Childminder in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 304776 Inspection date 26/01/2011 Inspector Carol-Anne Shaw

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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 has been a registered childminder since 1999. She lives with her family, in a house situated in the village of Little Sutton, Elsmere Port. Local amenities, including shops and schools, are all within easy walking distance. The ground floor of the property is used for childminding, there is a fully enclosed back garden used for outdoor play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. There are currently five children attending, of whom two are within the early years age group. The childminder also offers care before and after school to children aged over five years, all of the children attend on a part time basis. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder works on occasion with an assistant. She takes older children to and from the local infant and junior schools. The childminder uses her car to transport children. The childminder has a Level 3 childcare 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

Children settle extremely well in this welcoming and child-orientated home. Their individuality is fully recognised and nurtured by the childminder; they form close and trusting relationships with her. Children are offered a good range of age- appropriate activities both in the home and the local environment; as a result they make good progress in their learning and development. Positive relationships are fostered with parents, and she has effective communication systems in place to ensure children's care needs are fully met. The childminder demonstrates she is committed to continuous improvement through training. She is beginning to evaluate her service and identify areas for future development.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the children's assessment and learning journals, by including the possible next steps in their development and learning needs  implement a quality improvement process, for example, using the Ofsted self-evaluation form, as a basis of ongoing review to assess what the childminder provides against a robust criteria. 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 a good understanding of her responsibilities in safeguarding children from possible harm. She ensures her knowledge of child protection issues is extended by attending training, and a range of information is to hand should she need to make a referral. The adults in the home have Criminal Records Bureau clearances available. The childminder is careful to ensure children are only collected by authorised persons. There is a detailed safeguarding policy and procedures which are shared with parents.

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the early years provision

She carries out effective risk assessments on all areas of her home and for outings, and takes positive steps to reduce any possible risks to the children's safety. She has comprehensive policies and procedures which underpin the safe and efficient management of her service, and these clearly reflect the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and include procedures to be followed in an emergency.

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the early years provision

The childminder is committed to promoting equality and diversity and achieves this through providing activities to support children's understanding of diversity and different cultures. She values the parents as the children's primary carers, and has developed effective relationships. She gathers important information about the children when the placement begins, including their interests and individual care needs and routines and how these can be met. Parents receive good information through when children first start, which includes summaries of the childminder's policies. She also ensures they are kept well informed of any current issues, such as prevalent illnesses, so they know how to minimise the risk of these.

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the early years provision

The childminder is enthusiastic about her role and in seeing the children learn and develop, and she provides a child-orientated environment. Toys and resources are easily accessible to promote the children's choice and independence. The home is organised for children. The childminder is committed to meeting children's individual needs. She has mainly effective systems in place to observe and assess children's learning. However at present these do not include the possible next steps in learning to promote further challenge to their learning.

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the early years provision

She is committed to ongoing development of her practice and has a portfolio that contains certificates of the training courses she has attended. She also works at a local pre-school and this supports her personal development through discussions of elements of good practice with other childcare professionals. She has made links with other settings the children may also attend, such as the local school nursery, to ensure continuity in their learning.

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the early years provision

The required documentation is in place and updating is ongoing. The childminder informally assesses her service; however, this is not sufficiently robust to identify priorities for further development. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are very content and gain real pleasure from the time they spend in the childminder's care. They develop a close relationship with her, responding very positively to her caring nature, and the support they receive. They benefit from the child-centred environment, lots of enjoyment is derived from the activities they are offered. For example, as the youngest ones play with the treasure basket, and make sounds when banging the pans.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to keep themselves safe. For example, the childminder explains why they must sit down to have a snack and drink. The older children learn to cross the road safely when out in the community. They have many opportunities to enjoy fresh air and to develop their physical skills as they freely access a wide range of play opportunities in the garden and visit the park and other local amenities. They learn about following good hygiene routines from an early age, through washing hands before snack and the childminder talks to them about making them clean and comfortable as she changes their nappies. Their understanding of eating healthily is promoted effectively through discussing and eating fruit as part of a healthy diet at snack time.

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and outcomes for children

Children behave very well and respond very positively to praise and encouragement from the childminder. The younger ones are encouraged to help tidy away the toys, and the older ones take on responsibility during everyday routines. For example, they help prepare and get ready for snack time. The childminder is skilled at interacting with the children and in extending their learning. For example, she finds additional items for them to extend their imagination during pretend play. She raises their self awareness as she asks them to point to different parts of their body, with 'Head shoulders, knees and toes', and provides large pieces of paper on the floor so the younger ones can comfortably make marks with crayons. She makes good use of every learning opportunity as it arises, using stories and songs to support numbers. She talks about the photos and points out who is in the picture and talks about what they are doing,

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and outcomes for children

promoting the children's language development.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder provides many opportunities for the children to explore their local environment. For example, they visit local shops and have visits to support children's understanding of the community around them and the wider world. They regularly socialise with other children and visit the childminding group where they take part in many creative opportunities.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes written observations of the children's learning and development as they play and is accurately identifying this, linking it to her planning. She records the children's progress in their learning journal, to ensure their progress is consistently tracked. At present she is not recording children's possible next steps to extend their learning and give parents the information to progress children's learning at home. 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 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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