Childminder in Wiltshire

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 145037 Inspection date 09/02/2009 Inspector Rachel Edwards

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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

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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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 registered since 1992 and lives with her husband and one adult daughter, in a house in Market Lavington, Wiltshire. Only the ground floor is used for childminding, except for the toilet and a baby sleeping room upstairs. There is an enclosed back garden. Her husband may occasionally act as an assistant and he may, with parents agreement, have sole care of the children for short periods.

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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, to provide care for no more than six children under eight years at any one time. She is not registered to provide overnight care. She currently cares for four children, all of whom are in the early years age range.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the Market Lavington childminding group and regularly takes children to the toddler group and to soft play. She uses her car for childminding and is able to take and collect children from local pre-schools and primary schools.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the provision is satisfactory. The experienced and caring childminder, provides a welcoming and safe environment for the children to play and rest in. She is beginning to put into practice knowledge gained from Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) training and from her own research but does not yet skilfully adapt activities to meet the needs of all the children who attend. As a result, she meets children's care needs very well but they do not make as much progress in their learning and development as they could. The childminder is committed to further improving her provision.

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further?

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

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further?

 plan to meet the differing and competing needs of every child so that each child receives sufficient individual attention  review the record of risk assessment, to ensure that all aspects are relevant to this setting and that the fire evacution arrangements are sufficient  develop partnerships with other settings that children attend to promote consistency in their learning  continue to develop the learning journals, by making regular dated observations of children's achievements and interests and use these to plan what children need to learn next This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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provision

The childminder takes her role seriously. She is well organised with an established daily routine, which helps children feel settled and secure, and she makes good use of indoor and outdoor space. She attends regular training, such as updating her understanding of child protection and she is familiarising herself with the requirements of the EYFS. She provides a range of interesting activities but does not always fully include the youngest children.

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provision

The childminder works closely with parents so that their wishes and the children's care needs are well catered for. There is a good exchange of information and parents are well informed about their child's day. For example, the childminder frequently uses phone texts to send photographs to the parents during the day. All records are shared with them including children's scrap books, which attractively record their achievements. This helps build secure, trusting relationships. She has not yet established good links with other settings that children attend to help provide consistency in their learning.

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provision

Children play safely in a clean well maintained home. They are able to choose from a suitable range of toys and equipment. The childminder has a very good safety awareness, for example, she removes a hair clip from a baby before putting them down for a sleep, to avoid the risk of choking. She practises fire evacuations with the children but this is not sufficiently frequently and she has not followed a recommendation to record how long evacuations take to help improve children's safety. She has checked her home thoroughly for hazards and taken steps to minimise these. However, the risk assessment record, which she is required to keep, is not always personal to her own home and practice. The childminder is aware of what she must do if she has concerns that a child is at risk from abuse and is clear about her responsibility to protect children.

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provision

The childminder reflects on what she provides but does not have a systematic process to make sure she covers everything and clearly targets areas for development. Despite this, she has plans that will benefit the children, such as providing a play house in the garden so that children can better enjoy outdoor play even in poorer weather. The childminder has a broad range of written policies and procedures which inform parents of how she works. All of the required records to promote children's well-being are in place.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children enjoy being with the childminder. She knows each child well and shows them a great deal of warmth and affection, for example, when they snuggle in for a story. Children enjoy choosing what they want to play with and the childminder encourages them to do this for themselves. She has started to observe children at play in order to monitor their progress. However, these observations are not always dated and are too infrequent to identify what children are really interested in to help her plan activities that will motivate children and help them make good progress in all areas of their development. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder spends a lot of time playing with the children and talking to them and asking questions that develop their thinking skills. However, she does not give all children an equal amount of her attention, largely because she has not planned

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

how to adapt activities to include everyone. As a result, younger children are frequently left out of activities, such as arts and craft. Consequently, they sometimes miss out on enjoyable messy play and the benefits of focussed individual attention, so that on occasions, a baby's attempts to communicate through facial expressions and gestures are missed.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children benefit from outings into the local community, which broadens their experiences and helps them socialise with others. They regularly attend a toddler group, visit the library and soft play centre, and go for walks. They play outdoors every day, making good use of the garden, for example, to tend plants that they had earlier bought from the garden centre.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children develop physical coordination and control over their bodies. The childminder encourages a baby who is learning to walk to 'cruise' around the furniture and they all enjoy playing boisterously in the safe environment of a soft play centre. As they progress, they have good opportunities to practise mark making, for example, through painting the fence with water and colouring with crayons, which prepares them well for starting to write. Children generally behave well and the childminder sensitively supports young children as they learn to share and take turns so that they demonstrate care and concern for one another. She consistently enforces house rules, such as, sitting at the table whilst eating so that children understand what is expected of them.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children play and rest in a clean and safe homely environment. They are relaxed in the company of the childminder and her family, and they feel confident to move around the home and settle quickly when it is time for a rest. The childminder follows good routines to help keep children healthy, such as providing healthy snacks, including strawberries that they pick from the garden, and free access to drinks. The daily routine includes playing outside in the fresh air and time to rest. She helps children learn how to keep themselves safe, for example, explaining why they must not stand on the chair and they learn to cross the road safely when out and about. 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? 3 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? 3 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 the last inspection.

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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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