Childminder in Leeds

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique Reference Number 320153 Inspection date 16 May 2005 Inspector Elizabeth Welborn

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Type of inspection Childcare Type of care Childminding

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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 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 1997. She lives with her husband and their two children aged fourteen and nine years, in the north of Leeds, West Yorkshire. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom and two front bedrooms on the first floor are used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time and is currently minding four children under five years, during the day time and five children before and after school, although three of these children are

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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 over eight years. Some of the children attend on a part-time basis. the childminder walks to local schools and pre-school groups to take and collect children. She also attends a local toddler group and the local childminder group, where she is an active member. The childminder has successfully completed the third and final stage of a recognised childminding course and she is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children's general health benefits from outdoor activities every day, even in the rain, on the regular walks to and from school. They also visit local parks, where they have the opportunity to run, jump and climb. At home in the garden, they enjoy playing with the very good selection of suitable equipment, digging in the soil, looking for bugs under stones and planting seeds. Their health is further improved by the healthy, nutritious foods provided for them. The childminder prepares their meals herself from basic ingredients, for example she makes her own pasta. She discusses the children's dietary requirements carefully with parents and only uses good quality foods. All children enjoy their meals sitting at the table, where good manners and conversation are encouraged. The children have constant independent access to drinks at home and on outings. The childminder also takes fruit out with her in case

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Helping children to be healthy

children want a snack. The children are cared for in a clean, warm and welcoming home, where there is good evidence of children's play and activity. They are learning about the importance of personal hygiene through routine hand washing before meals and snacks and after, playing in the garden, using the toilet and after messy painting and sticking activities. They are also able to observe the childminder's high standards of hygiene as she cleans work surfaces in the kitchen, wipes the highchair after use, cleans toys etc. Despite the childminder's very good supervision, some of the children have minor accidents, but the childminder is always well prepared. She has first aid equipment at home, in the car and in the porch, ready for her to take when they go on outings. She also ensures that her qualification to administer first aid is regularly reviewed and kept up to date. The risk of infection spreading between the children, is minimised by

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Helping children to be healthy

the childminder's implementation of a clearly written policy, which she shares with the parents.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are warmly welcomed on arrival at this very clean, tidy and well organised house, where they are soon fully engrossed by the selection of appropriate resources and activities set out for them. They relate to the childminder particularly well and are

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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 sometimes reluctant to leave at the end of their busy and enjoyable day. Risks of injury to the children, are significantly minimised by the childminder's constant supervision and her excellent awareness of potential hazards. She has made her home safe for children to play freely and provides an excellent balance between freedom to explore and the setting of safe boundaries. The children are developing a good awareness of possible dangers, including road safety and they willingly follow the childminder's sensible procedures when out in the community. They are familiar with the procedures for evacuating the house quickly, which is practiced regularly and carried out in a way that will not alarm the children. Children have easy independent access to most of the excellent selection of play and

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

activity resources and can ask for any additional resources they want to play with. All resources are rotated and provide good stimulation and maintain children's interest. They are very well maintained by regular safety checks and cleaning. There is also a good selection of nursery equipment available for use, including, high chair, buggies, travel cots, nappy changing facilities and car seats. Children are very well protected by the childminder, who maintains a clear understanding of child protection issues, by periodically attending appropriate training. She knows where to seek advice and is familiar with the procedures to follow if she ever has any concerns about the children's welfare.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is outstanding. Children eagerly participate in an extensive range of stimulating activities in all areas of play and learning, at home, in the local community and on outings to places of interest. As most of the children travel everywhere by car, during the school holidays, they sometimes walk to a play park over a mile away, then enjoy riding home on the bus. The younger children regularly attend toddler groups. They confidently mix and play within a larger group and all children enjoy well supervised play, on the local open grass area, with the children cared for by other local childminders. The children benefit from the childminder's excellent caring and stimulating interaction with them, as she increases their awareness and develops their natural curiosity. She knows the children very well and ensures that she provides each child with a good, developmentally appropriate selection activities. For example she is

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

currently trying to develop the speech of one of the children in her care. To do this, she has recognised his interest in animals and has taken him to visit a farm and bought additional toy animals to add to her play resources stimulating his conversation. The children are regularly enjoy new experiences. The childminder frequently visits appropriate web sites to find new activities for them. She also borrows interesting objects and recently, the children were able to study a large pet snail for a few days. They were also able to observe a Triops fish shed its skin, when exposed to constant light. They particularly enjoy looking for bugs in the garden and watching the growth of the seeds they have sown.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

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 make a positive contribution

The provision is good. The children are recognised and valued for their individuality. They are encouraged to respect each other by sharing and taking turns. They are happy and behave very well, responding favourably to the childminder's consistent setting of boundaries. She offers clear guidance and freely praises their good behaviour. The childminder's written behaviour policy and list of appropriate house rules are shared with all parents. Children benefit from the good relationship which exists, between childminder and parents. Information is shared between them on a regular basis and they work in partnership to meet the children's needs. The childminder gives the parents of babies, written information about the day's routine of sleep, food intake, nappy changes and activities, but does not provide any written records of development and activity for the other children. The children are able to gain a greater understanding of the wider world, as they

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Helping children make a positive contribution

enjoy outings to places of interest and meet other people, when they are out and about. At home they enjoy numerous activities and play with different resources. This promotes their awareness of ethnicity, gender, culture and disability. They also learn about different religions by celebrating a variety of festivals. The childminder has a positive attitude to caring for children with special needs, but her main concern is that she meets the need of all the children in her care.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. Children are happy and play freely and confidently in this well organised environment. This enables them to take an active part in the organised activities and to extend their own play and development, through independently accessing the available resources. The well written policies, which are individual to the provision, are shown to the parents during initial visits, to inform them about the service provided. These policies are used effectively to promote the welfare, care and learning of the children. The children also benefit from the well planned days, which have clear routines for home based activities, free play, meals, rest and outings. The childminder ensures that she allocates time each day to tell the parents about their child's day and inform them about developments their child has made. The children and parents profit from the childminder's continued undertaking of

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Organisation

training and her commitment to further improvement of the service she provides. She has recently completed the Extending Childminding Practice course, which is a Nationally recognised childminding qualification. Overall the provision meet the needs of the children attending.

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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 At the last inspection, the childminder was asked to make a shelf in the bathroom safe, to prevent the possibility of an accident to one of the children. The childminder was unable to do this as the wall was not robust enough, consequently to ensure the children's safety, she has removed the shelf. She was also asked to obtain the correct information to administer medication using an Epi-pen, as, at the time of that inspection, the childminder had not been able to access appropriate training. However this training was soon arranged and although the particular child it was required for has since moved on, the childminder has the knowledge if it is required of her in the future.

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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): • develop the method of sharing information with parents about their child's activity and development.

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The quality and standards of the care

procedures set out in the leaflet Building better childcare: Compliments and concerns about inspectors' judgements 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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