University of Derby

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 133811 Inspection date 10/09/2010 Inspector ISP Inspection

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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 registered in 1993 and lives with her husband, adult son and two teenage children in Cholsey, Oxfordshire. The ground floor of the premises is mainly used for minding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play. Family pets include a dog, cat and a rabbit.The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register and may care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time. The childminder is currently minding three children in the early years age group. The childminder is prepared to take and collect children from local pre-schools.

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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

Children feel settled, secure and clearly enjoy their time with the childminder, developing warm and caring relationships with her. All aspects of children's welfare and education are promoted in an inclusive manner. To support children's development there is a good range of age-appropriate play resources accessible to them, this helps promote their learning and provides stimulating challenges as they play and have fun. The childminder supports children's welfare and while some documentation requires updating, procedures to protect and maintain children's safety and care are thorough and effective. The childminder demonstrates a clear understanding of the importance of working together to meet the needs of the children as she builds constructive relationships with parents and others involved in the children's care. The childminder demonstrates commitment to improving the provision as she seeks to develop self-evaluation systems to identify where

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop systems for self-evaluation to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of the provision for children  review policies and procedures to ensure they fully reflect all aspects of the welfare requirements. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children feel secure and confident as the childminder organises the childminding day to provide access to a variety of play opportunities that include both adult-led and child-initiated activities. Children have easy access to toys and resources that are well-maintained and provide a variety of opportunities to reinforce and gain new skills. Routines allow children to have times for active and quiet times both indoors and outdoors according to their needs. The childminder operates a fully inclusive policy, values children's individuality and recognises their different needs. All adults in the home have appropriate checks and the childminder ensures children are never left with persons who have not been vetted. Children are safeguarded as the childminder regularly updates her training and demonstrates an excellent understanding of her role in protecting children. She has full contact details and procedures to follow if she has any concerns about a child in her care.

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the early years provision

All documentation relating to children's well-being is in place; this includes appropriate and parental permissions, accidents and medication documentation. However, while policies and procedures are in place they have not been reviewed to ensure they fully reflect the welfare requirements and provide parents with clear expectations of the childminder's practices. There are comprehensive risk assessments in place for the premises and for outings that clearly identify hazards and the steps taken to minimise risks to children. Ongoing visual safety checks are completed throughout the day.

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the early years provision

The childminder has built a good relationship with parents, sharing all the information about the children on a daily basis both verbally and through communication books to which parents are invited to add their comments. Parents give positive feedback about the childminder's care stating that the childminder provides 'a loving and nurturing environment'. The childminder has a good understanding of the early learning goals and keeps development records that include observations and assessments of the children's progress; these are used to help her identify children's next steps and individual plans for each child outline activities that will help move their learning forward. The childminder is pro-active in communicating with others involved in the children's care and learning, for example, pre-school staff. This helps ensure coherence and continuity in children's learning. The childminder's self-evaluation process is in the early stages; however,

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the early years provision

she recognises that developing how she monitors her provision will enable her to clearly see areas where improvements can be made to enhance the care of the children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very confident and clearly enjoy the time spent in the childminder's This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 care. They are at ease with her and her family and are busy and curious, investigating and exploring the range of play resources available to them. Resources and activities are well thought-out and provide a good balance of adult- led and child-initiated opportunities to help children progress their learning. For example, children help care for vegetables on the family allotment and are involved in preparing the produce for a meal as they cut up vegetables for a pizza. The childminder praises children for their achievements to help build self-esteem and adopts a positive approach to behaviour management. Children respond well to requests from the childminder, for example, they help tidy away toys and set out their drinks and bowls ready for snack. Children are given choices about what

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and outcomes for children

they would like to eat, helping them to become aware of taking care of themselves and healthy eating. They follow excellent hygiene practices and know the appropriate times for hand washing, before preparing food for example, in order to prevent the spread of germs. All dietary requirements are discussed with parents and children access drinks as they wish. Children have ample opportunities for fresh air and exercise as they move around safely with very good precautions in place to keep them safe both indoors and outdoors. This ensures children can move around freely following their own interests. The garden provides opportunities for children to explore as they have areas where they can run, kick footballs and push or ride wheeled toys, negotiating a path of their choice. Children begin to learn to keep themselves safe as the childminder reminds them with age-appropriate explanations of the possible consequences of their actions,

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and outcomes for children

for example, tidying the toys away so that nobody trips over them. Children's language and communication skills develop as the childminder asks open-ended questions to encourage thinking and language skills. Books are available throughout the home and children may select them as they wish. There are opportunities for mark making as children have access to crayons, pencils and paper at the child-sized table in the lounge. Children choose what they wish to play with and have arts and craft materials such as glue sticking when they wish. This enables them to initiate their own learning and develop their creativity following that own interests.

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and outcomes for children

To help children develop a self-esteem and a sense of belonging the childminder is aware of children's different circumstances, family context and their home life; she is sensitive to their needs and values and respects their individuality. The childminder promotes equality and diversity as she encourages all children to participate in activities, provides positive images through resources and celebrates festivals and events that are important to the children. Children become aware of the area in which they live as they go into the local community, for example, to the river to feed the ducks and to the allotment. Children begin to socialise as they play with other minded children in the childminder's home and at the pre-schools they attend. The childminder helps children begin to problem solve as they access age-appropriate construction toys, for example, building towers balancing blocks on top of each other and sing a song that uses expressions such as 'high, higher

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and outcomes for children

up to the sky' to help extend children's vocabulary and understanding. Together the childminder and children count in everyday events, for example, counting out how many blueberries they will each have at snack time. Children have access to role play resources and use these to explore situations both real and imaginary. For example, children make a train, find a train driver, put animals on the carriages and a person on the station and then begin to talk about traveling on Thomas the This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 steam engine, an event they have experienced for real..

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is fully aware that children learn through play, she is an experienced childminder who is competent in her knowledge of the early eearning goals, keeps up-to-date through meetings with other childminders and regularly attends training with the local authority. This ensures she has a good understanding of how best to maintain her practices to help children make good progress in their development. 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 2 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 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 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 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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