Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY334269 Inspection date 25/03/2011 Inspector Lynne Naylor

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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 2006. She lives with her husband and three children aged 15, 10 and six years in Accrington, Lancashire. The entire ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding. The rear garden is available for outdoor play. The childminder walks to toddler groups and is able to take children to and collect them from local schools. The family has one dog as a pet.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. There are currently three children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder holds an appropriate early years qualification at Level 3. The childminder 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 good.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are cared for in a home that is organised to be inclusive, accessible and safe. Their unique needs are effectively met and they make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder follows effective policies to maintain children's good health and safety and has clearly recorded some risk assessments. There is good communication between the childminder and parents. The childminder understands the importance of partnership working and is beginning to work with other providers. She regularly evaluates her service and demonstrates a good capacity to maintain continuous improvement.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 extend the risk assessment record to clearly identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis (Suitable premises, environment and equipment). 08/04/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 extend records of information to make clear who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility  strengthen and extend systems to monitor and promote children's progress towards the early learning goals, linking with parents and other providers This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 where appropriate.

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the early years provision

The childminder follows many effective policies and procedures, which are regularly reviewed and help keep children safe. She has a good knowledge of the possible indicators of abuse or neglect and how to liaise with appropriate agencies. This is because she recently refreshed her safeguarding training. The childminder keeps children safe by carefully supervising them in the home and garden and on outings. However, the risk assessment record does not show how all the hazards are minimised, particularly outdoors. This is a specific legal requirement that has not been fully met. Other records linked to keeping children safe are well maintained. These include records relating to children's attendance, evacuation practices, smoke detector checks, accidents and medicine administrations. Documentation is well organised, readily available for inspection and stored securely to protect confidentiality. A valid first aid certificate ensures that the

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the early years provision

childminder is able to respond effectively to any accidents.

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the early years provision

Good use is made of space in the home to provide a wide range of suitably challenging activities and experiences. Also, children have opportunities to learn outdoors every day. High-quality resources are varied, readily available and used well to support children's learning and development. Resources such as books, musical instruments and dressing up clothes reflect a range of other cultures. These are purposefully sourced by the childminder to promote positive attitudes to differences in culture and respect for diversity.

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the early years provision

The childminder holds a recognised childcare qualification and attends further training and workshops to update her skills and knowledge. Since the last inspection, she has made good progress to develop her service. The system of self-evaluation is not rigorous enough to monitor how well the general and specific requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage are met. However, the childminder seeks the views of parents and children through verbal exchanges and increasingly through questionnaires. This helps to ensure her service meets the needs of those children who attend.

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the early years provision

Parents are clearly kept informed about the childminding practice, verbally and through displayed information and useful policies and procedures. The childminder has a positive working relationship with parents. The information parents provide about their child's background and needs is clearly recorded. Information about who has legal contact with the child and who has parental responsibility, although known to the childminder, is not clear in the records. The information that parents provide about their child's abilities is informally used to support children's learning and development. The childminder understands the benefits of working in partnership with other settings delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure progression and continuity for individual children. She has only recently had need to work in partnership with other settings and, consequently, the relationship is just developing.

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children's individual health, physical and dietary needs are well met. They effectively learn about hygiene and safety issues through routines, stories and planned experiences, such as baking. They learn about the care of teeth as they handle, look at and talk about dental items. Children have a balanced diet with healthy snacks and home-made lunches. They have a good awareness of different types of foods. This is because they try a variety of cultural foods and are actively involved in growing, tending and picking vegetables, such as carrots and peas. Indoors and outdoors, children maintain a very healthy lifestyle through regular exercise. Their bodies benefit from vigorous exercise in the fresh air. They develop good coordination as they throw and catch balls, compete in egg and spoon races and skip with ropes. They develop climbing skills on equipment at the park.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop learning and social skills that equip them well for the future. They explore emotions and learn how their own behaviour affects others by caring for a specialist doll. They behave well and display high levels of confidence and initiative. For example, a child brushes up the lentils she spilt while pouring them from one container to another. Children freely choose what they would like to play with from a wide range of books, toys and craft materials. Posters, books and dressing up clothes enrich children's learning about the cultures of others. Children dress in authentic Asian clothes and play instruments from other countries. Posters featuring different faiths and traditions are displayed on the wall. These include posters relating to Eid, Jewish festivals and the Chinese zodiac.

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and outcomes for children

Records to evidence children's good progress are developing well. The records are not fully referenced to the learning and development requirements or linked with information provided by parents. However, children love to look through their learning journey records, which are very attractively presented. They include photographs, observations and assessments of children's learning. Young children demonstrate growing skills in literacy and numeracy. They choose to look at books, appropriately turning the pages and naming pictures. They listen to stories and practise early writing skills as they make marks on paper with crayons and paint. Children's learning is successfully extended by the childminder as they play. For example, a child is supported to stack beakers according to size. Children develop the concept of shape and space as they search for various shapes hidden under containers of varying sizes and colours.

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and outcomes for children

Children display a good understanding of technology as they play. For example, they operate walkie-talkies and electronic books. They show curiosity and a desire to learn as they ask searching questions, such as 'where do spiders live?' Children explore using all their senses on visits to interesting places. For example, they experience fibre optics for visual and tactile stimulation and bubble tubes for relaxation at a multi-sensory centre. They also visit a working farm to look at the cows, pigs and goat and stroke a lamb. 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 3 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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