McFarlane, Lecia Julian

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY398463 Inspection date 21/04/2010 Inspector Denys Rasmussen

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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 has been registered since 2009. She lives with her partner and two children aged 15 and three years in a house in Thornton Heath, London borough of Croydon. The whole of the home is used for childminding in which there is also a room and decking area set out as playrooms. There is a fully enclosed garden area for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to provide care for a maximum of five children. There are currently two children in the early years age range on roll. The childminder is registered on the following registers: Early years, compulsory and voluntary Childcare Registers. The childminding service is closed for the last week in December, the first week in January, a week at Easter and two weeks during August.

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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's good knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage ensures children's learning, development and welfare are successfully promoted. The environment is very well organised in a child orientated manner conducive to learning, and has an abundance of high quality equipment and play resources both indoors and outside which are freely available to the children. Children are well safeguarded and are able to play in a safe, secure and stimulating environment because of the childminder's effective procedures, excellent play resources, and professional approach. The childminder has started to identify some aspects of her provision that she would like to develop further and her commitment to ongoing training and listening to the views of parents provide a sound basis for her capacity to maintain continuous improvement. Children make good progress in their learning and development in relation to their starting points because the

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

childminder recognises their uniqueness and provides a tailored learning environment to meet their individual needs.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve imagery with regard to diversity by including positive images of disabled people.  develop self-evaluation systems to collate all the information into a working document for example by adding feedback from the Local Authority. 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 able to play safely because of the childminder's robust risk assessment procedures both indoors and outside. The childminder practices fire evacuation so that children learn how to leave the premises quickly and safely. She protects children by ensuring her vetting systems are effective and demonstrated this by notifying Ofsted of any future assistants or person aged over 16 living in the household. The childminder has attended safeguarding training which has ensured she understands her responsibility and legal duties with regards to child protection issues. The childminder is beginning to recognise her strengths and weaknesses and adapts and improves her practice after discussion with the children's parents. The childminder has identified that she wants to develop her self-evaluation systems into a working document; she does not as yet collate all feedback she gains about her service, this includes feedback from the Local

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the early years provision

Authority. She has attended all the mandatory training and is keen to improve her knowledge to keep herself up-to-date.

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the early years provision

The childminder is fostering good relationships with the parents and respects their wishes in the care of their child. Parents are given daily feedback about their child both verbally and written. This is collated into an 'all about me' book which comments on the activities the children participated in, what they ate, their toileting and any other relevant information. The parents are encouraged to take this home and add their own comments. This helps promote continuous dialogue to ensure consistency of care. The childminder invited the parents to a parent evening to discuss their child's progress and any concerns they might have. There is a wealth of interesting information for parents, displayed in the hall and on the parents notice board. This also displays information about the childminder's service, her planning, exclusion periods for infectious diseases along with her registration certificate and qualifications. The childminder is aware of the need to

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the early years provision

build effective partnerships with other providers if children attend other settings and is more than willing to liaise with other professionals should the need arise.

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the early years provision

The childminder's home and garden is conducive to learning, well organised with good quality age appropriate play resources which cover all areas of learning. The childminder ensures there is no gender stereotyping of toys and activities and that children are encouraged and feel confident to play with all the equipment and engage in all the activities offered. The playroom is exceptionally attractively presented with displays of children's work, posters and photographs of the children engaged in activities. There is an abundance of positive imagery within the environment with the exception of people with disabilities.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder uses observations of the children to inform her planning. She notes the next steps in the children's learning through observations of their development and their interests. For example, she noticed a child was intrigued This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 with a new light she had installed so she extended this interest by organising a trip to a light shop, discussed the different types of lighting and plan to go to the library to borrow books to continue the interest. Photographs are also used to show parents children's achievements and as a discussion tool with the children. The childminder is skilled in preventing conflict because she understands the children's individual personalities and helps them to play harmoniously together by being a positive role model. She spends a lot of time playing with the children and encouraging them to play.

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and outcomes for children

Close relationships are evident; children approach the childminder for cuddles and their self-esteem and confidence are developing in response to her praise and encouragement. She supervises the children closely and intuitively attends to their needs both physically and emotionally, ensuring they feel safe and secure. The childminder helps the children to be aware of their own safety when practicing road safety and fire evacuation drills. The children are familiar with simple hygiene routines such as washing their hands before eating and their independence is encouraged by being involved in daily routines such as laying the table for dinner and pouring themselves a drink. Meal times are relaxed with healthy and nutritious meals offered to encourage healthy lifestyles.

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and outcomes for children

Children are regularly taken to local groups to support their social skills and there is a good variety of equipment to encourage physical development and to ensure the children have plenty of exercise. For example, the bouncy castle and trampoline in the childminder's garden and the regular visits to the local park. The childminder spends a great deal of time talking to the children and encouraging language through circle time, reading and singing. Visually there are labels that help children to recognise letter shapes and words and there are materials available to encourage children to draw, paint and experiment with mark making. The children experiment with materials and enjoyed waving material around in the garden in time with the music.

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and outcomes for children

They learn about cultural traditions and festivals, for example during Chinese New Year they visited a Chinese shop, looked at Chinese writing and had Chinese food for their tea. The children are encouraged to count through everyday routine, sing number songs and experiment with volume and capacity in the sand and water trays. The children enjoy a variety of activities with a wide range of different materials to explore with. They enjoy messy and water play. During water play different objects are placed in the water so they can feel the textures and sometimes ice is added to the water to feel the sensation of the temperature changing in the water. Equipment is presented to allow choice and the children are 'at home' and relaxed in the childminder's home accessing play resources confidently. 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 1 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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