Childminder in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY256983 Inspection date 30/03/2011 Inspector Margaret Davie

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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 registered in 2003. She lives with her six-year-old child in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire. Her house is within walking distance of local shops and schools. She uses the whole of her home for childminding purposes and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. Toilet facilities are on the first floor.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She may care for a maximum five children under eight years at any one time, of whom three may be in the early years age group. She currently minds three children in this age group part time, as well as one older child after school, for a variety of sessions. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and holds a National Nursery Examination Board (NNEB) qualification.

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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

The childminder promotes children's learning and development very effectively. She provides a wide range of activities and children have lots of fun in her care. Overall, arrangements to promote children's safety and welfare are good. She works in very close partnership with parents to meet children's individual needs. An accurate self-assessment of her setting has been conducted, showing she understands the effectiveness of her provision. She has a very ambitious vision for her service and identifies further areas for development, to ensure ongoing improvements.

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further?

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

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further?

 promote further children's understanding of the ways in which to manage their safety, particularly while seated at the kitchen table.

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the early years provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust. The childminder has a very clear understanding of the possible signs and symptoms of abuse and has effective procedures in place for liaising with appropriate child agencies if needed. She conducts detailed risk assessments for her home as well as any outings she takes children on, to promote their safety. Great care is taken with children's safety when organising activities such as cooking, by undertaking a separate risk This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 assessment. However, children are not made aware of the importance of always sitting on the kitchen chairs properly, for example when eating their snacks and meals, and this has a potential impact on their safety. Accidents and administrations of medication are recorded in accordance with requirements. Children are well protected from unsupervised access by adults who are not

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the early years provision

The childminder has high aspirations for her setting and takes effective action to bring about improvements in outcomes for children. For example, she has addressed the recommendation made at the time of her last inspection by implementing excellent hygiene routines to make sure children always wash their hands before they eat. She constantly undertakes training in order to keep her knowledge and skills updated and has recently become an accredited childminder. She already seeks parent's views regularly to inform her development planning, but has identified this as an area for further improvement as she intends to ask them to complete a questionnaire about her service on a regular basis.

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the early years provision

Highly positive relationships are established with parents and this contributes positively to the well-being of children. Parents are given detailed verbal and written feedback about their child every day, and encouraged to take assessment files home to read. Two-way communication sheets provide an additional, ongoing means of communication to help meet children's individual needs. Letters received from parents indicate they are very pleased with the childminder's provision, and that they think their children have 'come on in leaps and bounds' in her care. She communicates effectively with other settings attended by children such as a local nursery, to promote consistency in their learning and development. However, despite concerted efforts on her part, she has been unsuccessful in her attempts to access this settings assessment information for children in her care.

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the early years provision

Excellent use is made of resources to provide children with interesting and challenging learning experiences both indoors and outdoors. Children freely access toys and activities which cover all areas of learning and are able to play and learn outdoors at all times. The childminder places the promotion of equality of opportunity at the heart of all her work. She tracks children's progress systematically to make sure they are all making expected progress in relation to their starting points, and there are no gaps in their learning and development. The childminder demonstrates a clear understanding of adapting activities to meet each child's individual capabilities. She has a detailed knowledge of each child's background and helps children learn about and understand the society in which they live, very effectively.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well prepared in developing the skills they need for their future education. The childminder has a comprehensive knowledge of each child's individual needs, working in close partnership with parents to find out about their starting points, preferences and interests. She observes and assesses them This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 regularly, and plans very effectively to ensure they make rapid progress in all areas of learning. Ongoing communication with parents and other settings are used alongside her own observations in order to inform individual planning for each child. Detailed assessment records containing her written observations, photographs and examples of children's work show they make significant gains in all areas of their learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very confident and self-assured. They have the freedom to move around her house and garden, accessing toys and resources which interest them. Outstanding use is made of the outdoor environment to promote their learning and development and children are very keen to play outside at all times. They happily pop in and out of the tent, saying hello to the childminder and other children. They concentrate very hard while writing on the blackboard attached to the fence, saying they are 'doing their numbers and letters'. They paint the fence using the big brush and a container of water, taking turns and sharing the resources well. These activities provide opportunities for them to mark-make in an enjoyable way.

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and outcomes for children

High attention is given to helping children gain independence in their self-care. Their behaviour is very good overall, and they begin to show an excellent awareness of responsibility within the setting. For example, they stow their coats and jackets without prompting when they come in from outdoor play. They are very polite, often remembering to say please and thank you on their own. They make choices confidently during the day, deciding which activities they wish to pursue. They engage in a wide variety of experiences which help them to value diversity. For example, they celebrate festivals from around the world and play with toys such as the toy wheelchair, which help them understand about differences.

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and outcomes for children

Enjoyable tasks such as counting when they go up and down the slide and deciding how many pieces the play dough needs to be divided into for them each to have one promote their problem solving, reasoning and numeracy skills very well. The use of small tools such as glue sticks during art and craft activities and small knives to cut up a banana at snack time provide opportunities to develop their hand-eye coordination. They talk about the weather as they sit and eat their snack at the kitchen table, looking out at the grey sky and sing songs about the rain. They explore the natural world as they plant flowers outside and they recently took part in the 'big bird garden watch'. They are very excited when they find a ladybird on the table when having their snack, and show great care when picking her up and putting her outside. Their creative development is promoted through many activities such as drawing, modelling and art activities. They

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and outcomes for children

enthusiastically paint on their hands, showing excitement and curiosity at the feel of it, when making hand prints.

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and outcomes for children

Children show an excellent understanding of the importance of following good personal hygiene routines. The childminder provides them with a very good role model of appropriate practice as well as displaying posters showing them how to wash their hands thoroughly. Gel is provided downstairs enabling children to clean their hands regularly without going upstairs. All food is provided from home, but she regularly discusses the importance of healthy eating with them, for example as they make bananas and strawberries while modelling with the play dough, Nappies This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 are changed with high regard to good hygiene and young children appropriately supported to potty train. Children show they feel secure in the childminder's home. She uses overall effective measures to promote their safety, for example she has affixed stair gates at the bottom and top of her stairs. Children practise the

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and outcomes for children

evacuation procedures regularly so they know what to expect in an emergency. They demonstrate a mostly good understanding of how to stay safe, however, are not clear about the importance to their safety of sitting properly on the kitchen chairs. 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 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 1 The extent to which children feel safe 2 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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