Childminder in Staffordshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY314287 Inspection date 17/02/2010 Inspector Rachel Ruth Britten

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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 2005. She lives with her husband and one child aged 20 months. The family live in the Bradwell area of Newcastle under Lyme. The whole of the ground floor and the upstairs bathroom are used for childminding purposes. There is a secure garden available for outdoor play. Family pets include a dog and a parrot.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children at any one time, two of whom may be in the early years age range. She operates all year round and presently has a variation to her registration allowing three named children at any one time in the early years age range. There are currently eight children on roll aged from 21 months to eight years. Of these, five are within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The care for children aged over five years is registered by Ofsted on both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder has completed the required basic childminding training and holds a diploma in home based child care.

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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 is extremely well organised and committed, providing consistently high standards of care, teaching and outstanding attention to the children's health and safety. Every child's unique needs and stage of development are known and each one is supported to make good progress. Partnerships with parents are outstanding and are developing well with other childcare providers. The childminder has an outstanding capacity to continuously improve, demonstrated by her use of training, advice and self-evaluation tools to review and develop her already good practice.

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further?

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

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further?

 further develop, with parental permission, the sharing of developmental records and plans with other providers of childcare in order to ensure complementary and consistent care  make periodic summaries of progress and next steps for the six areas, to use alongside parents. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The steps taken to safeguard children are robust and extremely effective. The childminder is up-to-date, trained and competent in child protection procedures, interagency working through the Common Assessment Framework, first aid and risk assessment. She prepares extremely well each day, using conveniently organised checklists to prompt the attendance registration of every child and visitor; logging of fridge and food temperatures, and checks to the house and garden. Each outing is also risk assessed and reviewed each time the trip is undertaken. Policies and procedures are all clear, appropriate, regularly reviewed and given in full to parents. Information about house rules, insurance, planning, menus and Ofsted are also clearly displayed for parents in the setting and informative periodic newsletters are sent. Regular emergency evacuations are practised and exits are kept locked. All adults in the household are vetted and

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the early years provision

parental consent has been obtained for specific aspects of the service, including observations and planning for children's individual learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder forges warm, highly supportive, professional relationships with parents from the outset. She includes them in documenting and planning their child's starting points assessment, and provides them with details of all the themes and activity plans. The children's details and contracts with parents are reviewed regularly and parents have the opportunity to complete satisfaction questionnaires about the childminding. Daily diaries, text messages and copies of photos keep parents involved day by day to ensure that their children's progress and activities are well known. Newsletters tell parents about upcoming celebrations and special activities, they are encouraged to view their child's individual learning journey record. A photo diary is regularly viewed by parents and the childminder wants to increase parents' reference to their child's development file, which contains written and photographic observations, priorities for next steps, and some evidence of the

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the early years provision

children's art and craft work. At present the observations are not summarised to show progress over periods of time or general next steps plans for parents and the childminder to work on together. Nevertheless, the childminder explains her priorities for each child's progress and how she intends to promote it. She has effective relationships with reception teachers and pre-school key workers, ensuring that messages are passed to parents and children have help to complete their homework. She plans to develop these relationships to include sharing assessment documents of individual children's progress to improve consistent and complementary care.

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the early years provision

The childminder clearly relishes her work and has an outstanding commitment to organising and improving the childminding. She undertakes reflective practice with insight and plans well-targeted improvements. The childminder uses the Ofsted self-evaluation tool, internet research and training to ensure that she meets the requirements of the EYFS to provide the best learning environment and resources. For example, she has vastly improved her resources and the accessibility of them, so that children can find and use all kinds of toys, natural objects and materials for learning through play. Items are well organised, labelled and kept at a low-level; although, some batteries require replacement for programmable toys to work This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 properly. The childminder plans activities and outings which are based upon the current interests of the children attending and wants to improve the way she plans

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the early years provision

and observes children's individual development. The childminder uses the Children's Centre, childminder groups and appropriate community events to ensure that children have a rich, varied experience and know their locality well. She plans to acquire suitable clothing to enable children to go out on foot in all weathers.

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and outcomes for children

Each of the children attending make good progress from their starting points, they enjoy outstanding opportunities to have a healthy lifestyle and learn to take care of their own safety. The children choose water or milk for their drinks and enjoy varied nutritious meals and snacks, supplying their five a day. The childminder has the healthy eating award and does not feed children sweets or heat formula milk in the microwave. Children help to make simple snacks and meals, sit at the table together, learn to use please and thank you appropriately, and help to wash up. Children play in the garden each day, perhaps painting the fence with water or looking at the fish in the guarded pond. They regularly walk and go in the car to school, toddler groups, local parks, ponds and soft play centres. They are confident as safe pedestrians and car passengers, they take measured risks on climbing and balancing equipment. Pre-school children know that they must give the swings a

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and outcomes for children

wide berth when others are using them and they stay on the inside of the pavement away from the kerb when walking. They stay back from the water's edge and know a green cross code song to help them take proper care when crossing roads. They know to stay with adults they know, and not to talk to strangers. The children know how to treat the dog kindly and not to put their fingers in the parrot cage. They always wash their hands after handling the pets and do not go near hot drinks. They can confidently go upstairs to use the bathroom, holding the banister. The children are also developing social skills, confidence, physical skills and skills for the future throughout the day's routines.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder plans activities and uses her own skills to help children make good progress. For example, she models clear speech and provides stimulation and opportunities for a two-year-old to develop their speech and language as they draw, read stories and role play with the Chinese restaurant. The childminder provides praise, encouragement and choices, so that children feel confident and secure enough to say what they want and mean. The childminder is also focusing on stimulating a child's walking and mobility by providing push along toys, dolls buggies and holding the child's hand to provide support. Three-year-olds are proud of how well they can control the pencils to make lovely Chinese dragon pictures, they write their name on the picture and learn a new skill of using a sharpener. All children are enjoying a wealth of books and stories and love to sit with the childminder with books they have chosen. Pre-school children choose stories about

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and outcomes for children

their favourite characters, for example, learning some Spanish words with Dora the explorer. They concentrate and persist, working out how the trucks fit together with magnets, or playing with the small parts on the pirate ship toy. The childminder helps the children to complete their homework. The children feel secure enough to come to her when they feel unwell and tell her if they have had This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 difficulties with friendships at school.

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and outcomes for children

The children have good opportunities to be creative and active. They go to a singing and rhyme session each week and often listen and move to singing and dancing music at home. They enjoy lots of messy and role play, using water, bubbles, balls, jelly, paint and foam. They role play situations like library visits or going to the doctor or dentist, helping them to become accustomed and confident about these. They find out about the various customs and celebrations of different cultures, such as Chinese New Year or Halloween, having parties and making things associated with the event. For example, they scoop out the pumpkins to make a Halloween lantern, and make Tiger masks for the Chinese year of the Tiger. They delight in Christmas celebrations and preparations, making stockings for presents and cutting their bread into Christmas tree shapes. The children behave well, participate and are confident because the childminder includes them

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and outcomes for children

in all the activities and routines of the day, pitching her input to provide support yet promote independence as much as possible. She has made it easy for children to choose the toys and games they want because everything is organised and labelled. Time is given to tidy activities away to make space for their next choice. There is a good balance of indoor and outdoor activity, and a stimulating balance of home based and social experiences away from the home. 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 1 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 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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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