Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 304108 Inspection date 03/12/2009 Inspector Susan Patricia Birkenhead

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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 1990. She lives with her husband and three adult children. The family lives in the Nantwich area of Cheshire, close to schools, pre-schools, local facilities and transport links. The whole of the ground floor and the bathroom on the first floor are used for childminding purposes. There is a secure garden available for outdoor play.

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Description of the childminding

This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight at any one time, no more than three of which may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding one child aged two years, on a part-time basis. The childminder attends local childminder's groups regularly and makes full use of local facilities.

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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 welcoming, inclusive environment where children settle well and are happy and secure. She is beginning to develop an understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) welfare, learning and development requirements. As a result, children make positive progress towards the early learning goals and welfare needs are appropriately met. The childminder develops positive relationships with parents and, through daily discussions, they exchange information regarding the children's needs and well-being. The childminder shows some commitment to the continuous development of her service and recommendations from the previous inspection have since been addressed. However, systems for monitoring and evaluating her practice are in the very early stages of development.

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further?

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

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further?

 further develop the systems for self-evaluation to identify the setting's strengths and areas for future development, to promote better outcomes for children  further develop the current procedures for linking observation and assessments to the EYFS areas of learning in order to track children's developmental progress towards the early learning goals more clearly and encourage parents to become more involved in chld's learning  further develop the risk assessments to ensure details of each type of outing are clearly recorded. 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 a sound understanding of the indicators of abuse and the procedures to follow if there are concerns. The written child protection policy and relevant checks to determine suitability are in place, which are shared with parents. This contributes to the children being appropriately safeguarded. The childminder organises her setting appropriately using daily checklists of risk assessments, and necessary safety equipment, which ensures risks to children are minimised. However, a generic checklist is used to risk assess all outings, which means for each type of outing a full risk assessment is not clearly documented. Following the last inspection, recommendations raised have since been addressed. As a result, the childminder has produced many written policies making parents aware of her practices, maintains a suitable approach to recording information to ensure the needs of the children are appropriately met, and parents' wishes are

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the early years provision

respected. Registers record children's attendance accurately on a daily basis and information regarding the administration of medication and accidents is suitably documented.

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the early years provision

The childminder encourages the development of positive relationships with parents through the suitable exchange of information. This includes discussing daily the children’s well-being, and sharing the developmental progress file on occasion and the written policies initially, which includes child protection and complaints. This ensures children's welfare needs are approached with consistency. Parents contribute to the inspection by providing a written reference which provides complimentary comments regarding their child's care and well-being in the care of the childminder. The children currently cared for do not attend other settings, therefore the development of partnerships with other settings is not applicable to the children currently cared for. The childminder recognises the importance of attending additional training and more recently has attended training courses in relation to EYFS, food hygiene and paediatric first aid. This contributes to the

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the early years provision

continuous development of her service and promotes better outcomes for children. She is in the early stages of developing systems to monitor and evaluate her practices by making basic entries to the local authority ‘Moving On’ document; however, areas for future development are not outlined.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and secure within the childminder’s care and are confident at times to discuss with the inspector what they do. The childminder provides a warm, welcoming environment, which is supported by the positive relationships the children develop with the childminder and family members. The childminder positively interacts, provides individual support and adapts activities to meet the children’s needs, which contributes to the inclusive environment. Consequently, children are motivated well and enjoy their learning. The childminder consults children about their play and, through the good deployment of resources, they are able to make choices independently from the accessible storage boxes, some of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 which are labelled with pictures. As a result, children become active learners and make positive progress towards the early learning goals. Procedures for observing

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and outcomes for children

and assessing children's developmental progress are developing well, using the individual record books, which contain photographic evidence and observations. However, detail recorded is not always linked to the areas of learning, or reflective of children’s next steps in learning to ensure children's progress is clearly monitored. Activities are approached spontaneously, although informal planning is linked to weekly places they visit and times of the year. This means a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated activities is provided to support children's learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop a keen interest in books because they enjoy listening to stories, and begin to select books of their choice from a young age. They give meaning to marks they make as they recreate big and small circles, copying the childminder’s examples. Children take part in activities to encourage their creative skills; for example, they make shakers from recyclable materials, and paint using their hands or brushes. The childminder refers to number and colour spontaneously during their play to promote children’s learning from a young age; as a result, children are confident to count up to 10 and recognise primary colours. Children further extend their imaginations as they access many small world items, such as the bus and play people; they line up the figures and when asked say they are going shopping. They develop an understanding of technology as they press the buttons of the interactive resources to create sounds and learn about letters. Children visit local

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and outcomes for children

childminder groups within the community, and use musical instruments to create different sounds when they attend the ‘rhythm group’. This provides opportunities for them to socialise with others and take part in group activities. They assist in the growing of bedding plants and grow sunflowers from seed. They respond to feeding the friendly blackbird that visits and watch from indoors with delight as it eats the raisins they provide, thereby broadening their knowledge of the natural world. All activities contribute to the development of future economic skills. In addition, various resources and some activities promote their understanding of people’s differences and the wider world. They recognise times of the year through activities; for example, they makes cakes at Easter and meet the Easter Bunny at toddlers.

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and outcomes for children

Children indicate they feel safe and secure as they turn to the childminder for support during play, move around the setting with confidence and are comforted when tired. They learn about staying safe as they practise road safety during walks, and limits and boundaries are established. Children’s behaviour is managed appropriately for their ages and they begin to share resources and play cooperatively when other children visit. The childminder praises the children's achievements and, as a result, their confidence and self-esteem develop well. Children benefit from the suitable healthy diet they receive, taking account of their preferences, and drinks are accessible to them as they play, which contributes to their good health. Children develop a positive understanding of personal health and hygiene through the routines followed, and the childminder maintains good levels of cleanliness around her home, thereby reducing the risk of cross-infection.

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and outcomes for children

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 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 2 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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 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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