Ryan, Sarah Helen

Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated. Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY362267 Inspection date 31/03/2009 Inspector Clare Perry

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Type of setting Childminder This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Introduction

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of the registered early years provision. ‘Early years provision’ refers to provision regulated by Ofsted for children from birth to 31 August following their fifth birthday (the early years age group). The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and welfare, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Introduction

The report includes information on any complaints about the childcare provision which Ofsted has received since the last inspection or registration whichever is the later, which require Ofsted or the provider to take action in Annex C.

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Introduction

The provider must provide a copy of this report to all parents with children at the setting where reasonably practicable. The provider must provide a copy of the report to any other person who asks for one, but may charge a fee for this service (The Childcare (Inspection) Regulations 2008 regulations 9 and 10).

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Introduction

The setting also makes provision for children older than the early years age group which is registered on the voluntary and/or compulsory part(s) of the Childcare Register. This report does not include an evaluation of that provision, but a comment about compliance with the requirements of the Childcare Register is included in Annex B. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Description of the childminding

The childminder registered in 2007. She lives with her husband and three children aged two, seven and eleven years in Flackwell Heath, near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire. The house is on a quiet residential road. The whole of the childminder’s home is used for childminding, though in practice children remain mostly downstairs. There is a fully enclosed garden for outdoor play and activities. The childminder can take children to and pick up from local schools or pre-school. Children have opportunities to play in the park, visit local shops and go to toddler groups.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than two may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding three children in this age group. She also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good within this inclusive setting, where the individual child and their uniqueness is very much valued. All children make good progress towards the early learning goals and participate in a range of activities and outings to meet their learning and development needs. The childminder provides a happy and welcoming environment in which children's welfare is well promoted. Effective partnerships with parents and those that are developing in the wider context, ensure the needs of all children are well met and positive relationships are built. The childminder has an accurate awareness of her strengths and weaknesses and is committed to developing her service through attending regular training courses to enhance her skills and knowledge. She has taken steps to identify areas for development, for example, improving the children’s achievements by providing more challenging activities as they get older.

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should:

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further?

 continue to develop planning for children's individual learning, building on what has been learnt from the observations  ensure all records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of the setting and to meet the needs of the children are updated in line with Early Years Foundation Stage. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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provision

Inclusive practice is strong and is promoted so all children have their welfare needs met and achieve as well as they can regardless of their background. The childminder ensures all children are able to learn in an anti-discriminatory environment and is careful to ensure all children are involved in all experiences and activities if they want to be and it is safe for them to do so. The childminder supports children to develop an understanding of and respect for others. She caters for each child's individual needs whether it be providing activities to improve learning and development skills, helping them to learn to use the toilet or helping them to understand why the road is dangerous. No children currently attend with learning difficulties and / or disabilities or English as a second language; though the childminder has excellent strategies in place to support these children if she needed to and provide information to parents in their native language.

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provision

The childminder develops effective links with parents. They work well together to meet children's individual needs. Parents receive lots of detailed information about the setting and their children. They share daily verbal information about children's well-being, development and achievements. The childminder values and respects parents' wishes, such as starting potty training or stopping the use of dummies and comforters. Parents are made aware that the childminder carries out written observations and keeps children's work to assess development and that they are welcome to access this at any time. The childminder is starting to develop links with other settings children attend, through being given curriculum and activity information from parents, though she has no direct links with the settings.

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provision

The childminder is very caring and endeavours to provide the absolute best she can for the children in her care. She is dedicated to her own professional development and has completed some recent training, for example, Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and safeguarding. The childminder effectively strives for improvement to provide high quality care and education. She is very effective at reflecting on her own practice and has carried a very comprehensive self evaluation which accurately identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the provision and issues for improvement. She has taken active steps to involve parents and children in the process through a questionnaire and feedback received is very positive. The childminder demonstrates a strong capacity to make improvements; at registration a number of issues were raised and these have all been addressed well, such as, securing the back gate and obtaining appropriate

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provision

car insurance for business use. She has identified some excellent and accurate strategies to improve her provision further and to keep herself up to date with current practice and developments within the field, such as further planning for individual children, continuing good practice for health, hygiene and safety and further developing the links with other provisions children attend.

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provision

The childminder has a good range of well-written records, policies and procedures required for the safe and efficient management of her service; this includes a policy file which is shared and discussed with parents. Although, the documentation has not yet been updated in line with the EYFS. The quality and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 effectiveness of risk assessments ensures children play safely within the home and garden and on outings. The home is extremely safe for children and the childminder gives high priority to teaching them to stay safe.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder gives the utmost importance to the welfare of children in her care. Children are effectively safeguarded as the childminder has a sound knowledge of child protection issues and her role within these. She has a good understanding of what to do if she has concerns about a child and where to seek support. The childminder gives high priority to safety with many safety features in place in her home, such as stair gates, locked cupboards and drawers. The childminder teaches children about keeping themselves safe. They talk about road safety and stranger danger. The childminder also gives them gentle reminders within the home environment to keep safe, such as safety around the cooker and children are also involved in regular fire drills. Children access a dedicated set up across three main rooms including a play room set up for their specific use. They are able to access and make free choices from a wide range of toys and resources across all areas of

