Smith, Samantha Ann

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY420538 Inspection date 19/05/2011 Inspector Jan Leo

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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 registered in 2010. She lives with her husband and two children, who are aged 7 and 10 years, in a residential area on the edge of Bicester, Oxfordshire. The ground floor of the property is used for childminding and an bedroom upstairs is used for rest or sleep. There is an enclosed rear garden for outdoor activities.

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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 no more than five children under the age of eight years and of these, no more than three may be in the early years age group, and of these only one may be aged under one at any one time. The childminder currently cares for six children in total, of whom three are in the early years age group. Children attend on a full-time, part- time, or occasional basis.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder has approximately 15 years experience of working in children's day-care and other aspects of childcare.

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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

The children benefit from this caring and very effective service because of the childminder's skill and dedication in helping them reach their full potential. Equality and diversity are valued and promoted. Toys and other resources are well deployed to meet children's individual needs and teach them useful skills for the future. All aspects of health and safety are very well met in practice. However, while children know what is expected of them, reasons are not always clear.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Strong, well developed partnerships exist with parents and the childminder understands the value of linking with any other carers if care is shared. The childminder reflects on her service and takes a pro-active approach to improvement. She continues to develop her procedures in order to provide a professional, high quality service for all who attend.

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further?

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

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further?

 routinely provide a reason for doing things to reinforce children's understanding, specifically regarding health and safety. 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 very secure understanding of child protection issues having completed recent safeguarding training to reinforce her knowledge. She has a good understanding of the procedures to follow if she has a concern about the welfare of a child in her care. There are thorough risk assessments in place and shecarries out daily safety checks to identify and address potential hazards within the setting. Although the childminder does talk to children about their safety during play, she does not consistently give children a reason for doing things. Therefore, their understanding of health and safety and how to protect themselves from harm is limited.

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the early years provision

The childminder supervises diligently to support children throughout the day, acting as a good role model to ensure they know how to behave. The children behave very well, playing safely and sensibly alone or with their peers. This creates a calm, supportive environment conducive to happy play and learning.

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the early years provision

Resources are well deployed to encourage exploration and participation by all children. Most are within easy reach at low level for young children and they are well used to help children become enthusiastic learners. The childminder gets to know the children very well, gathering information about their home life in order to tailor care to suit their individual needs and diverse interests. The childminder sets individual challenges for children to help them progress at their own level, ensuring all get the support they need to feel special and make good progress.

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the early years provision

Parents see daily record books to encourage a good two-way flow of information about their children and help them feel involved in the day. These records are supplemented by photographs of what their children do in order to share snippets of the day. The parents value the service highly, appreciating the relaxed family focus and flexible care that the childminder offers. They find the childminder welcoming and efficient and they know their children have fun in her care.

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the early years provision

Currently, none of the children attend other childcare settings but the childminder understands the value of linking with any other carers to share information and consolidate children's development. She has formulated a plan of how to build such links when the opportunities arise, taking a pro-active approach to developing her service. The childminder reflects on all she does and prepares formal action plans to build improvements into her procedures. She attends relevant training to continue her own development and has a keen desire to maintain and build on her already high standards. This shows her commitment to continuous improvement of her setting. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The children feel very secure in the childminder's care. They play in a relaxed manner and confidently interact with the childminder. Young children babble and use gestures to strike up 'conversations' with the childminder and she happily interacts to encourage early language and help children make sense of what they see. Some make animal noises as they build a puzzle with the childminder, answering her questions confidently when she challenges their thinking. For example, one, when asked ''where is the pussy cat?'' said ''oh'' and began searching for the missing piece, demonstrating understanding and listening skills from an early age.

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and outcomes for children

The children count within the daily routine to practise their number skills and the childminder reinforces concepts of space and position by pointing and repeating words to highlight their meaning. This helps the children develop appropriate early maths skills. The children develop a love of books and enjoy sitting close to the childminder to read together. They are starting to understand that print has meaning. They visit the library to broaden the choice of books on offer and learn about the local community as they go on their travels.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from regular outdoor play, taking learning outside to experience the natural world as they grow and care for plants, or challenge their physical skills on the trampette. Some sit in the sandpit to explore texture, make marks and use tools. They freely choose what to do and the childminder extends their interest and keeps the children stimulated. The childminder shows a well developed understanding of how children learn, how to link learning and how to make it fun.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder observes what children do and records their progress in pictorial fashion using simple captions to bring the records to life. These records paint a colourful picture of the day for parents to see but do not have any reference to specific aims or achievements to help parents fully understand the purpose of the activities in terms of child development and learning

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and outcomes for children

The children visit local activity groups with the childminder to increase their social skills and understanding of the wider world. The childminder finds out in advance what special attraction is planned in order to ensure the visit is suitable for the children she takes, helping inspire new interests and broadening children knowledge of the world. For example, they visited on ''bug'' day and watched giant cockroaches scurry around in a tank. Some had the opportunity to hold one under supervision but swiftly declined, but having a day to remember for some time to come.

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and outcomes for children

Observations and planning support children's ongoing development effectively and the childminder is becoming increasingly confident in providing an effective programme of individual learning for each child in her care. 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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