The Grove First School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 130043 Inspection date 08/10/2009 Inspector Cordalee Harrison

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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

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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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 is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three children aged 10, 11 and 14 years. They live in the Woodside area of Watford close to local shops, playing fields and schools. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time. Of these, three may be in the early years age range. Currently she minds three children, all are in this age range. The family pet is a tortoise.

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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 childminder knows the children well, her positive interaction with them promotes their emotional well-being, they feel secure and are confident in her care. Regular access to good quality play experiences, indoors and outside of the home helps children to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. The childminder meets children's individual needs to a high standard. She follows parents guidance, maintains familiar routines, which promotes continuity of care for children and helps them to know what to expect. To gain continuous improvement, the childminder makes effective use of training, both formal and informal. She attends training to develop knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and guidance and discuss how to gain improvements with other childminders. Since the last inspection, the childminder has improved communication with parents and she maintains written agreements with parents to

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

ensure that both parties have clear expectations about the childcare and service that she provides.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop strategies for effective partnership working with other practitioners  maintain consistent routines for hand washing to help children to associate hand washing with safe handling of food

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the early years provision

The childminder achieves good outcomes in most areas of her childminding, because she organises her childminding activities very well. Through practice and provision, she demonstrates secure knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and guidance. For example, she understands the importance of the key person, particularly for very young children who use non-verbal communication to express themselves and communicate their emotions. The childminder is knowledgeable about safeguarding and applies her knowledge to all aspects of her activities. For example, she carries out regular risk assessments indoors and outside of the home and follows through with thorough daily checks. She identifies potential hazards and addresses them effectively to maintain a safe environment for children. Fire fighting equipment, such as smoke detectors and a fire blanket are in place; these

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the early years provision

are supported with a well-considered evacuation procedure. In addition to providing a safe and secure physical environment for children, she deals with children’s personal hygiene needs, such as, changing nappies and wiping their noses promptly. She maintains all areas of the home that are accessible to children to a high standard of hygiene. Good practice in these areas reduces the risk of cross infections for children and helps them to understand that their needs are important. The childminder is knowledgeable about child protection issues; she is clear about lines of communication to deal with issues of concern immediately. She knows she is to follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board's guidance and is clear about lines of communication with parents and the local and registering authority. The childminder provides children with healthy meals and snacks. She offers them regular drinks throughout the day. Children's meals are prepared with

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the early years provision

ingredients from all of the main food groups and include fresh fruits and salad vegetables each day. The childminder is careful in the management of children's food and follows parents’ guidance implicitly to ensure that baby’s food is prepared according to parent’s guidance.

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the early years provision

To support and promote equality and diversity, as well as children’s learning and development, they all have ready access to a wide selection of modern, suitable and appealing play resources. Children use resources that are of particular interest to them and which are appealing to boys and girls. Children play freely and independently and make good use of the available space, their dispositions communicate a feeling of belonging. Documentation that is required to safeguard children's welfare and health, such as, their record forms, attendance and accident records are in place. These documents include all of the necessary information. To keep parents informed, the childminder shares clearly written policy statements, such as safeguarding, behaviour management and complaints procedures with them. The childminder uses self-assessment to identify strengths and to prioritise for improvements in her childcare practice. She acknowledges that

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the early years provision

whilst children enjoy activities that are familiar to them, she is to help them to develop wider interest, by introducing them to more experiences that are not so familiar and by providing them with more challenges. The childminder engages parents well. Through visits to children’s homes prior to the start of placement, open discussions and written and verbal communication she gains their input and engages them in the arrangements for their children’s, welfare, care and learning. The childminder is aware of her role to work in partnership with other practitioners. She embraces the idea and recognises the value of such partnerships to achieve continuity of care for all children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Through consistent planning for all areas of learning, the childminder ensures that all children experience learning across all areas of the early years curriculum. She sits at children’s level and engages with them in play and conversation. This helps children to develop their language and communication skills and to build trusting relationships with her. The childminder introduces new words to children, which helps them to begin to understand concepts such as, stop and go, up and down, over and under as they play imaginatively with resources such as the train sets. Children are eager to learn; they enjoy these practical activities and ask the childminder to repeat them. To settle children, engage and focus their attention the childminder plans activities that are based on their particular interest. For example, she knows that the children are particularly fond of Thomas the Tank Engine and the interactive play centres, such as the laptop, she uses these

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and outcomes for children

resources effectively to promote learning that is based on children’s individual learning styles. Children develop their social skills and begin to take tentative steps as she supports them to move on from parallel play to playing together. The childminder skilfully encourages very young children to begin to solve simple problems, such as fitting the train track together. To introduce mark making and shape recognition, she draws a circle in the air and invites the children to copy her actions.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to identify primary colours as they use bright and attractive play resources. Resources of natural and man-made materials introduce the children to the different textures of wood and plastic. Children develop skills for the future as they build and construct, they experiment and learn about cause and effect. For example, when they press the buttons in the book the light comes on and it plays music. These activities are age and stage appropriate and intriguing to the young children; they excite children to learn. Children develop their understanding of safety as they practise evacuation of the premises. They further learn about healthy lifestyles and safety as they experience many outdoor activities. For example, they promote their physical well-being as they walk to explore the local area, play in the parks and eat healthy snacks. However, the childminder does not always extend this area of their learning. For example, children do not always

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and outcomes for children

wash their hands before eating to help them to consistently associate hand washing with the safe handling of food. Children explore books and enjoy stories, titles such as, ‘I accept you as you are’, ‘I am in charge of me’ and ‘I am creative’ help children to explore similarities and differences to gain a better understanding of themselves and the wider community. They are learning that their contributions are valuable and to develop positive views and ideas about others. The childminder has started to carry out observations for the children, however, her placements are relatively new, so the information that these records provide is limited. However, they demonstrate her understanding of the principles of child observations, the next step for children’s learning is linked securely to the expectations of the early learning goals. 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 3 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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