Childminder in SouthwarkOfsted inspection, 4 May 2011

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY273439 Inspection date 04/05/2011 Inspector Josephine Geoghegan

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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 November 2003. She lives with her two teenage children in the East Dulwich area of the London borough of Southwark. Children have access to all areas of the ground floor of the home and there is a shared garden available for supervised outside play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children, of these, not more than three may be in the early years age range at any one time. She is currently caring for five children in the early years age range, of these, two children attend full-time education. The childminder has a cat. The childminder does not employ an assistant or provide overnight care. The childminder holds a level 2 qualification in childcare and education.

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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

Good systems are in place to ensure the needs of all children in the Early Years Foundation Stage are met effectively. The childminder is developing methods of assessing children's progress, although these are in their infancy. The childminder plans a good range of activities that relate to children's individual needs and learning interests. She shows a capacity to maintain continuous improvement as she keeps up to date with current practice and has attended relevant training courses. She is developing the use of evaluation to make further improvements to the quality of her service. A good range of documentation, policies and procedures are in place which supports the management of her service, although the procedures in place relating to risk assessments are less well established. The childminder has developed good relationships with the children; as a result they are happy and settled in the childminder's care and use their learning environment

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the use of observations and assessments to ensure children's learning priorities are identified  extend the methods of recording risk assessments to ensure the risk assessment covers anything with which a child may come into contact. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Good systems are in place to help safeguard children and protect them from harm as the childminder has attended relevant training and has devised a range of appropriate policies and procedures; this enables her to take prompt action if she has any concerns regarding children's welfare. The childminder also ensures all required documentation is used and stored appropriately and shared with parents, such as a record of children's attendance and any accidents or medication administered. The childminder shows high regard to promoting children's safety as she completes risk assessments of the home and prior outings. However, these lack some detail and do not fully identify everything that children come into contact with and the associated risks .The childminder has appropriate fire safety equipment in place and has practised emergency evacuation drills with the children, helping them to feel safe as they become familiar with emergency

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the early years provision

The childminder shows an awareness of evaluating her service and identifies her strengths and areas for improvement. She has attended a variety of courses which help to extend her knowledge of childcare; she reviews her policies and procedures, that are shared with parents. The childminder shows a commitment to driving improvement as she has successfully met the recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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the early years provision

Equality and diversity are promoted effectively by the childminder as she ensures that children have access to a good range of toys and books that reflect positive images of people in the community and provides activities and outings that help children learn about cultures and beliefs. In addition, displays of photos of children participating in activities enhance their self-esteem and develop their sense of belonging. The childminder shows an awareness of children's individual needs and their family backgrounds.

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the early years provision

Engagement with parents is strong as the childminder keeps parents well informed of their children's progress and all events of the day through the use of home contact books and regular discussions with parents. She also ensures that all documentation is shared with parents effectively, supporting the management of her service. The childminder has established good partnerships with other educational settings that children attend so that information can be shared appropriately to support chidlren's learning and development.

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the early years provision

Deployment of resources is effective as the childminder ensures that the time children spend with her is well organised, enabling them to enjoy a wide variety of interesting activities and outings that support all areas of their learning effectively. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from a clean, bright and well maintained learning environment that is well organised. Children are able to select resources and work independently as the childminder has organised the resources in a dedicated play area where children's creative work is also displayed; this creates a welcoming learning environment. Children have access to a broad range of good quality toys and books that is suitable for their ages and stage of development. The childminder knows the minded children well and is able to confidently discuss their individual learning needs. She plans an interesting variety of adult-led activities and outings in the home, as well as ensuring that children have time for free play and that their rest and meal times are catered for; this ensure that they have a good balance of learning opportunities. The childminder makes observations of children's progress and links these to the expectations of the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

However, she has not established a clear system to collate the observations and use these to prioritise children's next learning steps.

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and outcomes for children

Children are able to adopt healthy lifestyles as they are provided with a nutritious diet of healthy snacks and home-cooked meals that promote healthy eating habits. Children are able to make healthy choices at meal times of the foods that they would like to eat and enjoy talking about their favourite foods. Children also gain regular fresh air and exercise as they walk to and from school and local parks and children's groups where they use a range of resources that promotes their physical skills. Good systems are in place to ensure any accidents or illness are dealt with appropriately as the childminder keeps appropriate records and holds a current first aid qualification. Children are supported well in learning about expectations of their behaviour, such as sharing and taking turns during play, and helping to tidy away toys after use; this helps them to take personal responsibility for their own actions and make a positive contribution to their learning environment. Children

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and outcomes for children

show good relationships with the childminder and each other as they play cooperatively and respond well to the daily routines. They freely approach the childminder with any concerns and benefit from lots of hugs and cuddles, helping them feel safe and secure in the childminder's care.

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and outcomes for children

Children are supported well during play as the childminder encourages them to explore and make choices. She follows children's interests during play, asking them lots of questions that make them think and extend their learning. Children are happy, settled and purposefully engaged. They are interested to learn and benefit from well-planned activities and outings that follow a theme to focus and enhance their learning. For example, they are currently looking at animals and farms and so the childminder has sorted out a range of resources that reflects this interest. Children also use books purposefully and talk about the different animals and how they can remember seeing them at the farm. They then colour in pictures of animals and talk about the noises that animals make. Children show good problem solving skills as they use language to negotiate how to fit everyone's picture on to the table so that they all have space to draw. They show an awareness of number,

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and outcomes for children

size and shape as they count and use mathematical language during play. Children's language skills are enhanced by the childminder who helps them to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 learn good speaking and listening skills during play and while listening to stories. Children have good opportunities to learn about their environment and nature as they participate in regular outings to local parks and talk about how they feed the ducks. They are supported well in learning about cultures and beliefs through well- planned activities that relate to a variety of cultures. Children have good opportunities to design and construct while using a range of construction toys. They enjoy being creative and use a range of materials to develop their free creative expression, such as paint, collage, drawing and malleable materials. They also participate in regular cooking activities with the childminder, such as making

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and outcomes for children

cakes for their tea. Overall, children have good opportunities to develop their skills for the future as they participate in a broad range of challenging activities that promote all areas of learning effectively. 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 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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