Sim, Maureen Carol

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY340244 Inspection date 19/07/2010 Inspector Jan Leo

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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 registered in 2006. She lives with her husband and three children aged two, five and seven years, in the Blackbird Leys area of Oxford. The ground floor of the premises is used for minding, with a bedroom on the first floor available for sleeps and for older children's play. There is a secure rear garden for outdoor activities.

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Description of the childminding

The property is located at the end of a small cul-de-sac on a residential estate. It is an easy access property with driveway parking and no steps at the front door.

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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 three children under the age of eight years at any one time, of whom two may be in the early years age group. The childminder currently cares for two children in the early years age group on a full and part time basis, and a further four older children during out of school hours.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder does not drive but she is prepared to walk to local schools and pre-schools to take and collect children.

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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 creates a calm, caring environment where children thrive. Health and safety procedures are very effective to preserve children's well-being and the children are valued for their individuality. The children learn through play as the day evolves and behaviour is good. The childminder develops strong links with parents and carers and welcomes advice from other childcare professionals, although she does not always follow the action she feels is right for her setting. She has a very secure understanding of how children learn and how to develop her service in order to maintain continuous improvement. She attends ongoing training to continue her own development and most of her documentation is very effective in supporting this professional service.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop short term planning to ensure children work towards specific aims to maximise progress  review records, policies and procedures to ensure they reflect and support the good practice followed at the provision. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder has a very good understanding of child protection issues and how to safeguard the children in her care. She issues parents with local referral information in case they have concerns and seeks out relevant training in order to stay up to date with safeguarding matters. The childminder supervises children closely and conducts effective risk assessments for all aspects of the day to prevent injury. She teaches children to play fairly and use resources sensibly but does not routinely give reasons to help them understand the consequences of their actions from an early age. Nevertheless, the children play exceptionally well together for their young age and show interest in and consideration for their peers.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes equality and diversity well, providing each child with the support they need and valuing their cultural differences to ensure they feel welcome. She makes all resources easily accessible to enable children to follow their own interests at will. She joins in with children's play to bring in related topics and extend development at a rate to suit each child. However, the childminder does not plan specific aims to work towards, to maximise the value of the activities in each area of learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder values training highly and regularly seeks out relevant courses to develop her skills further and help drive improvement. She welcomes ideas from parents and childcare professionals but is not always discerning in the advice she follows. As a result, some policies and procedures do not reflect best practice and support what she feels is right. For example, she records children's progress every few months as advised rather then more frequently as she feels is preferable and more valuable. Good two way communication exists to keep parents involved in their children's development. In addition, the childminder continues to make links with the local pre-school to be ready to ease the transition and share information with future carers to consolidate children's learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

The children benefit from a very relaxed environment which is conducive to learning. They have access to an appropriate and stimulating range of resources and use them confidently to prepare lunch for dolly, for example, and build a tower using Lego. The childminder sits on the floor to join in play, chatting to children about what they do and introducing new words to develop their language skills. The children repeat much of what the childminder says to show their understanding and practice pronunciation. The children consistently receive praise for their achievements to boost their self-esteem and, as a result, they feel fully included and valued.

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and outcomes for children

The children freely select favourite books to look at and affectionately climb onto the childminder’s lap to share the story, confidently linking with adults and successfully organising their own play. The childminder talks to the children This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 continuously to help them make sense of what they see, explaining for example what the workmen are doing outside and discussing the similarities in pictures of a zebra and a horse to develop their knowledge of the wider world.

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and outcomes for children

The children automatically include numbers in their day, saying, for example 'one, two' as the childminder fixes the sticky strips in place when changing a nappy. The childminder develops number work with older and more able children to encourage counting into double figures. The children welcome her close attention and enjoy the increased challenges, becoming confident and enthusiastic learners.

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and outcomes for children

The children play with pizza cutters and create models using Lego to develop their use of tools and creative talent. They move around well, showing control over their movements and carefully avoid others. They confidently act out scenarios from previous experiences and play sociably together throughout the day. The childminder provides a range of suitable resources to help children develop skills for the future and she teaches road safety and etiquette to instil good habits from an early age.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has a very secure understanding of how children learn and she instinctively knows how to develop ideas to encourage progress. She completes formal observations and has effective monitoring systems to track children's interests and look for gaps in learning. The childminder creates long and medium term plans but lets daily activities evolve without specific purpose. Whilst children make good progress, systems to ensure consistency are undeveloped. 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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