Bowring, Deborah

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY343472 Inspection date 09/05/2011 Inspector Anne Barnsley

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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 2006. She lives with her four children aged five, 10, 12 and 16 years in Ruskington, Lincolnshire. The whole of the house is used for minding and there is an enclosed garden for outside play. The home is within walking distance of the main village, where there are many amenities. The family has two dogs, a cat and goldfish as pets.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for five children under eight years at any one time and currently has five children on roll. Of these, four are in the early years age group. She is also registered to provide overnight care for two children at any one time.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association and an active member of her local childminding group. She has gained a Level 4 qualification in Early Years Practice.

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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

This is a very homely and vibrant learning environment where children enjoy a wide and stimulating range of activities and make rapid progress in their learning and development. The setting is extremely well organised and policies and procedures are comprehensive and reflect the practice that takes place. Partnerships are firmly established in most cases and make a significant contribution to children's welfare, development and learning. The childminder has an accurate understanding of her service and demonstrates an excellent capacity to maintain continuous improvement through highly reflective self-evaluation.

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further?

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

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further?

 ensure that children's development and learning records are regularly shared with practitioners where children attend other settings.

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the early years provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are robust and reviewed regularly. The childminder has an excellent understanding of safeguarding and prioritises children's safety effectively. She has completed safeguarding training and has a comprehensive safeguarding policy and procedure in place. She takes positive steps to eliminate risks through comprehensive risk assessments and robust safety This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 measures. The supervision of children is vigilant and the security of the premises is fully ensured through stringent practice and highly efficient systems. All other polices and procedures that are required for the safe and efficient management of the setting are maintained extremely well and reviewed regularly. These are shared with parents to ensure they are fully conversant with her duty to protect children and how she organises her setting. All adults who have regular contact

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the early years provision

with children are appropriately vetted and children are never left unsupervised in public places.

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the early years provision

Relationships between parents and the childminder are excellent. The childminder works extremely closely with parents to ensure that the individual needs of the children she cares for are at the focus of her planning and the daily routine. She has highly effective systems in place for keeping parents well informed about their child's care and achievements. These well-established systems also enable parents to contribute extremely well to their child's learning and development by completing home-link diaries, which the childminder uses very well to contribute to her planning and next steps for children. The childminder successfully ensures that parents are active participants in their child's care and learning as she organises formal meetings with them to discuss their child's learning journeys so they can work together on aspects of their learning and development. She fully respects them as their child's primary educator and values their contributions. This strong

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the early years provision

partnership enables the childminder and parents to work together and provide children with continuity and consistency in their care and learning. The childminder regularly asks parents for their views and ensures that these are used to inform important decisions about the provision. She provides parents with questionnaires to seek their views about the quality of service she provides and she keeps them well informed about events through newsletters.

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the early years provision

Partnerships with professionals where children attend other settings are currently less well established, as although the childminder talks to the practitioners regularly, she has not yet implemented a consistent system for sharing children's records. Therefore, this does not ensure that the individual needs of children are fully met and that any identified gaps in their learning are reduced through shared practice. In spite of this, the childminder knows every one of her children extremely well and ensures that they progress in ways that best suit their individual needs and preferred learning styles within her setting. She has excellent relationships with other practitioners who work with the children and also with the local school where many of the children go. She is a member of an extremely proactive and successful childminding group in the village, which benefits the children enormously. These meaningful partnerships significantly contribute to the

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the early years provision

positive outcomes for the children at this setting.

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the early years provision

The childminder operates an equal opportunities policy and promotes equality and diversity extremely well. In a former career she was a diversity manager and places equality of opportunity and diversity at the heart of her setting. She has an indepth knowledge of each child's background and promotes a harmonious environment in which children learn to appreciate and respect each other's differences. She ensures inclusion and adapts activities to suit children's individual skills and abilities. There are an excellent range of resources available that promote positive images of diversity and enable children to ask questions about This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their community and wider world. Children use the wider community for visits to children's centres and other settings, where they socialise with children from other cultures, countries, backgrounds, abilities and disabilities. They develop their

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the early years provision

understanding of differences between people as well as their independence and confidence as they socialise in different environments.

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the early years provision

The childminder is highly motivated and forward-thinking. She demonstrates a strong commitment and drive to improve her childminding service. She uses the Ofsted self-evaluation form extremely well to appraise her service and accurately recognises the strengths and areas for improvement. She is realistic in her plan for future development and has high aspirations for developing her professional knowledge and practice. She continues with her early years degree and has, to date, attained a Level 4 qualification in early years practice with a distinction. She completes other relevant courses and keeps her training and skills up-to-date. Since the last inspection she has successfully met the recommendations that were raised and has made other improvements that have significantly enhanced the setting. For example, she is in the process of having a purpose-built playroom and bathroom area built for the children. This is nearing completion and has been

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the early years provision

designed with the children fully in mind. She has bought many high quality resources for this new area and is keeping her garage, which leads off this area, as an indoor wet play and messy area. She has worked extremely hard over the past few years and has achieved an exceptionally high standard in all that she has implemented.

