Mason, Teresa Francis

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY360851 Inspection date 01/04/2011 Inspector Christine Clint

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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 2007. She lives with her husband and three children, the two eldest children attend school. The family home is situated close to Bognor Regis town centre in West Sussex and within walking distance of all amenities. Children play on the ground floor in the sitting/dining room and in the conservatory/playroom. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. Children use the bathroom on the first floor and an upstairs bedroom is available for sleeping. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for four children; two children may be in the early years age group. The childminder is also registered to provide overnight care for one child. She is currently caring for seven children, for full and part-time hours during the week.

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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

The childminder shows exceptionally strong progress since her last inspection across all areas of the provision. She has increased her knowledge and understanding and is continuing with her training to raise the quality of her childcare. She shows a capable and committed focus to promoting children?s individual progress and meeting all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage. There are very dedicated links with parents and effectively organised systems for sharing information which thoroughly contributes to children's settled stability within the childminder's home.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the use of reflective practice in self-evaluation to identify strengths and priorities for development that will continuously improve the quality of the provision for all children

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the early years provision

There is a high level of dedication to safeguarding because the childminder has attended child protection training since the last inspection, she has produced a full folder of information to support her knowledge and she has clear information available for parents. She is fully aware of the procedures for referring any concerns. All documentation is precise, up-to-date and available for inspection, the childminder has developed a very wide range of policies and procedures to explain This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 all areas of her provision. Clearly recorded systems for daily attendance are in place and records also show all visitors to the home. Risk assessment records have identified hazards to children in the home and on outings and the childminder shows how children are fully protected. She has updated the records regularly and specifically identified daily incidents and shown how these have been managed, for

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the early years provision

example, the climbing frame was packed away for the winter months because it showed wear and tear.

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the early years provision

The resources for play are excellent and planned in different areas of the ground floor, children know where to access many items and they freely move between the areas as spontaneous play develops. They carry toys from the conservatory to enrich their imaginative play and they sit in plastic containers which are beds for a while and they convert to swimming pools. When the childminder interacts and extends their ideas they revert to beds and become doctors and nurses; children willingly develop their play and show interest in new ideas which challenge their thinking. the childminder welcomes all children and has a naturally supportive attitude to meeting their individual needs. She has greetings displayed in the entrance hall in different languages and has cleverly used radio stations from other countries to settle and comfort children who are learning English as an additional language. She is very aware of individual health needs and works closely with

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the early years provision

The childminder has developed a concise and professional welcome pack for parents and this fully describes all aspects of children's daily care. She effectively explains the regulations in all policies and procedures and alerts parents to her role in children's development. The childminder has included questionnaires which show how parents are immensely satisfied with the care she provides and they fully recognise the progress their children are making. They see their children's records of development very regularly and know and agree the next panned steps in learning. Parents are also happy and confident because the childminder shares information when she collects children from school and this ensures that they are linked into children's daily life. The childminder provides daily diaries and parent are fully informed of all routines and events; there are agreed systems in place for the childminder to visit health professionals when parents are working and this

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the early years provision

promotes children's welfare and well being. The childminder has developed her links with the community around her, she has supported new childminder's by sharing her systems of record keeping, she is continuing to develop links with other professionals to share and link with children's individual needs.

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the early years provision

The childminder is evaluating her own provision and is also continuing to enhance her knowledge and understanding, she has added resources and improved her provision for all age groups, building on their preferences and recognising their individual needs. She has included many instant ideas for enabling her work, for example, a white board which charts all children's attendance and has coloured areas so that she can instantly see where vacancies exist for new parents when they phone. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children show they are flourishing in the planned and very well organised child- centred environment, they delight in the wide variety of play equipment available, they are very settled and secure in their surroundings. Younger children have established close relationships and they are continuing to learn to play together. The childminder is always close at hand and listens and reacts when needed; she fully ensures that children learn to consider each other at all times, especially encouraging them to understand feelings and to share her attention. Children move between the rooms with confidence, they seek different resources and often follow the childminder's lead and take part in singing, story telling and imaginary play. Children are inspired to sing and they remember songs and link these with items they find. for example, they see a picture of a bone and they are instantly reminded of the song they have learned, they sing this with the childminder and

