St Nicolas' CofE VA School, Downderry

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 112032 Inspection date 10/05/2011 Inspector Penny Wood

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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 1990. She lives with her husband in Andover, Hampshire. The whole of the home is registered for childminding and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder is able to walk to local schools and pre-schools.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years old at any one time, of whom, three may be in the early years age group. She currently has six children on roll aged between nine months and 13 years old. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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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 very busy and participate in a good range of activities that promote their learning and development well. They are settled and clearly at ease in the childminder's care. Most children have been in the childminder's care for many years. Good strategies, such as excellent partnerships with parents, support the childminder in meeting children's individual needs. The childminder shares her time well between those present and promotes an inclusive environment. The childminder has thorough systems in place to evaluate her provision and takes positive action in order to promote continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 encourage children to use phonics and to link sounds to letters.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from the childminder's effective strategies in place that safeguard their wellbeing. She has a good understanding of her child protection policy and procedures and is confident in the actions required should concerns relating to children's safety arise. Good strategies promote children's safety within the home. Effective measures are in place to identify hazards and actions are taken to reduce the risk of harm to children. For example, a stairgate denies children unsupervised access to the open staircase. Space is used well within the home and children benefit from lots of room to move freely between both the inside and the garden. The childminder ensures the toys and resources are suitable and maintained in good condition. She is thorough when considering children's safety on outings. She This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 risk assesses venues for hazards prior to letting children play. When travelling to

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the early years provision

venues with friends in their cars, she ensures they are suitably insured prior to the visit taking place.

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the early years provision

Effective strategies are in place to promote children's good health. The childminder maintains a current first aid certificate and has suitable recording systems in place for accidents and the administration of medication. Health documentation is effectively shared with parents, which ensures they are informed of events and any action taken. The childminder effectively implements her sickness policy, which reduces the spread of illness. All the required documentation is in place and maintained with concise detail.

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the early years provision

Partnership with parents is a particular strength of the childminder. Excellent levels of information are shared between both parties. For example, the childminder takes time to gather high levels of information about the child from parents as they join her provision, which enables her to effectively settle the child into her care. The childminder encourages parents to play an active role within her provision for children's learning and development. For example, she shares information relating to children's achievements and encourages parents to make contributions to current topics. Parents' comments relating to the childminder are exceptionally positive. They comment that she provides a home-from-home environment for their children, that she is very efficient, friendly, flexible and supportive. Most importantly, they comment that their children are exceptionally happy in her care.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a positive approach towards working with others. For example, she effectively links with the other settings that children attend, sharing information relating to children's development and how they may work in partnership to encourage the child to make further progress. Good strategies are in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder spends time with other registered childminder's whereby they support each other in sharing good practice. She has in-depth systems in place to evaluate her provision. She has a clear understanding of her strengths and uses self- evaluation well to target areas to develop. The childminder makes highly effective use of ongoing training in order to enhance her professional development. She welcomes support from a development worker and takes action to continually drive improvement.

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and outcomes for children

Children participate in a good range of activities that promote their learning and development well across the six early learning goals. Good strategies are in place to gather information relating to children's abilities as they join her care, which is used to plan for children's future development. The childminder has a good understanding of children's individual stages of development because most of them have been with her for a number of years. The childminder comments that she has seen children thrive and flourish over the years that they have been in her care. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder provides activities and topics that children enjoy, which are based on their interests. As a result, during activities children are eager participants. They participate in an excellent range of outings to a variety of venues, such as indoor

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and outcomes for children

play centres, science parks, the zoo and local nature reserves. On such outings, children experience good opportunities to learn about the world around them. They are gaining an awareness of differences through the celebration of cultural festivals at toddler groups and when playing with the childminder's good range of resources that depict positive images of diversity.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy good opportunities to make choices and to self-select, which ensures they engage exceptionally well and show very high levels of interest in the activities provided. For example, children happily come together to play games, such as dominoes and lotto, showing interest all the way through to the end. Children's concentration and perseverance is supported by the childminder, because she engages children well during activities through discussion and makes the activities fun. Children clearly enjoy the childminder's company and readily engage her in discussions. The childminder ensures that the younger children are included within the group and they happily sit on the childminder's knee watching the others play the game. The childminder maintains effective records of children's development and uses information gained through observation and assessment to inform the provision of future activities and learning opportunities.

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and outcomes for children

At all times the childminder ensures that children are engaged in appropriate activities. For example, while the older children enjoy playing on the tricycles and the slide in the garden, younger children are having fun exploring an interesting range of resources in a 'treasure' basket. Children come together well for stories. The childminder has developed a story sack of items relating to a story, which enables the children to take an active part. Children sit exceptionally well and confidently predict what happens next. They are gaining a good knowledge of the letters of the alphabet, although the childminder does not consistently encourage children to use phonics or to link sounds to the letters in order to prepare them for reading. During games, such as dominoes, children excitedly take part, placing their cards in turn and matching the pictures of animals well.

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and outcomes for children

Children are clearly forming strong friendships with each other and play exceptionally well. Highly effective behaviour management strategies encourage children to learn to take turns and share, which is evident in their play. The childminder reinforces the rules and boundaries with children, which encourage them to behave in ways that are safe for themselves and others. For example, she gently reminds children not to throw the lotto cards. The childminder educates children about safety on outings. For example, when children meet dogs, she reinforces that they must not touch the animal unless it is with their owner and the owner agrees. The childminder talks to children about road safety to ensure they learn how to keep themselves safe. At home, she triggers emergency evacuations to ensure children gain an awareness of the action to take in an emergency, such as a fire.

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and outcomes for children

Children are developing a good understanding of healthy living. They frequently clean their hands during the day, particularly before eating and they understand why it is important to do so. Children enjoy a good range of healthy snacks, such This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 as fruit and breadsticks. They eat well and with enthusiasm. Healthy options for children's lunch boxes are requested by the childminder in order to promote a healthy diet from an early age. Children benefit from good opportunities to be physically active. They enjoy outings to a wide range of venues, such as play parks and play centres, which encourage children to make positive progress within their physical skills. The younger children are provided with good opportunities to develop their mobility skills. For example, the enjoy using the storage boxes to pull themselves to a standing position.

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and outcomes for children

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 1 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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