Jones, Linda Elizabeth

Inspection report for early years provision

p.1

Unique reference number 104713 Inspection date 26/01/2010 Inspector Judith Harris

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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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

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 has been operating since 1989 and was registered in 1992. She lives with her husband and adult daughters in Barnstaple in North Devon. Children use the whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home with the exception of her sitting room and two bedrooms on the first floor are used for sleeping children. Children have access to a fully enclosed garden for outside play. A maximum of six children aged from birth to under eight years may attend the setting at any one time. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently four children attending who are within the early years age range. The family pets are two cats, two guinea pigs and a rabbit kept in an outdoor cage, and a hamster.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

p.4

The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The wide and versatile range of information collected by the childminder provides her with In-depth knowledge of each child as an individual. This ensures she is able to successfully meet children's unique learning and welfare needs. The childminder's thorough and well organised systems ensure the children are safe and secure in all areas of the home and on regular outings. The childminder's commitment to building and maintaining exceptionally good partnerships with parents is highly effective in supporting her to meet the children's needs. The positive and comprehensive use of self-evaluation and reflective practise ensure that the childminder has successfully developed the provision and continued her professional development in line with the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.4

further?

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

p.4

further?

 continuing to promote respect and positive attitudes to diversity by encouraging children to talk with each other about similarities and differences, using props and stories about children who are both like them and different from them

p.4

the early years provision

The childminder has well organised systems that ensure all adults in her home have appropriate checks and remain suitable, and that all visitors are properly identified and supervised within the home. She has clear safeguarding children procedures in place that are individual to her provision and provide information in line with the Local Safeguarding Children Board guidelines. A comprehensive range of risk assessments is carried out on all areas in the childminder's home and for all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 outings with the children. These effectively ensure that safety and security are very well maintained at all times. The emergency evacuation plans are in place and the childminder has developed very good systems for ensuring the safe arrival and collection of all children in her care.

p.4

the early years provision

The childminder's clear and precise organisation ensures that all required records and documentation are available and successfully provide an extensive range of information for the ongoing support of each individual child. The childminder is exceptionally effective in sharing records with the parents and ensures that there are daily exchanges of information. The childminder collects an extensive range of information about children's individual learning and actively engages parents in their children's development. The children's learning journey records provide opportunities for the childminder to discuss and agree with the parents the individual next steps for each child. Replies to the parent's questionnaires demonstrate how highly they value the childminder's care and support. The childminder is positive about supporting children's diverse needs; she skilfully and carefully encourages children of all ages to take part in appropriate activities and

p.5

the early years provision

experiences. The childminder's organisation ensures that she is able to deploy her time to support a wide range of different daily routines for children of different ages. She makes excellent use of resources including the children's groups in her local area. The childminder has systems in place to develop partnerships with other settings or provisions that children may attend.

p.5

the early years provision

The childminder's comprehensive use of self-evaluation and reflective practice ensure that she is able to accurately identify the strengths and weaknesses in her provision. The ongoing use of self-evaluation and the exceptionally high level of commitment have successfully supported the childminder to extensively develop her provision since the introduction of the new framework. The childminder continues with her own professional development by attending training and workshops and clearly developing her understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

p.5

and outcomes for children

Children are confident, well settled and clearly very happy in the care of the highly experienced childminder. Children are provided with a comfortable and relaxed home environment in which they are sensitively nurtured by the warm, close relationships they have with the childminder. The childminder demonstrates a skilful approach to supporting children's unique learning and development needs through their own interests. Children clearly feel secure in the childminder's home and this builds confidence which allows children to develop very good levels of independence. The childminder uses a versatile range of observations and assessments to gather an extensive amount of information about each child. The information is effectively used to plan and provide a range of activities and experiences that support and promote children's progress in all areas of learning.

p.5

and outcomes for children

Children have a dedicated play space in the childminder's home that allows them to have direct and safe access to an appropriate range of toys, equipment and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 resources. Children play a role play game with dolls, buggies and a doctors set. They are using good imaginative skills to develop the play and invite the childminder to join in. Using her interaction with the children, the childminder helps to extend the play asking open questions about the doctors tools and what happens at a visit to the doctors. The children are provided with an abundance of free play time which allows them to create and explore and develop the play. The youngest children play on the floor where they are carefully supported to play with age appropriate toys and equipment that they have within easy reach and music to listen to, which they clearly delight in. The children ask for the craft resources and

p.5

and outcomes for children

the childminder provides them as a range of material through which they can experiment and discover in a purely creative activity. The childminder's enthusiastic and animated interaction supports and challenges the children helping them develop language skills and to solve problems for themselves. The children demonstrate very good levels of independence, freely choosing toys and resources they want to extend their play. The childminder provides the children with activities that help them gain an understanding of the wider world and she has identified this as an area she would like to develop. Children have regular outings to the local and wider areas, they visit groups and have daily outdoor play in the childminder's garden and at local parks.

p.6

and outcomes for children

The childminder's exceptional commitment is demonstrated by her enthusiasm in embracing the Early Years Foundation Stage. She makes effective use of the framework to develop her observations and assessments and provide records of children's unique learning journeys. The children's records are exceptionally comprehensive and provide a versatile range of information about the children's learning and achievements. The records contain observations of individual activities which provide a very clear description of the activity, information about the learning that has taken place and direct and accurate links to early learning goals. This is linked to the information that the childminder gathers from parents as an ongoing exercise and used to develop plans for children's next steps. The childminder uses a system of termly goals and achievements which are discussed and agreed with parents. For younger children the childminder provides daily

p.6

and outcomes for children

contact books that allow parents to add their own comments and encourage the sharing of information.

p.6

and outcomes for children

Children are carefully supported to learn good hygiene skills and to begin to develop independence in their hygiene routines. The childminder ensures that the children have a healthy and well balanced diet and they are offered choices about what they want for their snack. The childminder takes detailed information about any special dietary restrictions and works closely with parents to ensure children's individual dietary needs are met. Children are well behaved and the childminder's individual behaviour management policy details the positive, age appropriate strategies she uses to support children to develop skills for self control. 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.7

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.7

children in the Early Years Foundation Stage?

The capacity of the provision to maintain continuous improvement

p.7

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

p.7

Stage

The quality of the provision in the Early Years Foundation Stage 1

p.7

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 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

p.7

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.7

Annex B: the Childcare Register

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

p.8

Annex B: the Childcare Register

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

p.8