Childminder in Birmingham

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY285107 Inspection date 01/10/2009 Inspector Valerie Fane

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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 was registered in 2004. She lives with her children aged 17, 14, ten and six in the Selly Oak area of Birmingham. The whole of the property is used for childminding. Accessibility to the premises is up one step. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools. The family have no pets.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of three children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than two may be in the early years age group. There are currently three children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS), all of whom attend on a part time basis. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. This provision is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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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 of all ages thrive with the childminder because she works closely with their parents and develops a good understanding of their individual family circumstances and needs. Where necessary she also works well other EYFS providers and she uses information from other agencies to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children make good progress in their learning and development because the childminder has attended a significant amount of training and has a clear understanding of how to provide interesting play opportunities that support their individual learning needs. The childminder has a secure knowledge of how to safeguard children and all legally required paperwork is in place but risk assessments for outings are not put in writing. She is committed to making ongoing improvements and has recently completed an overall self-evaluation of her provision that identifies areas for future development.

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further?

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

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further?

 update the record of risk assessment to include any assessments of risks for outings.

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the early years provision

Children are protected because the childminder has a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and has attended relevant training. She recognises the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 signs of possible abuse and follows the correct procedures if she is concerned about a child. Parents are all given a copy of the local authority guidance and sign to say that they have received it. Children receive care in a home that is safe and secure because the childminder has carried out a risk assessment to identify hazards and completes a daily list of safety checks. She visually risk assesses any outings that she does with children but she does not keep a written record. Her care is underpinned by a comprehensive set of written policies and these are shared with parents. The recommendations concerning safety and documentation that were made at the last inspection have all been met.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from continuity of care because the childminder works closely with their parents or carers. She finds out plenty of information about their individual home background and culture so that she is aware of any particular needs or issues and can provide as much support as possible to children and their parents. She also works closely with staff at the local school regarding children who are starting school. This includes discussion of shared strategies to support children through any difficulties. If she has concerns about any aspect of children's development she encourages parents to seek help from outside agencies, such as speech therapists and she follows their advice and guidance to give children as much support as possible.

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the early years provision

Children progress well because they use a good range of resources and the childminder has attended a significant amount of training to improve her understanding of how children learn and develop. She has completed a relevant Level 3 qualification and some units towards a degree in addition to a number of workshops provided by the local authority. She has a clear vision for the future so she is committed to making ongoing improvements and has met all of the recommendations made at the last inspection well. For example, she provides children with an interesting range of resources to support their awareness of our diverse society. She has completed an overall self-evaluation of her provision and has used this to identify areas for ongoing development such as her use of written observations and assessments to identify children's next steps in learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children make good progress towards the early leaning goals because the childminder has a good knowledge of the EYFS and understands the six areas of learning. She informally observes and assess their development and identifies particular learning needs. She then provides free play and activities that support children to move forward and help them to develop skills for the future. For example, she observes a need to develop children's independence so she encourages them to help to prepare the snack by getting them to fetch the things they need and letting them slice up the banana under her supervision.

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and outcomes for children

Children settle very well with the childminder and develop a close relationship with her. Babies look to her for reassurance when someone unfamiliar is in the home. They improve their social skills because she takes them to a local toddler group and to a music group where they mix with other children of their own age. Older This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children develop a love of books and choose a book to look at with the childminder when babies are asleep. They talk about the pictures and also like to press the buttons on the books to play the tunes. Children with particular personal issues have opportunities to express their feelings because the childminder also uses books to encourage them to talk about their concerns. Babies use a good variety of age-appropriate toys. They play with glittery links and enjoy rattling them together and hearing the noise they make or they try to push the beads along an

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a good awareness of healthy lifestyles. They have nutritious snacks, such as grapes and banana, provided by the childminder. They take part in activities to support their awareness of healthy foods. For example, they go out with her to pick strawberries or blackberries and when they are shopping they help to choose the fruit in the supermarket. Older children learn to wash their hands after using the toilet. All children spend plenty of time outside because they can use the back garden whenever they wish and have all-in-one suits to put on in bad weather. They develop balance and control using ride-on toy cars and have great fun riding the cars down the slope between the two levels of the garden. They develop their imagination because they pretend that their car has broken down and ask the childminder to ring the breakdown people. She joins in their play and gets them to tell the man what is wrong with their car. They try to carry the car to

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and outcomes for children

another part of the garden and the childminder helps them to develop awareness of their personal safety because she reminds them that if they push the swing out of their way it may come back and hit them. Children develop problem solving skills because they work out how to get past the swing safely and the childminder praises them for their solution. They show sustained interest in their play because later on they go back to the car and pretend to mend it.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave very well for the childminder. They share toys with one another and the older children are considerate of the younger ones when they are playing. The childminder uses appropriate strategies to address unwanted behaviour that may occur, such as throwing toys. Children learn about our wider society because they have a 'Let's talk' board with lots of pictures of people from a variety of cultures. They use toys that reflect diversity such as small world people and dressing up clothes. They attend local events such as a taster day at the multi- cultural centre.

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and outcomes for children

Older children attending the childminder's house after they have been at school welcome time to relax and have a free choice of activities. They use a range of media such as play dough or 'gloop' or they go to the park with other children to enjoy a game of football. 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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