Childminder in Durham

Inspection report for early years provision

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313794 Unique Reference Number 30 January 2007 Inspection date Kathleen Snowdon 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 was registered in 1998. She lives with her husband and two adult children, aged 21 and 16 in Consett, County Durham. The childminder's home is close to all facilities including schools, nurseries and shops. The whole ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play. The family has a pet dog.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time. She is currently minding two children under five and three children over five at staggered intervals. Older children also attend. The childminder drives to and from local schools to take and collect children and she attends local toddler groups. She is a member of West Derwentside Childminding Network.

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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 satisfactory. The children eat a range of healthy meals prepared and provided for them by their parents. These include pasta dishes and home-made soup. These offer the children nourishment that is necessary to their growth and overall physical development. The range of snacks that the children eat is limited. It features some fruit but consists mainly of biscuits and crisps. While children enjoy these, they do not promote the development of healthy tastes and preferences.

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Helping children to be healthy

Fun activities encourage the development of hand-eye coordination and skills that help the children to achieve independence. For example, they use a knife and fork and try to cut up popular chocolate bars. Visits to local soft play facilities and trips to the local park give children the opportunity to move with energy and vigour. This encourages them to be active and boosts their fitness and stamina levels.

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Helping children to be healthy

Sensible arrangements are in place to deal with children who are ill. Alongside this, the children begin to acquire good personal hygiene habits when they wash their hands after using the bathroom and before meals. These measures contain the spread of common illnesses and infections.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Good use of safety equipment minimises the risk of accidents in the childminder's well organised home. For example, safety covers protect children from electric sockets, safety gates restrict their access to potentially hazardous areas and a 'Hot Spot' monitor establishes whether water temperature is safe enough. Effective precautions minimise the risk of fire. A fire blanket is in place and smoke detectors are tested frequently. As well as this, the children take part in fire drills to show them how to stay safe in a crisis.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The children make safe choices through the easy access they have to an excellent range of toys and resources. These are appropriate to the children's developmental stage and remain clean and safe through the regular checks made on them by the childminder.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are well supervised in and outside of the childminder's home to keep them safe on a day to day basis. As well as this, the children are protected from dangerous and damaging situations through the childminder's good awareness of child protection issues. Worthwhile discussions take place between the children and the childminder. For instance, they talk about road safety and 'stranger danger'. These raise the children's awareness of potential dangers in the wider world.

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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. An excellent range of activities enables the children to have great fun and keeps them engrossed and motivated. For example, the youngest children love to wash dolls' clothes. They peg these on to a makeshift washing line in the childminder's home and wait for them to dry. These highly beneficial opportunities encourage the children to use their imagination and pretend. Quality resources, such as tactile bars, encourage children to use their senses to discover and explore.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The children have huge scope in which to be resourceful and develop planning skills. For example, they consider what materials they will need to make models, such as scarecrows and set about finding them. They scour re-cycling shops where they find clothes that will fit their creation. These excellent opportunities teach the children how to work as part of a team and encourage them to see things through to a conclusion. All the children enjoy baking, painting, writing and drawing. These activities promote the children's creative and literacy skills.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

Relationships between the children and the childminder are excellent. The children receive the childminder's full attention and consequently they are happy, settled and secure. The children like to look through photograph albums where they see pictures of themselves and their friends. This fosters a sense of belonging.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. A lovely range of resources depict bright images of people with disabilities, people in roles that challenge gender stereotypes and people from other countries. These encourage the children to develop positive views of diversity. The children's birthdays are acknowledged with a party and cards. This teaches the children to celebrate and respect the uniqueness of the individual.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Highly effective house rules teach the children boundaries. They must not fight, for example, and they are taught to consider the feelings of others. Alongside this, the children are encouraged to apologise if they have misbehaved. This approach helps the children to understand that their actions have consequences and teaches them right from wrong. The children have lots of opportunities to help out during the time that they spend with the childminder. They put their beakers and plates in the dish after they have finished eating, for example, and sometimes they like to dust. These experiences promote the development of positive personal qualities, such as helpfulness.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

Partnership with parents and carers is good. Contracts are used which set out clearly the expectations of both the childminder and parents. Daily discussions and, in some cases, a daily diary system keep parents fully informed of their child's experiences during their time with the childminder. The children think that the childminder is 'kind' and their parents describe her as 'one in a million'.

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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

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Records are very well organised. They are readily available and stored securely to protect confidentiality. Records are reviewed regularly to keep information accurate and up to date. The childminder ensures that the registration certificate is prominently displayed so that parents and other interested parties can scrutinise it should they wish to.

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Organisation

The childminder has very good awareness of registered numbers and the importance of never exceeding them. She ensures that essential training, such as first aid, is completed to comply with requirements. She builds on her experience and increases her professional awareness by taking part in other courses that are relevant to her work. Recent training includes behaviour management, equal opportunities, basic food hygiene and a music workshop.

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Organisation

The childminder gives excellent priority to the children's play. She uses themes to plan activities, which enables the children to explore fully a range of topics, such as the weather or road safety. The childminder completed a recent course that introduced her to the Foundation Stage and she refers to the 'Birth to three matters' framework when planning activities for the youngest children.

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Organisation

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

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the childminder was asked to undertake further training to improve her knowledge of disabilities and learning difficulties. Further training has been completed, which has raised the childminder's awareness of the challenges faced by children with disabilities and learning disabilities.

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Complaints since the last inspection

Since the last inspection there have been no complaints made to Ofsted that required the provider or Ofsted to take any action in order to meet the National Standards.

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Complaints since the last inspection

The provider is required to keep a record of complaints made by parents, which they can see on request. The complaints record may contain complaints other than those made to Ofsted.

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Complaints 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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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): • extend the range of snacks offered to the children to promote the development of healthy tastes and preferences.

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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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