Childminder in Croydon

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY338162 Inspection date 20/10/2010 Inspector Gillian Cubitt

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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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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 2006. She lives with her husband and two children of school age in Shirley, Croydon. The home is situated in a quiet residential area with facilities for parking outside the home. There are also public transport facilities nearby. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding and there is an enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for five children under eight years, three of whom can be in the early years age group. There are currently three children in the early years age group on roll.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is qualified with a National Vocational Qualification in Early Years Children's Care and Development, level 3. She is also a member of the Croydon Childminding Network and the National Childminding Association. The childminder takes children to local Children's centres and takes and collects from schools and nurseries.

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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 is well trained and experienced, and successfully promotes individual children's care and welfare. Her provision of play and learning activities is of a particularly high standard and children's progress and achievement is excellent. She presents a welcoming and stimulating play environment, with good access to resources and frequent outdoor play. She has also established close partnerships with parents and local care settings to support children's development and continued learning. The childminder makes effective use of self-evaluation and has a consistent approach to improvement and developing her practice.

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further?

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

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further?

 include in the safeguarding policy the procedure to take if there is an allegation made against a member of the household

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the early years provision

The childminder is an experienced and qualified provider and is confident in her ability to safeguard children. She effectively organises her practice to support This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 individual children's welfare and maintain safety and security. Her good knowledge of procedures to safeguard children is sound and her policy clearly underpins this. She is also confident on the procedure if there is an allegation against a household member but she has overlooked to record this in her written documents. The childminder takes a close interest in children's behaviour development and maintaining their well-being. She has several clear strengths within her practice, particularly with the presentation of projects and activities that successfully promote children's enjoying and achieving. The breadth of her planning, plus her ability to support the learning of children over a wide range, is an outstanding

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the early years provision

element of her practice. She also shows excellent teaching ability when interacting with the children and extending their learning skills.

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the early years provision

The childminder is sensitive to diversity and equalities, and has a strong awareness of the need to promote inclusion and give children a positive understanding of people's differences. This is partly achieved through the acknowledging the cultures of the children in her care and exploring their cultural festivals, such as Chinese New Year. Although the childminder is not currently caring for children with disabilities or educational needs her understanding is sound and has an enthusiasm to develop this area of her expertise.

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the early years provision

The childminder makes very good use of reflective practice within her provision. She consistently appraises her range of activities for their supportive value and takes care to plan and prepare the learning environment. She has a clear and consistent approach to self-evaluation and shows a confident approach to improvement. She has also successfully completed the Ofsted self-evaluation document, which she uses to support development and to guide her future practice.

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the early years provision

The childminder shows good awareness of the need to make partnerships with other settings and care providers. She has strong links to the local pre-school and has organised to meet with minded children's key workers to promote their continued learning. This relationship is fully supported with her outstanding working relationships with parents. Her gathering of information both on welfare and learning is extremely thorough. This, together with her consistency of contact with parents, is noted as an extremely well organised aspect of her practice.

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and outcomes for children

Children settle quickly and have fun with the excellent range of play and learning activities that are well presented to interest them. Projects based on the six areas of learning as are seasonal themes, festivals and events are included in medium and long term plans. This ensures all the required materials are in place within the learning environment and are accessible to children helping them to develop independence and curiosity for learning. Children benefit because there is a particular emphasis on their creative development. They have many opportunities to paint and draw, including face painting and dressing up. Children enjoy exploring the Chinese culture with costumes, trying Asian food and experimenting This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 with chop sticks. They have fun dressing up in interestingly vast selection of clothes. For example, they like to mix and match different outfits such a police

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and outcomes for children

uniforms together with fairy wings to create imaginative play. All these activities fully engage and promote children's social and communication skills and they develop confidence as they organise themselves and others. The skill of the childminder extends and fully explores her resources. For example, children benefit from having excellent resources for water play. They use a variety of equipment to pour water through different funnels, the childminder asks children questions about what they see, hear and feel. Children start to begin to solve problems as they observe how water changes shape and it moves when they blow on it. This is further extended into painting activities where children make pictures by blowing paint through straws. Children have gentle direction and the childminder helps them in their understanding of their world through an excellent supply of books to support their interests, for example children have opportunities to read about

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and outcomes for children

rabbits and visit them at the children's centre which reinforces their learning. Children's physical development is extremely well supported. They have access to a garden where they have high quality, safe resources to swing and ride. The childminder successfully monitors children's progress with her well organised and consistent application of observation and assessment. She shows a good awareness of the need to support individual children's development and makes frequent notes and photographs showing children's achievements and responses to activities. Children make very good progress in their social skills because of the consistent and calm approach of the childminder. Children behave very well and learn to share and be sensitive to the needs of their friends.

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and outcomes for children

Effective measures are taken through good risk assessments to promote children's safety when in the home and on outings. The childminder increases children's awareness of keeping themselves safe, for example, by developing meaningful play activities in the home with activities and resources to enable them to be lollypop persons who direct traffic and allow children to roads safely. Good routines are also followed to promote children's health and ongoing well-being. Children do not mind when it is time to wash hands because 'magic soap' takes away the germs. They are provided with lunches prepared by parents and children have opportunities to pick and prepare fruit for eating from the garden which helps their understanding of healthy eating. 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 1 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 1 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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