Childminder in Wiltshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY250983 Inspection date 01/03/2011 Inspector Janet Moutter

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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

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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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 2003. She lives with her husband and their three children in a detached house in the rural village of Derry Hill, within walking distance of the primary school, Bowood Park and the village shop. All areas of the property are used for childminding, with most activities taking place downstairs in the recently extended playroom and kitchen. There is a split-level, fully enclosed garden available for outside play and the children are taken on outings and trips to local farms, museums and the library. Access to the house is restricted as it is down steps.

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Description of the childminding

The family keeps two cats and some fish in a tank.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered 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. She currently minds a total of six children in the early years age group. She also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years, before and after school and in school holidays and has on role a total of 15 children.

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Description of the childminding

This provision is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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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

Overall, the quality of this provision is good. The childminder offers an inclusive setting in which children's individuality is recognised and their separate welfare needs are accommodated exceptionally well. Children make good progress in their learning and development because the childminder matches learning to children's individual needs, providing additional support when required. The childminder uses and combines her knowledge and skills with her colleagues to evaluate some aspects of her provision. Regular self-evaluation and reflection is not her strength. However, she has recognised this self-assessment ensures that any priorities for future development are promptly identified and acted on, resulting in a service that is responsive to the needs of all the children. The childminder is undertaking further training and this demonstrates a strong commitment to improve her provision.

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further?

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

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further?

 plan and organise effective systems to ensure that the individual needs of all the children are met This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  develop further knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework in order to be able to identify where children are in their learning and use this to inform planning as part of each child's continuing development  further develop the assessment system in order to track children's progress against all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework.

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the early years provision

The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of safeguarding children procedures, including possible symptoms of abuse and how to respond to concerns. She ensures that all household members have appropriate background checks. She ensures that her home is welcoming, clean and safe with a good range of well presented and easily accessible resources. The garden is fully enclosed and well equipped with a good range of outdoor play equipment. Children learn to take care of their environment by growing their own vegetables and helping tidy up. Effective risk assessments and good health and safety procedures ensures that children are safe at all times. For example, children are not allowed in the lounge in the mornings whilst the kittens are learning house rules and not to chase and pick them up without care. The childminder also supervises the children closely in the garden as it is on a split-level and the very young have to learn how

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the early years provision

to negotiate the steps safely. A wide range of written policies and procedures work well in practice, however, now the children are settled back into the new play space the paperwork regarding operational plans have not found a permanent home. This does not impact on the children's play but the childminder's busy day means that not all documents are easily accessible to parents and could be overlooked.

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the early years provision

The childminder gets to know the children well in order to adapt care to suit their needs. She values diversity and promotes a caring attitude by acting as a good role model and helping children understand the consequence of their actions. She remains calm and attentive throughout the day and consequently, the children feel welcome, behave very well and are developing a sense of community.

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the early years provision

The childminder's self-evaluation processes are effective. Parents help evaluate the service, usually verbally. She is aware of her many strengths and of areas for potential development. Improvements have been made since the previous inspection and the childminder has addressed the two recommendations set such as the children have access to drinking water and help themselves regularly to a drink and fire evacuation is practiced and recorded to ensure the children's needs are met and their safety and welfare are taken seriously. The childminder links with other childminders in order to share good practice and learn from others. She is pursuing various training courses and wishes to increase her qualifications and wishes to increase her resources; these plans are likely to enhance already effective practice. Meanwhile, the childminder organises the day to include local places of interest where children can develop their physical skills and benefit from

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the early years provision

fresh air. The childminder monitors, mostly in pictures and with a mental note, children's learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage, this provides children with a range of experiences that promote the early learning This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 goals. However, the assessment systems in order to track children's progress against all aspects of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework are not fully developed.

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the early years provision

Although this does not have any impact on the children's play and learning, it has been highlighted as an area to improve. The childminder does however, develop good partnerships with the local school and pre-school and joins their activities. For example, she took her younger minded children to the pre-school to join in with their peers, in the hope of a record breaking "Sing-a-thon", of "Head Shoulders Knees and Toes" and photographs recorded the visit. She actively seeks to share information with children's teachers and key persons so that she can extend school activities at home and ensures that teachers and the pre-school know how children are progressing in her setting. This ensures good continuity between the school and childminding environments.

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the early years provision

She takes time to settle the children into the setting and ensures that parents' routines from home are followed and very flexible. She maintains written daily diaries and/or development records for children under five, which provide parents with good information about their children's progress, and actively encourages parents to contribute to these; by emailing those photographs of their children at play and regular texts back and forth keep the two-way links with parents. This practice of corresponding helps to put some parents at their ease when leaving their child while they work elsewhere. Parents state that they are happy with the childminder's care of their children commenting that she involves the children in decision-making and encourages them to think for themselves.

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and outcomes for children

Children settle quickly on arrival in the setting and are keen to explore the interesting range of resources. Young children chat away to themselves with their emerging language as they play with the "small worlds" doll's house or explore the box draw with the shoes to put on the sparkling pair that make the required "clip clop" sound on the kitchen tiled floor. Older children make themselves comfortable and play confidently with each other. They are able to choose resources freely. As a result, they initiate their own activities such as dressing up. They benefit from a good range of activities planned by the childminder, such as cooking, painting, role-play, games and puzzles. They are confident in the childminder's company and benefit from her close attention to support. For example, the childminder sat with an older child who had chosen puzzles to do with her. The childminder carefully maintained the child's interest in completing the puzzles buy asking the child to

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and outcomes for children

find the pieces that she described. This meant that the child benefitted from the closeness and support of the childminder while problem solving finding and fitting the puzzle together. They both gain a clear understanding of many descriptive words of shape and movement, colour and diversity as well as understanding direction, use and meaning. The childminder builds on what children enjoy and incorporates small challenges into everyday activities to help them make progress in their learning. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children have a good opportunity to spend time outdoors and in the local community on a daily basis. They enjoy gardening, visiting the local Bowood Park, library, toddler group and pre-school, looking after the family pets such as feeding the fish and learning to care for the two new kittens. They walk to, and from school or pre-school to take and collect their friends, as it only five minutes away

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and outcomes for children

across an enclosed grassed area. On fine days, they go through Bowood Park, or stop and play ball games or have picnics on the large enclosed green they pass through on their way home from school. This effectively enables the children to develop their physical skills and knowledge of the world around them.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about a healthy lifestyle as the childminder operates a healthy eating policy and encourages children to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet. Young children can rest and sleep according to their individual needs and routines. Children learn to keep themselves safe as the childminder teaches them about road safety when out in the local community and has puzzles and games to support their understanding. They learn how to respond appropriately to strangers and how to evacuate from the childminder's house in the event of an emergency.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to build strong relationships and learn to respect each other. For example, they engage in team building exercises, such as building a den or putting a large floor puzzle together. They develop positive attitudes to people with disabilities as the childminder ensures that her toys and equipment reflect all walks of life. They also learn to respect different cultural backgrounds as the childminder celebrates diversity in the setting.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder maintains some useful observations of children's progress and but, does not link these very well to the Early Years Foundation Stages. She does however, carefully considers children's next steps in learning and incorporates these into her future planning to help children make progress. For example, a recent trip to the railway station to wave goodbye, has sparked a trip with parents and another childminder to visit Bath on the train. This trip was instigated by the children, as some had never been on a train. She uses her skills and experience to effectively assess children's progress and identify any gaps in their learning. 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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