Childminder in Hampshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY403138 Inspection date 28/07/2010 Inspector Loraine Wardlaw

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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 assesses 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 2010. She lives with her husband and two children who are aged under eight years, in a house in a residential area of Winchester, Hampshire. Local schools, shops and parks are within walking distance. The whole of the property is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The registration is for a maximum of four children under eight years, of whom two may be in the early years group. Currently the childminder is caring for five early years children part-time. The family has a small dog and fish as pets. The childminder attends the local carer and toddler group on a regular basis. She 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 satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

All children are warmly welcomed into the home of the newly registered childminder, where their unique needs are suitably met. The childminder has a calm and positive approach when interacting with children. She organises an appropriate range of play activities both indoors and out to ensure children's progress towards the early learning goals. The childminder is knowledgeable about the six areas of learning but does not yet plan effectively the next steps in the children's learning across all of the age groups that she cares for. The childminder has started to evaluate her practice informally, by some self-reflection, but the system is not yet rigorous enough to accurately identify all areas for development, to secure good continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop a rigorous system of self-evaluation to identify the settings strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of provision for all children  develop the observational assessment system to ensure that 'what next' activities are consistently implemented particularly for the younger children attending  extend the organisation of activities by providing a rich and stimulating learning environment within safe but challenging indoor and outdoor spaces. 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 appropriately safeguarded because the suitably vetted childminder has a self-devised procedure in place which she would follow, should she be alerted to any concerns that a child is at risk of harm. She has a sound understanding of the signs and symptoms of a possible abuse. The childminder supervises children fairly closely and conducts risk assessments of her home and garden to ensure hazards are minimised. She organises her time and day to ensure that children's needs come first. Children are able to play with a suitable range of play resources. However, the play activities and resources both indoors and in the garden are not organised in a rich and stimulating way to enable effective progress towards all of the early learning goals. Children attend local groups, such as parent and toddler and rhyme time, which complement the learning that takes place in the childminder's home. Documentation is up to date and organised well. The

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the early years provision

childminder values and respects the different racial origins, religions, cultures and languages of our multi-ethnic society, and ensures each child is valued as a unique individual. She works with parents to support children learning English as an additional language by learning key words in their home language to help children settle and participate in play activities.

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the early years provision

The childminder builds up her knowledge of childminding issues by networking with other childminder's and adapting her practice. The childminder has started to evaluate some of her practice and identified a few areas for future improvement. For example, she wishes to gain formal feedback from parents and to improve the organisation of the day to successfully meet children's needs. The childminder is keen to access further childminder training. However, the current system for self- evaluation is not rigorous enough to identify all development areas, to raise the quality of the provision and to improve the outcomes for children. The childminder builds communicative relationships with parents who are happy with the service she offers them. Parents are positive about the provision and particularly like the fact that the childminder is flexible regarding their care arrangements. They have daily chats about children's day-to-day care and can view their children's learning

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the early years provision

journey which has photos and written evidence of their child's developmental achievements. However, because the childminder has not identified the next learning steps for all the children attending, this impacts on the quality of the partnership with parents. A good informative notice board is available to parents in the kitchen with lots of information on the childminding provision. The childminder liaises with other providers who also care for the children and is fully aware of the need to work together with them on children's learning and development matters.

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and outcomes for children

Children are settled and content in the home from home environment. They happily choose play resources and receive sympathetic and encouraging support from the childminder who is on hand to talk and interact with the children during their play. Children receive particularly good support and guidance when learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 to share, because the childminder is consistent and clear about taking turns, being friendly and thinking of one another. For example, three-year-old children happily engage in role play; they put the cookies onto the baking tray, put them in the oven and switch the timer on. When one child has both the oven gloves on the childminder explains there are two so they can have one each if they share. This promotes children's social skills as well as their problem solving reasoning and numeracy skills. The childminder is in tune with older children's learning and

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and outcomes for children

development but is not as confident about the younger children's capabilities and next learning steps. She is still learning about the Early Years Foundation Stage developmental steps and, so consequently, the system of observing, assessing and planning for all the children's educational needs is not yet successful. Younger children are happily involved in play activities, such as exploring the sand in the garden and the musical instruments indoors; they demonstrate they are making sound progress in their learning. The childminder makes daily use of the garden; she keeps the door open so children can choose where they wish to play. There is a suitable choice on offer inside and out which includes wheeled toys and a slide. There are occasions when three-year-old children are playing outside, but within her view, whilst she is carrying out her hygienic nappy changing routine inside. The childminder is still in the process of identifying the most effective way to

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and outcomes for children

organise her routines in order to ensure that she successfully meets the safeguarding and learning needs of the children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles. They are beginning to learn good personal hygiene routines by the clear guidance from the childminder. Children wash their hands, when prompted by the childminder, after using the toilet and use paper towels to prevent cross infection. Children's nutritional needs are suitably met; they enjoy healthy snacks of fruit and a drink mid-morning and the childminder ensures she is fully aware of those children with specific dietary requirements. Three-year-old children use the toilet independently and understand the reasons why they take medication. The childminder encourages children to value and respect others through talking about their differences; dietary and linguistic. Children play with a suitable range of multi-cultural toys which raises their awareness of diversity. The childminder is teaching children about safety matters. For example, the childminder talks about the rule of the sand pit and asks

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and outcomes for children

the children, ' Why don't we throw it?...because it might go in our eyes'. Children carry out the fire evacuation procedure with the childminder. When the childminder observes that children are anxious about the procedure she follows it up with a Fireman Sam video to allay their fears and to initiate further discussion. Children are fairly well-behaved and are learning about the boundaries of acceptable behaviour by the clear and understanding guidance given to them by the childminder. 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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Early Years Foundation Stage

The effectiveness of leadership and management in embedding ambition and driving improvement The effectiveness with which the setting deploys resources 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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