Childminder in Nottingham

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 254873 Inspection date 14/08/2009 Inspector Tracey Jane Outram

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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 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 has been a registered childminder since 1991. She lives on an established housing estate in the Rise Park area of Nottingham and is the parent of two adult children. The ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding and a secure garden is used for outdoor play. The family have pet dogs and a cat.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. A maximum of six children under eight years may attend the setting at any one time and of these, not more than three children may be in the early years age range. The childminder cares for children who have special educational needs and disabilities.

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Description of the childminding

There are currently seven children on the register of whom five are in the early years age range. The childminder also offers care to children over the age of eight years and children occupying these places share the same facilities as the children in the early years age range. The childminder takes and collect children to and from the local schools and frequently attends the local social groups with the children.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. The children are extremely happy and confident within the inclusive setting, which successfully promotes children’s awareness of diversity and understanding of others. The children have good opportunities to participate in an interesting range of activities, which promote learning and address their individual interests. Important information about the children’s needs is shared with parents and the childminder is making sound progress in her commitment towards improvement of her service through the use of self-evaluation.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that records of medicines administered to children are clearly recorded and understandable  improve children's access to outdoor play and use the area to support children in all areas of their learning and development.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 request written parental permission, at the time of the child's admission to the provision, to seek any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment (Safeguarding and promoting children's welfare). 17/09/2009 This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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provision

The childminder has good systems in place to keep children safe and secure; thorough risk assessments are completed and the childminder has a sound understanding of child protection issues including clear procedures for dealing with any concerns that might arise. Documentation is mostly well ordered and ready for inspection, however, aspects of the medication records lack clarity and there is a breach of regulatory requirements because the childminder has failed to obtain written permission from all parents to seek any necessary emergency medical advice or treatment.

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provision

The childminder has an extremely positive attitude towards working in partnership with parents. She is willing to accommodate a wide range of needs and she takes some positive steps to talk to parents about the children’s learning and development. She shares information about the children’s activities and achievements verbally and in written form. This is supplemented by taking photographs of the children, which are openly displayed to demonstrate what children have enjoyed during the day. The ‘parents welcome area’ is used effectively to share details about the setting and to ensure that messages and important information is easily accessible.

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provision

The childminder is extremely supportive of children and their families and has a strong commitment to inclusion. She liaises with other childminders and staff from other settings that the children attend in order to ensure that children receive complementary education and care. In addition, she works closely with a range of other professionals to support the unique learning and development needs of the children. This includes completing additional training and taking positive steps use different types of communication within the setting, such as sign language. Her positive attitude towards inclusion supports individual children and stimulates a healthy approach towards equality and anti-discriminatory practice. This includes positively addressing issues relating to gender through the provision of interesting and challenging activities for both boys and girls.

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provision

The childminder has a strong commitment towards the future development of the service; she has fully addressed recommendations made at the last inspection and has carefully targeted areas for the future development of her service.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The personal, social and emotional development of children attending the setting is extremely good. They are exceedingly well behaved as they learn to value each others differences and similarities. The children demonstrate patience and they are very supportive of each others achievements, for example, when one of the children makes an interesting model from the construction equipment they each look and offer praise, such as ‘that’s good’. This creates an environment from which the children develop confidence, firm friendships and high self-esteem. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The children are all very sociable and eager to communicate in their own unique way. They are lively and actively engaged in imaginative play which takes into account the children’s current interests, such as dinosaurs. The children also have access to a wealth of equipment that helps them to learn about the world around

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

them including different countries and cultural and ethnic diversity. This helps the children to challenge discrimination that is based on prejudices and stereotypes.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder is able to skilfully adapt activities to ensure that that all children can join in. For example, during a ‘fishing game’ the interaction and use of open- ended questions is skilfully pitched to ensure that all children are challenged. For example, as younger children count, order and sort, the older children are encouraged to work out solutions to more complex problems. The outdoor play area is attractive and well equipped; children enjoy activities that develop their strength, agility and coordination. In addition, they learn about the changing seasons and the environment through growing activities and learning about recycling. However, the set times for outdoor play can restrict children’s opportunities for learning outdoors and some areas of the early years curriculum, such as literacy, problem solving, reasoning and numeracy are not fully explored.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder completes entry profiles for the children and uses the knowledge gained from observations to plan interesting activities that are tailored to the child’s individual needs. However, for the older children who are coming towards the end of the EYFS the observations are much less formal and the childminder tends to focus on ensuring that the activities she provides complement the education and care those children receive in other settings.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The childminder knows the children well and she takes many photographs of them learning and enjoying new experiences. The photographs are described as ‘wow moments’ and they are successfully used to aid discussions between the children and celebrate their accomplishments. The childminder has a sound understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and she plans a number of adult focussed activities which are organised to meet a range of specific developmental needs. However, she also provides children with plenty of opportunities to enjoy spontaneous free play. The children have access to a broad range of play provision, which sustains their interest; this includes puzzles, games, construction equipment and imaginative play and games. Similarly, they have a firm interest in books and listened attentively to stories; this has a positive impact on their concentration skills and use of language for communication.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

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

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