Childminder in Durham

Inspection report for early years provision

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313542 Unique Reference Number 28 February 2008 Inspection date Karen Marie Tervit 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 outstanding. 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 October 1994. She lives with her two adult children. The premises are situated in the village of Leadgate on the outskirts of Consett. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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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 and is currently caring for seven children, all on a part-time basis. The childminder collects children from the local school and attends parent and toddler groups.

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WHAT SORT OF SETTING IS IT?

The childminder is a member of the Derwentside Childminding Network. She is also a member of the National Childminding Association and holds a recognised child care qualification.

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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 outstanding. The childminder has excellent hygiene routines in place to protect and promote children's health. The clear and comprehensive policies and procedures in place regarding sick children, medication and accident recording ensure children's health needs are exceptionally well met. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene from an early age through excellent, well planned daily routines and the use of individual hand towels or paper towels.

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Helping children to be healthy

The childminder demonstrates a very good understanding of healthy eating. She works extremely closely with parents to ensure children's individual dietary needs are exceptionally well met. She ensures children receive a varied and nutritious diet. Healthy meals are provided by the parents. Children have access to drinks throughout the day and confidently ask for more. Children are learning how to keep themselves healthy by completing interesting projects and scrapbooks on healthy eating.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy an extremely varied range of interesting and exciting activities which contributes to their good health, both in the childminder’s home and outings. They thoroughly enjoy regular visits to the local amenities including the park, the farm and the beach as well as indoor activity centres and toddler groups. This means they have fresh air and exercise each day and their physical development is promoted. Children are able to rest and be active according to their individual needs and parents' wishes.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is outstanding. Children are cared for in a exceptionally well organised, safe environment where they have room to move around freely and safely. Premises are warm, welcoming and made friendly to children and parents. Children have independent access to the extremely wide range of resources because the childminder has carefully organised her storage to promote this.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The childminder has an excellent awareness of children's constantly developing abilities and takes appropriate safety measures to ensure that they are safe at all times. For example, the childminder completes weekly written risk assessments as well as daily visual assessments. The childminder has working smoke alarms in place and has devised and practised a detailed emergency evacuation procedure. Younger children wear high visibility jackets on outings; she is sensitive to the needs of older children who are reluctant to wear these and ensures they are well protected by walking with her or holding onto the buggy. When travelling by car, children use appropriate car seats or restraints. Outings and transportation agreements are fully agreed with parents. Children have completed an exciting project about keeping safe where they identify common hazards and what needs doing to make them safe.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children are very well protected by the childminder, who has an excellent understanding of child protection policies and procedures. She has attended and delivered training in this area and has a copy of 'What to do if you're worried a child is being abused', along with the necessary contact numbers.

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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 thoroughly enjoy their time with the childminder and make excellent progress in all areas of their development. They are very settled and extremely happy. They benefit greatly from a very warm and affectionate relationship with the childminder and her grown-up children which gives them the security to approach them with confidence and enthusiasm. They share a close and warm interaction, with cuddles, smiles and natural gestures of affection. Older children have spontaneously written about how much they enjoy coming to the childminder’s home. Children's emotional wellbeing is exceptionally well fostered.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The childminder is extremely knowledgeable about how children learn and develop and is passionate about helping each child to fulfil their potential. She has expert knowledge of the 'Birth to three matters' framework and the Curriculum guidance for the foundation stage which she uses to underpin her practice. There is a rich variety of activities available to children and an excellent balance between those planned by the childminder and those initiated by the children. She ensures frequent rotation of play materials and activities to build upon their interests and provide them with appropriate challenges. She maintains excellent interaction with the children as she sits with them, involving herself in their games such as playing with the large plastic bricks, encouraging them to identify colours and then build towers of different heights to measure themselves so that even the youngest of the children begin to grasp

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

mathematical language. Babies thoroughly enjoy exploring the home-made treasure baskets which include items such as sponges, brushes, wooden spoons and egg cups. Children play with a range of interesting materials such as jelly and gloop. Children delight in singing familiar songs as they play, or reading each other stories.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The childminder chats with the children and sensitively intervenes in activities to extend their learning. For example, she builds on the interest children show in the animals as she talks about where they live, and praises them enthusiastically. This helps children to feel good about themselves and builds their confidence and self-esteem. The children benefit greatly because the childminder is highly skilled, knows each child very well and is interested in extending and developing their play.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is outstanding. Children are valued very much as individuals. They are warmly welcomed into the childminder's home and cared for in a friendly, family atmosphere which gives them an extremely strong sense of belonging. The childminder helps to raise children's awareness of the importance of anti-discriminatory practice by being a very positive role model and sensitively explaining differences to children. They access resources on a daily basis which reflect positive images of diversity, such as books, figures, puzzles, dressing up clothes and food. Children also take part in interesting outings to places such as China Town and celebrate different Chinese years, through projects such as tasting different Chinese food, decorating the house with streamers and lanterns and dressing up in costumes. The childminder supplements her already good resources with further images from the local lending library to provide more variety.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The children behave exceptionally well as a result of the childminder's positive approach. She uses praise, encouragement and diversion to reinforce good behaviour. The children show a sense of belonging and are secure in their knowledge of daily routines. They are growing in independence and self-assurance as they have choices of activities. Older children have helped

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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 to devise their own house rules which are clearly displayed and which act as a gentle reminder of the consequences of their actions, for example, do not throw toys because they will break. Even very young children help to tidy up, smiling widely when they are praised for their efforts.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

An excellent partnership with parents contributes significantly to children's wellbeing and development at the childminder's home. Parents' views about their children's needs, interests and abilities are actively sought before the child starts; this continues with the use of regular satisfaction questionnaires. These indicate that parents are very happy with the care provided for their children and the excellent progress they make. Daily verbal communication shared with parents ensures that they are kept extremely well informed about their children's progress, care and welfare. The childminder ensures that parents are informed about all aspects of the childminding practice by providing them with extensive written information. This includes a parents information pack containing copies of all policies and procedures, and a personal profile including information about the childminder and training courses completed.

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Organisation

The organisation is outstanding. The childminder has developed an extremely well organised setting, making all areas of the ground floor of her home appealing to children by using attractive displays of their artwork. Children thrive as they take part in an excellent range of indoor and outdoor activities, giving them a balanced and interesting day. A flexible routine allows children to be active or to rest as they need. An excellent range of resources is available which inspires children's imagination and encourages them to learn in a fun way. Evaluations of practice against the outcomes for children both individually and as a group ensure children are extremely well cared for. The childminder is very clear about her role and responsibility in providing a high quality service to the children and their family. The childminder makes excellent use of the training opportunities available to her. For example, she holds level 3 qualifications, continues to identify her own

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Organisation

training needs and is proactive in sharing her expertise with other providers as a tutor, as she prepares for forthcoming developments in children's care and learning.

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Organisation

Personal information regarding the children and their families is filed securely to ensure confidentiality. Parents are made aware of the documents and records held prior to the commencement of care. They may have access to any records relating to their child and are encouraged to comment on the care their children receive, for example through the satisfaction surveys she completes. Observations relating to the child's day, development and general wellbeing are fed back to parents both verbally and in written format as they collect their children at the end of the day. Children benefit from the excellent communication between the childminder and their parents. The required record keeping is maintained to a consistently high standard and, as a result, children's health, welfare and development are promoted to an exceptionally high standard.

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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 agreed to ensure that written agreements have Ofsted recorded as the registering body. The childminder has updated these to reflect that she is registered with Ofsted.

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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 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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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 outstanding. 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

No recommendations for improvement are made because the quality and standards of care are outstanding.

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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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