Childminder in Blackpool

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 308513 Inspection date 28/01/2010 Inspector Lisa Patterson

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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 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.

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

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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

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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 1996. She lives with her husband and children aged 15 years and 18 years in a Anchorsholme. Minded children have access to the whole of the ground floor which includes a downstairs toilet. There is a fully enclosed rear garden for outdoor play.

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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, no more than three of whom may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding five children in this age group. She provides funded early education for three and four-year-olds. She also offers care for children over five years to 11 years and is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder holds National Vocational Qualification at level three and is a member of the National Childminding Association and the Blackpool Oak Tree network. She receives support and guidance from the local authority.

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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 individual needs are thoroughly understood through exceptional monitoring of their development and extremely close liaisons with parents and other agencies, where required. Planned activities and the learning environment recognise the uniqueness of each child and ensures no child is disadvantaged. As a result children make excellent progress towards the early learning goals. Children's welfare is a priority and procedures for maintaining children's safety are highly effective and understood by all. The childminder is fully committed to ongoing professional development and monitors her setting extremely well. This ensures training is well placed and effective in bringing about improvements to her practice.

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further?

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

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further?

 build on the already excellent practice by further developing the use of the outdoor area.

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the early years provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of safeguarding issues and has in place a comprehensive policy document to support her practice. She has attended recent training to keep her knowledge and understanding in this area current. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Highly effective risk assessments are in place and routinely updated. Daily checklists highlight any relevant safety issues which are immediately rectified and there are risk assessments for specific activities, such as water play. Record keeping is meticulous, and as such, documentation is all in place and extremely well organised for ease of access should the need arise.

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the early years provision

The childminder is fully committed to the ongoing monitoring of systems and practice, and attends a wealth of relevant training which is extremely well used to improve practice. Recent risk assessment training for example, has given the childminder an insight into alternative formats and she is in the process of evaluating these for best practice in her own setting. She has made excellent use of the Ofsted self-evaluation process for identifying strengths and monitoring areas for development, and targets she has set are well placed to have the best impact on children and parents. For example, the introduction of a digital photograph frame as an additional form of feedback to parents. She has addressed previous recommendations extremely well. This shows that the childminder has exceptional capacity to improve on her already excellent service.

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the early years provision

There is an extremely good range of inspiring and challenging resources and activities which are excellently organised into separate boxes labelled with words and pictures. Children independently select the toys of their choice or access a booklet with photographs of additional resources stored elsewhere if they wish to play with alternatives. The learning environment is bright and airy, with examples of children's creations displayed alongside commercial posters detailing numbers and letters. The childminder has very effective time and space management which means she is with the children at all times, sharing her time equally around each and every child.

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the early years provision

Parents enjoy exemplary partnerships with the childminder. They receive a wealth of information during the settling in sessions and information is shared on an ongoing basis about the child and both their welfare and their learning and development. Children's daily diaries are shared with both parent and child and they are encouraged to make comments about their child's learning. This means individual needs are fully supported. Parents comment that the childminder is 'fantastic' and that they 'couldn't be happier'. There are currently no children attending other settings providing the Early Years Foundation Stage but effective strategies are in place for this eventuality and the childminder is fully committed to liaising with other agencies as and when the need arises. She has a secure knowledge of the Special Needs Code of Practice 2001 and would use this to support her work.

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and outcomes for children

Children thoroughly enjoy their time with the childminder who clearly loves her job and expresses this to the children by telling them she really likes having them come round to play. Her enthusiasm for highlighting what they can hear, see, smell and touch rubs off on the children who show excitement at the seagull or the aeroplane flying by. Every opportunity is used as a learning opportunity both This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 indoors and outside, and children thrive in the play based environment, progressing extremely well throughout the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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and outcomes for children

Children are extremely polite and well behaved. They are reminded to use their manners in a fun way, for example, 'there's another word that makes all the difference'. Children respond well to the clear boundaries in place and are learning to share toys and resources with clear explanations from the childminder to support this learning. They persist for extended periods of time in activities of interest to them and input from the childminder challenges their thinking and understanding. For example, the childminder explains that if the child makes two semi-circles and puts them together they make a circle. Their verbal language is extremely well developed. They point to the dinosaurs and talk about the tyrannosaurus rex and talk about various activities from home and at the childminder's. They love to snuggle up on the sofa and share books with the childminder who asks them questions and brings the book to life by relating it to

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and outcomes for children

their own experiences. They participate fully in finding their names for the registration board and some are able to recognise other children's names using pictures and letters. There is a well resourced designated mark making area but children also enjoy making-marks with paint and water both indoors and out. Children as young as one year are able to count to five and some beyond, because counting and number recognition is part of the daily routine. The children excitedly play a game in which the big numbers are hidden and are able recognise many of the numerals at sight when they find them. They can recognise shape and colour and sing songs to remind them of the characteristics of various shapes.

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and outcomes for children

Children thoroughly enjoy their trips out to the zoo and recount stories about the animals and dinosaurs they saw during their last visit. This also helps them to learn about the passing of time. They explore puddles in their wet weather clothes and find stones and shells at the beach. Toddlers and older children are competent in the use of a variety of information and communication technology and are able to put the tape player on, pressing eject to get the tape out. Children are learning about other cultures and are using family members who speak additional languages as the basis for learning. The children confidently say goodbye in Spanish a the end of the inspection. They develop their imaginations during role play, singing songs when the mood takes them and thoroughly enjoy creating with playdough. They manipulate tools well and make a range of shapes, cakes and animals.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes full use of information gained from parents at the beginning and initial observations for generating informed starting points for each of the children. Ongoing observations with clear next steps for learning are incorporated into her future plans. As a consequence children's needs are thoroughly understood and exceptionally well met through free play activities and adult-led tasks. Learning journey files are shared with parents on a regular basis and next steps for learning under each area of learning are identified through the daily diary system. This means that children's development is meticulously monitored and any areas for development are identified and supported early.

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and outcomes for children

Children gain a thorough understanding of how to keep safe through gentle reminders about the boundaries in the home, such as not running. They willingly This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 help to tidy away toys that they are no longer playing with and the childminder discusses the safety implications of leaving toys on the floor. Children are never left unsupervised and the window into the conservatory from the kitchen means they are monitored at all times. Hygiene standards are exceptional. The home is immaculately clean and children know that they must wash their hands after using the bathroom and before meals so that germs are washed away. The childminder is an excellent role model and talks to the children about why she is washing her hands, for example, after blowing a child's nose. Meal times are a social occasion with the children seated together, waiting until everyone is finished prior to

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and outcomes for children

leaving. They thoroughly enjoy the wide range of nutritious, home made snacks and meals, for example fish cakes. Children enjoy regular physical times, both indoors and out, and know that exercise keeps them healthy. This forms the basis of a healthy lifestyle. 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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