Parkhill Infants' School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 133938 Inspection date 09/03/2011 Inspector Gill Little

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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 1993. She lives in Bicester with her adult son and daughter. Her daughter is also a registered childminder and they work together. The whole ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play. Access to the provision includes a small step into the front door.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder offers care on a daily basis, before and after school, and during school holidays. She walks or drives to the local school and nursery to take and collect children. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range, or six when working with her co-childminder. She is currently minding eight children in the early years age range on a full-time and part-time basis alongside her co-childminder. She is registered on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for children over five years although,she currently has no children on roll in this age range. She is also registered to provide overnight care for one child.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder holds an Extending Childminding Practice qualification. She works in partnership with other early years settings, including local nurseries.

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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 make good progress towards the early learning goals in this safe and welcoming environment. The childminder maintains an effective balance between child-led play with effective adult support, and short sessions of well-planned adult-led activities. Children enjoy daily outings throughout the year and they have opportunities to play in the garden during the warmer months. Effective assessments of progress, together with good partnerships with parents and other professionals caring for children, ensure that the childminder meets children's individual needs well. The childminder works closely with her co-childminder to evaluate her practice and demonstrates a positive approach to continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 extend the use of the garden as an outdoor learning environment throughout the year. 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 demonstrates a clear 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 conducts routine risk assessments which result in a clean and safe environment and she supervises children closely. She maintains all regulatory documentation to a good standard and has a wider range of documentation, such as written policies and procedures, to support the safe and efficient management of the setting.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides a welcoming home where children have plenty of space to play and regular opportunities to access a wide range of good quality activities and resources. The childminder uses her time well to support children effectively and works efficiently with her co-childminder to ensure that routines run smoothly. The patio garden provides a safe outdoor play area although children generally do not have access to it during the winter months, which has some limitations on its value as an outdoor learning environment.

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the early years provision

The childminder actively promotes equality and diversity as she meets children's individual needs well and helps them to develop respect towards those who are different from themselves. She develops positive relationships with parents who are very complimentary about her practice. Parents state that their children are happy and that the childminder provides a "secure and loving environment". The childminder provides them with daily information about their children's welfare and any progress and ensures that written records are available for them to refer to at any time. The childminder also develops good links with two local nurseries which children attend by maintaining a regular two-way flow of information.

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the early years provision

The childminder evaluates her practice accurately and identifies areas for possible further development, such as extending the range of resources, continuing to attend training courses and building further bonds with the other people in children's lives. She gives children opportunities to contribute their ideas for activities and resources and she actively seeks feedback from parents. Since the last inspection she has continued to develop her range of resources and she is currently developing her procedures for observing and assessing children's progress.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from the childminder's ability to sensitively support their freely chosen play and also to provide them with challenging and stimulating structured activities. Two boys of different ages choose a "Hungry Frog" game which requires them to catch as many balls as they can. They engage in this activity for extended periods of time, squealing and giggling with delight and cooperating well. They This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 receive good support from the childminder who encourages them to count the balls and enables them the time to follow this interest freely while also offering them opportunities to take part in other activities. Children are able to bring their own DVDs to the setting which makes them feel at home and the childminder encourages them to join in with other activities when they are ready.

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and outcomes for children

Children snuggle into the childminder on the sofa to listen to a "Thomas the Tank Engine" story and she encourages them to talk about the characters, the content of the story and concepts such as "bigger" and "smaller". They enjoy completing activities in children's magazines, and the childminder provides close support talking to them about the pictures, colours and letters. An older girl becomes engrossed decorating a card in preparation for Mother's Day and attempts to copy out some of the childminder's writing as they talk together about the different letters. Children benefit from everyday opportunities to learn about the world around them, as the childminder talks to them about shopping and food when a home delivery van appears outside. They learn about people who are different from themselves as the childminder talks to them sensitively about people in the community with disabilities and those from different cultural backgrounds. They

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and outcomes for children

have regular opportunities to engage in a wide range of other well-planned activities, such as making bread and butter pudding, icing biscuits, setting up train tracks, dressing up as pirates and playing "doctors".

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and outcomes for children

Children are able to spend time outdoors every day as the childminder takes them on long walks and makes good use of local community facilities, such as a park and a lake. They learn about the importance of exercise, healthy eating and good hygiene as the childminder engages them in regular discussions. They enjoy healthy foods brought from home and the childminder supervises them closely as they wash their hands and encourages them to do this thoroughly.

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and outcomes for children

Children demonstrate a strong sense of security within the setting. They achieve good levels of behaviour and the childminder encourages them to share, explaining that if they do not it makes other children sad. They learn to keep themselves safe as they talk about road safety and hazards while on outings and the childminder encourages them to follow good safety procedures indoors, such as remembering to use their "walking feet" rather than running.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder works closely with her co-childminder to make routine observations of children's progress. She links these observations to the Early Years Foundation Stage in order to assess children's development and she makes notes on areas to share with parents. She uses this information to identify children's individual next steps which she effectively consolidates into weekly and long-term planning to ensure that all areas of learning are covered and that all children are making good progress. 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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