Childminder in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 222283 Inspection date 23/10/2009 Inspector Deborah Kerry

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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 1994. She lives with her family in a house in a residential road in Cambridge. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The property is accessed via a step.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time. There are currently four children attending who are within the early years age group. This provider is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

Local shops, a park and schools are within walking distance.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder visits the local toy library, attends a music group and toddler group on a regular basis.

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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

The childminder provides a secure, safe environment for all children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Each child is supported and their individual needs met appropriately through the close relationships with parents. Children benefit as the childminder ensures their safety and welfare is fully promoted through clear risk assessments. Children's independence and self-esteem are promoted in an environment where they learn through play. The childminder ensures all children are fully included and she has developed self-evaluation skills to ensure her practice is regularly reviewed and has clearly identified areas of development to ensure continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop partnership working to provide opportunities for parents to be involved in their child’s learning and consider ways of liaising with other providers delivering the EYFS to exchange information so children’s learning and development is supported  develop the use of observation and assessment to identify learning priorities, children's next steps so that relevant learning experiences for each child can be planned which include all of the six areas of learning  ensure that the contents of the first aid box are suitable to meet the needs of children.  ensure that regular evacuation drills are carried out and details recorded of any problems encountered and how they were resolved. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder has an understanding of local safeguarding children procedures should she have a concern about a child's welfare. She has a clear written policy in place to ensure that children's safety and welfare are priorities. The childminder has in place clear records of the risk assessments undertaken for inside, outside and for outings to ensure that there are no risks to children's safety. Resources are fully accessible to children as the childminder organises her home to enable children to make choices when selecting toys which meet their interests and promotes their independence well. The childminder discusses the evacuation procedures with children. However, practices are not always carried out on a regular basis to ensure that children have a good understanding on how to maintain their own safety.

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the early years provision

The childminder has close relationships with the parents of minded children and keeps them fully informed about their child's learning and development through daily verbal feedback. The childminder ensures that parents have copies of her policies and procedures and this helps to keep them informed about her practice. However, parents do not have the opportunity to add comments to the observations the childminder undertakes on their children to support and be involved in their learning and development. The childminder ensures that each child's individual interests and needs are supported and that they are able to make choices in what they want to do. Children visit the library and choose books on their interests and some include topics on the beliefs and cultures of others.

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the early years provision

Through the self-evaluation the childminder has looked at ways to improve her practice further to benefit children's continued progress in their learning and development. She has attended EYFS training to develop her knowledge to ensure that children continue to be fully supported in their learning and development. The childminder collects children from other settings delivering the EYFS, however, systems to exchange information to support children's learning and development are not yet fully established to ensure their ongoing progress.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder ensures that children are well cared for and their nutritional needs are fully met as she encourages parents to provide healthy options in their lunch boxes. This helps them to develop an understanding on what foods to eat to promote their health. Children have developed a good understanding on why they need to wash their hands to ensure they are clean, after using the toilet and before eating. Children's health and medical needs are fully supported through the clear policies and procedures the childminder has in place. However, the contents of the first aid box are incomplete which could compromise children's health. Children access equipment in the garden; they run, roll down the grassed mound in wheeled toys and use the swing which helps to promote their physical development well. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children listen to story tapes whilst eating their lunch to promote their interest in

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and outcomes for children

reading. They choose books to look at and the childminder reads them stories, she asks questions about what happens in the story to extend children's thinking and to develop their understanding on the concept of words. Children's understanding on how to keep themselves safe is promoted well as they use the large equipment with care and the childminder ensures that children are supervised at all times. Children enjoy colouring pictures and use green pens to change the colour of a mask they have made so that it looks 'more like a monster'. Children enjoy comparing, grouping and counting coloured tops to support their understanding on problem solving and numeracy. Children help the childminder to ascertain which tomatoes are ripe and can be picked and count how many there are. The also count out conkers, they select one for each year of their age which they take home to show their families. Children are taken on regular outings to develop their

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and outcomes for children

understanding on their environment and the wider world.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has undertaken some observations on children's progress and has identified the next steps in their learning, this is then used to inform planning so that children's progress is supported. Activities are planned around children's interests, from the observations undertaken. However, the observations and children's records are not currently linked to the six areas of learning to ensure that children receive a broad and balanced curriculum to support their progress. 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 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 3

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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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