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and outcomes for children

Children make rapid progress towards the early learning goals. They are very happy and settled in this setting and display an eager disposition towards learning. They arrive at the setting with high levels of enthusiasm and know exactly what is expected of them, for example they sit down and immediately take off their shoes without being asked. Children are lively but fully understand the expectations of the setting and are highly receptive and respond well to explanations. They are extremely capable and confident to make their own choices about what they wish to play with. An example of this is when, having just taken off their shoes, they decide they want to play outside in the garden and eagerly put their shoes back on. Resources are stored extremely well to enable this and children enjoy playing on the tractors and scooters. A great deal of discussion and conversation takes place between the childminder and children so that they contribute their ideas and

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and outcomes for children

have a strong sense of belonging. Children feel valued by the childminder as she shows them great levels of respect and listens well to what they have to say. She facilitates their choices extremely well, recognises their efforts as achievements and gives them lots of praise. They are extremely well supported with their first experiences in life, such as going for their first haircut or to the dentist for the first time. Children feel secure and safe with the childminder. They have a consistent and stable routine which they are familiar with and know what is expected of them. They learn to share and to take turns and they respond well when the childminder guides and steers them. Children are acquiring language extremely well and are articulate and capable of expressing their wishes and reasons about This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their choices. The childminder supports them exceptionally well and helps them to

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and outcomes for children

learn how to do this appropriately with consideration for others. She helps them to think about their actions and learn that these have consequences.

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and outcomes for children

Children have high levels of challenge in their play and are very well supported when learning new skills. The childminder has excellent knowledge of how young children learn and fully accounts for their different personalities and preferred learning styles. She regularly observes children at play and makes purposeful observations about their interests and next steps. She uses this information extremely well to either facilitate or specifically plan activities and resources that children will enjoy. They have a wide range of books and mark making resources which they can access by themselves or share with the childminder. Children learn to count and use numbers very well through everyday experiences and they develop their understanding of letters and print very well. Children as young as two years of age are highly proficient with the computer. When they decide to use it, they turn it on, access a children's website and use the mouse with precision.

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and outcomes for children

Children are extremely inquisitive and curious. They ask serious questions and provide excellent solutions when asked what they think, for example, a four year old asked the inspector why the dog was under the table in the garden. When he was told it was to stay out of the sun, he remarked that he could see shiny parts on the dog's fur which meant the sun was still touching him in some places. He decided that the reason for this was because the sun was getting through the holes in the wooden table.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn about nature through lots of exposure to animals. They are fascinated by a snail and bring it to the childminder to talk about it and watch it hide away in its shell, waiting to see if it comes back out. They have many nature- related activities or experiences at the setting and also a wide range of organised trips to places, such as the butterfly centre and farms, that expand their knowledge. They develop their understanding of living things and the origins of food through growing vegetables, fruit and plants. Children enjoy participating in cooking activities. They are taken shopping to purchase produce, through which they gain an excellent understanding of the process from start to finish by learning to use money themselves and also how to make healthy choices. Children get on very well together and greatly enjoy each other's company. They have many opportunities to socialise with other children and adults as part of the childminding

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and outcomes for children

group. A wide range of activities and trips are planned which develop children's understanding and learning in different environments. They are taken out and about to many different places of interest, such as drama groups and craft sessions at the children's centre and to soft play centres, to name but a few. They visit castles and museums and meet with the local fire department and community policeman to learn about jobs people do to help us, as well as develop their own understanding about safety issues.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop an excellent awareness about healthy lifestyles and becoming responsible for their personal needs. They are supported very well with their personal hygiene routines and at a young age are extremely independent. The child who was holding the snail immediately washed his hands afterwards without being asked to do this. It is clear that children learn about the importance of hand washing very well. The childminder promotes healthy eating in her setting and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 shares her healthy eating policy with parents. She gathers all appropriate information about their dietary requirements, likes and dislikes. Children all eat together with the childminder and talk about what they have, such as a pear one child arrived with and tucked into immediately. They do many activities that support their learning about developing healthy lifestyles and eating healthy foods.

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and outcomes for children

Children have access to fresh water at all times, which they can take with them if they chose to play outdoors. They make ice pops in the summer, which is a fun way for children to consume liquid. Children engage in a wide range of physical activities, both indoors and outdoors. They spend lots of time in the garden and also walk to places of interest around the area. Children develop their understanding of safety by learning about road safety and through practising evacuation drills. Their trips to the fire station and visits from the community policeman support their learning and make it memorable. They are becoming responsible and learn extremely well about right from wrong. They have very excellent relationships with the childminder and are effectively developing skills that they need for their 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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