St James' County Infant School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 129609 Inspection date 01/12/2009 Inspector Ann Hilary Guy

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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 registered in 1995. She lives with her husband, and two children aged 17 and 14 years in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The childminder uses the ground floor for childminding with sleep facilities on the first floor, and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The family have two dogs and a fish as pets.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register, to care for a maximum of six children at any one time. She is currently minding two children under five and four children before and after school and during school holidays. The childminder takes and collects children from local schools and pre-schools, and attends several toddler groups on a regular basis.

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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

The child-friendly and inviting environment of this family home offers individual care for children of all ages, with access to a wide range of resources covering all aspects of the curriculum. The childminder skilfully prepares a stimulating and challenging programme of activities, both in the house and away from it, to enable children to have a broad range of experiences to help them develop and achieve in all areas of learning. Scrap books of children's work show the progress each child is making from their various starting points in all aspects of learning. However, they do not include ideas for future development, although the childminder demonstrates a very good practical understanding of how to move the children forward in their development. Clear daily risk assessments of the house and garden, together with suitable assessments for every outing, help to ensure the safety of the children at all times. The childminder constantly reviews and monitors

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

her practice, making adjustments as necessary, to ensure it meets the needs of every child in her care.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the recording of observations in order to show how they link with the daily plans and meet the individual needs of the children.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a very good understanding of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children and has attended many courses to ensure her practice is of a high quality. She has all the required local authority information to hand with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 regards to child protection and explains her responsibilities to the parents through her comprehensive and informative policies and procedures. Information regarding risk assessments is immediately available for her to use and parents to see if they wish. All the record keeping is thorough and up to date, and the positive behaviour management, together with basic house rules, ensures the safety of the children at all times.

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the early years provision

A wide range of resources to meet the needs of all the children is readily available. The childminder pre-selects equipment on a daily basis, setting out activities that cover most areas of learning, and offers plenty of stimulation and challenge for the children. She fully understands the needs of the younger children, endeavouring to slowly build up their concentration span, and also provides suitable activities and resources for the older children after school. The childminder is never far from the children, playing alongside them and helping them develop their skills. Children have access to a wide range of resources reflecting the diverse society in which they live and the childminder aims to incorporate special festivals into her activity plans. She responds to children's questions in an age appropriate manner, thereby helping them to understand the diverse society in which they live.

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the early years provision

The childminder has made a very good self-evaluation of her provision. Through questionnaires to the parents and regular monitoring she ensures her provision meets the needs of the families and children for whom she is caring. She has a good relationship with the families, many of whom she has worked with for a number of years. All the pre-school children have a daily diary in which both the childminder and parents make notes, giving a very informative written record of the child's day and any specific requests or requirements. Daily discussions take place on arrival and collection, with the children's scrapbooks and folders readily available for parents to see and discuss with the childminder. This ensures they are fully informed about the activities and progress their child is making whilst in her care. She has a very good understanding of the importance of working with other professionals involved in the care of the children and currently has a good

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the early years provision

relationship with the schools which children attend. New parents receive an informative pack showing all the details of the care offered. They are also shown a comprehensive folder in which the childminder has put photographs against each aspect of learning to demonstrate the types of activity their child will be doing whilst in her care.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very happy and settled in this inviting family home. They have a wide range of resources available, which are rotated frequently to give interest and extend their play. The children particularly enjoy having individual time with the childminder and love looking at and sharing books together. The childminder has a very good selection of books for all ages, including some colourful, informative lift the flap books. The childminder is never far from the children, monitoring their safety, encouraging and playing alongside them, and helping extend their knowledge and understanding in all areas. The children enjoy mixing with others at toddler groups and are taken on outings to local places of interest such as This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Whipsnade Wild Animal Park.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder encourages all the children to take part in activities at their own level. The youngest children sit in highchairs when engaged in table top activities, in order to ensure their safety. They enjoy using a variety of chalks on a chalk board, closely monitored by the childminder who is ready to intervene if they try to eat the chalk. The childminder constantly encourages the children and offers much praise. She is very aware of rivalry between younger children and so has purchased two of some items, such as pushchairs, so more than one child can use them at a time. Younger children enjoy toddling after older ones, pushing dolls in the pushchairs, with the older children beginning to make up a story about where they are going.

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and outcomes for children

Every child has a scrap book of photos and pieces of craft work, all dated and showing which areas of learning the activity has covered. This document also includes some spontaneous observations of times when a child has achieved something successfully or for the first time. All this information is correlated onto a sheet showing the main steps for development for each age group with the childminder placing a tick to identify when they have achieved that level. The childminder knows the children extremely well and understands how to further develop their skills in her future planning but this is not clearly shown in her record keeping. Her daily diary identifies the activities for the day and shows which aspects of the principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage have been covered.

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and outcomes for children

The health and well-being of the children is very positively promoted through the good personal hygiene practices and procedures. Children begin to learn how to keep themselves safe from an early age, both in the house and garden, as well as being reminded, when in the car and out for a walk, of the green cross code. This is fully supported by the clear behaviour management and safeguarding policies.

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and outcomes for children

Children have access to most of the ground floor of the house with stair-gates in place to prevent them going up the stairs or into the kitchen. The conservatory door is the main access to the rear, fully enclosed garden. Suitable arrangements, discussed with the parents, enable children to rest during the day. Parents provide food for their children with the childminder sometimes giving them an additional snack like rice cakes and raisins. The childminder ensures all hot meals are the correct temperature and supervises the children throughout meal times. She teaches the children good manners and talks to them about healthy foods. Children's physical and social development, and their skills for the future, are positively promoted through the wide range of activities offered, both at the house and in the community. This together with the very good interaction between the children, their parents and the childminder ensures they have a broad range of

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and outcomes for children

experiences and make good progress from their various starting points. 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 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 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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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