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and outcomes for children

play musical instruments to accompany their singing. They are eager to dance as well and the childminder expertly prompts them to remember the song about a farmer. They all take part in 'The farmer's in his den' and the childminder praises children for remembering the words and the sequence, this increases their vocabulary and their language skills, their sense of rhythm and self worth. Children have opportunities to learn about technology by helping to record their songs and rhymes on a variety of different photograph frames, these can then be played back and linked with the pictures of the children, for example, singing 'Five currant buns'. Children are excited and eager to repeat the song which stimulates their memory and reinforces their counting skills using real pennies. Children show significant progress for their age and stage of development in their use of language and comprehension.

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and outcomes for children

Children have a strong focus on imaginative play and the childminder has created a full range of play equipment in the conservatory to enable, encourage and extend play opportunities. Children include role play throughout the day and carry play food items with them in different handbags. These are often mentioned by children and lead to extended conversation with the childminder as they are spontaneously linked with each play activity. The childminder show exceptional skills of including children in conversation, she uses very appropriate questioning which encourages children's thinking and results in their high levels of importance and self worth. They talk about all the flowers growing and children remember their mummy's favourite flowers, the childminder plans with them to go shopping for these later. They decide to have a pretend picnic on the floor because it is too wet on the grass outside. Children each lay out their table clothes, they are

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and outcomes for children

learning to leave space for each other and to be polite when asking each other to pass items. They talk about having boiled eggs at Easter and they remember the name and taste of certain foods. Children show that their use of language is unmistakably precise because they remember the word 'sour' when describing lemons.

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and outcomes for children

Children are following very thorough routines for promoting hygiene and this establishes and increases their understanding of managing their own personal care; the childminder promotes this through efficient organisation and a well This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 maintained home. Children have individual flannels hanging in the bathroom and recognise these by colour. They know that the sign in place is to remind them to wash their hands after using the toilet and before having snacks and meals; children confirm that they really like washing their hands and they eagerly use the hand gel when they are downstairs. Children take their shoes off when they enter, there are low coat pegs with their names. They are all very involved with snack time and talk about the apples, bananas and strawberries, they help to cut the bananas and the strawberries, learning to take the husks off. They use a special apple cutter

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and outcomes for children

and help to press on this and count all the pieces. Children are very involved and eager to eat, they drink from small cartons and they are encouraged to manage; learning to make decisions and increase their independence. Children play counting games with the childminder and they show a clear ability to recognise number symbols and count in sequence, they are encouraged to understand quantity by matching items and capably know whether quantities are more or less than each other. They show interest in completing puzzles with the childminder and they are very keen to look at pictures in books and comfortably listen to stories as they become more tired .

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and outcomes for children

Children are always entirely supervised during all play and daily routines, they listen to the childminder when she reminds the of small dangers, for example, taking care on the stairs and not carrying anything, learning to concentrate. Managing to lift boxes and move items carefully, taking care when moving near the corner of the table. Children are also learning not to put too much food in their mouths and to chew before they swallow. They show a very natural ability when constantly using the step down into the conservatory and they manage this with ease. Children use keys in their role play and talk about locking doors, they have learned about fire safety because the childminder has practised fire drills and explained why they must go out of the house if there is a fire.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with play equipment to suit their age and stage of development and their individual learning needs. The childminder has used technology to encourage younger children to settle by being able to hear their own language, she also includes opportunities for children to learn to take photographs and this stimulates and prompts the repetition of activities. Older early years children have frequent opportunities to increase their skills of mouse control by using the computer, they show unmistakable ability in managing interactive websites and using a webcam. The childminder researches and links with suitable websites to promote and encourage older children's interest and this increases their understanding of the wider world. 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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