Childminder in Oldham

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 980398 Inspection date 08/09/2009 Inspector Christine Myerscough

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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 2001. He lives with his wife and adult daughter in a house in Oldham. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding. Children also have access to a bedroom and bathroom facilities which are upstairs. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The family has a cat.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time, under the Early Years Register and compulsory part of the Childcare Register. He is also registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register. He minds with his wife who is also a registered childminder. Together they may care for a maximum of 12 children. Both childminder's have equal responsibility for the childminding practice. Occasionally, the childminder and his co-childminder work alongside their daughter who acts as an assistant.

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Description of the childminding

There are currently 17 children on roll aged from seven months to 10 years old. The childminder holds a Cache Level 3 Certificate in Childminding Practice and is a member of Oldham Childminding Network, which is Quality Assured. He works in partnership with outside agencies and other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS).

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children's welfare, learning and development are provided for exceptionally well. A highly stimulating, welcoming and harmonious learning environment is created, where every child feels fully included and totally valued for their individuality. The childminder works in extremely close partnership with his co-childminder to ensure excellent standards of childcare are embedded across all areas of practice. Children’s continuity of care is significantly promoted through the childminder’s highly successful partnerships with parents and others involved in their care. The childminder ably and successfully identifies areas for further development, such as promoting children's learning in the outdoor area and makes maximum effort to support continuous improvement.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 further extend children's learning outdoors in the garden by creating an environment rich in print and introduce number labels. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children's well-being is significantly enhanced by the childminder's dedication and excellent organisation. Brilliant teamwork with his co-childminder ensures that children's needs are exceptionally well met. Considerable importance is paid to ensuring that children's welfare is fully safeguarded. The childminder ensures adults living in his home are suitable and through attending additional training, has developed a comprehensive awareness about safeguarding procedures. Record keeping is kept in meticulous order and a comprehensive range of policies help to maintain a highly efficient service. The childminder undertakes rigorous risk assessments and vigilantly carries out checks of safety equipment to ensure hazards are minimised. As a result, children feel totally at ease in exceptionally well maintained surroundings. They move around with great confidence and thoroughly enjoy playing in a purpose-built playroom. Children access high quality resources,

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the early years provision

which meet their developing needs extremely well and they show amazement as they find toy dinosaurs, which are skilfully positioned around the garden.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a strong commitment towards promoting equality and his home is laid out to enable all children to participate. For example, posters depict different languages to promote children's understanding of diversity and colourful visual aids are continually displayed to help younger children communicate their wishes for resources. The childminder always strives to improve his service and frequently attends training on an extensive range of subjects to keep fully abreast of new initiatives in childcare. Rigorous self-evaluation and extensive monitoring, which takes into consideration the views of parents and children, enable the childminder to devise exceptionally well-targeted plans to bring about sustained improvements. For example, ongoing developments in the garden, such as an area with all weather rubber bark and artificial grass has significantly enhanced children's interest in engaging in physical activities outdoors and they now find the

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the early years provision

The childminder is highly committed to working in partnership with parents and his professional manner helps to build excellent relationships. Parents are kept very well informed about all aspects of their children's achievements and well-being through very well established channels of communication, such as a compact disc containing photographs of their child's experiences whilst in his care. The childminder has an exceptional knowledge of each child's background and is proactive in gathering details about their likes and dislikes through the use of an 'all about me' sheet. Formal meetings are held on a half yearly basis to discuss children's welfare and progress. Parents are involved in supporting their children's learning and willingly provide extra resources from home, such as toys, to support the current theme. The childminder's commitment to working with other providers of the EYFS and outside agencies is exemplary. He takes a lead role in establishing

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the early years provision

highly effective working relationships and has devised a chart to use with the local pre-school and nursery. This documents shared information and is used very successfully to promote progression in children's learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

All children are eager to attend and demonstrate an extremely strong sense of belonging. The childminder devotes his time to playing with children and his passion for fun thoroughly engages their interest and enthusiasm. As a result, children become highly motivated to learn and they develop wonderful relationships together. The childminder uses his expert working knowledge of the learning and development requirements to plan extensively for children's learning, which ensures they make excellent progress towards the early learning goals. Activities are based around children's interests, themes and topics and reflect rich, varied and imaginative play experiences. Information gained from high quality observations and rigorous assessment, which is fully documented in children's learning journey files, is used very effectively to plan for the next steps in their learning.

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and outcomes for children

From an early age, children quickly become active, inquisitive learners. Toddlers show absolute delight as they knock over building blocks and wait in eager anticipation for the childminder to repeatedly rebuild them. Children are exceptionally well behaved and take responsibility for devising the house rules. They play an active role in the childminder's home as they carefully fold up the mat after lunch and proudly wait for the childminder to award marks out of 10 for their efforts. The childminder uses his exceptional skills in photography to take beautiful photographs of children, which they adore. Children's communication and language skills are developing exceptionally well. They love to chat and successfully link sounds to letters. Fun activities are highly effective in promoting mathematical awareness and children spontaneously make a diamond shape using their fingers and hands as they recite 'Twinkle Twinkle'. Indoors, a number line

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and outcomes for children

and a good range of print are on display, however, less emphasis is given to displaying print and number labels outdoors in the garden to further enhance children's learning in this area.

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and outcomes for children

Children celebrate a wide variety of cultural festivals allowing them to appreciate the diversity of the world in which they live. During Chinese New Year, they visit a Chinese supermarket to purchase foods for their buffet at snack time. Superb attention is given to developing children's skills for the future, for example, children place plastic bottles in the recycle bin to help save the planet. Herb plots in the sensory garden help children develop a strong interest in nature and the introduction of a bird box captures their attention. They become engrossed watching blue tits feeding their young. Indoors, children actively participate in group games, such as head, shoulders, knees and toes to promote their fitness and impressive physical skills. The childminder places strong emphasis on developing children's appreciation of music. As a result, children become highly confidently in expressing themselves and sing songs extremely well accompanied

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and outcomes for children

by the childminder on his guitar. The re-organisation of the role play area into an airport successfully enhances children's imagination. The childminder makes every child a passport with their photograph and children bring in their suitcase from home. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children devise a healthy snack poster, which contributes significantly to their understanding of which foods are good for you. They are involved in deciding which foods to purchase for snack time and the childminder has produced laminated pictures of different fruits, therefore even the youngest children can point and make choices. Children show an exceptional understanding of the importance of following personal hygiene routines. They proudly demonstrate how independent they are as they climb onto the step to reach the sink in the bathroom and dry their hands thoroughly using disposable paper towels. The

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and outcomes for children

childminder wears an apron when serving food and follows guidelines from his food safety training to ensure children's overall well-being. Children display an excellent awareness of safety issues and planned visits from the community police and fire brigade help them to understand how to keep themselves free from harm. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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