Childminder in Suffolk

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY356757 Inspection date 17/06/2010 Inspector Sarah Johnson

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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 2007. She lives with her husband and two children aged eight and nine years in Ipswich, Suffolk. The whole of the childminder’s home, with the exception of the master bedroom on the first floor, is used for childminding. A secure enclosed garden is used for outdoor play activities. The family has a pet cat.

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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, no more than three of whom may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding six children in this age group, all of whom attend on a part time basis. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder walks to local pre-schools and schools to take and collect children. She attends local social groups with the children and takes them on regular outings in the local area. The childminder is currently working towards a relevant early years qualification.

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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 successfully meets the learning, development and welfare needs of the individual children in her care. She offers an inclusive environment where all children are supported to access resources and play opportunities that promote their development. Generally good regard is given to risk assessment, ensuring steps are taken to minimise most risks to children. The childminder fosters secure partnerships with parents and carers to ensure a wide range of information is exchanged to promote children's continuity of care. Systems for liaising with other early years practitioners and agencies are generally well established to support further continuity. There are good systems in place to ensure the childminder regularly evaluates the early years provision and continues to make improvements that benefit the children in her care.

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further?

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

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further?

 update the record of risk assessment to ensure it covers anything with which a child may come into contact, with particular reference to hazards in the garden  create further opportuntities to share relevant information with the other early years settings that children attend in order to promote continuity in each child's care, learning and development. 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 good understanding of her responsibility to ensure children are safeguarded from abuse and neglect. She has completed a relevant training course to update her knowledge of the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures and has used appropriate guidance literature to inform her clearly written safeguarding children policy. The childminder follows effective procedures to make sure that all adults in the home complete the required checks to confirm their suitability to be in regular contact with children. Children play in a safe environment because the childminder carries out daily risk assessments in the home. However, the garden is not risk assessed as vigorously as the indoor area and consequently, hazards here are occasionally overlooked. For example, the risk assessment does not fully minimise the potential for children to access a cracked panel from a stained glass window that is propped up against the fence in the

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the early years provision

garden. The childminder has established a set of written policies and procedures that clearly outline the ethos and routines of the provision. These are shared well with parents to help them to understand the childminder's duties and responsibilities and to support the smooth running of the provision. The deployment of toys and equipment is good. Resources are provided to support the differing developmental stages of the children and are organised in a way that enables all of them to make choices and access them independently.

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the early years provision

A clear commitment to promoting equality and diversity is evident in the setting, as the childminder values each child's cultural background and unique personalities. All children's individual needs are met well, through the effective partnerships formed with parents and carers. Parents are warmly welcomed into the home and are comfortable in sharing their knowledge of their children's needs. They value the meaningful comments the childminder records in their children's learning journey records and are keen to add their own comments about the progress their children make at home. The childminder promotes consistency in children's learning by forming partnerships with some of the other practitioners that care for children in other settings. For example, when collecting children from the local pre- school she takes time to initiate discussions about children's progress with their key person. However, the childminder has not established these links for all of the

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the early years provision

children in her care to ensure they all benefit from further continuity of care and learning. The childminder has demonstrated a good commitment to working with outside professionals to support children's progress in a joined up way, actively implementing their guidance to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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the early years provision

Since the last inspection the childminder has continued to review and adapt routines and practices in order to maintain the most effective systems to meet the individual needs of the children in her care. She is keen to make further improvements to the provision, taking time to reflect on her practice during discussions with an assessor as part of her early years qualification course. She values support from other experienced childminders, for example, she proactively seeks advice from another experienced childminder when reviewing the quality of her observation and assessment records. Both of the recommendations raised at This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the last inspection have been fully met to improve outcomes for children's health and safety.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder provides children with a good range of purposeful play opportunities to promote their progress across all areas of their learning and development. They are settled and content in the childminder's care, as they form secure bonds with her. Babies respond well to the childminder's attentive manner, giggling to express their enjoyment whilst she sings rhymes to them. They are intrigued by the events and actions that occur around them. For example, they gaze intently at things that catch their interest, such as, the childminder's cat. The childminder takes time to add meaning to the experience by bringing the cat closer for the baby to stroke and encouraging them to say 'meow, meow, meow'. Children enjoy the freedom to move around the home and to play both indoors and outdoors. For example, they are keen to go out into the garden shortly after they arrive, choosing to access the popular enclosed trampoline. The childminder

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and outcomes for children

happily accommodates their request and ensures that the baby can also be involved by holding them to bounce up and down on the trampoline. Children demonstrate a growing awareness of their own safety as they negotiate the step carefully and remember that they must wait for the childminder to help them to get down from the trampoline. The outdoor environment is also used as a tool for learning, as the childminder fosters children's interest in a feather they find during a trip to the beach. She encourages them to think imaginatively about where the feather may have come from and children conclude that it was washed ashore from the sea. Younger children who are learning English as an additional language are supported in their use of English through play and conversation and they have good opportunities to use their home language in the setting.

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and outcomes for children

Children remain interested and stimulated by the range of toys and resources that are provided. The childminder encourages children to use toys in a flexible way to ensure they continue to offer appropriate levels of challenge. For example, whilst an older children begins to learn how to thread the laces through holes in the small wooden animals, the childminder shows a baby how to tap them together to create a clapping sound. As a result, both children are engaged and able to learn new skills from the resources, albeit in very different ways. The childminder has recently introduced a wider range of sensory resources, such as, lavender bags and textured fabrics, to encourage children with a visual impairment to use their senses more widely. A good range of resources that are representative of diversity, such as, small world characters and books are provided, helping children to explore and question differences in gender, culture and disability. For example, children

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and outcomes for children

talk about their parent's experience of going to the Rio Carnival and discuss the different countries taking part in the football world cup.

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and outcomes for children

With the support of the childminder and well planned environment and play opportunities, the children access a varied curriculum. Ongoing observations and meaningful photographs are collated in a comprehensive learning journey record for each child. These detailed documents provide a meaningful insight into the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children's time spent at the setting, the activities they are involved in and their ongoing achievements. The childminder uses her observations to assess children's progress towards the early learning goals and to establish realistic future learning priorities for each child.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder promotes is a positive role model and uses positive behaviour management strategies, including as ongoing praise and encouragement. As a result, younger children are beginning to learn about sharing and taking turns in their play and are respectful of one another. For example, they kindly and thoughtfully offer other children a piece of their cheese roll and take time to check that the baby is still sleeping comfortably. Children feel secure and are able to eat, drink and sleep according to their individual needs. They benefit from free and independent access to their flasks of drink and packed lunches whenever they are hungry, so they are beginning to establish what their body needs. The childminder supplements the lunches that parents provide with a range of balanced and nutritious fresh fruit snacks, and has recently carried out a comprehensive review of different allergies and cultural dietary needs to ensure she can meet these

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and outcomes for children

confidently. 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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