Childminder in Liverpool

Inspection report for early years provision

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322192 Unique Reference Number 14 November 2006 Inspection date Sheila May Price Inspector

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Childcare Type of inspection Childminding Type of care

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This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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ABOUT THIS INSPECTION

The purpose of this inspection is to assure government, parents and the public of the quality of childcare and, if applicable, of nursery education. The inspection was carried out under Part XA Children Act 1989 as introduced by the Care Standards Act 2000 and, where nursery education is provided, under Schedule 26 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998. This report details the main strengths and any areas for improvement identified during the inspection. The judgements included in the report are made in relation to the outcomes for children set out in the Children Act 2004; the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding; and, where nursery education is provided, the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage. The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration or 1 April 2004 whichever is the later.

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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The key inspection judgements and what they mean

For more information about early years inspections, please see the booklet Are you ready for your inspection? which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder has been registered for over 12 years. She lives with her husband who is her co-childminder and four children in the Wavertree district of Liverpool. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom on the first floor is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor activities. The childminder is registered to look after a maximum of six children aged under eight when working on her own and nine children aged under eight when working in partnership with her husband. There are currently 10 children on roll aged from 11 months to 12 years. Children are regularly escorted to and from school. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association and local childminding networks.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children stay healthy because good methods are used to prevent cross contamination. The childminder carries out thorough cleaning routines, changes nappies hygienically and maintains safe practices for food preparation. Children develop healthy practices in personal care. They learn to blow their own noses and know that they have to wash their hands to take off the dirt before they eat. There are good arrangements for dealing with sick children and meeting their medical and dietary needs. Parents are given written information about the exclusion policy in the case of infectious illness, and children's medical details and authorisations are kept at hand in case of emergency when out.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a well balanced and nutritious diet and have good access to drinks for refreshment. All food is cooked from fresh ingredients with limited salt, sugar and fat content. Vegetarian options are provided and care is taken to avoid products that contain allergens in order to meet individual dietary needs. Children eat a good variety of fruit and vegetables and daily milk products learning that these are good for their health and for strong teeth.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy good opportunities for getting fresh air and exercise. They go out daily to use the garden, take walks or play in the park. The 'drop in' centre they attend has good space and equipment for indoor physical activities. They learn to pedal bikes, balance on scooters and gain confidence on climbing apparatus. All children use good equipment for developing skills of co-ordination appropriate to their level of ability. Babies rest or sleep according to their individual routines which gives good support to their physical and emotional development.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children enjoy being part of a family in the safe and homely environment created for them by the childminder. There are welcoming pictures and posters in every room and many photographs of family members and minded children to help children feel they belong. Children have access to a very good range of safe and suitable equipment to meet all needs and capabilities.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well protected from accidental injury. The childminder follows good procedures for ensuring the children are safe both on and off the premises. Risks are assessed well according to children's capabilities and checks carried out daily to ensure all safety equipment is in place. Children are well supervised at all times. Children contribute to their own safety by helping to pick up toys to prevent tripping hazards, behaving safely in play, and learning about road safety.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are adequately safeguarded by the childminder's knowledge of child protection issues and procedures for acting on any concern. The childminder has some awareness of signs and symptoms of abuse from previous training but has not updated this recently. She knows who to contact to make a referral or to get advice but is unsure of subsequent procedures.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children participate in an excellent range of activities which broaden their experiences and promote all aspects of their development. They explore colour, texture and shape with a wide range of art and craft activities producing collages, paintings and models of their own design. They discover the natural world during visits to the park and bring back leaves to make an autumn collage. Children make their own shakers to use with the good selection of musical instruments. Children visit exhibitions at local museums such as the 'sunshine 'show.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The childminder uses exceptionally good methods to stimulate children's interest and to help children make connections. For example, children go to the shop to buy food to put in the sandwiches they help to make, before having a picnic. They learn where fruit and vegetables come from by seeing the childminder growing these in their garden or from going out to pick blackberries in the wild. They then help to prepare and cook the food they will eat.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children gain immense delight from using the excellent resources provided. They eagerly select books to look at and recall experiences as they look through photographs in a scrap book. They have a wonderful time dressing up in animal costumes and move creatively. For example, they stretch their necks to be tall like the giraffe or show off their pirouette as they dance around in a silky white dress. Babies enthusiastically play with the jingle bells fascinated by the sound they make.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Children communicate extremely well and display very good social skills developed through the positive relationships established by the childminder. Children develop high levels of confidence because the childminder listens so well to them, giving them time to explain what they want without interruption. Babies enjoy snuggling up to the childminder who points out names and objects and carries babies around so they are included in the activities going on. Children develop caring attitudes as they talk to babies and give them things to hold.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are all valued as individuals with something to contribute whatever their age. They learn to make decisions because they are given plenty of choices and their views are respected. The childminder uses good methods to help children talk positively about feelings and deal with emotions through the use of good books. Children learn to share well and are reminded to be careful when handling someone else's property. Children behave well following the open and friendly example set by the childminder.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

