children to remember the word 'cocoon' as they discuss how caterpillars change. The childminder is eager for all children to do well. She asks questions to help explore their current understanding. However, she does not consistently adapt her teaching to give all children, particularly those with barriers to their learning, time to think and respond. At these times, their learning is less precisely built upon in the moment.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder monitors the progress that each child makes. She uses her accurate assessments to identify any gaps in children's learning and development that may emerge. The childminder swiftly implements her support, when required, to help reduce any gaps in children's learning. Parents are kept up to date and provided with ideas they can try at home to support their child. This helps to provide a consistent approach to meeting children's unique needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder reviews and adapts her curriculum in response to children's emerging needs. She typically provides opportunities and adapts resources to help ensure that all children can access the curriculum in an enjoyable way. The childminder uses her current teaching skills effectively to meet children's needs. That said, she does not always focus her professional development on enhancing her skills in support of some children's unique needs so that they may make even more rapid progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is committed to working in partnership with families and any other professionals who may be involved in children's care and learning. She understands the importance of targeting the use of any additional funding to secure positive outcomes for the children it has been designated for.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder reflects upon her practice and generally identifies areas of strength and areas for further development. Overall, she makes considered decisions with the best interests of all children, including those who may have barriers to their learning, at heart. The childminder has a wide range of policies and procedures that underpin her effective practice. She shares these with parents to help ensure they remain well informed about the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder updates mandatory training, such as paediatric first-aid training and safeguarding. This helps to ensure that children are safe in her care. That said, the childminder does not consistently identify opportunities to strengthen and extend her effective teaching skills, particularly in support of those who may have barriers to their learning, to help them make more rapid progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder understands her role in supporting children. She values the time she spends with them and has reviewed the paperwork she maintains in order to invest more of her time directly with children. This has a positive impact on her workload and children's overall experiences.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the voluntary part of Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Voluntary Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

The childminder provides a warm and welcoming environment in which children demonstrate that they feel safe and secure. Children are supported to develop positive relationships with the childminder and each other. They play cooperatively, taking turns and helping each other as they develop their independence skills. For example, more confident children follow the childminder's lead and help their friends to choose jigsaw pieces as they try to create a simple picture. All children, including those with barriers to their learning,

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About this setting

develop increasingly positive attitudes to their learning. They solve problems, try out their ideas and make decisions about what they wish to play with.

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About this setting

The childminder knows each child well and uses her secure knowledge of child development to sequence their learning effectively. For example, the childminder encourages children to strengthen their hand muscles using resources such as dough before asking them to use a range of tools. The childminder understands how children prefer to learn and generally adapts her teaching so that all children enjoy their learning and engage well. Children, including those with barriers to their learning, make secure progress from their individual starting points. They develop a range of skills in readiness for the next stage of their learning.

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About this setting

The childminder praises children for their ideas and contributions. For example, she congratulates children when they recall their own past experiences while predicting what will happen next in a story. Children find this incredibly motivating. They are eager to try new things and engage in new experiences as they know their ideas are valued. The childminder encourages parents to ensure that their child attends punctually so that they may benefit most from the wide range of learning experiences she plans.

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Next steps

The childminder should consistently give children enough time to think, respond and demonstrate what they already know so that their learning can be built upon with even more precision. The childminder should target further professional development opportunities precisely to help enhance her skills. Particularly, she should further enhance teaching strategies in support of children with barriers to their learning.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection 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. Unique reference number (URN): 310672

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Address:

222 Liverpool Road South Maghull Liverpool Merseyside L31 7DQ

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 17:30

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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