Childminder in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 252919 Inspection date 21/03/2011 Inspector Alison Edwards

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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

This childminder registered in 1994. She lives with her husband and two adult sons in a house on a residential road in the southern suburbs of Nottingham. Children use the ground floor of the house for play, with access to the first floor bathroom as needed. There is an enclosed rear garden for outdoor play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of six children under the age of eight years at any one time, three of whom may be in the early years age range. There are currently three children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder is also registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register to care for older children.

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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 are confident and settled in this comfortable family home where there are good arrangements to promote their care and welfare. Overall, the childminder has a good understanding of how to use a varied range of worthwhile activities inside and outside the home, helping children to make good progress in their learning. The childminder works well with parents and other relevant agencies to ensure that there is a good shared understanding of each child's individuality. She has established systematic arrangements to review her practice. This helps her to gain a good overview of the effectiveness of her provision and ways to improve this further.

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further?

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

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further?

 make more effective use of observations to identify and plan for the next steps in each child's development to consistently promote the highest levels of challenge and progression  review the organisation of play materials to further extend children's independent access to a range of stimulating play materials to build on their interests and curiosity.

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the early years provision

The childminding service is organised effectively to promote children's welfare and development. The childminder has clear and readily accessible information about each child's specific personal, care and contact details. She maintains a current paediatric first aid qualification and keeps written parental permission to seek professional medical treatment in the event of any serious accident or sudden illness. Following her last inspection, she has improved systems for recording This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 parental instruction for any medication administration and for documenting any pre-existing injuries. She undertakes systematic risk assessments to underpin practical safety and security measures within the home and on outings. She involves children in regular fire drills to help ensure that good systems are in place to manage any necessary evacuation of the premises. The childminder has a clear

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the early years provision

understanding of what abuse and neglect are and understands her responsibility to work with relevant agencies in the event of any concerns about a child or allegations of abuse. Consequently, there are good arrangements to safeguard children from harm.

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the early years provision

The childminder shares useful written information about her services with new parents and seeks detailed information from them about each child's initial needs, interests and abilities. Consequently, this helps to ensure that there is a good shared understanding of arrangements to meet each child's needs. The childminder uses diaries of children's experiences with her to supplement informal daily discussion with parents and uses her developmental records to share information about children's changing abilities and interests. She has good practical links with other early years settings which children attend, such as local reception classes and playgroups. She recognises the importance of working closely with other relevant agencies, such as health professionals, to support the identification and inclusion of any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder provides a good selection of play materials reflecting aspects of

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the early years provision

diversity, helping children recognise and respect individual and cultural similarities and differences.

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the early years provision

Children are cared for in a comfortable and well-maintained family home where the childminder has a wide selection of good quality toys and play materials suited to children's developmental stages. Following a recommendation at her last inspection, the childminder has provided additional low storage boxes to enable children to make more choices in their play. However, toys and play materials are not yet presented to best effect to fully extend children's independent access to them and to stimulate their curiosity and exploration. The experienced childminder uses parental questionnaires to seek their views on her childminding service and makes use of systematic self-evaluation processes to review the effectiveness of her provision. She has continued to make some use of locally available training to help build on her existing skills, for example, with regard to observing and assessing children's progress. This demonstrates a good commitment to ongoing

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and outcomes for children

The childminder helps children develop a good awareness of healthy living from an early age. She actively encourages younger children's growing independence in self-care skills from an early age, for example, helping them recognise when they need their noses wiping and involving them in fetching and disposing of tissues. Use of individual towels and liquid soap help to reduce the risks of cross-infection when children wash their hands. Meals and snacks are usually provided by parents, helping to ensure that these are suited to children's individual needs and family This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 routines. The childminder has a good understanding of how to provide a well- balanced and nutritional diet, taking account of individual health and cultural requirements in instances where she is contracted to provide this. Children enjoy a wide range of energetic activities, effectively helping to promote their movement

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and outcomes for children

skills. For example, they enjoy crawling, clambering and climbing when using tunnels and slides, develop their balance and coordination as they move across stepping stones and gain awareness and control of their bodies as they purposefully participate in a range of action songs and rhymes. Young children show growing dexterity as they purposefully manipulate puzzle pieces to successfully complete jigsaws. The childminder makes effective use of local walks to help build children's awareness of how to behave safely. For example, she talks with children about the reasons for walking on the inside of the pavement, away from the cars, and about why they need to look and listen for traffic when waiting at the kerb. Children demonstrate concern and safety awareness in their spontaneous imaginative play, for example, having accidentally knocked over a small wooden figure, a toddler asks if it is alright.

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and outcomes for children

Children show a strong sense of security and belonging in the childminder's care. They show ready confidence and purposeful concentration when choosing to play by themselves, for example, when a toddler builds with plastic blocks. They enjoy frequent opportunities to socialise and cooperate with other children when visiting other childminders or local toddler groups. The childminder helps children recognise and accept individual and cultural similarities and differences. For example, she introduces them to a range of books reflecting different family circumstances, lifestyles and abilities, and encourages their interest and awareness in the use of simple signing to communicate.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from a varied range of experiences inside and outside the home, helping them to establish a good basis for their future skills and development. For example, they gain a practical awareness of size, shape and pattern as they compare different boot prints in the snow. Toddlers develop their mathematical language as they describe where characters in books are going, using words such as 'over' and 'under'. They recognise and match numbers as they park numbered wheeled toys in matching 'parking bays'. Children enjoy sharing books and stories with the childminder. They confidently use spoken language in their independent imaginative play when creating simple conversations between wooden play figures. They enjoy mark making, using paints, crayons and pencils to create symbols and pictures. Children learn about changes in the natural world as they sow and grow sunflower seeds or talk about and collect fallen leaves in the autumn. They

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and outcomes for children

investigate how things work as they explore the effects of pouring sand into a sand wheel. They begin to learn about aspects of everyday technology as they use items such as a toy swipe card till. Children enjoy acting out simple experiences, for example, as they play cooperatively in simple role play. The childminder has established systematic methods to track children's interests, abilities and achievements by using captioned photographs linked to specific areas of learning identified within the Early Years Foundation Stage. However, she does not consistently use these to full effect to identify the next steps in their development in order to consistently plan and provide for the highest levels of challenge and progression. 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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