All children are equally included in activities and the childminder has a good understanding of how to meet diverse needs, including those of children with learning difficulties. Children's family members are encouraged to make a contribution through explaining the origins and meanings of their names to create a name tree displayed in the hall for all to see. This is an excellent way to give older children an understanding of diversity. Bilingual books are used to acknowledge the languages of children attending.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 Relationships with parents are very positive and support good continuity of care. There is good informal exchange of information on a daily basis as children are brought and collected. Parents comment on the very good quality experiences the children have and the caring way they are looked after. Written information about the provision and policies is given to parents as part of the contract that is signed. Although these are up to date the parent booklet has not been similarly amended. There are some good methods of recording what children have done in a scrap book to share with parents.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The childminder uses her knowledge and experience very well to promote children's enjoyment and achievement. She is committed to ongoing training and putting this into practice. For example, courses recently attended have been used to keep up to date with best practice in promoting good nutrition and a healthy life style. The childminder has been evaluating children's experiences in terms of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and displaying this in captions to photographs to give this more clarity.

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Organisation

The childminder and her husband work very effectively in partnership to meet children's needs and to keep within ratios. They share out the duties while maintaining equal involvement in children's care. Time and resources are used well. For example different experiences are planned for each day but within an established routine which provides younger children with security. Arrangements are always flexible to meet children's individual needs on the day. Space is organised safely and extended by use of facilities in the community.

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Organisation

Regulatory records are well maintained for children's safety. Written policies underpin the good organisation of the childminding, although, old documents become muddled with the new because they are not sorted out and removed. Records of some of the things children do are kept in their scrap books but some good record keeping diaries used in the past are no longer maintained which help to substantiate how the childminder meets individual needs.

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Organisation

Overall the provision meets the needs of the range of children for whom it provides.

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Improvements since the last inspection

There were two recommendations arising from the last inspection. One related to arrangements for children to sleep and the other related to removing safety hazards in the garden so it can be used. These have both been addressed as follows; the garden has been cleared of hazardous materials and is maintained in a suitable and safe condition for children to use. This makes better use of space and facilities for the children. The sleeping arrangements have been improved by keeping a travel cot easily accessible for use, and providing an additional fold down chair bed to be used when needed. This enables there to be more choices of sleeping arrangements to meet individual children's needs.

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Improvements since the last inspection

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the childminder or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards. The childminder is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaint record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

On the basis of the evidence collected on this inspection:

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THE QUALITY AND STANDARDS OF THE CARE

The quality and standards of the care are good. The registered person meets the National Standards for under 8s day care and childminding.

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The quality and standards of the care

To improve the quality and standards of care further the registered person should take account of the following recommendation(s): • keep written documentation reviewed to ensure there is no conflicting information and use the 'Birth to three matters' framework to further develop children's individual records • further develop knowledge of child protection procedures.

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The quality and standards of the care

set out in the leaflet Complaints about Ofsted Early Years: concerns or complaints about Ofsted's role in regulating and inspecting childcare and early education (HMI ref no 2599) which is available from Ofsted's website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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The quality and standards of the care

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000

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