Childminder in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY331317 Inspection date 08/09/2009 Inspector Saida Cummings

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Type of setting Childminder to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, work-based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It rates council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 08456 404040, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may copy all or parts of this document for non-commercial educational purposes, as long as you give details of the source and date of publication and do not alter the information in any way.

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Royal Exchange Buildings St Ann's Square Manchester M2 7LA

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T: 08456 404040 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk 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.

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Introduction

Please see our website for more information about each childcare provider. We publish inspection reports, conditions of registration and details of complaints we receive where we or the provider take action to meet the requirements of registration. 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 2006 and lives with her family in a residential area situated in Banbury, Oxfordshire. There are local shops, parks, playing fields, day care settings and schools within walking distance. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and day care settings. Children are taken on local visits and outings. The family has one pet cat.

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Description of the childminding

The main areas used for childminding are situated on the ground floor. There is a fully enclosed rear garden available for outdoor play. The childminder is registered to care for five children at any one time and there are currently three children on roll within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The childminder also cares for older children. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA).

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are well cared for in a safe, stimulating and inclusive environment where they are valued as unique individuals. Their welfare, learning and development requirements are met well owing to the dedication and commitment of the childminder. The childminder works in partnership with parents, carers and other providers to ensure that each individual child’s needs and routines are met. The self-evaluation system is in its infancy and is not yet sufficiently developed to ensure the childminder is able to make continuous improvements in all areas.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the self-evaluation systems further to ensure priorities for making continuous improvements in all areas are identified and implemented.

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted in a safe and child-friendly environment. The childminder is vigilant and places high priority on children's safety. Thorough risk assessments, which include all the indoor and outdoor areas, are in place to ensure effective actions are taken to manage and eliminate risks to children. The childminder also completes detailed risk assessments for each type of outing and encourages children to keep themselves safe whilst enjoying the outdoors. For example, during visits to local woodlands they learn not to eat the berries as these could be poisonous and ‘may make them feel sick’. Children are fully safeguarded as the childminder has a good understanding of child protection This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 procedures. She has completed Safeguarding Children awareness training and is aware of the procedures to follow should she have any concerns.

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the early years provision

Children’s needs are well-met and the effective organisation of space, resources and learning experiences has a positive impact on their overall development. They are able to self-select exciting and stimulating resources from the wide range of easily-accessible play equipment, which enables them to instigate their own spontaneous play. Children’s care is enhanced because of the childminder’s knowledge and understanding of how young children learn and develop. She has completed a level 3 qualification in childcare and has experience of working with children of all ages. The childminder is committed to developing her knowledge and experience and has attended several appropriate training courses. The effective written policies and procedures work in practice to safeguard children and promote their health and well-being. These are shared with parents and carers at the outset to ensure they are well informed. The childminder has made many

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the early years provision

improvements to the organisation of the setting and ensured the recommendations from the last inspection are fully addressed. She has started to assess the effectiveness of her provision and has identified some areas to make improvements to benefit the children. However, the self-assessment systems are not yet sufficiently robust to ensure priorities for making improvements in all areas are identified and implemented.

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the early years provision

Children are happy, settled, confident and feel at home in the child-friendly environment. Inclusive practice is promoted as the childminder encourages children's positive self-esteem and adapts the activities to ensure all the children are able to reach their full potential. The childminder has effective systems for gathering relevant information from parents and carers when children first start attending to ensure individual children’s routines are adhered to. They are provided with good quality information and kept well-informed of how their children have spent their day through daily verbal and written communication. The childminder has started making links with other settings in the local area and will be extending this to ensure this is pertaining to individual children's progress towards the early learning goals. For example, she liaises with the local pre-school prior to children commencing at that setting which helps all parties to ensure each

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the early years provision

child is appropriately supported when settling into the new environment.

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and outcomes for children

Children’s learning and development are successfully promoted in a stimulating and homely environment. They benefit from playing in a well-organised environment which allows them to move around and play safely. Children have access to a good range of toys and resources appropriate to their age and stage of development. They show considerable independence and make choices about their toys and resources they wish to play with. They are encouraged to develop their basic skills, such as putting on and taking off their coats and shoes. All children are fully included as the childminder adapts activities so that individual children are given opportunities to participate at their own level. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children are given many opportunities to explore and investigate, extend their creativity and problem solving skills. For example, they love to join in with painting

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and outcomes for children

activities, using the wide range of resources to create brightly coloured and textured pictures. The childminder adapts this type of activity to ensure each child is able to take an active part. For instance, older children use paint rollers and brushes to paint, whilst younger children enjoy experimenting with their hands and fingers to make prints. The childminder uses individual children’s interests to help them develop their learning. For example, when children are interested in playing with the cars she introduces road mats and the garage to help children extend their play. Children are encouraged to develop their understanding during this type of activity as the childminder introduces appropriate language, such as ‘in, out, round, up and down’ as the children wheel their cars around the provided equipment.

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and outcomes for children

Children's language skills are developed through their love of books and story telling, as well as encouragement to join in with relaxed and interesting conversations. Young children are encouraged to use their vocals and experiment with sound. They are able to build up their vocabulary through everyday activities and routines, such as repeating words they hear and the childminder reinforces this by pointing to the relevant items and encouraging children to use the newly discovered words. Children are progressing well in their learning and development as they benefit from an exciting range of activities which are specifically planned to ensure individual children’s preferences and needs are fully catered for. The childminder has developed a system for observing, assessing and planning appropriate activities for each child which provides them with many interesting opportunities to develop their skills. She successfully uses the EYFS guidance and

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and outcomes for children

her knowledge of each child’s stage of development to ensure that individual children are given every opportunity to move on to the next stage in their learning and early education.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder skilfully uses opportunities during children’s spontaneous play to help them develop further. For example, when they decide to find all the small balls in the garden to put in the ride-on dumper truck the childminder starts to name the different colours. This encourages children to try to recognise and name the different colours as they find the balls and place them in the truck. This is further extended when the childminder encourages the children to try to also count the number of balls they find.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing good personal hygiene awareness. They are aware they need to wash their hands before eating, after using the toilet and after outdoor play. Children are kept safe as the childminder ensures they are supervised at all times and discussions are held about how they can keep themselves safe. For example, they are encouraged to help tidy away some of the toys when they want to access other toys and the childminder explains that this is because they may trip and hurt themselves if there is too much on the floor. Children’s good health and well-being is very well-promoted as they have daily opportunities for physical indoor and outdoor activities. They relish their time playing out in the fresh air which includes taking part in various outings, such as joining in with local walks to the park, library and shops. Children also have opportunities to mix with other This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

children of their own age group when they take part in regular visits to the local children’s groups. 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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children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

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and managed?

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 2 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 2 The effectiveness of the setting’s engagement with parents and carers

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Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 2

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Stage

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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