Childminder in Essex

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY269090 Inspection date 01/03/2011 Inspector Sandra Daniels

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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 2003. She is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of six children under eight years, three of whom may be in the early years age group. There are currently 14 children on roll, three of whom are in the early years age group. The childminder lives with her husband and three children aged 17, 13 and 11 years. They live in South Green, Billericay, close to a park, schools and local shops.

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Description of the childminding

The whole of the property is used for childminding except the main bedroom. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The childminder visits the local pre-school with minded children. She takes children to and collects them from school. She 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 outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are highly motivated as they enjoy a wealth of inspiring experiences in an exciting and challenging environment. The childminder tailors all activities to the individual child as they work extremely cohesively together. Skilful extension of all children's experiences enables them to attain new skills as they strive to accomplish their full potential. The childminder is extremely knowledgeable of individual children's needs, continually building and adding to activities to challenge them. Excellent partnerships with families and other professionals effectively support the children's ongoing development. The childminder has completed a reflective and evaluative assessment of the excellent service offered.

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further?

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

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further?

 linking children's next steps in learning more directly to the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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the early years provision

Children's safety is promoted to an extremely high standard. The childminder has an excellent knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and her responsibilities to protect the children in her care at all times. She has attended safeguarding training and conscientiously ensures that her knowledge and understanding of all safety related issues is fully up-to-date. Children begin to develop an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, they learn to cross roads safely when out walking with the childminder, and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 recognise the need to stay close to her at all times. Levels of supervision and highly effective risk assessments enable children to explore safely and independently, both inside and outside of the home. Resources are of high quality and are chosen with careful thought by the childminder to support each child's

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the early years provision

learning journey successfully. Children can choose and help themselves to toys and equipment, as they are all stored safely and are freely accessible.

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the early years provision

Equality of opportunity is at the heart of this setting. Discrimination is tackled fairly and the childminder strives to ensure that each child and family is fully integrated and plays a full and active role in the provision. Children have many opportunities to investigate similarities and differences and are supported successfully by the childminder to respect and understand the society in which they live. Children with additional needs are particularly well supported by the childminder and make significant progress in relation to their starting points and capabilities. Self- evaluation systems are highly efficient. The childminder is skilful at identifying her strengths and areas for improvement. For example, she has identified that she could improve on linking children's next steps in learning more closely to the early learning goals. She has a realistic and effective grasp of the value of the work she

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the early years provision

does and how this impacts on the children in her care.

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the early years provision

The childminder is extremely well organised and proficient. She has up-to-date, clearly detailed written policies and procedures in place that are shared with parents to ensure they are clear on her practices and enable them to work closely with her in promoting positive outcomes for their children. Each policy has a clear link with a component of the Early Years Foundation Stage and is reviewed regularly or as guidelines change. The childminder builds professional working relationships with all parents and many other early years professionals to ensure that she is well informed about the children's needs. This enables her to meet any individual care and learning requirements to a very high standard and ensures that all children are making strong progress. The childminder takes her role very seriously and prioritises her own professional development. Training is ongoing and varied and means that she is well informed and knowledgeable about up-to-

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and outcomes for children

Children make outstanding progress in this setting where the childminder demonstrates an excellent understanding of child development and the individual needs of the children attending. She has a flexible approach that enables her to adapt routines to meet the individual needs of each child on a daily basis. She gives lots of cuddles and reassurance to young children and truly caring and trusting relationships have been developed. Younger children explore and investigate with confidence the activities and resources that are provided for them, showing they feel completely safe within this environment. Experiences and activities are based on children's interests and stage of development, in combination with their identified next steps for development. The childminder provides truly personalised learning opportunities for all children, ensuring that all areas of learning are addressed with equal concern. For example, learning

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 opportunities spring from routine tasks as children count with the childminder as they tidy the toys into the box. They talk freely about their home and family as they reproduce faces representing mummy and daddy using the dough.

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and outcomes for children

Children sustain attentive listening as they share favourite stories with the childminder and they begin to recognise and talk about the shapes of everyday objects. They show a developing interest in information and communication technology as they use the laptop and mouse with confidence. A cake-making activity provides the opportunity for children to use tools and materials for a particular purpose. They use the hand-held whisk to combine the ingredients and they investigate differences in culture as they make a didgeridoo in celebration of Australia Day. Highly effective planning and positive interaction enables the childminder to provide high levels of support, challenge and extension in all that the children do.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is promoted to a very high standard. They are learning about safe practices and regular hygiene routines to enable them to start making positive choices to support themselves and others. Daily activities, such as walking to school and visits to local parks and groups, where children use large apparatus, contribute to children's good health. They have further opportunities to be outdoors as they regularly use the childminder's well-resourced garden. Children clearly love their time with the childminder. Children show high levels of independence, curiosity and imagination. They are effectively encouraged to try things for themselves and to be fully active learners. From an early age, children learn quickly about personal hygiene routines and often carry these out without prompting. They learn about keeping themselves safe as the childminder teaches children to cross roads safely when out walking and she is particularly vigilant in

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and outcomes for children

her supervision of children at all times. Very strong relationships develop between children as they begin to respect each other and consider one another's feelings. Children are constantly occupied between rest periods, with exciting and stimulating activities and experiences. They are extremely well-behaved and are well equipped with the fundamental skills they can use to extend 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 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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