Atkinson, Tracy Louise

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY399781 Inspection date 11/03/2010 Inspector Judith Reed

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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 0300 123 1231, 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: 0300 123 1231 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 registered in 2009 and lives with her husband and one young child in a house in the village of South Wonston, close to Winchester. The home is close to shops, parks, schools, pre-schools and public transport links. The childminder's home is accessible and in practice children use the ground floor for play. Rest facilities and a bathroom are provided on the first floor of the home. 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 at any one time, no more than two may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding four children in this age group on a part time basis. She also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects children from local schools and attends the local 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The childminder knows the children in her care well and is able to be flexible according to their individual needs. The childminder reflects on her planning to ensure children's needs are met. Equality and diversity is effectively promoted. The childminder is pro-active in developing her childminding provision by planning future purchases of toys and equipment, as well as accessing training to improve her knowledge and skills.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop observation and assessment records to help to plan children's next steps and share with parents  build partnerships between professionals in all settings which children attend  carry out self evaluation to identify strengths and priorities for ongoing development

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded as the childminder is very well organised and she ensures she has all necessary paperwork in place. The adults living in the property are suitability checked, as required. An appropriate safeguarding policy is in place and the childminder ensures parents are fully aware of these guidelines. Children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are well supervised by the childminder who also puts in place all necessary safety equipment. Full and thorough risk assessments are carried out around the home, garden and for all outings. The childminder ensures all areas of the home are safe and suitable for the children attending. Partnerships with parents are important to the childminder and she builds sound business relationships and keeps them fully informed about their children through a daily diary. Parents complete all necessary documentation and consents to keep their children safe. Parents state that the

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the early years provision

childminder is enthusiastic and compassionate towards the children. She is very knowledgeable about childcare and is able to be flexible. Generally parents are very happy with the care provided and they find the childminder approachable and friendly. The childminder takes time to explain her policies and procedures to the parents and also provides varied and wholesome food for children. The childminder visits the local school to take and collect children. She has not built links with staff to share information about the children in the early years age group. The childminder receives support from other childminders and the local authority.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes equality and diversity through offering a range of ethical toys and books. She has a clear equal opportunities policy in place. She is experienced in caring for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities as well as those with English as an additional language. The childminder ensures activities are suitable for the age of the children attending and accessible by utilising a large, low table as well as small chairs and low level equipment. Resources are well organised and easily available around the ground floor of the home. The childminder makes activities attractive by setting up equipment to suit the children present. For example, children enjoy filling containers and emptying them again so the childminder sets out a large builders tray with various dried pasta shapes and numerous cooking pans and containers to store the pasta and move it around. Children put the pasta into the boxes and put on the lid, they also

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the early years provision

put some into cooking pans and stir with a spoon. Children move around and make choices about their own activities. They have an outing most days. The childminder takes children to a number of groups and places of interest in the locality or wider area.

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the early years provision

The childminder is enthusiastic about making ongoing improvements in her childminding provision. She plans to continue to develop and improve. She is planning to continue her diploma in home child carers qualification and to work with her support childminder. She uses the internet to access up to date information and is a member of the National Childminding Association which provides a number of resources to support childminders. The childminder has not completed a self-evaluation of her childminding which would help to prioritise areas for development.

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and outcomes for children

Children’s learning is effectively supported because the childminder knows them well as individuals and supports their needs. She has sufficient toys and equipment to ensure children can play together well. The learning environment effectively helps children to progress and develop because children move around freely and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 make choices about their own activities. The childminder plans a suitable range of activities for the children and strikes an appropriate balance between adult-led and child-initiated activities. She know the children's stage of development and plans interesting activities to encourage their learning, such as a bus trip into Winchester. This is particularly relevant to one child who has an interest in transport and large vehicles. The childminder also ensures that activities are adapted to allow all children to participate meaningfully. Plans are evaluated to

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and outcomes for children

ensure children's developmental needs are met. Although the childminder knows the children well and provides a daily diary record of the activities for parents she has not commenced making more formal observation records and including the six areas of learning to help set their next steps for development.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop habits and behaviour appropriate to good learners, their own needs and those of others through learning to share toys and playing together. Young children are beginning to play imaginative games alongside each other and the childminder ensures sufficient equipment is available to enable this. For example, children enjoy playing with dolls and set them down to have their nappies changed. The childminder provides children with a changing mat each and the children both pretend to clean up the dolls bottoms with wipes. Children also play co-operative games such as peek-a-boo. They stand either side of the low table and duck down, then jump up. The childminder encourages the children to play together and says 'I can see you!'. Children laugh and giggle as they both duck down and jump up, telling the childminder they are hiding. Children use positional language such as up, down and under. The childminder supports

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and outcomes for children

children's communication, language and literacy development well by talking to them and repeating what they say. She helps children to learn new words by joining in drawing activities and making pictures of birds and clouds telling the children what she is drawing. Children repeat the words and the childminder talks about the colour of the clouds to reinforce the learning. She also encourages the children to choose their own colouring crayon and draw alongside her on the large sheet of paper. The childminder says she will draw one of the children present and she talks about her hair and that she is wearing a skirt. She helps children understand differences and similarities by drawing the other child also and talking about her hair colour and type, and dungarees. The childminder writes the children's names underneath their pictures to help children begin to recognise the letters of their names. Children experiment with using a wax crayon sideways,

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and outcomes for children

making a different type of mark on the paper. The childminder copies the children and says 'this is a different way of making marks'. She encourages children to draw snakes by making a hissing sound as she moves the crayon across the paper sheet. She tells the children it is a snake from the jungle and they recognise this from a familiar story. Children look at books and recognise the pictures. They confidently turn the pages and name the animals and their sounds, such as 'baa' for a sheep.

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and outcomes for children

Children’s health is promoted because all necessary steps are taken to prevent the spread of infection. The childminder provides individual hand drying towels for children in the bathroom and employs good hygiene routines when changing nappies. The childminder is well organised and children’s health and welfare are effectively underpinned because required policies, procedures and consents are in place. Children make healthy choices about what they eat and have their own This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 drinking cups available at all times. Children are offered a snack and they are enthusiastic about having fruit to eat. They immediately come to the table and climb into their chairs as they are familiar with the routine. The childminder gives each child a bowl of apple and kiwi fruit pieces. She is encouraging the children to try different fruits alongside their favourite apple pieces. The

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and outcomes for children

childminder feeds the children in her care according to the requests from their family. Some children have cooked meals at lunch time which include pasta and sauce, fish fingers or shepherds pie and others have snack style meals. 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 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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