Molloy Lynda Kathleen

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 222015 Inspection date 18/02/2010 Inspector Emma Bright

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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 1984 and co-minds with another registered childminder. She lives with her husband in a village near to Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. All areas of the childminder’s house are 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 six children at any one time, of these no more than three may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding four children in this age group. When working with the co- minder they may care for a maximum of seven children at any one time. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder walks to local schools to take and collect children and attends the local parent and toddler group. The family has one cat and four rabbits. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The childminder provides an outstanding, quality provision for children, they enjoy an exceptional range of activities and challenging experiences which helps them to make excellent progress in their learning and development. The childminder is highly effective at promoting inclusive practice, she recognises and values the uniqueness of each child and ensures their individual needs are met through exceptionally good communication with parents. Resources are extremely well deployed to ensure children’s safety and enable them to become very active learners. The childminder has an exceptional capacity to maintain continuous improvement, ensuring she regularly updates her knowledge and skills. She is dedicated to improving her service for children and families.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing further the use of information gathered about children's learning to show more clearly their progress towards the Early Learning Goals.

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the early years provision

The childminder is exceptionally well organised, clear documentation and detailed record keeping promotes the safety and welfare of the children and underpins the high quality care offered. Thorough safeguarding policies and procedures are in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 place to ensure that children are fully protected. The childminder has an excellent understanding of her role in safeguarding children and is very clear about the procedures to put into practice when necessary. This knowledge has been gained as over time she has regularly attended training to ensure her knowledge is up to date which means children are extremely well protected. Risk assessments are clear and detailed to ensure that hazards are identified and minimised. Rigorous daily checks further improve children’s safety. The childminder carefully supervises children as they play, making sure her home is secure so that children cannot

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the early years provision

The organisation of space and play resources is highly effective. The childminder and her co-minder work extremely well together to ensure that children thrive within the childminding setting. The childminder has a deep understanding of children's individual abilities and this enables her to provide stimulating play experiences and activities to support each child's development. The childminder has an excellent knowledge and understanding of child development and is very well qualified. Regular self evaluation by the childminder in conjunction with her co-childminder ensures that any priorities for future development are promptly identified and acted on. They take parents and children’s views into consideration, resulting in a service that is responsive to the needs of all of its users. For example, parents’ suggestions led to the introduction of open days so that all parents can experience what care their child receives and this further promotes

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the early years provision

The childminder is sensitive to children's individual personalities when settling them in her home, ensuring that they are happy and feel secure to be left in her care. She places very high value on the importance of working with parents and gathers excellent information about children’s individual and changing needs. This enables her to take each child's uniqueness into account when planning activities and providing care. In addition, the childminder sends texts during the day so parents can be reassured about their child. Very positive written feedback demonstrates parents very high regard for the childminder and the service she offers. Clear written policies and procedures are professionally presented to share with parents so that they know about the childminding provision. Parents are very well informed about all aspects of their child’s achievement, wellbeing and development. A summary of children’s progress as well as ongoing interaction with

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the early years provision

parents and other providers ensures that continuity of care and education is very well maintained.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has a deep understanding of how young children learn and this enables her to provide challenging and stimulating experiences and activities to support each child's learning and development. She takes children's interests and stage of development into careful consideration when planning activities to ensure all areas of learning are effectively promoted. The childminder records each child’s achievements through a balance of photographs, examples of work and observations. This demonstrates that children are making outstanding progress in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their learning and development. However, this information is not always used to clearly identify the next steps in each child’s learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from the childminder's very proactive approach to inclusion and celebrating the diverse society in which they live. For example, they learn about Chinese culture and gain an understanding about the celebrations for Chinese New Year. She values linguistic diversity which means that children confidently communicate in their home language as well as having access to dual language books. The childminder has good strategies in place to care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children are clearly relaxed and comfortable in her nurturing care, they have formed strong bonds with the childminder and confidently express how they feel. Children have developed loving relationships with one another, they take turns during their activities and they play contentedly together.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has an excellent understanding of how children learn from active play and exploration. As a consequence she has set up her provision to offer a range of first hand experiences and opportunities to enable this. For example, children learn about the world around them by observing nature, they help to care for the birds in the garden and look at them through binoculars as they feed from the homemade fat balls. Children learn about where food comes from as they grow a range of vegetables in the garden which they make into soup. Children enjoy a wealth of creative activities such as drawing, making models such as their own binoculars from cardboard tubes using a range of resources to achieve this. They explore their imagination as they dress up in costumes and demonstrate their musical skills as they dance and move to music. Children’s artwork is displayed for others to admire and this helps children to feel a part of the childminding family,

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and outcomes for children

fostering a deep sense of belonging. Children develop their early literacy skills exceptionally well as they enjoy sharing books and listening to stories. Their continuing interest in books is further encouraged as they visit the local library and they take home books belonging to the childminder to share with their parents. These simple activities effectively lay the foundations to develop children’s future skills.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder encourages children to have a healthy attitude towards food because she ensures they have balanced and nutritious meals and snacks, as well as ensuring that all children have independent access to drinks. Children understand how good hygiene practices help them to stay healthy and they know that fruit and vegetables are good for them. The childminder helps children to learn how to keep safe, both in the home and on outings, they learn about how to cross the road safely and they know that they should not approach other dogs unless the childminder says it is safe to do so. Children’s behaviour is exceptionally good because the childminder sets clear boundaries and has high expectations for all children, gentle reminders and simple explanations help them to think and be responsible for what they do. The childminder ensures that children have lots of varied opportunities for physical exercise. They play with an excellent range of

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and outcomes for children

resources in the garden and regularly walk to local amenities, such as the country park, shops or schools. This means they benefit from plenty of exercise and fresh air. 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 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 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 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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