Tranter, Julie

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY258486 Inspection date 08/09/2010 Inspector Shawleene Campbell

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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 was registered in 2003. She lives with her husband and two children aged six and ten in a residential area of Hornchurch, Essex in the London borough of Havering. The whole ground floor is used for childminding and children have access to an enclosed garden.

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Description of the childminding

Also, the first floor can be used for sleeping and toileting purposes. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under 8 years at any one time; of these, three children may be in the early years age range. The childminder is currently caring for four children full and part-time in the early years age group. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both parts of the Childcare and voluntary Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA) and an approved childminding network. The family have a pet hamster and two Springer Spaniels.

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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 committed to continuous improvement and she regularly receives support and training from the local authority to extend her knowledge, personal development and practice to further promote children's learning and development. The childminder values each child in her care promoting an inclusive environment for children. Children's welfare, learning and development are effectively met because the childminder knows children well. She has developed good relationships with parents and she is able to identify areas for future development through an effective self-evaluation.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the developmental records to ensure they are clear and accessible to everybody who needs to see them  develop effective systems for involving parents in contributing to the observation, assessment and planning of their learning and development

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the early years provision

The childminder has a good understanding of child protection issues and procedures. She has kept her knowledge up to date by attending training to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 ensure the children in her care are fully safeguarded. The childminder ensures required documentation is displayed for parents to see. She is committed to improving the care and service she provides and this is carried out through a range of mediums, such as attending courses, receiving on-going support from the local authority, achieving the Basic Skills Quality Mark, questionnaires and successfully completing a level 3 qualification in childcare. Additionally, she shows dedication in funding courses to further promote the outcomes for all children.

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the early years provision

The children are cared for in an environment that has exemplary safety measures in place allowing them to become independent learners. The childminder carries out both visual and in-depth risk assessments. She arranged a visit from the local fire brigade to ensure all aspects of safety are in place. Prior to taking children out on routine outings risk assessments are carried out and the childminder ensures essential records and equipment are taken so that she is able to act promptly should there be an emergency. This ensures children's welfare.

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the early years provision

There are comprehensive processes in place for self-evaluation which take into account the views of parents. Their views are promptly acted upon which further promotes good partnership working, for example, minimising the procedures for the sharing of documentation to once a week. She has produced a realistic working document, an 'action plan' to further promote the outcomes for children. Subsequently, she has created a rockery vegetable patch in the garden, introduced information technology to children's everyday learning and replaced car seats. Additionally, she plans to further develop the outdoor area with a quality and access grant.

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the early years provision

Although the children do not attend any other setting the childminder is aware of the importance of making links with other agencies to promote children's learning and development. The childminder treats all children equally and with respect which creates an inclusive environment. The childminder has developed good relationships with parents. She shares both verbal and written information about children's general well-being, care and development by using daily diaries and the sharing of children's developmental records.

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and outcomes for children

The children are cared for in an extremely child friendly environment where they are offered a varied range of learning experiences to effectively promote their learning and development. The childminder has developed good relationships with children. She knows children very well and they are able to freely and comfortably move around the setting with ease and confidence. The childminder is fully aware of all children's likes, dislikes and stage of development. She has a very good understanding of child development and provides realistic challenges to move children on in their next stage of development. The childminder carries out systematic observations and plans for children's next steps, interests and abilities enabling them to take part in a varied range of worthwhile and purposeful learning experiences. However, procedures have yet to be fully developed to ensure This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

children's next steps are consistently documented and observations clearly link to the six areas of learning to enable her to track children's learning journey.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and she uses an ongoing assessment record sheet to clearly show children's progress towards the stepping stones. However, procedures have yet to be fully developed to encourage parents to contribute to children's on going assessments.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is aware children must be able to take safe risks and subsequently she gives high priority to safety. The children have free flow access to outdoors and they are able to play and explore with minimum adult supervision. The childminder is extremely organised and plans her day well to ensure children attend community groups including messy play activities. This enables children to take part in new experiences and interact with others. The children take part in a varied range of first hand experiences because the childminder is creative when planning children's activities, such as nurturing caterpillars to butterflies. She then extends children's learning by reading 'The Hungry Caterpillar' and making a caterpillar display. Children's artwork is displayed around the home giving them a sense of pride and achievement. The childminder is flexible in her approach to childminding and children's requests and interests are acted upon, such as allowing

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and outcomes for children

them access to the sandpit and providing the play foam.

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and outcomes for children

The children are developing to be confident talkers because at every opportunity the childminder talks, listens and asks children good open ended questions. The childminder has successfully developed a family like environment where children flourish in all areas of their learning and development. They benefit from the close interactions and they play harmoniously together. The older children show kindness and consideration to babies by giving them toys to play with and giving a warm stroke when upset. Through practical situations the childminder uses all opportunities to make connections to numbers and colours, for example, identifying colours when using the duplo. Consequently, this empowers children to begin to use mathematical language spontaneously as they count how many tomatoes they have on their plate and use the word 'whole' to describe how much apple they have eaten.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is very resourceful when providing children's toys because she uses a number of available opportunities to ensure they are offered a significant range, for example using the toy library and closely working with other childminders. The children are able to make informed decisions about their play because toys are stored in labelled boxes. There are ample positive images displayed around the home, allowing children to value other's culture, similarities and differences. The childminder also uses visual displays to encourage the children to develop good personal hygiene practices, such as hand washing. The childminder has an extensive range of resource materials to talk to and plan activities for children to help them learn about road safety awareness. She carries out regular fire drills to enable them to learn how to leave the premises quickly and safely in the event of an emergency evacuation. In addition, the children

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and outcomes for children

periodically visit the local fire station to enable them to be comfortable with and around the people who help us. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The children are extremely well behaved and this is because of the childminder's consistent approach of using gentle reminders when children have forgotten to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Overall, all children are eager to learn and are exceeding in all areas of their learning and development because the childminder ensures they are actively stimulated and engaged in a varying range of activities that cover all six areas of learning and meets their individual needs. 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 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 2 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 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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