Childminder in Bristol

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY399989 Inspection date 07/04/2010 Inspector Linda Janet Witts

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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 2009 and is a qualified teacher. She is also a registered home carer, working occasionally as a nanny and has a five year old son. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for up to five children aged under eight years when working alone, of whom three may be in the early years age group and one of these may be aged under one year, at any one time. The childminder works from the home of another childminder in the Westbury on Trym area of Bristol. When working together the childminders may care for up to eight children aged under eight years, six of whom may be in the early years age group, and two of these may be aged under one year, at any one time. The childminding provision is known as Playful Penguins and there are currently nine children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age

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Description of the childminding

Most childminding generally takes place within the ground floor playroom. There are kitchen and toilet facilities on the ground floor level and a designated sleep room is available upstairs. There is also an enclosed rear garden available for outdoor play. Local facilities include toddler groups and preschool groups, schools, play parks, zoo and shops.

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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 works successfully from the home of her co-childminder to deliver a welcoming service to children and their parents. She supports the children to whom she is key carer and also the other children who attend the setting to ensure that they are each valued, fully included and enjoy their time with her. She promotes the welfare and learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage well. The childminder has a strong partnership with the children's carers. She works with the host childminder to evaluate the effectiveness of the provision and identifies areas for improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the use of the garden so as to maximise the learning potential it offers  encourage parents to regularly add to their children's learning and development records 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 safeguards the wellbeing of the children who attend. She understands her role in child protection and is vigilant in her supervision to ensure children's safety. She helps to maintain a safe play environment and plays an active role in risk assessment. She is familiar with the policies and procedures developed by the host childminder and works to make sure that these are shared with parents. The childminder is key carer to babies and works effectively with their parents to ensure consistency of care. She implements home routines for feeds and sleeps and ensures that the babies' physical and emotional needs are met very well. Babies' comfort is assured because the childminder is quick to change nappies, as required and routinely and gently cleanses babies' hands and faces before and after meals.

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the early years provision

The children's play environment is warm and welcoming with accessible play resources and there are plans to improve the use of the garden, as currently it's use does not form an integral part of planning and there is only a limited range of outdoor play resources. The childminder plans stimulating activities and outings to places of interest enhance children's play and learning experiences. Within the setting the childminder has a good rapport with the older children who attend and supports her colleague in their care. Observations are made of the babies as they play and next steps for their learning and development are identified and used to inform future planning. The childminder fosters children's communication skills well and instinctively knows when to play an active role in the babies' play and when to let them explore and investigate freely. As a result of her sensitive care, the babies are settled, self assured and gain independence, developing skills for the future.

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the early years provision

The babies do not attend any other settings but the childminder is used to having some involvement with professionals in the care of other children who attend the setting. She routinely provides feedback to parents about how the children have been and regularly shares children's progress records with them. Forms used to provide a summary of children's development have prompts for parents to add comments but the childminder does not actively invite parents to do this. Parents provided feedback as part of this inspection and praise the childminder highly for the care their children receive.

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the early years provision

The childminder recognises the importance of self-evaluation and has used the Ofsted online self-evaluation tool to identify strengths and weaknesses in the provision. She is committed to ensuring ongoing improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Babies form close bonds with the childminder and develop confidence to try things for themselves knowing that the childminder is close by for reassurance and support as needed. They are happy and well supported in their care, learning and play. The babies explore and investigate the play environment, taking items from the low level storage containers and initiating their own play. For example, a baby This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 puts small resources into a stacking cup, removes them and tries to fit them inside other containers and a 'piggy bank' style sorter. They repeat the process gaining awareness of problem-solving. Outdoors they crawl around and seek out interesting objects in the flowerbeds and on the ground, such as pebbles. They are closely supervised by the childminder who reminds them not to put things in their mouths but does not inhibit their exploration. In this way the children learn from

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and outcomes for children

The babies are keen to watch the activity of the older children in the setting and enjoy the attention they receive from them. For example, together they explore the sounds that different musical instruments make and they copy the actions of the children to learn how to create the sounds for themselves. They like to explore paint and bubbles in water, enjoying the sensory experience. Craft activities are adapted to ensure that babies are included.

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and outcomes for children

Babies develop confident communication skills because the childminder models the use of oral language well and they also see sign language used. The childminder is responsive to the babies' babbles and talks through activities to aid babies' speech development. She also sings to them and plays a variety of music that the babies respond to as they play. Within the playroom babies see positive images of culture, ethnicity, gender and disability and they are regularly taken out into the local community to widen their knowledge and understanding of the world.

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and outcomes for children

Babies' demonstrate increasing confidence in their physical skills. They crawl around at speed, pull themselves to stand using furniture for support and excitedly take hold of the childminder's hands to practise their walking skills, smiling with delight at their achievements. They pat a helium inflated balloon around the room, watching its movement closely, then take hold of the string and pull it along as they crawl looking as it follows them. The babies learn to feed themselves with the childminder on hand to offer assistance and to ensure that they are fully nourished. They snuggle up with the childminder to enjoy bottle feeds and to look at books. When they are tired the childminder gives cuddles of reassurance and settles them to sleep in their allocated cots and then monitors them whilst they sleep to ensure safe and restful sleep. 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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