Childminder in Leeds

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 319852 Inspection date 12/04/2010 Inspector Linda Filewood

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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 1992 and occasionally works with an assistant. She lives with her family in Cookridge, a suburb of Leeds, close to shops, parks, schools and public transport links. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder’s home is used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden to the rear of the property for outdoor play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range when working alone. When working with her assistant, she is registered to care for a maximum of eight children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than four may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding five children in this age group. She also offers care to children aged over five to 11 years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on both parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects children from the local school and attends several toddler groups on a regular basis. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and is currently in receipt of funding for early education for three- and four-year-olds. The childminder supports children who speak English as an additional language.

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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 a welcoming environment for all children and places significant emphasis on recognising the individuality of each child. Her excellent range of equipment offers children rich and varied play opportunities which positively enhance their learning and development. The childminder plans outings meticulously to ensure the children's safety and security at all times. Partnerships with parents and other carers are excellent and actively contribute to providing continuity in the children's care and development. The childminder uses robust systems to evaluate the effectiveness of her provision. She shows an outstanding commitment to ongoing training to benefit the children in her care and to support her own professional development.

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further?

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

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further?

 continuing to use self-evaluation and quality improvement processes as the basis of ongoing internal review, in order to assess what the provision offers against robust and challenging quality criteria. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The children are exceptionally well cared for in a warm, secure and safe environment. The childminder has instigated many safety precautions within the home to help keep children safe. She continually monitors the environment to ensure that any potential risks to children are minimised. The children independently access an extensive range of safe and suitable equipment; these are clean and in very good repair. The childminder has a robust understanding of her role in safeguarding the children's welfare. She updates her understanding of child protection issues regularly and her comprehensive child protection policy fully supports her practice. All household members are cleared to work with children, and her daughter, who occasionally acts as her assistant, has a first aid qualification and is fully aware of the childminder's policies and procedures. This ensures that the children receive excellent, consistent care at all times.

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the early years provision

The childminder skilfully organises her space and resources to maximise each child’s learning potential. The children are secure in a well-structured day that follows their individual routines. The childminder actively participates in the 'Every Child a Talker' (ECaT) programme, which is a national strategy project to support each child’s language skills through play. She has a positive attitude to supporting children with English as an additional language and learns about their culture and home language from the parents. For example, the childminder makes excellent resources, with the help of the parents, showing their differing languages to support her and the children. The children have a strong sense of belonging in the setting as their parents are also involved in it. The childminder knows each child extremely well and this ensures that she can act with good early interventions and prompt referrals to parents if needed. There are established relationships with

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the early years provision

other providers and the childminder communicates exceptionally well with them; they work very closely together for the benefit of the children, so there can be continuity in their learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder takes excellent professional responsibility for constantly improving the quality of her practice. Consequently, she is able to instigate purposeful change that enables the children to progress very well; for example, the children now have enhanced opportunities to learn about technology by using new, child- friendly camcorders and recording microphones. These allow the children to record their activities while on outings, and they continue to enjoy the pleasure of the activity on the computer on their return. The parents, who are extremely complimentary about the care their children receive, complete written questionnaires about the quality of the provision. The childminder uses their comments to support the development of the setting. She continually looks at ways to maintain and develop her high quality practice in the future by, for example, seeking new information, training opportunities and taking very active

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the early years provision

roles on a number of network groups. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The children thoroughly enjoy, and engage extremely well in, an excellent variety of fun and interesting activities, both indoors and outdoors, which reflect their interests. The children have plenty of space to play and choose toys and activities independently. This significantly enhances the children’s confidence and self- motivation. They participate very well in creative activities and make confident decisions about how their picture should look. Young children use their fine motor skills exceptionally well when peeling stickers off their backing to add to their picture. They engage well in mark-making activities and share the resources amicably. The children relate well to songs and happily join in with rhymes, acting out songs such as 'Twinkle, Twinkle' and often confidently singing on their own. The childminder is highly skilled in encouraging early language development by extending the children's vocabulary and helping them build sentences. As a result,

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and outcomes for children

the children, including those with English as an additional language, are confident and skilled communicators before they start school.

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and outcomes for children

All children are making excellent developmental progress as they take part in the varied range of high-quality activities during their time with the childminder. By skilfully adapting games so that they are suitable for all age ranges, the childminder improves their concentration skills and they learn to play by the rules. The childminder and her assistant offer excellent support and encouragement to younger children to enable them to fully enjoy the activities on offer. The children are extremely confident and self-assured in their relationships and there is continuous positive interaction between them. Young children boldly initiate games of 'peek-a-boo' with visitors and giggle throughout the game. They are developing a good understanding of shape, number and mathematical problems during play; for example, young children are able to recognise the shapes by using an inset jigsaw and, through repetition, children with an additional language learn to name

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and outcomes for children

the shape. The children play with very good quality resources that encourage them to be physically active both inside the setting and in the secure garden. For example, young children delight in pushing coloured plastic balls in front of them as they walk in a ball pool indoors, and show exceptional skill when throwing balls back into the pool.

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and outcomes for children

Systems for gathering key information from parents are particularly effective. They establish what children know and can do, their likes and dislikes, daily routines and things important to them at home. Parents receive regular newsletters that contain information on, for instance, how to make play dough so that they can continue activities at home. The childminder closely monitors the children's progress and tracks it against the early learning goals. This robustly supports her in ensuring each child is making steady progress across the six areas of learning. Each child's learning and development record clearly shows comprehensive observations of their play. The childminder demonstrates a clear understanding of how each child learns by recognising their uniqueness. This ensures she provides activities, suited to their learning styles, that significantly enhance each child's continual progress.

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and outcomes for children

The children enjoy an exceptional variety of outings that help them gain an This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 understanding of the wider world. They learn to keep themselves safe when travelling on trains and buses with the childminder; they know to wait until the bus stops before getting up from their seat, and to stand behind the line on the platform at the railway station when waiting for the train. At home, they receive consistent clear explanations about keeping themselves safe and healthy. The childminder warns them about walking carefully with toys in their hands and they know to sit down when they are eating or drinking. She provides very healthy, nutritious meals and young children independently and confidently feed themselves using appropriate cutlery. They enjoy helping to prepare the meals, especially when they grow their own vegetables. Regular routines for brushing teeth after

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and outcomes for children

meals fully support the children's clear understanding of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 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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