Childminder in Wiltshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY231909 Inspection date 07/12/2009 Inspector Susan June Stone

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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 2002. She lives with her husband and three children, all aged over eight years. They live in the town of Mere, Wiltshire. All areas of the property are used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time, of whom three may be in the early years age range. At present she is caring for eight children part time, of whom four are in the early years age range, and two are aged over eight years.

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Description of the childminding

The family pets include two dog and two cats.

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Description of the childminding

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 satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children enjoy their time with the childminder and their welfare is protected through satisfactory procedures; they are included equally and fairly in all aspects of the childminder's provision. The childminder generally organises her provision and documentation well to support her in providing suitable care. A positive approach to inclusion alongside developing positive partnerships with parents helps to ensure children's individual needs are generally met and their interests promoted; that said, their next steps of learning are not planned for sufficiently to promote good progress. The childminder has not yet implemented an effective system to evaluate her provision to help highlight areas for development to continue to improve the quality of care and education for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 keep a record of complaints and any subsequent action taken [Documentation] (also applies to the compulsory part and voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 07/12/2009

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further?

 make available to parents details of the procedure to be followed if they have a complaint [Safeguarding and Welfare](also applies to the compulsory part and voluntary part of the Childcare Register) 28/12/2009

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further?

To further improve the early years provision the registered person should: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  continue to develop the systems for monitoring children's progress and achievements, match the observations of children to the expectations of the learning goals and use information gained to help plan activities to further support individual learning and development  develop methods of sharing information with other settings that children attend, to fully promote their learning and development  develop further systems to monitor and evaluate the provision to strive for continuous improvement and to ensure the individual needs of children are consistently met  ensure the record of risk assessment for outings includes details of each specific type of outing that is undertaken.

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the early years provision

The childminder demonstrates a suitable knowledge of safeguarding issues to support her in protecting children from harm. She has a sound understanding of how to recognise signs and symptoms of abuse and the procedures to follow with any such concerns. To ensure that children play in a safe environment the childminder carries out general visual risk assessments of her home and takes any necessary action. She completes and records a detailed risk assessment to ensure that children play in a secure and safe environment, both in the home and garden. She assesses potential risks when taking children on outings but does not make this specific for each outing the children are taken on. The childminder organises her home to maintain a safe and hygienic environment for children, and she dedicates her time to them to provide support and supervision to help them feel welcome and secure. As a result, children play freely and independently within a

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the early years provision

clean and safe environment and they are suitably supported at all times. Children are able to make choices in their play, as toys are stored where they can be easily reached by the children, which include resources that reflect positive images of diversity within today’s society, demonstrating the childminder's positive attitude towards enabling children to learn about difference and to develop respect for others.

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the early years provision

The childminder knows the children well and works closely with parents to meet children's individual needs and routines. She offers an inclusive setting for children and their families, and is respectful of their wishes and needs to provide continuity of care for the children. She offers time daily to talk with parents to help identify and meet children’s individual needs and requirements. She has established some verbal links with some of the settings that the children also attend, helping to ensure consistency of care, but does not have this in place for all other settings and she does not actively share what she knows about the children with them.

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the early years provision

Policies and procedures are in place and some written policies are available to parents. However the childminder's policy regarding complaints lacks sufficient detail and she does not have a system to record any complaints about the provision. Systems for self-evaluation are in their early stages and are not yet fully developed to enable the childminder to evaluate her provision thoroughly. The This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 childminder has informally thought about and identified some areas of her practice she feels need developing and has taken action, such as updating her first aid training. But, as yet there are no effective systems in place to sufficiently monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the childminder’s provision in fully promoting and developing positive outcomes for children within the EYFS.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder demonstrates a suitable understanding of children's developing needs and provides a range of activities and opportunities which contribute to them making satisfactory progress. Children are happy, settled and secure in the care of their childminder. They make good relationships with her and her family, and benefit from a caring, homely environment, where they enjoy their time. Children can independently access a range of age appropriate toys and resources; these are at child level to enable them to effectively contribute to their own learning. Some resources are available to support children in learning about diversity and other cultures and the childminder encourages children to respect others as individuals. There is a supportive balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities which the children enjoy, and children participate in a range of experiences, which help them learn through play over a period of time. The

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and outcomes for children

childminder is beginning to implement some systems to record children’s progress and development. She is taking photographs and recording some observations of the children's play, which she links to the six areas of learning. However she is not linking these to the expectations within the framework and identified next steps do not link to the expectations either. This means the progress folders are not an effective tool to help plan and provide opportunities that will encourage and support children to take the next steps in their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children's emotional well-being is supported, as the childminder dedicates her time to supporting and interacting with them. The childminder is suitably involved with the children as they play; she manages activities well to ensure all children can participate at their own level and gain from the experience. Children are suitably supported as they enjoy appropriate attention from the childminder, such as having cuddles when reading books together; it is evident that close, caring relationships have been established. The childminder encourages conversation with the children as they look at the pages and talk about the pictures, predicting what will happen from the pictures. When playing with the building bricks she talks about the different colours, discussing which ones are similar. The childminder is free with her praise and encouragement, helping to develop the children’s confidence and self-esteem at the acknowledgement of their efforts. She is free

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and outcomes for children

with her praise and acknowledges children’s attempts. She claps her hands and says well done to the younger children when they are successful in their attempts like putting the people into the seats of fire engine. She helps the children to make the base of their model steadier and they all laugh together when it still falls over. Children use their imagination appropriately in creative activities, such as building their different models from the bricks; a child likens their peers model to a robot and says they are making theirs striped to look like a rainbow. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children's welfare is promoted effectively; they are cared for within a clean and hygienic home, where they learn about the importance of leading healthy lifestyles. From an early age they learn the importance of hand washing after messy play and before eating. Children enjoy nutritious home cooked meals and

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and outcomes for children

healthy snacks throughout the day. The childminder provides a variety of home cooked meals made from fresh ingredients, and ensures the children have a balanced nutritious diet. Children receive good support from the childminder and learn about keeping safe through practical activities and guidance. The childminder's home is safe and she helps children to develop an understanding of dangers and how to stay safe. Clear explanations from the childminder help children to take responsibility for their own safety, such as sitting down to eat their food. The childminder is a positive role model for the children with her calm, friendly manner. They increasingly follow her expectations, and gain self-esteem through the use of praise and encouragement. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 28/12/2009

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 28/12/2009

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