Childminder in Leicestershire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY257267 Inspection date 17/02/2010 Inspector Alison Edwards

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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

This childminder registered in 2003. She lives with her partner and three children aged one, nine and 10 years in a house in a town in south Leicestershire. Minded children use the ground floor of the house. There is no enclosed outdoor play area. Two rabbits and a cat are kept as family pets. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of five minded children aged under eight years, including two in the early years age range. There are currently two children under the age of eight on roll, both in the early years age range. The childminder is also registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register to care for older children. She holds a recognised early years qualification at Level 3.

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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

Children are confident and settled in the childminder's care, and are interested and engaged in their play. The childminder makes good use of parents' knowledge of their own children to enable her to take account of their individual needs and preferences. She has a good overview of how to implement the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) effectively, so helping her to promote children's welfare effectively and to enable them to make good progress in their learning. She makes effective use of local sources of advice and training to help her continue to develop her existing good practice.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop arrangements for the planning and provision of outdoor experiences and outings on a daily basis unless circumstances such as unsafe weather conditions make this inappropriate  develop more effective use of resources, activities and experiences reflecting different cultures and abilities to challenge children's thinking and to help them value diversity from an early age.  develop the use of reflective practice to review what the childminding service offers against robust and challenging quality criteria to more accurately identify existing strengths and priorities for continuing development to further improve the quality of provision for all children.

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the early years provision

Arrangements to safeguard children from harm are good. The childminder has effective systems in place to notify Ofsted promptly of any significant changes to the premises or to the composition of the household. This enables the completion This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 of relevant checks to ensure the suitability of children's environment and people in their proximity. The childminder maintains clear and informative policies to underpin the safe management of children's care, for example with regard to the procedures to be followed in the event of an emergency such as a fire or a child going missing. Risk assessments are used to underpin sensible safety precautions taken in the well-maintained family home and on outings, such as using safety gates to prevent children's access to the stairs, or using safety harnesses with young children when out walking. The childminder has a good understanding of

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the early years provision

what child abuse and neglect mean, and of her responsibilities to implement nationally and locally agreed guidance in the event of any concerns about a child, or allegation of abuse.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides useful and well-presented information to prospective parents about the childminding service, so helping to ensure a good shared understanding of arrangements for children's care. She seeks parents' views about their children's initial needs, abilities and preferences, so helping her to quickly gain an understanding of their individuality and developmental stage. She is establishing effective ways to share ongoing information about relevant experiences and events in children's lives, and about their changing abilities and ways to support the next steps in their learning through the use of daily diaries and regular progress reviews. The childminder recognises the value of liaison with other early years settings which children attend, such as pre-schools or reception classes, in order to gain support continuity and progression in children's care. She is familiar with the importance of working with other agencies, such as health

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the early years provision

professionals, to support the identification and inclusion of any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She already provides a selection of resources and activities reflecting different cultures and lifestyles, but is not yet fully confident in the most effective ways of using these to challenge children’s thinking and help them value diversity from an early age.

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the early years provision

The well-qualified childminder has made good progress in addressing recommendations raised at her previous inspection by establishing systems to assess children's development, and to work with parents to pool knowledge of children's initial and changing abilities. She continues to use relevant local advice and training to develop her existing practice and skills. Existing self-evaluation procedures already take account of parental views expressed in regular satisfaction surveys, and ensure that the welfare and learning requirements of the EYFS are effectively met. However, the childminder is not yet fully confident in ways of using reflective practice to best effect to accurately identify current strengths, and to independently prioritise targets for further development to enhance the quality of provision for all children.

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and outcomes for children

There are good arrangements to promote children's safety and health. The childminder provides good levels of supervision, and ensures that a wide variety of good quality play materials are readily accessible to children. This enables them to safely exercise good levels of independence and choice in their play. She helps This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children to learn how to behave safely by talking with them about how to sit securely on a low bench, and by introducing aspects of road safety when on outings and within games. Children develop a good understanding of how to implement good hygiene practices in their daily routines. The childminder involves young toddlers in simple tasks such as wiping their hands and faces at snack times, and provides liquid soap, individual paper towels, and pictorial guidance on good hand washing techniques to promote older children's self- care skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children show good levels of dexterity as they enjoy using crayons and pencils, or as they fit construction pieces together. The childminder makes use of opportunities for energetic play, including the use of fixed play equipment, at local parks and toddler groups to supplement active play at home, such as the use of push-along toys and action songs.

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled and confident in the childminder's care because she is kind and caring in her dealings with them. They begin to learn to share and take turns, and are usually actively engaged in their play. The childminder establishes consistent and positive expectations for children's behaviour, taking account of their stage of maturity, so helping them to learn what is acceptable. The childminder has a good overview of what children need to learn in order to make progress towards the early learning goals, and recognises the value of practical play and first hand experiences in helping to support their development. She is establishing effective ways of assessing individual children's changing abilities and interests and using this information to plan for the next steps in their learning. This helps to ensure that children benefit from a varied and interesting range of play opportunities helping to establish a good basis for their future skills. For example,

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and outcomes for children

young toddlers confidently handle and enjoy simple board books, whilst there is a good range of fiction and non-fiction books readily accessible to older children. Children across the age range enjoy using a selection of creative materials to make marks and express their ideas. Young toddlers gain practical awareness of shape, space and number as they handle different sizes and shapes of wooden bricks, or as they experiment with rolling differently shaped objects. Older children are able to develop their number and problem-solving skills when using a varied selection of board games and puzzles. Children of all ages have free access to a good selection of pretend play resources enabling them to exercise their imaginations and use items of everyday technology such as toy phones and kitchen equipment. They learn about how cake ingredients change when mixed together and baked. The childminder makes some use of local outings to enable children to get to know

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and outcomes for children

their local neighbourhood and explore some aspects of the natural world. However, current arrangements do not yet consistently ensure that children consistently benefit from daily outings or outdoor play to fully extend their development across all aspects of learning. 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 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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