Jones, Catherine Ann

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY318545 Inspection date 25/11/2009 Inspector Gillian Sutherland

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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 2006. She lives with her husband and two children aged nine and four years old in Eastham, which is an area on the Wirral peninsular. The areas of the house which are registered and used for childminding are on the ground floor, apart from the family bathroom and an upstairs bedroom. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play and the family have no pets.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight years old. Of these, three may be in the early years age group. She is currently minding seven children, five of whom attend on a part-time basis. The childminder makes regular use of the local amenities including local carer and toddler groups, library and parks.

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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. The childminder is a member of the National Child Minding Association.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are safeguarded and their welfare needs fully met in the care of this extremely competent childminder, who ensures they make excellent progress in their learning and development. Resources are plentiful and the childminder recognising the needs of each child attending, and plans the inclusive environment and activity programme accordingly to ensure those needs are fully met. Using different methods she keeps abreast of all changes, and is then able to update the documentation she uses to ensure it always complies fully with the requirements of Ofsted. To further develop her childcare skills and knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, this highly committed childminder continues to attend additional training and then finds imaginative ways of including new ideas into her daily practices. She has developed an excellent and effective working partnership with parents, and has extended this partnership to other Early Years

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Foundation Stage providers thus ensuring continuity of care for the children.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 explore how the outdoor play area can be developed further to ensure that activities offered inside the home can also be made available outside all year round. 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 completed a comprehensive self-evaluation of her setting identifying not only the areas she succeeds in, but also highlights where she feels she can improve. For example, the childminder is keen to look at how she can develop the outside play area to ensure that she can extend her current activity programme all year round. The childminder is extremely well organised, and all documentation is well maintained and available for inspection. Children's files contain all relevant information and parental consents. The childminder has established excellent partnerships with parents and ensures that they are very well informed about their child's progress through written and verbal feedback, including for the younger children the use of a daily diary. Parents are made fully aware of her comprehensive policies and procedures at the start of their child's placement. Parent questionnaires are then used to help assess her current practice

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the early years provision

and if necessary review and revise her practices and procedures. Comments in these and her thank you cards are extremely complimentary and include such comments as 'how can you improve what is perfect'. The childminder has also developed strong links with other partnerships, such as, the local pre-school and tries to complement and extend activities and topics that they complete with the children. She has also shared with this setting written and pictorial observations of children participating in some activities undertaken at her home, and permission from parents is always sought for this dialogue and arrangement to take place.

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the early years provision

The childminder demonstrates a very good understanding about how to help children feel and keep safe. Children play safely inside her home, as she meticulously undertakes a risk assessment of the areas in her home which are accessed by children and the different venues which they visit. The childminder uses her expert knowledge to ensure the venues are suitable for the age group and interests of children, and always takes a travel first aid pack and a fully charged mobile containing all the emergency contact numbers for the children who are with her. The children have excellent road safety awareness, as part of road safety week the childminder engaged the children in an activity where they each made their own laminated road safety book. The books included pictures, drawings and photographs of the local ‘lollipop lady’ who, through discussions with the children reinforces the safe way to cross the road. In their role play activities the

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the early years provision

children learn about keeping safe, as the childminder explains how hot the oven gets if you touch it when there is something inside cooking.

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the early years provision

The childminder regularly rotates the equipment available, promoting a highly stimulating and interesting environment each day. In the garden is a play house which is very often changed from the house to a shop, doctor’s surgery or hospital and then the forward thinking childminder ensures that the associated resources are also changed to support the setting it has changed into. Children freely access a wide range of resources, reflecting all areas of diversity, which includes a selection of books and the celebration of an exceptionally varied range of festivals, which the highly skilled childminder has researched and provides information about not only the month in which they occur but also a brief summary about the festival. Children are made aware of the needs of others through their play, as This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 they access many resources which reflect the individual needs of others not only in

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the early years provision

our own society but also in the wider world.

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and outcomes for children

Children arrive at the childminder’s home where they spend their time in a highly stimulating, well organised and welcoming environment. Children are extremely happy and confident in the care of this childminder and they are making excellent progress in all areas of their learning and development. They play very well together and have a very close relationship with the childminder, chattering away to her and each other as they play. The forward thinking childminder has a very good understanding about the 'uniqueness of each child', and ensures that activities offered to the children present meet their individual needs and wishes. The proactive childminder gains as much information from the parents prior to care commencing including, not only their likes and dislikes but also their abilities. She has developed a highly effective observation and assessment system, which she uses to observe and record how children have progressed and also what she

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and outcomes for children

can and must do next, to extend and challenge their learning further. Daily diaries for the younger children and information sheets for the older children inform parents of the range of activities they have participated in during the day. Children enjoy ample space to move around their environment freely and safely, and they are developing excellent independence skills as they select their own resources. The childminder made a 'laminated' toy book which is illustrated with pictures of the additional toys and resources that are available, and children can and do look through when requesting alternative activities, and in this way the forward thinking childminder is involving them in the planning of the daily activity programme.

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and outcomes for children

Children self register themselves as they arrive and leave her home; there is a large poster in the hall which has Velcro pieces on, and as they arrive each child looks for their name on a butterfly made and coloured on small butterfly shaped laminated cards, and when they have found their own name they reach up and put it onto poster. Similarly as they leave they take their butterfly off the poster and put it back into the box. Children have an excellent awareness of the importance of developing healthy lifestyles. They enjoy the healthy home made meals and snacks prepared and made by the childminder, who ensures that fresh fruit and vegetables are always included and available. Under the watchful eye of the childminder the children enjoy participating in some gardening projects and they visit a local garden centre to choose what plants they want to grow. Their produce has included growing a wide range of seasonal fruits and vegetables which are

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and outcomes for children

used as part of their lunch and snack times.

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and outcomes for children

The children‘s language and vocabulary development is extremely well promoted, as she and they talk together and the highly skilled childminder provides them with many opportunities to ask questions and to participate in problem solving activities. The childminder also ensures that if any of the children show a particular interest in certain activities then she ensures that additional resources and activities are provided for that interest to be further developed. The childminder also has a travelling toy 'Lucky the dog', whom children take home regularly This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 throughout the year and when he returns the childminder has a book in which parents and children enter their photographs and reports of where Lucky has been and what he has been doing. In the front of this book there is a map of the world, which when Lucky has been to some far away places the childminder shares this

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and outcomes for children

map and book with the children, and talks about and identifies the places he has visited. Lucky has also participated in some of the procedures that children may have to undertake, including a visit to the nurse for his injections.

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and outcomes for children

In the outdoor play area children use the play house and turn it into different role play situations and at the time of the inspection it was being used as a surgery complete with doll's bed, doctors set, small size zimmer frame, hearing aids and glasses. Other toys that are used outside include bikes, sit and ride toys, scooters, hoops, a sand pit, slide, pop up tents, balls and skipping and a trampoline for which the childminder obtains written consent from the parents for the children to access. Resources are available to help children develop skills for the future, and such resources include pretend telephones, cookers, cash till and programmable toys. Children love having their photograph taken and one child asked the childminder if she would take a photograph which she did using the digital camera and was then able to show the picture to the child using the camera screen. The children share well, taking turns with the toys and equipment as they play

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and outcomes for children

cooperatively together. Regular praise and encouragement from the childminder enables them to develop good self esteem and confidence. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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