Simpson Karen

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 204911 Inspection date 12/05/2011 Inspector Lucy Showell

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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 1995. She lives with her husband and adult children in Redditch, Worcestershire. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding. There is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder is able to take and collect children from 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 at any one time. There are currently seven children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage, all of whom attend on a part-time basis. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder has systems and previous experience to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. She is a member of the local childminding group.

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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

The childminder makes excellent provision through clear dedication to each child in her care and to the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Highly valued partnerships with parents and others promote the consistency for children and ensure individual needs are met exceptionally well. The proficient and accurate systems of monitoring and assessment show considerable capacity to maintain continuous improvement. Following identification for further developments, imaginative and resourceful ideas are implemented, which enables the childminder to continue to accomplish the outstanding quality that she strives for.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop observations further to consistently make links to the 'Development matters' prompts to plan the next steps in a child's developmental progress.

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the early years provision

The childminder is dedicated to protecting and safeguarding the children in her care. She has extensive documentation in place obtained from an intensive safeguarding training programme, a clear and detailed written policy and confident knowledge of how to deal with a concern for a child's safety. The childminder maintains wide-ranging and thorough policies, procedures and records to support the safe and effective management of the provision. For example, finely tuned risk assessments ensure any potential hazards to children are minimised and daily This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 records are accurately maintained. The childminder has a very clear vision for the future. Robust systems for continued professional development, such as attending regular training throughout her childminding career, show her highly motivated approach. She continues to improve practice and build upon her previous

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the early years provision

outstanding grade at her last inspection. She ensures she is up-to-date with relevant information through extensive research on the internet and at local libraries. She attends local childminding forums and writes reviews on all the training and events she has been to. The constructive methods of self-evaluation have enabled the valued opinions of parents and children to be listened to and acted upon. As a result, she reviews and devises relevant documentation and shares knowledge and examples of excellent practice effectively to provide a significantly enhanced service.

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the early years provision

The childminder works closely with other registered childminders, providing consistency and cover for holidays or sickness and enabling children to access a variety of exiting opportunities with their peers at social gatherings. She has excellent relationships with other settings that children attend. These have been established over several years. All actively contribute to a well-informed transition process and secure continuity of experience for children between the settings. The childminder is highly committed to providing a fully inclusive provision and goes over and above to ensure that all children's needs are effectively met. While she does not currently care for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or English as an additional language, she fully understands her role, and previous experience and recent training attended ensure she refreshes her knowledge and skills. She encourages the children's knowledge of the world and

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the early years provision

understanding of diversity through numerous activities. For example, the children have made dragon puppets to celebrate Chinese New Year, made collages of different families and dance to Bangra music while dressed in traditional clothing. The considerable importance the childminder gives to the partnership with parents is inspiring. Her supportive and caring nature and proactive methods of communication ensure all parents, carers, grandparents and siblings are clearly involved at the setting. Recent comments from parents, such as 'the childminder provides a stimulating environment and goes that extra mile to make sure children are always learning and developing', 'we would wholeheartedly recommend her to others', 'she is always inviting and kind, both children love going', 'brilliant feedback', 'equipment is great' and 'the environment offered is one of kindness, fun, caring, stimulating, just outstanding!', clearly show how delighted they are

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is extensively promoted within this highly safe and secure environment. The childminder's constant and efficient systems for monitoring safety ensure that children are not at risk. Children learn about their own and others' safety through purposeful experiences, such as conducting their own risk assessments. For example, they check if the garden is safe after a tree was felled in a neighbour's garden. Then, during their own initiated play, children use tools from the role play and put on builder's hats to go outside and mend other trees This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 and the climbing frame. A very clean and hygienic environment is maintained and children are successfully encouraged to develop their own personal hygiene skills such as independent toileting and hand washing. Children learn the importance of good nutrition as they select healthy options from their packed lunches before any

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and outcomes for children

treats which may have been provided. Sensible behaviour and good manners are encouraged. Children learn to share and take turns with favourite resources and any disputes are quickly resolved by reminders of the house rules or excellent distraction techniques. The childminder interacts skilfully with the children, extending discussions and challenging them with realistic achievements across the six areas of learning and development. She has clear and considerate knowledge of individual children gained through ongoing discussions with parents and other professionals who share the care. She makes valuable systematic and spontaneous observations, although they are not always linked to the 'developmental matters', which may impact on the focus of further activities. These, along with photographs and samples of children's creations, are recorded in individual scrapbooks and shared effectively with parents. Planning is very flexible and activities and

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and outcomes for children

experiences are adapted to reflect children's interests.

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and outcomes for children

All children thrive in this vibrant and child-centred atmosphere. They benefit significantly from the successful balance of adult-led, freely-chosen and child-led activities. The childminder organises the space imaginatively, allowing children to explore and investigate the wide-ranging experiences on offer and self-select a variety resources from storage boxes. They take pride in building birthday cakes with construction bricks, counting how many candles they need and working out whose birthday is next. They measure and scoop in the sand and guess which items will float or sink in the water. They wash the dolls clothes before hanging them out to dry and helping each other to squeeze the pegs open and place them on the line. They complete favourite character jigsaws, either taking time on their own with plenty of praise and encouragement or together with childminder's support. Enthusiastic questioning and ideas for how we know which piece goes

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and outcomes for children

where are well received. In the garden, children water the potatoes that they planted a few weeks ago and are excited to see how much they have grown as they measure against their bodies. The children explain that they cannot give the potatoes too much water. They make dens in the garden using blankets over the climbing frame and sit inside to have a picnic. They are engrossed as they 'paint' the patio with wet brushes and watch as the sun dries away the marks. They watch and try to pop the bubbles as they float away in the wind, or watch the ribbons hanging in the trees. When they go inside they complete today's weather chart. 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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