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children's health and well-being is well promoted and policies and procedures are in place and followed to support this. They promote positive steps to prevent the spread of infection by washing hands with antibacterial soap before eating, after going to the toilet and after handling animals. Paper towels are used instead of towels and disposable gloves are used when changing soiled nappies. The childminder has recently completed a basic food hygiene course so she has knowledge of how to keep and prepare food so as not to cause harm to the children. Children are beginning to understand and adopt healthy hygiene habits as they wash and dry their hands before and after eating. The childminder is meticulous in her own hygiene practices, ensuring she washes her hands before preparing food and follows a rigorous nappy changing routine to prevent the spread of infection. Younger children are well supported to follow good routines,

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

such as being helped sensitively with runny noses. Children have daily opportunities to be active and understand the benefits of physical activity either in the home, garden, park, walking or at soft play centres. Children enjoy the healthy and nutritious meals, snacks and drinks provided by the childminder or by their parents. They enjoy home cooked food and lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

It is clear that loving relationships are developing and children know the boundaries for behaviour; the childminder is proactive in encouraging good manners for example, reminding children to say please and thank you. The childminder uses positive and effective strategies to manage unwanted behaviour. Children are encouraged to behave well, be respectful, polite and kind to each other, share, take turns and be considerate. By receiving praise and acknowledgments for good behaviour children continue to behave positively. They respond well to being given responsibility, for example, to lay the table and collect drinks.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder is very calm and together, she is not flustered when children do This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 not follow their normal routines, for example settling for a sleep, the childminder perseveres and uses many strategies to help children settle. She is skilled at supporting children's learning, enabling them to be involved in singing and music activities, encouraging children to share resources and enjoy the music. The childminder provides sufficient resources so all children can be involved. Children receive praise and encouragement promoting their self-esteem and inspiring them to learn and inspiring them to have a go and join in. The childminder is caring and enthusiastic and works hard to do her best for the children. The childminder acts as a good role model demonstrating to the children, for example how to use the xylophone. Children enjoy free flow indoor and outdoor play whenever possible.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder creates a quality learning environment, which is very well planned and resourced to meet the needs of all children. There are many accessible resources for use in the garden, such as, sit and ride toys, scooters, swings, slide, trampoline and climbing frame.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder is skilled at planning a wide range of activities and experiences for children, which are both adult and child led and take account of their interests and current stages of development. Children respond well to the childminder's enthusiasm and motivation. She knows the children really well and through records and clear description demonstrates their starting points and progress they have made. The childminder is developing good observations and assessments which are well linked to EYFS. She is starting to plan where she would like to go next with each individual child and this is developing well but still needs further improvement. The childminder uses a well resourced music session to cover all areas of learning. Children are happy and well settled in this very caring and homely setting. They learn and achieve by having fun and enjoying themselves. Children experience a good range of purposeful play

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

and activities both in the home and out and about. They visit the park, go for walks, to toddlers and play at a local soft play centre. At home they enjoy baking, art and craft activities, music, singing and reading stories. They are also growing strawberries and sweet corn. Children communicate freely either with words or non verbal signs. Children have good physical skills, they are learning to walk and cruise freely around the furniture enabling them to get to where they want to be. Children enjoy joining in with action songs and rhymes, such as Old MacDonald, and Incey Wincey Spider. The childminder uses these songs to encourage children to learn numbers and practice their matching skills, for example, matching animals to their sounds. Children enjoy wiggling and clapping to the music and shaking the different instruments and noise making items, they appear to listen intently to the noises being made. Children are very inquisitive exploring the toys. Children are

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

learning about cause and effect; when they drop things from the table they automatically look to see where it has gone. Children get very excited when they smile at themselves in the mirror; laughing and waving. Children learn independence skills, such as, using a feeder cup to give themselves a drink. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

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Annex A: record of inspection judgements

Grade 1 is Outstanding: this aspect of the provision is of exceptionally high quality Grade 2 is Good: this aspect of the provision is strong Grade 3 is Satisfactory: this aspect of the provision is sound Grade 4 is Inadequate: this aspect of the provision is not good enough

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of children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

How well does the provision promote inclusive practice? 2 The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement.

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Foundation Stage led and managed?

How effective is the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement? How well does the setting work in partnership with parents and others? How well are children safeguarded? 2

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 2 How well are children helped to be healthy? 2 How well are children helped to enjoy and achieve? 2 How well are children helped to make a positive contribution? How well are children helped develop skills that will contribute to their future economic well-being?

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

procedures set out in the guidance available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

This section of the report includes details of any complaint/s made to Ofsted when:  we took action for the provider to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  we asked the provider to take action in order to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register; or  the provider had already taken any necessary action to meet the requirements of the Early Years Register.

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Annex C: complaint/s made to Ofsted

We will not report on any complaint where the provider met the requirements of the Early Years Register or did not require any action by Ofsted or the registered provider.

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Detail of the complaint/s

There have been no complaints made to Ofsted since registration.

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Detail of the complaint/s

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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