Smith, Julie Ann

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 313064 Inspection date 01/12/2009 Inspector Sharon Verma

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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 has been registered since 2001. She lives with her partner in the Prescot area of Knowsley. Close to local parks, schools, shops and transport links. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding. Children also have access to a rear, paved play area.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding four children in this age group. The childminder is able to offer care to children aged over five years to 11 years. She is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects and takes children to local schools, regularly attending toddler and childminder groups, libraries and other places of interest with the children. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and belongs to a local childminder network.

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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 play in a welcoming and stimulating environment and progress well in all areas of their development. The childminder is knowledgeable about each child's background and provides an inclusive environment. The childminder is highly successful at involving parents and others, in order to promote consistent care and learning. Her organisation and commitment to improve are very good. Improvement is clearly demonstrated through the childcare training undertaken, the self-evaluation documents used and the childminder's ability to provide and document the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) requirements. There is however, a small omission in the documentation regarding who has parental responsibility for the child.

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further?

To fully meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 obtain information from parents about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility for the child.(Safeguarding and welfare) 15/12/2009

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthen the links between planning and assessment systems and link observations and assessment more closely to the Early Learning Goals. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of safeguarding issues. She has attended up-to-date training, has a detailed policy on safeguarding and is very aware of the procedures to follow should she have concerns about a child. The childminder's organisation and management are very good. Her records, policies and procedures are very well organised and are highly effective in supporting the service. Most of the regulatory documentation is in place. Her focus is always upon helping all children to make progress and promoting their welfare. For example, she uses daily risk assessment safety checklists to ensure that the environment is always safe, clean and fit for use. Newly devised risk assessments for outings are also extremely thorough and cover all eventualities, ensuring children's safety is always of paramount importance. Procedures for fire safety are highly effective. Fire drills are practised each month and the childminder has made up survival

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the early years provision

packs, which are stored by both the front and back door. These can be quickly picked up if they have to exit the home in an emergency.

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the early years provision

The childminder has great enthusiasm for continuous improvement and has a thorough working knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She undertakes regular training and reads about childcare issues, to keep her ideas fresh and up- to-date. She has recently completed an National Vocational Qualification in Child Development and Learning, using the skills and knowledge gained to enhance the service she provides, as well as improving the outcomes for children. Self- evaluation systems help the childminder highlight areas she wishes to improve further and she is successful at bringing these to fruition. For example, she has devised a toy catalogue which contains colour photographs of all her resources, including some which may not be independently accessible. The catalogue can be used by all children to show the childminder what they would like to play with and is particularly useful for children with limited communication. This also supports

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the early years provision

the inclusiveness of the setting. The childminder has recently joined Knowsley's Approved Childminder Network, which involves regular monitoring and assessment by the network coordinator, to further develop her practice. She has successfully addressed the recommendation from the last inspection and now has a good selection of resources to help children learn about cultural differences. Space, toys and resources are organised effectively to meet children's needs and promote children's growing independence. They confidently make choices and initiate their own play.

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the early years provision

The childminder has excellent partnerships with parents. She provides them with extensive information about her service and keeps them regularly informed about their child's achievements. She actively involves them in their children's learning encouraging them to complete 'little stars sheets' about their child's development. These are added to the children's learning journeys, helping to keep the childminder up-to-date about all aspects of the child's development. She makes DVD's of the children engaged in activities and scrap books of their days out, so parents can fully share in their child's enjoyment and learning. She has also devised parent questionnaires to consult with parents on a regular basis about the provision. Parents are extremely complimentary about the childminder and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 comment upon how quickly their child settled, their progress and how she respects

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the early years provision

any wishes they have for the care of their child. She is committed to liaising with local schools, in order to support children's learning at home and has excellent links with the local primary school, which aids the children's transition to school.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good progress towards the early learning goals, as the childminder engages and supports them well. She has created a welcoming and enabling environment with a wide variety of good quality resources, which children can access easily. The childminder has a good knowledge of the EYFS. She uses themes and children's interests as starting points when planning activities. For example, one child shared his holiday experience of camping, which really interested one of the other children. The childminder followed this up with a visit to a camping store and the children make tents at home. The childminder carefully monitors the children's development and records their progress using photographs and written observations. However, these do not always link clearly to the planning or the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder provides a wide variety of interesting and stimulating activities, which cover all areas of learning. Children are very happy in her care, which is a direct result of her focus on their personal, social and emotional development. She teaches children to share, participate, adopt safe and hygienic routines and to behave with consideration for others. Opportunities for children to practise numeracy skills are built in to everyday routines, such as, counting cups and plates at lunch time. Children show confidence practising numeracy skills independently, such as, lining up eggs from the play kitchen and counting them. They explore shapes using play dough and different shape cutters. Children are developing their knowledge and understanding of the world, through the wide variety of interesting day trips organised by the childminder. Photographs show children experimenting with giant bubbles at an underwater attraction and having fun visiting the

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and outcomes for children

dinosaurs at the museum. They have regular opportunities to practise their physical skills, through an interesting selection of outdoor play resources. These are used in the childminder's rear yard or taken to the local park. They also benefit from more varied physical challenges through visits to places such as the park.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder successfully promotes children's health and welfare. Children benefit from nutritionally balanced meals and snacks, including fresh fruit daily. The childminder's training in food hygiene and healthy eating ensures she is fully aware of the requirements with regard to food safety and nutritional requirements for young children. She has highly effective health and hygiene procedures to help prevent the spread of infection. For example, providing individual flannels and towels for each child, washing hands and using anti-bacterial hand gel regularly throughout the day. Children are taught how to wash their hands and learn why this is important. Child friendly posters in the bathroom act as a reminder to children to wash their hands after using the toilet. Children learn to keep themselves safe, for example, they are taught how to be safe crossing roads and about the importance of wearing seatbelts in the car. They are very knowledgeable

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 about fire safety. One child clearly explained what they must do if they hear the smoke alarm. The children independently chose the story 'Francis the Firefly' at story time, a book about fire safety, which they received during a fire safety officer visit to their local playgroup. 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 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 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 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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