Winterborne Whitechurch First School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 128782 Inspection date 08/03/2010 Inspector Jeannette Waring

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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 lives with her partner in a first floor two bedroom maisonette in a quiet residential area of Grove Park. The flat is located on the first floor and is accessed via a staircase and walkway, it is within walking distance of local shops, schools, parks and Grove Park station. Children use the living room and hallway as their play space. There is no private garden but the childminder makes good use of the communal grassed areas in fine weather. There are no pets.

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Description of the childminding

She has been a childminder since 1987 and is included on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare Register. She may care for a maximum of four children under the age of eight years at any one time, three of whom may be in the early years age group. Currently she provides care for four children, all of whom are in the early years age group. Some children attend on a part-time basis. Overnight care is not provided.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder attends a number of carer and toddler groups on a regular basis. She has NVQ3 qualification in child care and education and is a member of the Lewisham Childminding Network.

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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 safe, happy and settled in the childminder's care. The childminder is developing an observation and planning system to support children's learning and children are making generally good progress in their learning and development. Partnerships with parents are strong, this promotes good continuity of care and enables the childminder to meet children's individual needs. The childminder reviews her practice at meetings with her network co-ordinator and this helps her to identify what works well and to consider her training needs.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the observation and planning system to include assessment of children's progress, clearly linking any learning intentions to the early learning goals  review the risk assessment and ensure that all hazardous materials and sharp implements are safely stored and that the fire blanket is mounted on the wall so that it can be deployed effectively in an emergency  ensure that the system used to review and evaluate practice is robust enough to highlight all areas for improvement  ensure that effective partnerships are made with other settings attended by children, for example, nursery/reception class teacher, in order to ensure that children's learning and development is well supported. 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 safe and protected from harm because the childminder has a clear understanding of the local safeguarding procedures and understands her responsibility to keep children safe. Risk assessments are conducted regularly and the childminder has identified and minimised most hazards; good supervision of children within the home also helps to keep children safe. However, some knives and cleaning products are stored where they could be accessed by children and the fire blanket is not fixed to the wall so could not be used quickly in the event of an emergency.

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the early years provision

The childminder is very experienced and this helps her to recognise and meet each child's individual needs. She demonstrates a good understanding of each child's background and works with parents to ensure that she provides children with good continuity of care. Partnerships with parents are good and the childminder makes sure that parents have daily feedback about their child's day, either verbally or on a contact sheet if they prefer. Partnerships with other settings such as nursery/reception class teachers are less well established, although strong enough to ensure children's care needs are met, they do not yet extend to discussions about children's learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder keeps clear records, policies and procedures which help to ensure children's health and well-being is effectively promoted. As a member of Lewisham Childminding Network the childminder meets with her co-ordinator and uses this time to consider her practice. She is able to highlight what works well and to identify areas where she would like further training. However, she does not currently have a systematic approach to self-evaluation.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a good variety of activities across the six areas of learning, helping them make good progress towards the early learning goals and to develop appropriate skills for the future. The childminder has made a good start with recording observations of children at play, noting what they can do and what they enjoy. However, she is not yet linking these to the expectations of the early learning goals. The programme of planned activities and outings is interesting and stimulating and ensures that children enjoy their time with the childminder. Children benefit from visits to a number of toddler groups where they take part in a good range of activities including physical play sessions. They also enjoy outings to local parks and further a-field, for example, in the past year they have enjoyed trips on trains and visits to places such as Hasting and Eynsford.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy playing with the activities provided, they select resources from the range set out for them and know that they can ask for other things which are all stored within the living room where they play. Children enjoy playing with This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 construction and small world toys, such as mega blocks, cars and a garage, they select books from a rack and enjoy looking through them. Younger children enjoy playing with a range of toys and objects stored in a small toy box, emptying out the box and examining each object in turn. They all enjoyed playing with a large cardboard box, older children enjoyed drawing on the outside whilst the younger one preferred to crawl inside and peer out at the childminder. Children who speak English as an additional language are well supported by the childminder who has a sensitive understanding of their need for time to listen without speaking. She uses

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and outcomes for children

books, songs and puppets to good effect, for example she used a large Knick- Knack Paddy-Whack song book and puppet with pockets for each object in the song to introduce words and numbers. She shared a child's delight when the child picked the door from a pocket and held it out to her and repeated the word 'door'.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder provides children with a range of healthy meals and snacks, she ensures that she complies with all dietary restrictions and keeps parents informed about what children have eaten during the day. Children are encouraged to be active and enjoy visiting the local play park. In summer they enjoy playing in the communal areas outside the childminder's home where she provides a range of physical play equipment for them to use.

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and outcomes for children

Children feel safe, relaxed and comfortable in the childminder's welcoming home, they move freely around the lower floor and confidently help themselves to their drinks which are kept in the kitchen. They practise fire drills which helps them to learn about safety in the home and when out and about in the community the childminder teaches them about road safety. The childminder has simple rules and sets clear boundaries for children so that they know what is expected of them, she uses distraction to good effect with the youngest children and praises children when they behave well. As a result children are well behaved and sociable. 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 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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