Childminder in Doncaster

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY291113 Inspection date 26/11/2009 Inspector Diane Lynn Turner

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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 husband and three children, aged between 13- and 17-years-old, in a semi-detached house in a village on the outskirts of Doncaster, in South Yorkshire. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding purposes, with toilet facilities situated on the first floor. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play to the rear of the house. The family have two pet dogs and a tortoise.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association, and is registered by Ofsted on the Early years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of six children under eight-years-of-age. She is also registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register. There are currently eight children on roll, four of whom are within the early years age group. They all attend on a part-time 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

Children are cared for in a welcoming environment where good attention is paid to ensuring they are kept safe and healthy. They are provided with a wide range of activities which support their learning and development successfully both in the home and the local environment, enabling them to learn in different ways. Good partnerships are forged with the parents and effective links are in place with the local school. The childminder is aware of the importance of self-evaluation as a means of monitoring her service, to ensure continuous improvement. However, the organisation of her documentation is not effective, which means that some of the necessary paper work required to meet the welfare requirements is missing.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure a record is kept of the risk assessment clearly stating when this was carried out, by whom, date of review and any action taken following a review or incident (Documentation) 03/12/2009

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further?

 ensure evidence of a valid first aid certificate is available (Documentation). 10/12/2009

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the organisation to ensure that all records relating to childminding activities are readily accessible  continue to develop the assessment system to show when the next steps in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children's learning and development are met, to help make informed decisions about their progress.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a good understanding of safeguarding children and her responsibilities in regard to child protection issues. She is able to recognise the possible indicators of abuse and ensures that children are not left alone with people who may not be vetted. For example, she arranges for any work to be carried out on the home outside childminding hours. Her home is safe and well- maintained in all areas, and she has undertaken assessments to identify any risks to children's safety, and minimised these effectively. She has not, however, made a record of these assessments which is a breach of the welfare requirements. The childminder has a clear vision of what it is she wants to achieve for her service and has suitable systems in place for self-evaluation, which are used to help her identify areas for improvement. For example, plans are in place to improve the garden to enhance the opportunities for children's learning in this area; these

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the early years provision

include providing an area for digging and planting, improving the storage of the outdoor toys and developing a sensory area, with plants, such as herbs.

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the early years provision

The childminder is committed to developing her childcare practice in various ways. For example, through training, discussing elements of good practice with other childminders and reading various publications. Since her last inspection she has attended several short courses and has gained a level 3 qualification in Childminding practice. She has a set of clear written policies and procedures to show how her service operates and most of the required documentation is in place. However, this is not well organised which means it is not easily accessible should the childminder need to refer to it in an emergency. She was also unable to produce her first aid certificate on the inspection visit, which is a welfare requirement; although the awarding body did verbally confirm to the inspector that this was valid.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes equality and diversity very well. She uses detailed 'all about me forms' to gather a good amount of information about children's individual care needs and interests, and helps them to value the diverse society in which they live. She has previous experience of caring for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and forms good relationships with all the parents. She provides them with copies of her policies and effectively shares information about their child's learning and development through the daily diaries she maintains for each one. She regularly provides them with information packs and leaflets about various health issues and how to promote children's learning in the home. She provides a pick up and drop off service from and to the child's home for those parents who would like this, and uses questionnaires to gauge their continuing satisfaction of her service, which show very positive comments.

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the early years provision

She has links with the local school nursery which some of the children attend, ensuring, for example, that she is aware of topics they are following, so she can extend the children's learning in her setting. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The childminder understands that children learn most successfully when they feel safe and secure. She develops good relationships with them, offers a wide range of activities across the six areas of learning and makes good use of conversation to promote their learning as they play. For example, encouraging colour recognition as they paint their dough items. She skilfully models activities herself, after which she gives the children time to explore for themselves, sensitively providing support when needed, such as helping them to squeeze paint from the tubes. She provides a good range of tactile experiences to enable the children to develop their fine motor skills; such as exploring dried pasta and rice, and building with natural materials, such as small logs. She has a wide range of good quality wooden activity toys and the children gain a lot of pleasure from using these; for example, they laugh delightedly as they turn the wheel and watch the shapes go round

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes the environment stimulating by displaying posters depicting colours, shapes and letters, and parents and children are greeted by a colourful display of the children's art work in the entrance. She provides a wealth of learning opportunities outside the home. For example, visiting the National Railway museum to take part in a celebration of Indian culture, including dance and creative workshops; travelling by train to visit museums in the nearby town; joining in with Viking celebrations in York, and observing butterflies at ‘Tropical world’. All of which support the children's knowledge and understanding of the wider world very effectively. The childminder is also very effective in helping the children to learn to behave well. She praises them for their achievements, such as taking part in messy activities when they have not been keen to do so previously, and she reminds them to use good manners. As a result, the children play well

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and outcomes for children

together, sharing items, such as bricks, as they build towers, and they are confident to socialise and interact with others as they attend various groups each week for activities, such as music and movement, and as they visit the library.

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and outcomes for children

Children are supported very well in learning to keep themselves safe and healthy. For example, they learn about the importance of wearing safety restraints in the car, and about crossing the road safely when out in the community. The childminder discusses the importance of not approaching strangers when they visit the park and provides high visibility vests for them to wear, which show her mobile contact number. They enjoy lots of fresh air as they go for walks and visit the park, and they develop their physical skills as they use the various play equipment. Hand washing is promoted very effectively during everyday routines as the childminder explains about the importance of using soap and encourages the children to clean all areas of their hands. They learn about eating healthily as they enjoy snacks of fresh fruit, and they learn about ingredients that make up food, such as bread, during baking activities. The childminder maintains individual diaries

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and outcomes for children

to record and track children's progress towards the early learning goals, which detail their achievements and how they link to the areas of learning and the children’s next steps; however, they do not show when the next steps have been achieved. 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 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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