Christchurch Learning Centre

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 134374 Inspection date 11/03/2009 Inspector Gillian Little

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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 1993. She lives in Witney with her husband and two adult sons. The whole ground floor of the childminder’s house is used for childminding. The garden is not used for outdoor play but the childminder takes children on daily outings in the local area. Access to the provision includes a step to the front door. The family has a dog.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder offers care on a daily basis and walks to the local school, nursery and preschool to take and collect children, and works closely with these settings to support children's needs. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight at any one time and is currently minding two children on the Early Years Register on a part-time basis. She is also registered on both the compulsory part and the voluntary part of the Childcare Register to care for older children.

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Overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good. Children flourish in a very welcoming and inclusive environment where they make good progress towards the early learning goals. They have very good opportunities to develop a healthy lifestyle and to learn how to keep themselves safe. The childminder develops excellent partnerships with parents and other settings which children attend to effectively meet children's individual needs. Self-evaluation procedures are generally effective in maintaining continuous improvement, and most regulatory documentation is in place.

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further?

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

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further?

 consider ways to provide a wider range of freely accessible resources and activities to further promote children's learning.

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further?

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

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further?

 maintain a record of the risk assessment clearly stating when it was carried out, by whom, date of review and any action taken following a review or incident (Documentation). 11/04/2009

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provision

The childminder has a very high regard for inclusive practice. She spends a lot of time with parents when children first attend her setting so that she can become very familiar with children's individual needs and starting points. She develops This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 excellent relationships with parents, spending time with them on a daily basis to talk about their children's progress. She is very aware of parents’ different expectations and very respectful of these, ensuring that she carries out parents' wishes. Parents comment that the childminder is very aware of and very responsive to children's individual needs, for example, ensuring that they have plenty of opportunities for physical play or for some quiet time, depending on their particular needs on any given day. The childminder is very supportive in helping parents to choose a suitable nursery or preschool for their child by attending initial

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provision

visits with them and paying close attention to how such settings will cater for children's individual needs. She very readily accommodates taking children to and from different settings and has frequent discussions with staff to effectively share information about children's welfare and development. The childminder ensures that children are safe at all times, for example, supervising them carefully, ensuring that the home is clean and child friendly, and keeping the family dog in a separate part of the house. However, she does not keep a record of risk assessments which is a legal requirement. She has a good understanding of safeguarding children procedures and ensures that all adults in the household have appropriate background checks. She maintains correct ratios at all times and prefers to have low numbers of children so that she can support and supervise them effectively. She talks confidently about her policies and procedures, some of

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provision

which are very effective in practice, particularly those relating to equal opportunities and encouraging children to adopt a safe and healthy lifestyle. She actively seeks feedback from parents and children to support her self-evaluation processes and she recognises the many strengths of her practice. She identifies some areas for further improvement, including additional training to support her observations and assessments of children's progress. She has not recognised some weaknesses in her practice but is very willing to address these to further improve her provision.

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

Children have excellent opportunities to develop a healthy lifestyle and to learn how to keep themselves safe. They have plenty of exercise on a daily basis including long walks across the fields with the dog or into town to attend nursery. They eagerly choose a piece of fruit from the fruit bowl for snack time and the childminder encourages lots of discussion about the different types of fruit, such as the colour of the flesh and skin. Parents provide a healthy packed lunch and children understand the importance of washing their hands and using tissues to blow their noses. Children develop a very good understanding of safety issues through their play and daily activities. For example, while using a play cooker the childminder reminds them of the dangers of using a real cooker and children readily engage in this discussion; they quickly pull their hands away from the cooker demonstrating that they really understand the dangers of this in a real-life

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

situation. Children demonstrate high levels of behaviour, playing very well together and showing respect for others. They receive lots of attention, praise and recognition from the childminder which helps them to develop a strong sense of self-worth. They readily join in with discussions about their hobbies and those of their siblings, such as ballet, football and swimming, and the childminder helps to develop their knowledge and understanding by talking about the use of goggles This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and armbands. They have good opportunities to develop their mathematical understanding as the childminder challenges them to make the longest traffic jam they can with toy cars and talks to them about halves and quarters while she cuts apples for snack time. They have frequent outings in the local area to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world around them as well as lots of

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The quality and standards of the early years provision

discussion about different topics such as the weather, transport and planting seeds. The childminder actively seeks children's views about what they wish to do and what they like to play with. Children are able to choose from a variety of resources stored in the garage and take these inside the house, but generally only have access to one or two activities at a time. While this helps them to focus on specific activities it does restrict opportunities for them to follow their own interests more freely. The childminder continuously observes children's progress and is very familiar with their individual needs and abilities. She uses the Early Years Foundation Stage guidance regularly to check children's progress towards the early learning goals and uses all of this information to plan their next steps in learning, sharing her assessments readily with parents. 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? 1 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? 1 How well are children helped to be healthy? 1 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children (Arrangements for safeguarding children) 11/04/2009  implement a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints (Procedures for dealing with complaints). 11/04/2009

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 implement a written statement of procedures to be followed for the protection of children (Arrangements for safeguarding children) 11/04/2009  implement a written statement of procedures to be followed in relation to complaints (Procedures for dealing with complaints). 11/04/2009 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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