Childminder in Sutton

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY387015 Inspection date 14/10/2009 Inspector Amanda Jane Tyson

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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 on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register in February 2009, for a total of four children, of whom two may be within the early years age range. There are currently four children on roll; two are aged under two years and two are within the later years age range. The childminder lives with her husband and two children, aged one and ten years. The family includes three cats and a rabbit. The childminder's home is situated in Worcester Park within walking distance of the shops and community facilities, such as schools, pre-schools toddler groups, a library and rail links to London Waterloo. The childminder does not drive.

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Description of the childminding

All areas of the home are registered for childminding use. Toilet facilities are located on the ground floor and there is an enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The lounge and dining room, and occasionally one of the bedrooms, are used for play and learning activities. Children sleep upstairs in one of the two bedrooms.

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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 thriving in this delightful setting; they are well safeguarded overall, and very happy and secure. Activities are exciting and of exceptionally good quality and relationships between the childminder and parents are particularly strong and effective. As a result, children are making rapid progress in their learning and development. The childminder's reflective practice drives continuous improvement and the capacity for this to be consistently maintained is well demonstrated by her commitment towards extensive professional development.

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further?

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

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further?

 further improve risk assessments in relation to outings; consider making the procedure for responding to a lost child situation clear in each one  make sure that all written information provided to parents is accurate, for example that the safeguarding statement specifies the correct local authority  improve systems for monitoring children's health and well-being, for example by keeping a record of existing injuries as well as accidents.

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the early years provision

Overall, children's welfare is well safeguarded and promoted. For example, accidents are well minimised by good safety precautions, children are taught fire safety rules and practise the evacuation procedure regularly, and there are excellent systems in place to enable a speedy reunion of a lost child. The This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 childminder conducts a risk assessment for each type of outing. Most of these are detailed in writing and clearly identify the uniqueness of each venue, such as dog mess, availability of toilet facilities and the possibility of a park gate being left open. However, these assessments do not specify an individual procedure for responding to a lost child situation, which may differ depending on the venue. Records and documentation required for the safe and efficient management of the EYFS, such as information to explain the complaints procedure, and records of

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the early years provision

accidents and any administered medication, are all in place. In addition the childminder has devised written policies and procedures which she gives to parents to inform them of her operational plan. However, some of these, such as the statement for safeguarding provide out of date and inaccurate information. The childminder's knowledge and understanding of the procedure to follow if she became concerned about a child is highly secure, but opportunities to notice emerging patterns, which may indicate concerns, may be missed because routine injuries sustained to children outside of her care are not recorded.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides an exceptionally well organised and inclusive home environment for a mixed age group of children. She makes excellent use of indoor and outdoor community facilities and of her garden, which is presented to provide enchanting surprises such as the positioning of a gnome, stone tortoise and rabbit at the front door of a delightful wooden playhouse.

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the early years provision

The childminder's relationship with parents is exceptionally strong and highly effective in meeting children's unique welfare, care and learning needs. Together they plan an individually tailored settling-in period for children and thereafter for their learning and development. A daily diary details both childminder and parental observations and reflections of children's activities. They meet regularly to evaluate children's EYFS learning journey and welfare needs, to identify children's achievements and what they need support or encouragement with next. Parents hold the childminder in exceptionally high regard which is epitomised by their comments: 'I love the detail that she gives me', 'She has surpassed my expectations', 'She is a true professional'. The childminder is committed to working in partnership with children's other early years providers when the time arises.

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the early years provision

The childminder's reflective practice consistently leads to improvement and new experiences for children, which highlights her commitment to promoting equality and diversity. For example, she has enrolled herself and the children in 'Sunny Signing' to help encourage confidence in speech and language. Recent modifications made to her systems for monitoring and recording children's EYFS learning journey has enabled more parental involvement and therefore consistency of learning support for children. The childminder is currently in the process of completing the Childminding Introduction Programme and is ambitious in her vision to progress with higher early years study.

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and outcomes for children

Children's strong sense of belonging and high levels of emotional security are exceptionally well demonstrated by the way that they move confidently around the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 childminder's home and garden, for example selecting books, 'making tea' in the play-cottage, or dragging the toy mower out to 'cut the grass'. Her individually tailored settling-in procedure for new children minimises parent-child separation anxiety. Young children learn about themselves and each other through mirrors, stories, seeing photographs all around the childminder's home and as they sing action (body) rhymes. They help to tidy away the toys and are beginning to use common courtesies, such as 'thank you' or 'ta' when they are handed something. Squabbles are few because the children are well occupied and the childminder is always on hand to distract unwanted behaviour before it takes hold. Older children

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and outcomes for children

provide a positive role model and have very helpfully designed posters presenting the 'rules' and 'comic strip' designs showing their understanding of fire safety and the evacuation procedure which encourages younger children.

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and outcomes for children

The foundations for children to adopt a healthy and active lifestyle are being firmly laid. Toddlers are becoming physically very proficient, as demonstrated by their balancing skills during a game of 'Okey Cokey' and by their preference to walk, rather than ride in the buggy. They enjoy regular visits to parks and wide open spaces, for example to feed the ducks, to search for acorns and conkers, and to observe nature, such as the awesome sight and sound of a low flying Kestrel. Later years children enjoy riding scooters to and from school each day and as toddlers grow and develop the childminder intends to offer this opportunity to them to. The risk of cross infection is well minimised by effective procedures for sick children, and by the childminder's high standard of hygiene and systems in place for teaching children the importance of hand washing. Children are well cared for if they become unwell because the childminder has obtained written

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and outcomes for children

agreements to enable her to administer non-prescription temperature reducing medication, such as 'calpol' to children if the need arises.

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and outcomes for children

Children use their critical thinking skills to work out practical problems. For example, three dimensional shapes, and puzzle pieces are twisted and turned until they successfully drop down into shape sorter cubes and inset boards. Singing, dancing and using instruments are clearly a firm favourite and children engage in these activities with confidence. Children have fun mimicking the characteristics of familiar animals; the twitching of a rabbits nose and gentle smacking of lips, or the snort of a piglet whilst sharing books with the childminder. Their laughter, when the childminder reads silly rhymes, such as '…snug as a bug in a rug….' and their contribution to conversations, demonstrates exceptionally well developed comprehension skills. Toddlers have constant access to a wide variety of writing tools to create and design and to make marks. The impact of this is evident by their superb art work which now includes horizontal, vertical and spherical lines.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder encourages children to observe different sounds which is preparing children for linking letters to sounds in the future.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes highly worthwhile observations of children at play. These are skilfully evaluated, used to identify astute and very unique next steps for learning and to guide and inform planning. For example, a trip to the science museum is planned for half term to link with their developing fascination of dinosaurs. Moments, such as when a child is observed enjoying the feeling of slushy mud under their bare feet consistently lead to activities which build on their enthusiasm to explore and experiment using their senses, for example by This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 introducing them to feeling of grit by providing a fusion of shaving foam and sand. The very high quality learning journey records clearly show that children are making rapid progress through the developmental milestones, for example, how their 'walking' progressed over two months, their ability to begin to link animal

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and outcomes for children

sounds to the correct animal and then to being able to name some of them. 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 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 1 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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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