Childminder in Hillingdon

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY416470 Inspection date 03/05/2011 Inspector Maria Conroy

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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 2010. She lives with her husband and their three children age nine, six and three years. The family live in a house in Uxbridge in the London borough of Hillingdon. The whole of the house is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The family have a pet rabbit. The childminder walks and drives to local facilities.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of two children at any one time. She is currently minding two children both of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary part of the Childcare Register.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall, children are happy and very settled even though they have only been attending a short time. The childminder is becoming familiar with their individual requirements, as a result of getting to know the children and by working in partnership with parents. The childminder is keen to attend further training to make further improvements to enhance the overall quality of the service she provides. She has begun the process of self-evaluation and identified some of her strengths and weakness. Plans for further improvement are in the process of being developed, however they have not been implemented and as a result have yet to have an impact on the outcomes for children.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop the process of observation by identifying the next steps for learning using the practice guidance for support, to plan and provide a balance of both adult and child-led activities to fully promote all six areas of learning and the outcomes for children  enhance the risk assessment by adding the assessment of risks associated with the outings children are taken on and including the use of new equipment in different locations  keep a record of the evacuation drills carried out in a fire log book including any problems encountered and how they were resolved  develop the process of self-evaluation to include the views of the parents who use the service to identify areas for further improvement. 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 has a secure understanding of how to protect and safeguard the children in her care. She has a range of policies and procedures in place which are implemented to protect children and keep them safe. Risk assessments are undertaken on the premises, both indoors and outdoors, however they have yet to include the record of the risk assessments for outings they participate in and new pieces of equipment which are used with the children, as a result not all hazards have been identified. The childminder has begun to undertake fire drills with the children, although she has yet to keep a record of this.

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the early years provision

The childminder has made a start to the process of identifying her strengths and weaknesses, however this is still in its very early stages as the childminder has recently begun to care for children. She verbally communicates with parents on a regular basis, although she has yet to devise a process of obtaining their views relating to specific areas of her childminding service. The childminder is keen to improve the quality of the service she provides. She attends the local childminders' drop in, which enables her to receive support and has already attended a training course on supporting children's speech and language development in the early years.

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the early years provision

Resources are varied and regularly changed around to ensure that children have the opportunity to have a variety of play materials available. The childminder has recently attended a training course which led her to review the way in which her toys were stored, as a result children can now see clearly what is available and independently make choices about what they would like to play with. The outdoor area is attractively set out for when children use it, encouraging them to participate in using the equipment. The accommodation is clean and tidy and is well organised making the best use of space both indoors and outdoors.

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the early years provision

The childminder is getting to know the children as they have not long been with her. She is keen to encourage the children to settle well and spends quality time with them finding out what they like to do, the type of toys they are interested in and the stage of development they are at, to provide a suitable range of toys for them to use. The childminder finds out from the parents specific information relevant to individual children, enabling her to effectively communicate with them and meet their needs. Children have regular opportunities to access a variety of activities both in the home and through the use of local outings, such as the local children's centre. Children have begun to take part in art and craft activities enabling them to have an awareness of the different celebrations throughout the year.

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the early years provision

The childminder has already established positive partnerships with the local children's centre where she works in partnership with other professionals and receives advice and support to enable her to meet the individual needs of the children in her care. She attends the local play group enabling the children to make friends and gain confidence in socialising. There is also the opportunity to use the local toy library ensuring that there is a wider variety of equipment to supplement This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the range already in place.

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the early years provision

The childminder is developing the relationships with the parents, ensuring each child's needs are met. There are suitable methods for communicating with parents including a home link book, where the childminder records details of the children's day, such as their food intake, toileting details and sleep routine. The childminder liaises with parents regularly to ensure that she has up-to-date information about the children to enable her to meet their daily needs. The childminder is flexible to the needs of parents ensuring continuity of care for their children, for example, discussing any changes in their working pattern that she can accommodate.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has a secure knowledge of the learning and development and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has begun to undertake the process of observation, however this is still in its very early stages and she has yet to consistently identify children's next steps in their development, to support her in planning for children's individual needs. The children take part in a suitable range of activities, although there are fewer adult-led activities to promote specific learning experiences.

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and outcomes for children

Children regularly use the outdoor area they push the buggy and enjoy kicking the ball. Inside they have fun making music and enjoy mark making with pencils and crayons; they use simple building blocks and line up the selection of cars on the road mat, as they are becoming familiar with counting from one to five. Children's imagination is promoted as they use pretend tools to fix the buggy, they love using bubbles and take part in a range of art and craft activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children have developed a sense of security and belonging, with the childminder who provides a warm and welcoming environment. They are learning to understand boundaries that are in place to keep them safe, for example, when children are out they are strapped into the buggy. They are reminded to sit on the chair nicely and use appropriate booster seats while they have their meals at the table. There are, however, fewer planned activities and experiences to help children recognise and learn how to keep themselves safe.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning to have a healthy lifestyle, they are provided with regularly opportunities to play outside and have drinks available to them throughout the day. Children are encouraged to wash their hands before they eat and the childminder follows effective procedures to prevent cross infection when undertaking nappy changing. Children engage in a range of physical activities, for example, they have fun jumping on the trampoline, bounce on the space hopper and enjoy driving the bubble car in the garden.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident, showing good levels of self-esteem and building strong relationships within the setting, with both the childminder and their friends. Children are very good at sharing and taking turns and there are many duplicates This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 of equipment to avoid disputes. They are learning to respect their environment, by taking part in tidy up time, where they confidently put the toys away in the well- organised storage systems. Children receive regular praise from the childminder, who speaks to them in a gentle, reassuring voice, giving them the sense of security enabling them to particulate in the learning environment.

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and outcomes for children

Children are making progress in communicating, literacy and skills relating to information and communication technology. They have use of battery operated toys, and enjoy listening to stories and singing songs, they count the cars they have lined up and are beginning to recognise shapes through activities they participate in. All of which promotes the skills they require when they move onto school. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 The extent to which children feel safe 2 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 The extent to which children make a positive contribution 2 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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