Wood, Sylvia Ann Alice

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY285837 Inspection date 07/02/2011 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 registered since June 2004. She lives with her family, in the East Didsbury area of Manchester, close to shops, parks and main transport links. The whole of the house is used for childminding, the lounge and dining room are the main play areas. The bathroom facilities are on the first floor. The rear garden, which is enclosed, is available for outdoor play. The family has two cats.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six 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 seven children attending, of whom five are within the early years age group, most attend on a part-time basis. The childminder also offers care before and after school to children aged over five years. 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 walks to take and collect children from the local school. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association and gains support from Sure Start.

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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's individuality is recognised and acknowledged by the childminder who tailors her service to provide an inclusive environment for the children in her care. The childminder's attention to children's safety is extremely high. Children have access to a wide range of resources and activities to promote their interest and enjoyment. The childminder has a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage. A very good range of documentation is in place to support her service and keep parents effectively informed. The childminder demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement and reflects on her practice to identify areas for ongoing development.

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further?

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

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further?

 review and monitor the six areas of learning overall to ensure individual children are making progress in all areas of learning and development. 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 legal responsibilities regarding child protection issues. The childminder is careful to ensure children are only collected by authorised persons and she has an overview of who has parental responsibility. The childminder places a strong emphasis on children's safety and in their protection. She has a detailed safeguarding policy which is shared with parents giving them knowledge of what actions she will follow if there are any concerns. She has completed training to ensure her knowledge of child protection is current. The childminder ensures she assesses and covers risks in all aspects of her practice with the children. The comprehensive risk assessments are continually revised and updated, covering indoors, outdoors and all outings the children attend. There is a comprehensive range of policies and procedures for children's welfare, health and safety that the childminder follows.

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the early years provision

She has attended a range of training to extend her knowledge and understanding of early years work. This is reflected in the service she provides for children, ensuring they have fun and make good progress in their learning. She monitors and evaluates her provision and has areas that she is working to improve and set targets, such as, working towards a childcare qualification in the future.

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the early years provision

Children's independence is fully supported, the opportunities for the children to be involved in many different activities contributes towards a positive attitude to learning. The environment is welcoming, a good range of well-organised resources and age appropriate equipment promote interest and enjoyment for the children. The childminder promotes equality of opportunity and children start to develop an understanding of diversity and different cultures.

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the early years provision

There are extremely effective relationships between the parents and the childminder. Comprehensive information is shared both verbally and in writing, this closeness of working positively impacts on the children's welfare, development and learning. Parents are full of praise for the childminder and state how much their children enjoy attending and that they do many different activities to support their development and learning. When parents first attend they receive comprehensive and informative information about how the childminding service is organised. This is ongoing and ensures parents have a very good overview of what the childminder provides and in return what the childminder expects from parents.

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the early years provision

Comprehensive documentation for the management of the childminding service is in place with continual updating. These contribute to children's health, safety and well-being and the extremely effective management of safety in the provision provides effectively for children's safety. The childminder demonstrates a commitment to continuous improvement. She attends training and reflects on her practice to identify priorities for development and to improve outcomes for children. She has implemented effective systems of self-evaluation and is keen to establish these further to ensure all areas of development are routinely identified. This has led to her to consider how she can record an overview of the learning and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 development elements to further develop her service.

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and outcomes for children

The children are settled and very happy in the childminder's welcoming home. They enjoy a good balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities which provide challenge and enjoyment. All children are making good progress across the six areas of learning. Systems for gathering key information from parents are very effective in establishing what children know, their likes and dislikes, daily routines and things important to them at home. This information is used to help children settle and to plan for their individual needs and interests. The childminder plans a range of well-organised play activities which reflect individual children's interests and capabilities. As a result, children are eager and motivated to learn new skills.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes observations and assessments of children's interests and progress in all six areas of learning. She identifies how she can progress children's learning and development. The childminder is still developing her systems to record children's learning journeys and records the possible next steps in all areas of learning. She has not yet found a system to give her an overview of what learning areas she is effective in and other areas that she is extremely effective, for example, safety. The childminder has noted this as an area to refine in her future plan.

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and outcomes for children

Children are beginning to show an understanding of the importance of a healthy lifestyle. They have the opportunity to enjoy healthy, nutritious snacks and meals. They engage in physical activities each day, both indoors and outside. Children have ample space to practice their physical skills in a secure and very safe environment where the risks have been assessed and effectively monitored. They use the enclosed outside play area and go for walks in the local community with the childminder. Children's health, physical and dietary needs are effectively met. Children's good health and well-being is fully promoted as the children learn good hygiene practices to prevent the spread of infection.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder supports children to be independent and develop their personal care skills, such as, feeding themselves and learning to drink from a cup. Children are secure and develop their self-confidence as they express their views and make their feelings known to the childminder.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder ensures activities are suitable for the ages of the children attending. She adapts her interactions to ensure they are all included and able to take part at their own level. Children enjoy painting, role play with the kitchen, learning to balance cups as they make tea and carry plates with play food. Communication, language and literacy are supported, extending their vocabulary as they play and sing rhymes with puppets and listen to stories. They are confident to make choices and have a very effective relationship with the childminder.

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and outcomes for children

Many creative activities are included in the daily routine, some are organised to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 support festivals and celebrations. She is responsive to the younger children's shorter attention span and provides them with many different activities to keep them interested and engaged. Children learn about the world through feeding the birds and growing seeds and gardening. The children's behaviour is very good, the childminder uses clear and consistent strategies to help children learn to share and take account of the needs of others. She provides simple explanations to help them develop their understanding of the possible consequences of their actions as they catch bubbles, play games and take part in activities together. 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 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 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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