Wolverdene Special School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 116635 Inspection date 16/03/2011 Inspector Sheena Bankier

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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 1992. She is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is registered to provide care for six children under eight at any one time. There are currently five children on roll in the early years age group, who attend on a part-time basis.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder lives with her husband, and three children, who are secondary school aged and above. The downstairs is mainly used for childminding with access to the first floor for sleeping and toilet facilities. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The family have a pet dog.

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Description of the childminding

Local facilities are within walking distance, such as, parks, schools and shops. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are active and inquisitive learners. They benefit from purposeful interaction and participate in well-planned activities that significantly support their progress. Most aspects of children's progress records are comprehensive. The childminder maintains cohesive partnerships with parents and others that substantially benefit children. Excellent self-evaluation supports accurate and continuous improvement. Thorough policies, procedures, and the childminder's exceptional practice, safeguard children and meet children's individual needs extensively.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 encourage parents to contribute to their children' records of progress.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a thorough understanding of safeguarding issues. She regularly refreshes her training in relation to child protection. This results in her keeping up to date with current practice. Excellent information, including local procedures are in place to refer to, in the event of concerns about children's welfare arising. Clear, comprehensive and highly effective risk assessments are in place for the home and outings. Children learn about keeping themselves safe, for This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 example, through practising road safety and the evacuation procedure. This actively promotes children's safety. The childminder maintains high standards of hygiene for herself and children. Comprehensive information protects children's good health, such as, information about signs and symptoms of illnesses and exclusions to minimise the spread of infection.

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the early years provision

The childminder seeks the views and opinions of parents and children through discussions and questionnaires. This supports the childminder's accurate self- evaluation. The childminder underpins her excellent practice with further training and information. As a result, she extends her knowledge and understanding of high quality childcare practice. This leads to significant continuous improvement.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from a stimulating, inviting and welcoming environment. The high quality resources are effectively organised to enable children to independently self- select toys and equipment. As a result, children actively initiate their own play and ideas. The childminder adds to her resources through using sustainable methods, such as, borrowing from toy and book libraries. This offers further variety and challenge to children. Children have equal access to the resources regardless of gender. The environment embraces diversity with a wide range of posters and resources that reflect diversity meaningfully. The childminder extends children's awareness of the wider world through excellent practices and activities, for example, using greetings in other languages or celebrating different festival and religious dates.

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the early years provision

The childminder communicates effectively with parents and other settings. She exchanges information at drop off and collection times, and proactively encourages the use of daily diaries with both parents and other settings. This results in cohesive partnerships to promote children's learning, development and welfare successfully. The childminder provides a wealth of information to parents, for example, written policies and procedures, and information on her notice board. Parents benefit from ongoing information about their children's days and progress, such as, access to children's records of progress and feedback as required during the day through telephone calls.

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and outcomes for children

Children are exceptionally confident and secure in the childminder's home and care. They form excellent relationships with the childminder and play harmoniously with their peers. Children develop a strong sense of belonging; for example, their photographs and artwork are on display. Children show an excellent understanding of the expectations of behaviour and they behave in an exemplary manner. The childminder and children use good manners, supporting excellent social skills. The childminder's warm caring approach, along with genuine praise and encouragement, results in children developing high levels of self-esteem and confidence. When taking part in active physical pursuits, such as, dancing, older children demonstrate that they have a clear awareness of their own and others safety. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children participate in a wide range of physical activities that challenge their skills

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and outcomes for children

and support their good health, such as, using different balancing equipment. The childminder and children walk to activities, parks, and the river. As a result, children benefit from daily fresh air and observe the environment, developing a strong sense of their community. Activities promote children's understanding of healthy eating, for example, growing vegetables, and visiting the market or 'pick your own' farm to choose and buy fruit and vegetables. The childminder provides very healthy snacks and drinks to children, such as, fruit and breadsticks with water or milk to drink. Children have accessible drinks ensuring they are able to meet their own needs for fluid intake.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder effectively maintains records of children's progress through ongoing written observations, photographs and examples of children's own work. She tracks children's progress thoroughly and through this, she plans cohesively for the individual children's next steps in learning. The childminder gains information from parents to support her excellent knowledge of children, such as, achievements at home. The childminder has not fully considered adding this information to the children's progress records to provide a wider picture of children's achievements and to support planning further.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder interacts with children exceptionally well. Children participate in meaningful discussions and sustain their interest extremely well. The childminder asks questions that effectively support children's critical thinking skills, and widen their understanding and knowledge. Children access and purposefully use modern technology, for example, older children take photographs with the camera. They delight in seeing the results of their efforts. All children access a variety of modern technology resources, such as, role play toy telephones, and resources to support understanding of letters and numbers. Children explore and investigate different materials, for example, toddlers and older children enjoy exploring the heuristic treasure basket, which offers a wide range of materials, textures and sounds. Younger children explore these items with fascination, using their five senses. Children benefit from a wide range of purposeful outings that extend their learning

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and outcomes for children

and development successfully, for example, toddler groups, music sessions and visits to the library. This enables children to increase their social skills, language and creativity purposefully. 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 1 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 1 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 The extent to which children feel safe 1 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 1 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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