Home Childcarer in West NorthamptonshireOfsted inspection, 5 Mar 2009

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 EY376830 Inspection date 05/03/2009 Inspector Jan Leo

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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 was registered in 2008. She lives with her husband and two children, aged two and seven years, in a village near Banbury. Children mostly use the ground floor of the property but bathroom facilities are upstairs. There is a fully enclosed rear garden for outside play.

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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. She can care for a maximum of four children under the age of eight years at any one time and she currently looks after 10 children in total, of whom six are in the early years age range. All attend on a part time basis. The childminder supports children with learning difficulties, disabilities and English as a second language.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory. The childminder organises the day around activities reflecting children's interest, making use of outside play as much as possible. She skilfully includes children in all she does to build their confidence and help them make friends, ensuring that they feel secure and welcome. Sound health and safety procedures preserve children's wellbeing and they receive a high level of supervision to protect them from harm. The childminder joins in play to develop children's games, effectively bringing in other areas of the curriculum to ensure learning is relevant. This helps children to develop and learn with little effort, however, some systems to support children's welfare and learning are currently not developed sufficiently to be of full value.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop systems to fully support learning and development in order to identify specific aims for each child, monitor the education programme to ensure each area of learning is covered evenly, and help parents understand the value of activities so that they can continue learning at home  improve risk assessments to show the action taken to reduce identified hazards and the frequency of review.

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provision

The childminder has a good understanding of how to safeguard children from harm and a clear child protection procedure to follow if she has concerns about a child. She seeks professional advice at times to improve safety, calling in the fire service for example, to review fire safety and evacuation procedures. She conducts This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 ongoing safety checks throughout the day and keeps a brief outline of things she considers when completing risk assessments. However, the current information does not fully comply with requirements and lacks the necessary detail to be of full value.

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provision

The childminder works closely with parents and carers to find out what children can do and what they like. She provides information about the day via individual diaries, to keep families up-to-date and help them feel involved. The information recorded in the books informs parents of what their children do and gives an indication of their rate of progress. However, a lack of detail results in no links to the curriculum, and no clear aims for individual children or evaluation of the success of their efforts to help plan their next steps. There is a lack of information to help parents understand the value of the activities to enable them to continue learning at home if they wish. The childminder continues to build links with local schools to show interest in what older children do during the day and help enhance what children do elsewhere.

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provision

The success of the day is clear to see as children play well together and have a nice time developing their ideas. The childminder reflects on her practice to bring about improvements and is receptive to suggestions from parents in order to meet their needs further. However, there is currently no formal system in place for obtaining feedback from those who use the service. Parents have access to their children's records and essential information is on display, although not necessarily in a prominent position.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children are quietly confident at the setting, accessing resources freely and willingly helping to prepare activities to develop their independence. They choose what to do and where to play, making their thoughts clearly understood. The childminder interacts very well with the children to ensure they feel secure and valued, using children's names and eye contact to develop a feeling of importance. The children happily dress up in favourite outfits and successfully don hats, scarves and gloves before playing outdoors. Disputes over who wears which scarf are quickly solved when the childminder intervenes and helps children negotiate an acceptable solution. The children develop a sense of community, learning to share and take turns fairly when playing and they develop a clear understanding of the needs of others and how to behave. For example, they patiently await their turn on the swing and share a toy car, taking turns to ride around the garden.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

The children play very well together and the childminder competently develops ideas to help children learn in a relevant context. They receive good quality interaction to explain how things work and the reasons for doing things, ensuring they can make sense of what they see. They discuss, for example, different types of weather before deciding on the clothes needed to keep them comfortable while playing outdoors. As a result, the children question things they do not understand, listen intently to what the childminder says and develop an enthusiasm for joining in. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The children benefit from a range of activities to keep them occupied and steadily promote ongoing learning and development through free play. They routinely learn about health and safety during their games, in order to develop good habits for later life and protect themselves from harm. The childminder formulates a basic

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

outline for the day keeping plans flexible to take account of changes in mood, weather and interests. The lack of detail in the planning hampers progress to some extent and makes it difficult to monitor the curriculum to ensure all areas are covered equally. 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? 3

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Years Foundation Stage promoted?

How well are children helped to stay safe? 3 How well are children helped to be healthy? 3 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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