Walters, Lisa Anne

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY412929 Inspection date 17/01/2011 Inspector Lindsay Hare

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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 2010. She lives with her husband and two children aged one and six years in Braintree, Essex. The childminder uses the whole of the ground floor of her home for childminding and there is a secure garden for outside play. The family has a dog.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than two may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding four children, two of whom are in the early years age range. She is also registered to care for children over five years to 11 years. The childminder provides care all year round. The provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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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 provides a safe and welcoming environment for the children and ensures that they are all included and supported. Children make progress in their learning and development, although there are some weaknesses in the planning and assessment processes. The partnership she has with the parents is a key strength and positively contributes to ensuring the individual needs of all children are met. The childminder has identified some strengths and areas for improvement within her practice. All the required documentation is in place, although a requirement has not been met.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 display her certificate of registration and show it to parents on request (Documentation). 17/01/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 improve the planning so that activities are planned with reference to the children's next steps  develop the observational assessment process to ensure that observations are linked to the specific steps within each area of learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

There are clear safeguarding procedures in place to protect children from harm and the childminder is fully aware of ensuring that all adults living on the premises have been vetted. Effective risk assessments are in place and there are good procedures in place to protect children on outings. This enables children to play and learn in a safe and secure environment. The provision is inclusive and the childminder encourages children to learn about the wider world, celebrating various festivals and exploring the local community. Effective procedures to settle children and discussion with parents regarding children's learning and previous experiences of childcare, together with the childminder's own initial observations, mean that she is able to record the children's starting points.

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the early years provision

The childminder's professional approach to maintaining effective partnerships with parents ensures that children's care is consistently promoted. For example, she has requested key words in one child's home language and has booked to do the 'Chatterbox Challenge', a fundraising activity to encourage children's speech and language development. There are good systems in place to share information and keep parents informed about their children's care and progress. There are verbal exchanges, children's records and the daily diaries, as well as a quarterly summary sheet of each child's progress. Parents are encouraged to contribute to their child's learning by adding comments about achievements, experiences or skills observed at home. All parents are given a copy of the policies and are asked to sign their agreement. This enables them to understand how the childminder implements these procedures into her daily practice. However, a requirement to display the

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the early years provision

certificate of registration has not been met.

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the early years provision

The childminder is clearly able to evaluate her practice, identifying her strengths and areas for improvement and is keen to complete further training. For example, she has completed level two food hygiene training in response to the recommendation made by Environmental Health and acted on advice given by the Fire Service, in preparation for registering as a childminder. She is aware of the importance of working in partnership with others, although currently, no children attend other Early Years Foundation Stage provisions.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to help them make effective progress across all areas of learning and development through a balanced range of adult- and child- led activities. The childminder knows the individual children well and involves parents in contributing to their learning. The detailed planning links to the Early Years Foundation Stage, although children's learning is not fully promoted because This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the planned activities are not in response to children's needs. The observational assessment links to the areas of learning, rather than the specific learning steps, making it difficult to ascertain where children are in their learning. Children have access to activities and resources and are able to self-select from low-level storage, encouraging them to make choices and explore.

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and outcomes for children

Children visit the local library, childminding group and farm. They are beginning to explore the wider world, through books and as they take part in other cultural and religious festivals held at the local museum, for example, they recently celebrated Diwali. The childminder works hard to support children with additional needs. For example, she introduces lots of singing to support children's speech and language development and holds regular update meetings with the parents.

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and outcomes for children

Young children feel secure and are confident to chat. The childminder asks lots of open-ended questions to encourage their language and tells children the words for objects when they point to them, encouraging them to repeat these. Young children were observed naming and making the animal noises, whilst looking at books and copying the actions, for example, 'can you crawl/waddle/jump like a caterpillar/duck/kangaroo?' Young children join in with repetitive phrases in familiar books such as 'Dear Zoo'. They are encouraged to share and take turns as the childminder calmly and clearly explains that they can have one book first and then the other one.

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and outcomes for children

Children are given opportunities to make marks, using different mediums such as pens and wax crayons. Young children problem solve as they fit shapes into the shape sorter and are asked how many figures they can find in the box. They watch the childminder as she shows them how to wind up the jack in the box, then do this themselves and press the button to shoot the disc. Children build towers of bricks and the childminder encourages them to count and use mathematical language, such as 'big' and 'tall'. Children learn about the life cycle of a frog as they look at both factual and story books with the childminder.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder uses gentle reminders and explanations to help children learn to keep themselves and others safe, for example, 'we need to pick up the cars off the floor, otherwise someone might trip over them, let's see who can pick up the most cars'. There are good hygiene procedures and the childminder talks about germs, when washing hands before lunch. 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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