Tattershall, Nicola Jayne

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Unique reference number 139294 Inspection date 10/09/2009 Inspector Marie Thompson

p.1

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.

p.1

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

p.2

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

p.2

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.

p.3

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).

p.3

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

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

p.3

Description of the childminding

The childminder was registered in 2000. She lives in Bridport, Dorset with her partner and two children aged 11 and 14 years old. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder’s house is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder walks or drives to local schools to take and collect children. The family have two cats and a pet rabbit, to which the children have supervised access.

p.4

Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding two children in the early years age group. She also offers occasional care to children aged over five years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

p.4

Description of the childminding

The childminder holds an NNEB qualification. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and a childminding network quality assurance scheme.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is good.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are making very good progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage due the effectiveness of the childminder, who is skilled and knowledgeable in child development and the needs of those children in her care. All children, regardless of age or need are welcomed and their individual needs planned for and met to a very high standard. The childminder is highly effective in providing specific activities that interest and challenge children to extend their learning. Self- evaluation systems are efficient and enable the childminder to build on her strengths and provide excellent levels of care and education.

p.4

further?

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

p.4

further?

 continue developing children's knowledge, skills and understanding of the wider world

p.4

the early years provision

The childminder has safeguarding children procedures in place and provides information in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines. She ensures that all household members have appropriate background checks and remain suitable. The childminder checks identification and uses a visitors book to ensure that all unchecked visitors are properly identified and supervised. The emergency evacuation plans are in place and regularly practiced with the children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 To aid children's understanding of the fire evacuation procedure the childminder uses pictorial reminders such as 'Fireman Sam's' fire safety posters. The childminder is careful to closely monitor the safe arrival and collection of all children in her care. A comprehensive, meticulously organised, range of risk assessments is effectively carried out on all areas in the childminder's home and

p.4

the early years provision

for all outings with the children to ensure that safety and security are maintained at all times.

p.5

the early years provision

The childminder is positive about the inclusion of all children and works to ensure that children of all ages are provided with appropriate activities and experiences. The childminder is active in the support of children with different needs, using different types of communication, toys and resources to ensure all children are included. The well organised systems ensure that all required records and documentation are available and successfully provide all necessary information for the ongoing support of each individual child. The childminder is very effective in sharing all relevant records with the parents, including daily information about activities, achievements and events. She ensures that all accident and medication records are competed and shared with parents.

p.5

the early years provision

The childminder is committed to building good positive relationships with both parents and other provisions. She liaises closely with other provisions that the children attend. The childminder provides daily written records for parents and ongoing records of children's learning journeys. She has excellent, longstanding relationships with the parents of the children she cares. She often attends children's school and pre-school events with the parents. These are supported through photographic evidence and examples of the children's work. The childminder demonstrates a clear understanding of how these partnerships are effective in supporting children's learning and development.

p.5

the early years provision

The childminder continues with her own professional development by attending training and workshops and developing her understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has recently attended training on, 'Providing Firm Foundations For Your 0-5's' and 'Dorset Improvement Quality Scheme'. The childminder has identified future training courses to attend which will further enhance her practice. She makes very effective use of self-evaluation and reflective practice to accurately identify the strengths and weaknesses in her provision and to develop action plans for the continuous improvement of the provision.

p.5

and outcomes for children

Children are happy, confident and exceptionally well settled in the comfortable and relaxed atmosphere of the childminder's home. The childminder spends her time playing with them and has a good understanding of their interests and individual daily routines. She has a lovely manner which is natural and genuine. The children are confident and feel secure to make choices from the activities and resources provided. This is aided by the 'Toy visual book' designed by the childminder to ensure all children regardless of their age and ability are able to select from the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 toys and resources she has to offer. Children feel safe because of the nurturing environment where they receive lots of reassurance, praise and cuddles. They have good opportunities to mix with other children and adults through attendance at local groups. This helps to develop their social skills effectively. Children have

p.5

and outcomes for children

some resources available to them which are beginning to help them to understand diversity, for example, African musical instruments and a 'People of the World' scrap book, although children's knowledge, skills and understanding of the wider world is not fully developed. The childminder is making effective use of the learning journey information she gathers for each child through a range of observations and assessments to build a clear picture of children's individual needs. Consequently, children's individual learning and development is very well supported by the in-depth knowledge that the childminder has of each child in her care.

p.6

and outcomes for children

The childminder has a clear understanding of the importance of the use of positive strategies to support children's behaviour. She actively encourages children to share and take turns, and she is careful to monitor the children at play to ensure that toys and equipment are used safely and appropriately. The childminder's interaction with the children is enthusiastic and she uses lots of open questions and praise to help extend their learning and develop their language skills. The childminder is skilful in supporting children of different ages ensuring that all the children have age-appropriate activities and are supported by her in their learning and play. Children delight in her interaction with them making 'tea' with the tea set and sponge painting different shapes on a piece of paper.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Each child has a learning journey book which contains examples of their art work and photographs of the children at play with links to the learning that is taking place and to the early learning goals. The childminder is enthusiastically embracing the Early Years Foundation Stage framework and developing her skills for planning and carrying out observation and assessments. She uses all the information she collects for each child to ensure she is meeting each child's need equally well, and ensuring that children are all provided with age-appropriate activities. Children play freely most of the time although the childminder does plan some activities to support particular areas of learning.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Children have frequent opportunities to play outdoors, regularly attend gym tots and to learn about healthy eating. The childminder has displayed posters depicting healthy foods around the kitchen and she has devised a healthy eating game whereby the children cut out the picture of the healthy food they have eaten and stick it on the poster. To encourage and support healthy eating, children have been growing their own food such as strawberries, tomatoes, cress and courgettes. Close partnerships with parents ensure that food supplied from home is nutritional and that consistent procedures are in place to encourage children to eat healthily. Children learn about keeping their teeth clean from information the childminder has obtain from the 'Stop the rot' campaign. Children delight in cleaning 'Smiley' the crocodile's teeth and receiving a certificate for cleaning their own teeth well. Young children are able to sleep according to their individual needs

p.6

and outcomes for children

and parental preferences, and all children learn to wash their hands after messy play activities and before eating. This is aided by the provision of individually named flannels for the children to use. Good procedures are in place to help This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children learn how to stay safe, such as the provision of stairgates appropriately placed and learning about road safety through the 'Hedgehog, stop and save cross' campaign. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

p.6

Annex A: record of inspection judgements

The key inspection judgements and what they mean

p.8

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

p.8

children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

p.8

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

p.8

Stage

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

p.8

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

p.8

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

p.8

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are: Met

p.9

Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Met

p.9