Childminder in Barking and Dagenham

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY348880 Inspection date 25/02/2010 Inspector S Campbell

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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 2007. She lives with her partner and son aged eight in a residential area of Dagenham, Essex. The whole of the ground floor except the kitchen is used for childminding and 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 three children under eight years at any one time, of these, three may be in the early years age range. The childminder currently has two children in the early years age group on roll. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA).

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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 children are cared for in a safe, bright and child friendly environment. The childminder has met most actions made at the last inspection and is working towards ensuring the systems for observation, assessment and planning are fully met to promote the outcomes for all children. The childminder has a satisfactory understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure planning reflects the six areas of learning and children make sound progress in all areas of their learning and development. She has not formally begun to use processes for self-evaluation, but consistently seeks support from the local authority to support children’s learning. Although the childminder shares most information with parents to support sound partnership, working links have yet to be fully developed with outside agencies to ensure children’s learning and development is fully supported.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop procedures to ensure parents contribute to children's initial and ongoing assessments to support their learning and ensure children’s developmental records are shared with parents  continue to develop procedures to ensure sensitive observational assessments in order to plan to meet children’s needs are carried out for all children to support their learning and develop planning to ensure children are offered a varied range of experiences as they progress towards the early learning goals  continue to extend resources to reflect positive images of disability and gender to support children’s understanding of the wider community  further develop procedures to ensure links are made with external agencies to support children’s development This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  further develop a culture of reflective practice for self-evaluation to identify

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further?

the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of the provision for children

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the early years provision

The children are appropriately safeguarded because the childminder has a sound understanding of child protection issues and procedures. She has obtained appropriate guidance and documentation to ensure she is able to act quickly should she have a concern about a child in her care. Since the last inspection the childminder has implemented a number of polices and procedures which contribute to the safe and efficient management of the setting.

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the early years provision

At the last inspection a number of actions were made. The childminder demonstrates a commitment to ensure they were addressed by putting into practice an action plan. The childminder also sought the advice of an early years practitioner and the local authority to further promote the outcomes for children, and as a result reorganised the setting to ensure it is child friendly, obtained additional toys, and implemented a range of documents to support children’s learning. The childminder is committed to further developing her current practices and knowledge. She has applied to attend a number of courses, such as behaviour management, sounds and letters. This further promotes the outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The childminder has developed positive relationships with parents and she shares information about children’s progress through discussion, text messaging and a daily diary. However, procedures have yet to be fully developed to ensure children’s developmental records are shared with parents and links are fully developed with children's school to effectively support their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Although the childminder has identified her strengths, the processes in place for self-evaluation are in the infancy stage and have yet to be fully developed to identify the many areas for improvement. The children are cared for in a safe and secure environment because the childminder carries out regular risk assessments. In addition, an in-depth risk assessment is carried out for routine outings to further promote children’s welfare. The childminder has a positive attitude towards diversity and ensures all children a treated equally and with respect. This promotes an inclusive environment. She gathers appropriate information about children’s individual needs and backgrounds to ensure they are known and met.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is developing positive relationships with children. The organisation of the day enables her to spend individual time with children to support their learning and development. The children are steadily making progress in their learning and development and the childminder has organised the setting to reflect This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 specific areas of learning, such as role play, mark making and a reading area. The children are interested in the resources on offer and they provide sufficient challenge and stimulation. The toys are stored in clear, labelled boxes, allowing children to make informed decisions about their play.

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and outcomes for children

The children take part in a range of both indoor and outdoor experiences to support their learning, such as visiting the local park, library and children centre. Whilst attending the local children centre they enjoy taking part in messy play activities to develop their creative skills. The childminder has recently begun to carry out observations. However, they have yet to be fully developed to ensure they are carried out for all children to effectively support their learning. Planning and assessments are in an infancy stage and have yet to be fully developed to ensure children are offered a varied range of learning experiences. Parents contribute to children’s initial and ongoing assessments to enable them to contribute to children’s learning.

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and outcomes for children

The children are offered a range of both adult led and child initiated activities to ensure their play is purposeful. They are able to make informed decisions about their play and when required the childminder provides toys on request, such as water play. The children are comfortable in their environment and are familiar with the routine of the day, for example on their arrival they change out of their school uniform and immediately engage in the resources on offer. The children are appropriately safeguarded because the childminder ensures fire evacuation procedures are regularly carried out to ensure children know how to leave the setting quickly and safely in the event of an emergency. The children are taught basic road safety awareness and posters are clearly displayed to remind them of the symbols when it is safe to cross the road.

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and outcomes for children

The children are confident talkers and the childminder asks appropriate open ended questions to further promote children’s language development and encourage them to think. The children talk about their time at school and their friends. There are a range of resources to introduce children to letters of the alphabet, numbers, colours and shapes, such as magnetic toys, floor puzzles and cards. In addition, through practical activities the children enjoy counting everyday objects, such as counting the steps when visiting the bathroom. The children are cared for in a clean and well maintained environment. They wash hands at appropriate times to minimise the spread of cross infection and a poster is displayed in the bathroom to remind children of the importance of hand washing.

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and outcomes for children

The children are well behaved and the childminder gently reminds them of the ‘magic words’, for example 'please' and 'thank you'. This further develops good social skills and respect for others. The children have access to some resources that reflect positive images. However, there are few resources on offer that promote positive images of disability and gender to further develop their understanding of similarities, difference and the wider community. The children’s imaginative and creative skills are developing well because they have access to a range of role play resources, such as a kitchen, dolls, play tent and suitcase. The childminder ensures children have access to child sized furniture to enable them to take part in a range of table top activities comfortably. 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 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 3

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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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