Sunnydown School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 125458 Inspection date 30/06/2010 Inspector Liz Margaret Caluori

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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

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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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 1990. She lives with her husband and one adult child in Paddock Wood, Kent. Childminding generally takes place on the ground floor although most areas of the house are available. The toilet facilities are on the first floor. There is also a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She may care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time, of whom three may be in the early years age group. She currently has eight children under eight years on roll. The childminder also cares for five children who are over eight years before and after school. All children attend on a part time basis.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder walks to local schools and nurseries to deliver and collect children. She attends the local toddler group and the Paddock Wood Childminders group. The family have a dog, two cats and a tank of fish. There is also a covered fish pond in the garden.

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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 relaxed and settled as they play and learn in the comfortable, child- centred environment. Their individual interests are well understood and effective systems for observing and monitoring their progress ensure that their individual interests and needs are well understood and respected. A high commitment to continual improvement and self-evaluation has begun to result in improved services for children and their families. Positive partnerships with parents, carers and other professionals support the childminder to provide care which is consistent and coordinated.

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further?

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

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further?

 review the written policies offered to parents and carers to ensure that these are all up-to-date and reflect current practices  consider offering greater encouragement for parents and carers to express their views of the provision to help to extend the self-evaluation process.

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the early years provision

Children are protected by the effective safety precautions the childminder has in place. Competent risk assessments are undertaken and children's individual abilities are considered in the planning of all activities and outings. The childminder This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 demonstrates a good understanding of her responsibilities in relation to child protection. She is confident in her ability to identify the potential signs and symptoms of abuse and has the contact numbers to enable her to make a referral if necessary.

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the early years provision

The childminder places a good level of focus on constantly evaluating and improving her service. She has attended a variety of training courses to help her to adapt her practices in order to reflect the introduction of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The self-evaluation process does not directly invite contributions from parents and carers. However, the childminder regularly makes time available to speak with them about their child and considers their comments when identifying areas for improvement. Parents and carers are also provided with a range of policy statements outlining the childminder’s practices and responsibilities. These are generally detailed and informative although some have yet to be updated to fully reflect the changes in practice.

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the early years provision

The childminder recognises the importance of working in partnership with other childcare professionals and health specialists. She has arrangements in place to share information and observations which will help all parties to assess and monitor children’s progress. Parents and carers are well informed of the progress that their child is making and work with the childminder to identify future developmental goals.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a range of resources and activities on offer which are aimed at helping the children to learn about diversity. In addition, she uses naturally occurring situations and discussions, generally instigated by the older children, to increase their awareness. A recent example involved a discussion between some of the older children about single sex marriages. The childminder supports these conversations to develop children’s understanding and encourage respect and tolerance. She has a very good understanding of the way in which to manage such situations to reflect the ages and levels of understanding of all children present.

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the early years provision

The childminder maintains a paediatric first aid certificate enabling her to treat children in case of a minor accident. Appropriate procedures are also in place to care for sick children and to administer medication.

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and outcomes for children

Children play and learn in a very comfortable, well maintained, home environment. They are very well supported to understand the importance of adopting healthy lifestyles. They regularly play outside in the fresh air and have lots of opportunities for physical exercise. Good focus is placed on helping children to develop their personal hygiene practices, for example pre-school children are very independent in their toileting and self-care. Children are provided with nutritious snacks and meals which reflect their likes and dislikes as well as any dietary restrictions. Drinks are constantly available for children to access independently.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy a very good range of opportunities and experiences covering all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 areas of their development. The childminder undertakes sensitive observations to enable her to provide activities which the children find interesting. She has recently adopted new systems to support her in recording children’s development and planning their next steps. This allows her to monitor the rate at which they are progressing in order to ensure that she is offering a good level of challenge.

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and outcomes for children

Children’s happiness is evident as they laugh and joke with childminder and confidently approach her for support and attention. They demonstrate a good knowledge of the boundaries within the home and are comfortable selecting the resources that they wish to play with. They enjoy very good opportunities to extend their problem solving and reasoning skills. For example, a young child playing with a wooden train set concentrated extremely hard to construct a very complex track which ran under the legs of an arm chair and involved a large number of bridges and junctions.

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and outcomes for children

Children are beautifully behaved, friendly and very sociable. They engage in very charming conversations which help to extend vocabularies. In addition, they enjoy looking at books and listening to stories read by the childminder. Children also express themselves creatively through a range of activities such as role play and arts and crafts both in the childminder’s home and at groups. Whilst children have lots of time to engage in freely chosen play, there is also an appropriate amount of structure in the day. A range of adult guided activities are planned to increase children’s knowledge and understanding of the world. These include regular walks and outings to learn about their local environment and to appreciate nature.

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and outcomes for children

Children are becoming very independent in their learning as a result of the encouragement that they receive to explore and investigate for themselves. They also have very frequent opportunities to socialise with other children and are supported to learn to keep themselves safe, for example practising crossing the road. These skills combine to help ease their transition into school and prepare them for the future. 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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