Viking Middle School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 126860 Inspection date 01/06/2011 Inspector Linda Coccia

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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 1998. She lives with her husband and two school aged children in Kingshill, near Wrotham, Kent. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's house and an upstairs bedroom is used for childminding, and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. There is one step to access the premises.

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Description of the childminding

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 four children aged under eight years at any one time; of these, three children may be in the early years age range. The childminder is currently minding three children between the ages of six months and two and a half years.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder attends the local parent/toddlers group and the local childminding group. The family has two pet rabbits and some goldfish. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association (NCMA).

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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 childminder is good at meeting children's needs because she uses some good, effective procedures to help her identify them. She is particularly effective in helping children enjoy and achieve. Overall, her self evaluation is good. The childminder has addressed recommendations from her last inspection. This shows she is able to maintain the continuous improvement of her setting.

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further?

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

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further?

 strengthen the use of self-evaluation to identify strengths and prioritise improvements for development that will continuously improve the quality of the provision for all children

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the early years provision

The childminder is good at organising her service, and in particular her paperwork. She ensures that all adults residing on the premises hold current Criminal Record Bureau checks. She uses an excellent range of procedures to help her safeguard children. She is very particular that parent's understand her responsibility to protect children and makes it very clear she will always act in the children's interest. All current regulatory paperwork is fully maintained and up to date. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children's well being is being promoted exceptionally well. The childminder is always looking to improve her service. She has carried out a good evaluation of the way she works and has used comments from parents. The evaluation could be strengthened by including additional views from a variety of different referees. From her evaluation she was able to decide on a number of areas for

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the early years provision

improvement, including the way she plans activities for children. Children have benefitted from improvements because they are now more involved in activities that are tailored to their needs. The childminder has fully considered the different play spaces available to children and has made different areas focal points for different types of play. For example, the hallway has the home/role play toys and equipment. This means that she has made excellent use of the space available, which allows the children room to play. She also uses the local community exceedingly well, and provides some excellent opportunities for children to experience all types of events at local farms and allotments. The childminder has also attained a level three childcare qualification in the past year, making herself her own best resource. Children use an excellent range of resources.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a good attitude towards Equality and Diversity. Her service is open to all children regardless of background and ability. She cares for some children from bi-lingual families and always respects parent's wishes regarding any special care requirements. Children's individual needs are catered for. She works closely with other care providers when children attend more than one provision, and this includes grandparents. She exchanges children's information with them and others, such as local pre-schools, to ensure that children's needs are being met consistently well at all types of provision. The childminder also has good relationships with the parents of the children she looks after. They complete questionnaires about her service, which have all been very positive, and she has used their written and verbal comments in her self evaluation. The childminder uses a written contact book to provide brief details of their children's day and to

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the early years provision

highlight any achievements or incidents. Parents like to have verbal discussions with the childminder, which she always makes time for. Children receive good and consistent care.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy their time with the childminder. Parents comment that their children are always happy to attend and are eager to settle down to play. The children move around freely, selecting their own toys and activities. This shows they feel quite safe in the setting. Children have an excellent range of toys to choose from. They love the small world figures that they make houses for and happily chat to. This not only encourages their communication skills but also helps to aid their social development. The excellent range of puzzles challenges the children well, and with a little help from the childminder they complete most puzzles with ease. These help children to develop problem solving skills. The children like to utilise the large airy hallway; they seem to like the louder noises that are produced here when they play with their cars or the role play activities. They choose their toys from storage boxes that

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the childminder has marked with pictures of the contents. The children regularly visit the local farm to see the animals, in particular to see the lambs and chicks in the spring. They watch the childminder's tadpoles grow and have created pictures of them, whilst learning about the tadpole's lifecycle. They are creative with an excellent range of mediums, such as tissue paper and modelling dough. They make lots of items for Mother's Day and other celebratory days.

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and outcomes for children

Children gain an excellent understanding of the world as they participate in a full range of celebrations for other cultures and nationalities. They visit many local swing parks and are regular visitors at local parent and toddler groups, where they learn to play alongside and with their peers. By participating in all of the above activities, children are developing an excellent range of skills for the future. The childminder keeps excellent written observation records on each child. She skilfully assesses their progress and next steps. She has some excellent planned activities to help children progress. She records children's achievements and plots their progress. The records clearly show that children are making excellent progress towards the Early Learning Goals.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is outstanding in promoting a healthy lifestyle with the children. The children are proficient in their understanding of the childminder's hygiene routines before snack time and after using the toilet, or whilst having their nappies changed. The childminder has created home made posters to explain to children about hand washing after different activities. Children ask for snack when they are hungry and have excellent choices of fruit and other types of finger foods. They also help to prepare food. The childminder promotes healthy eating with the children by using colourful posters, and through regular discussions about healthy food. They grow food with the childminder and visit a local allotment in order to see a wider variety of food growing. They enjoy strawberry picking and the subsequent eating activity. The childminder has completed a food hygiene course and is rigorous in ensuring all foods eaten by children are within their consumption

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and outcomes for children

dates. The excellent range of physical play activities and the children's excellent understanding of what food is good for them, shows that they have already adopted a healthy lifestyle with the childminder. Children are happy to be with the childminder. They comply with the childminder's requests to tidy away toys for safety reasons before they get more out. They play well together and share toys. The children are always eager to try new things and show pleasure at using new toys. The childminder notes activities that children indicate they are not interested in, so that she can be sure they are learning from the activities that they do like. The childminder's written behaviour management policy clearly shows the good strategies she uses with children, although these are rarely used. Children show they respect their toys and look after them. 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 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 1 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 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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