Childminder in Kent

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY345144 Inspection date 06/04/2011 Inspector Elizabeth Coffey

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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 January 2007. She lives with her husband and three children aged six years, eight years and 11 years old. They live in a four bedroom house in Eltham, in the London borough of Greenwich. Children are cared for mainly the ground floor, and older children may also use the first floor rooms. Children do not use the top floor. There is an enclosed back garden fitted with a safety surface for outdoor play. The only pets are some tropical fish.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder works with her mother who is also a registered childminder. When working on her own, the childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight years, of whom three may be in the early years age range, of whom one may be under one year. When working with her mother, the childminder is registered to care for eight children under eight years, of whom six may be in the early years age group, of whom two may be under one year at any one time. There are currently a total of six children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA) and is an accredited childminder with the London borough of Greenwich.

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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 extremely happy and settled in the warm and inclusive environment provided by the childminder. All families are made to feel welcome and all children feel valued by the childminder who understands their individual needs and interests exceptionally well. This enables her to promote children's welfare and learning very successfully, helping children to make very good progress given their age, ability and starting points. The excellent partnerships with parents and other agencies are a key strength, and are significant in making sure that the needs of all children are met. Reflection and self evaluation are embedded in her practice and the childminder's commitment to ongoing improvement ensures continuous development of what is already a high quality service.

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further?

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

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further?

 consider implementing a system to record what adults care for the children at any one time This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder makes children's safety and welfare her highest priority. She has clear policies and procedures relating to safeguarding, a sound knowledge of the symptoms of abuse and neglect and a good knowledge of the local and national procedures for safeguarding children. She ensures that she keeps abreast of changes in this field and regularly attends training. Comprehensive risk assessments and safe practice, within the home and when on outings, help keep children safe at all times.

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the early years provision

The childminder's home provides children with a stimulating, welcoming environment where they quickly feel comfortable and at ease. An excellent range of good quality toys and resources are easily accessible. This enables children to become confident and begin to develop their independence as they select toys, resources and activities for themselves. The use of a Toy Book, with pictures of toys that are in storage, further supports children's choice as they can select additional toys they would like to play with.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides a fully inclusive service and her practice in this area is exemplary. She celebrates diversity and welcomes families from a range of cultures and backgrounds. She provides very good support for children with disabilities and those with special educational needs. She works very closely with parents and other agencies, such as portage and speech and language therapy teams. She is committed to ensuring that there are no barriers to any child being able to access her service and makes sure that activities are adapted, accessible and enjoyed by all.

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the early years provision

The excellent partnerships that the childminder develops with the parents of the children she cares for, significantly contribute to the high quality service she offers to the children. She spends time getting to know the children, she discusses their needs, interests and abilities with parents, and makes sure that she works with parents at all times to promote children's welfare as well as their learning and development. Parents comment that the service is 'fantastic'. They state that the childminder is 'excellent in communicating all aspects of our child's care' and that they feel 'very involved'.

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the early years provision

The childminder and her mother work very well together, sharing roles and responsibilities and supporting each other in all aspects of their childminding service. This team approach allows the children to form close relationships with both the childminders, whilst at the same time each childminder assuming the role of key person for individual children. Extremely effective systems of evaluation, monitoring and appraisal ensure that the childminder is consistently developing her service and looking for further ways to improve outcomes for children. Her vision and commitment to providing an excellent service for all children underpins all aspects of her work. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are extremely happy, confident and settled with the childminder, who is warm and caring in her approach. They enthusiastically take part in a wide range of activities and outings planned by the childminder. They confidently move around her home, select resources and settle to purposeful play. They feel very safe in the setting because the childminder knows all of the children in both her and her mother's care extremely well and offers consistent and familiar routines to meet their individual needs. They learn how to keep themselves safe through clear boundaries and learning about safety. This is further promoted by the use of resources such as the Children's Traffic Club pack, which has activities and ideas to help develop children's awareness and understanding of road safety.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare, learning and development are successfully promoted. Children enjoy a very broad and challenging range of activities in the setting. The childminder is keenly interested and involved in the children's play. She is particularly skilled at building on their interests; for example, noting a child's interest in connecting things, she provided a range of materials and resources such as construction sets, magnets, train tracks and string to allow him to explore his interest and develop his knowledge across all six areas of learning. The childminder listens carefully to children's ideas and provides thoughtful support and encouragement to help them achieve. She reinforces positive behaviour by praising children's actions making comments such as 'good listening'. Pictures of house rules such as 'hang up your coat' are displayed at children's level ensuring that even the younger children can be guided by these gentle reminders. The

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and outcomes for children

childminder teaches children to be polite and well mannered and children are friendly, sociable and kind to each other.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder's commitment to inclusion is evident and diversity is highly valued. Children's individual needs are exceptionally well met in all aspects of their care and the childminder is proactive in seeking information from parents to develop her understanding of issues relating to their needs. Children thrive in this positive nurturing setting. Children's artwork is highly valued and is displayed on the walls, alongside photographs of the children. This builds children's confidence and fosters their self-esteem. Children have excellent opportunities to develop their knowledge and understanding of the world. They enjoy activities linked to customs and festivals from around the world, and there are excellent quality resources available that reflect diversity.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is an active member of a childminding network. She regularly plans outings for the children to local places of interest. For example, children have visited an environment centre, the zoo, theatre and farms, and also use the facilities at local Children's Centres. These visits help to broaden children's understanding of their local community and the wider world. Play in the childminder's well equipped garden, which is fitted with safety surface, encourages children's physical development and gives opportunities for them to learn about the natural world. Children learn about the importance of good personal hygiene as they wash their hands before meals or after using the toilet. They enjoy a range This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 of healthy meals and snacks and the childminder talks to them about the importance of a healthy diet.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder collates detailed written observations of the children's attainments, interests and learning styles and these are supported well with photographic evidence, so parents and carers enjoy very clear, visual images of their children's experiences. Observations are used effectively to plan for next steps in children's learning and the childminder provides activities and outings that help build on what individual children already know or can do, thus creating a culture of ongoing learning for all children. Overall, children develop very good skills for the future. 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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