Hitchins, Michaela

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY282391 Inspection date 28/01/2010 Inspector Carol Cox

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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 was registered in 2004. She lives with her husband and two children aged four and seven in Weston-Super-Mare, North Somerset. The whole of the property is used for childminding except for the front first floor bedrooms. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, no more than two which may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding five children in this age range at different times during the week. She also minds four older children before and after school. She is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder has use of a car to take and collect children from school. She attends the local toddler group and takes children to the local library and park.

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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 has a clear understanding of how to safeguard children and generally promotes their care, learning and development well. Children settle quickly in her warm and friendly home. She understands the value of working closely with parents and others to identify and meet the needs of each child. She has recently started to evaluate her practice and demonstrates good capacity for continuing improvement through her implementation of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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further?

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

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further?

 obtain written permission from parents before administering medication to children and maintain a record of all medication administered to children (Promoting good health), also applies to the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. 05/02/2010

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the system to monitor and evaluate the quality of provision on offer to children. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded well in the childminder's care. She has a clear understanding of how to recognise signs and symptoms of different forms of abuse. She follows a clearly written policy and procedure should she have concerns about child safety. Her policy and procedure meet the guidance of the Local Safeguarding Children Board and are shared in writing with parents. Children are further safeguarded because there are measures in place to ensure that only those authorised are allowed to collect children from the setting. The childminder is committed to improving her practice and is pro-active in ensuring her knowledge is current. For example, she has booked onto a paediatric first aid course to renew her certificate a month before her previous qualification expires. She attends regular training and has started to use the North Somerset quality planning system to evaluate her provision. This is not yet fully effective. For example, although the

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the early years provision

childminder maintains clear records of most aspects of her provision she is in breach of welfare requirements because she does not always maintain full records of parental consent for the administration of medication.

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the early years provision

The childminder conducts regular risk assessments of all aspects of her provision including garden play and outings. There is a plentiful supply of toys and resources which children safely and freely access to support their games. For example, a young child searches through the bookshelves to find a favourite book. Children learn about the diversity of life through a range of books and toys which depict different people in their lives. When on everyday outings the childminder answers children's questions about other people sensitively and helps them understand that different people have different needs. The childminder values good relationships with parents and other carers. For example, she invites their contributions to learning diaries to detail their child's individual care and learning needs.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy themselves in the childminder's warm and friendly home. They settle quickly and show a strong sense of belonging. For example, even very young children confidently choose the toys they want to play with. The childminder has a good understanding of how to promote children's learning and development through a good balance of planned activities and child initiated play. She makes regular observations of children's achievements and interests and uses these to provide learning opportunities. For example, one child loves playing with cars and the garage, she uses this as an opportunity to promote his language and help him begin to express himself. Children's physical development is promoted through regular outdoor play in her garden when children bounce on the trampoline and climb into the playhouse. They enjoy visits in the local community and learn about animals and observe the natural environment. These visits generate interesting

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and outcomes for children

questions about the people they see. For example, children ask, ‘Why has that man only one arm?’ or ‘Why is the sea in Weston brown?’ Children's fine motor development is promoted through their interest in jigsaw puzzles and playing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 musical instruments. The wide range of resources supports children's imaginary play. For example, a child plays a game about taking sick people to hospital, she comments ‘He's better now he can go home’. The children's learning diaries are illustrated with photographs and carefully written observations of their achievements. These records clearly show the wide range of activities enjoyed by children to promote learning in all areas. Children develop good skills for the future to support further learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about keeping themselves healthy through daily routines. They enjoy regular exercise and healthy nutritious food. The childminder ensures that children are safeguarded against the spread of infection by a sensible exclusion period when they have infectious illnesses. The childminder works closely with parents to identify their individual care needs. For example, children's records carefully detail any allergies, intolerances or health needs individual children may have. The childminder's home is secure and safe for children. The childminder has sensible procedures in place in case of an emergency, these procedures are regularly practised with all minded children. Children generally behave very well and the childminder has booked on to a behaviour management course to further support her knowledge of how to help promote positive behaviour. She has established close working relationships with parents and other carers to ensure

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and outcomes for children

that children's care and learning needs are consistently met. She highly values each child as an individual and has a very flexible approach to meeting the particular needs of different families. 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 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 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 3 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The provider confirms that the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 05/02/2010

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the voluntary part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the early years section of the report 05/02/2010

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