Avery, Christine

Inspection report for early years provision

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963928 Unique Reference Number 30 October 2007 Inspection date Joyce Bowler 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 2001. She lives with her husband and two children in Weston-super-Mare. The whole of the property is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children at any one time. She is currently minding nine children, all of whom attend on a part-time basis. The childminder walks to local schools to take and collect children. The family have a dog, a rabbit, six guinea pigs and fish in tanks. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association. She is NNEB qualified and has also gained the Developing Childminding Practice and Extending Childminding Practice qualifications.

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Helping children to be healthy

The provision is good. Children are learning about personal hygiene as the childminder reminds them to wash their hands after messy play, using the toilet and before eating. Young children have their hands cleaned with wet wipes and are also learning to visit the bathroom to wash their hands thoroughly before lunch. The childminder provides a clean hand towel daily. However, use of

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Helping children to be healthy

This inspection was carried out under the provisions of Part XA of the Children Act 1989, as inserted by the Care Standards Act 2000 this shared towel compromises children's health by risk of cross contamination. Babies and young children are protected from the risk of cross infection as the childminder cleans the changing mat after each use and has disposable gloves for cleaning up bodily fluids. Children's minor injuries are dealt with appropriately as the childminder holds a first aid qualification. She keeps first aid kits at home and in the car and has a checklist to ensure that contents are correct. Sleeping children are monitored well by use of a baby sleep monitor and visual checks. They are provided with individual clean bed linen in the travel cot. The childminder maintains correct records for accidents, incidents and administration of medication. She shares her policy for excluding sick children with parents and also a list of infectious diseases. She has written

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Helping children to be healthy

permission to seek emergency medical advice and treatment if necessary. The childminder ensures that all pets are housed out of children's reach during minding hours. Children wash their hands after handling any of the pets.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children enjoy a variety of nutritious foods at the childminder's home. She plans snack and lunch menus in advance and aims to offer children at least three of the advised five portions of fruit and vegetables for each day. Children are learning to enjoy the range of fruit available and those who had been reluctant to try new foods are beginning to join in. All meals and snacks are enjoyed at the table and children eagerly sit up for their snack and hold their hands out ready to be cleaned with a wet wipe. Some parents choose to send packed lunches and the childminder stores contents in the fridge as necessary. Children are offered a choice of milk or water at snack time. The childminder is aware of individual preferences and uses these to influence menus for evening meals. She holds full information on all children's dietary requirements and is able to cater well for special diets, especially in the case of food exclusion

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Helping children to be healthy

for specific health needs. She is trained in the use of the Epi-Pen for use in case of anaphylactic shock.

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Helping children to be healthy

Children receive plenty of opportunities to develop their physical skills by going for walks, using the local park and playing in the garden. They have access to a variety of equipment and tools, such as craft materials, glue sticks, scissors, construction toys and outdoor play equipment. This provides a good balance across activities which enable children to develop their fine motor control skills and use of their large muscle groups. The childminder provides lots of outings during the week and in school holidays.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

The provision is good. Children are cared for in a home where good emphasis is given to them playing in safety. The childminder's home is very child-friendly and she has measures in place to reduce risks effectively. These include use of stair gates at the foot of the stairs, at the kitchen and sitting room doors, use of seats to enable toddlers to sit up to the table in safety and storing all potentially hazardous materials out of reach. She has a written risk assessment of her home and garden and records steps taken to protect children, for example, cutting back some of the branches on a tree outside the door. She keeps all toys and resources clean by following her cleaning rota and is rigorous in removing toys that have been placed in babies mouths to wash them before the next use. Children playing on the carpet are learning that they need to put a toy away before they can get out another in order to make a safe space and not to tread on or

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

fall over toys. Children have easy and safe access to toys as the childminder stores resources in clear plastic boxes which are sorted by type. Children's safety at home is promoted well as door security is good preventing accidental escape and entrance from unauthorised visitors. Fire safety equipment is in place and the smoke alarms are checked regularly and this is recorded. The fire blanket is fixed on the wall in the kitchen. The childminder has devised an emergency

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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 evacuation drill and practises this with children regularly. She records fire drills and the names of children present in order to ensure that all children are familiar with the routine. In case of emergency the childminder maintains alternative contact details for each family and shares her policy for uncollected or lost children with them. She holds written permissions from parents for using her car to transport minded children.

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Protecting children from harm or neglect and helping them stay safe

Children's welfare is maintained as the childminder has a good knowledge and understanding of child protection issues. She has attended training recently in safeguarding children and is aware of her responsibility to follow approved procedures for child protection. She has a written policy for this which she shares with parents. This is supported by reference materials from the National Childminding Association and the Local Safeguarding Children's Board.

