Childminder in York

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY402394 Inspection date 30/04/2010 Inspector Rosemary Beyer

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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 December 2009. She lives with her family in a three storey semi-detached house in the village of Strensall, near York. The childminder is included on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She may care for a maximum of five children, two of whom may be in the early years age group. Currently, five children are minded, four of whom are in the early years age group. The childminder also works with an assistant.

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Description of the childminding

The home is within walking distance of the school, pre-schools, the library and local parks. Children have use of the ground floor of the house, including the sitting room, playroom and kitchen. There is also one bedroom on the first floor which can be used for overnight care. There is a secure rear garden. The family has a dog as a pet. The childminder uses her car for transporting children. 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The childminder has a good knowledge of the children, which enables her to meet their individual welfare and learning needs successfully. Children are safe and secure at all times and enjoy learning about the local area and the wider world around them. Partnerships with parents, school, nursery and pre-schools are good, ensuring children's needs are met and they receive any additional support they need. However, no contact details are available for other agencies. The children are making good progress given their ages, starting points and abilities. The childminder has started to use the online self-evaluation process, but has not yet included the views of parents and children. She has identified aspects of her care for future improvement, including her own professional development through ongoing training.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the self-evaluation process to include the views of parents and children, ensuring the setting is responsive to all its service users  develop relationships with other agencies and organisations to ensure children's individual needs can be met.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides a comfortable, welcoming environment where children can develop their interests through a varied range of resources and planned This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 activities. She has started to produce individual files for the children to illustrate their progress, with observations, pieces of work and photographs. The files include initial information from parents about children's development at home, their interests and their welfare needs.

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the early years provision

Comprehensive policies and procedures, and parental permission forms ensure the childminder's provision is safely and efficiently managed and the children's individual needs can be met. Parents are made aware of the planned activities for the week. They receive information about the childminder's responsibility for child protection and the complaints procedure. Relationships with parents are good and they ensure the childminder is kept informed of any changes so she can meet the children's individual needs. She has also developed good partnerships with the school and pre-school, but does not have information available to enable her to obtain additional support for children from other agencies if they need it.

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the early years provision

Risk assessments are in place for all aspects of the care provided, including outings into the community and use of the car. These are regularly reviewed. Daily checks are completed before children arrive and the childminder ensures they are well supervised to prevent accidents. The children learn to look after themselves by the implementation of good hygiene and road safety practice and the safe usage of toys.

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the early years provision

All children are welcome in the setting, and the childminder ensures any special requirements are highlighted when children start to attend, such as toilet training, allergies and health problems. She keeps medication and accident records and has written permission from parents to seek medical help in an emergency. The childminder works with an assistant to ensure the children are well supervised and their needs can be met. They are both on the premises when babies are present to ensure they have the attention they need.

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the early years provision

The childminder has started to use the online self-evaluation process, but has not yet included parents' or children's views. However, she has highlighted the resources she wishes to obtain and future training to promote her own professional development. She has undertaken child protection and first aid training and has applied to complete the level 3 childcare course she has already started. The parents have completed questionnaires recently and express great satisfaction with the care the childminder provides.

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and outcomes for children

The children are comfortable and settled. Babies go to sleep happily for the most part and wake up cheerful, keen to play and try new things. The childminder uses the observations she makes, linked to the areas of learning, to develop the activities she provides, such as attaching ribbons to the baby gym to provide more interest and using recipe books for the older children when they bake. Children's progress is assessed and the next steps identified to ensure they are interested and learning through play. All children have access to toys and activities appropriate for their ages and stages of development, most of which they can This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 select for themselves. Older children ask to do things such as baking, craft activities and walks into the community. They particularly like visiting the common where they can see the new lambs and different flowers. During a recent walk

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and outcomes for children

they discussed how shadows are formed and what happens when you go behind a tree. They also wanted to know why some flowers disappear quickly, such as snowdrops, while daffodils seem to last longer.

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and outcomes for children

Plans are in place to use activities and resources to raise children's awareness of diversity and disability. There are books, dolls and dressing up clothes already available. The celebration of festivals is also part of the planning, with cooking and craft activities such as the Easter nests and rabbit masks. Photographs of the children are displayed, showing them baking cakes and wearing their masks. Other photographs show the children on visits to the local farm where they saw pigs, sheep and horses. They have enjoyed a wide range of activities planned to promote their understanding of the world, develop their social skills and make them enthusiastic learners. The children are becoming confident and independent and are developing good communication skills.

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and outcomes for children

A clear behaviour policy is in place and the childminder has attended training on positive management. The children are considerate of each other and take care not to walk on babies or hurt them. They give them things to play with to provide variety if they think they are bored. The children are polite, well-mannered and use good table manners at mealtimes, which are pleasant social occasions.

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and outcomes for children

The children are developing a good awareness of how to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Although most of the food children eat is provided by parents, the childminder encourages them to have healthy snacks, with fruit a prominent feature. Drinks are readily available for them to help themselves. The children have fresh air each day, either when going to school or nursery or when playing in the garden or the park. They learn about good hygiene practice and wash their hands after personal care and before food. Their individual paper towels go straight in the bin to prevent the spread of germs. 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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