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

The provision is good. Children benefit from the childminder's enthusiasm for her work and the good variety of activities which are offered both at home and on outings. The childminder uses her extensive experience, early years training and good knowledge of child development to produce lots of opportunities for children to have fun and to learn as they play. She is aware of children's individual needs and is able to adapt activities to ensure that they can all take part. For example, a craft activity linked to Halloween is suitable for children of different ages as she offers appropriate help and guidance according to children's ability. Children are able to make their own choices from lots of attractive craft materials in order to produce their own decorated paper bats. Children respond well to the childminder and are relaxed and comfortable in her care. She offers affectionate care and details this for parents in her written 'touch policy' which

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

explains how she will offer nurturing cuddles and support to children. In this way they can be assured that she will offer appropriate physical care for children to support their personal and emotional needs. Children benefit from lots of opportunities to socialise and to mix with others at the toddler group that the childminder coordinates with fellow childminders. She makes excellent use of the local environment and what is on offer for the ages of the children she minds. This includes liaising with staff at the local Children's Centre and organising topics and planned activities for children aged under five. All children benefit from the childminder's emphasis on encouraging children to chat during play and to express their own ideas and thoughts. She is aware of each child's next step for development, for example, when working with specific language needs or developing a child's confidence. She records daily diaries for

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Helping children achieve well and enjoy what they do

some children and this includes vital information regarding progress and achievements as well as details of sleeping and eating patterns. She records daily activities and events on her register to share verbally with all parents. Children have access to a good range of toys and equipment to stimulate their play and learning. The childminder supplements these with extras from the toy library and she rotates the use of her toys. She works closely with other childminders in the area and they swap resources regularly to provide variety for children.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The provision is good. Children are able to settle in well as the childminder encourages parents to bring them to visit and to get to know her and her home before the contract is signed and childminding commences. She implements her equal opportunities policy in practise by ensuring that her care takes children's specific needs into account. This includes all health and educational needs and she liaises well with parents recording children's requirements. She is aware of the need to help

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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 them to learn about different people and other cultures via access to supporting resources and the themed activities that she plans for them to enjoy at toddler group. She records these in photographs, for example, when children have enjoyed eating Chinese noodles and finding out about dragons and the Chinese New Year. Children are learning good behaviour and there are routines in place to encourage this, for example, when remembering that toys are not allowed at the table during meals and helping to tidy up together. Children are learning to share, for example when playing with the train set. The childminder helps them to negotiate taking turns and children respond happily. They are learning to say please and thank you and the childminder models good manners for the younger children to copy. She offers lots of praise which is helping

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Helping children make a positive contribution

children to behave well and to grow in self-esteem, for example, when writing their own names, helping to tidy up and building the train track. This is successful with a range of age groups. Older children minded after school are aware of the agreed house rules which include no shouting and no playing on the stairs.

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Helping children make a positive contribution

The partnership with parents is effective as she has established a very good exchange of information on a daily basis. The childminder has carried out a self evaluation which was informed by positive feedback from parents. She supplies them with extensive information about her service and this includes a leaflet about her family and her childcare background, newsletters and access to all policies and procedures. She obtains written permissions from parents for taking photographs, outings, medication and using the paddling pool. Daily diaries are provided for parents.

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Organisation

The organisation is good. The childminder meets the needs of the range of children for whom she provides. She demonstrates good use of space in her home with a well balanced range of activities available to ensure that children are happy and well cared for. She demonstrates her commitment to maintaining high standards by attending a comprehensive set of training opportunities in her own time. Recent courses include child protection, food hygiene, first aid, Makaton, inclusion, curriculum planning and Elklan speech and language learning support for under five's. She monitors her service by carrying out a self evaluation and reviewing her policies and procedures annually. Additional written policies are in place and these include use of car seats and behaviour management for older children. These are shared with parents, however, contact details for Ofsted are out of date on her complaints procedure. Daily attendance registers are maintained

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Organisation

and these show the actual arrival and departure times for children. The childminder displays her registration certificate.

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Improvements since the last inspection

At the last inspection the childminder was asked to address five issues which related to safeguarding children, use of resources, documentation and safety. Since then the childminder has developed her knowledge and understanding of child protection procedures by attending training and using the National Childminding Association handbook as guidance. She has a written policy for safeguarding children which is in line with the Local Safeguarding Children's Board. Children benefit from the childminder's good use of resources to promote equality of opportunity. Toys and equipment are rotated in their use and supplemented by extras from the Toy Library and other local childminders. Safety is improved as the childminder ensures that upstairs windows are locked and keys are accessible. All adults in the household are vetted. The register now shows the actual arrival and departure times of the children and parents have

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Improvements since the last inspection

given signed permission for the childminder to seek emergency treatment and advice. As a

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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 result of effective action taken by the childminder all previous issues have been addressed in full and this results in improved care for children.

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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 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): • consider the use of improved facilities for children when drying their hands • ensure that contact details for Ofsted are correct on all documentation.

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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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