Maassen, Iris Josephine Marguerite

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY406925 Inspection date 15/06/2011 Inspector Angela Rowley

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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 2010. She lives with her five children, two of whom are of adult age, and three who are aged 17 years, two years, and 11 months. Her eldest children are occasionally used as her assistants. The childminder and her family live close to the town centre of Bolton, Greater Manchester. There are parks, schools and public transport links within the area. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home is used for childminding. Two bedrooms on the first floor are designated as rooms for overnight care. The childminder makes use of the neighbouring childminder's garden for outside play. She is a qualified teacher.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, no more than one of which may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding one child in this age group on a part-time basis. She also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. At times when the childminder works with her assistant, she is registered to care for a maximum of 10 children, four of whom may be in the early years age range.

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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's secure understanding of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage results in a well-organised provision that promotes many strong outcomes for children. A wide range of play experiences, mostly comprehensive planning systems and quality interaction enables children to make good progress in their learning and development. They are very settled and play happily in the stimulating, child-centred environment. The childminder uses her partnerships positively to provide consistent care for children and to ensure each child's individual needs are known and met. She plans for and makes continual improvements to her provision, ahowever, does not yet rigorously evaluate what she provides.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve provisions to help children be healthy by, for example, providing access to drinking water, by increasing awareness of food hygiene legislation and by providing each child with their own bed linen  strengthen the self-evaluation process, using quality improvement tools and assessing what the setting does against robust and challenging criteria in order to continually improve the provision for children  improve the use of assessment tools to identify the next natural steps in a This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 child's developmental progress.

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the early years provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children's welfare are secure. The childminder has obtained her Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures and adopted a clear childminding policy. As a result, she clearly understands issues in relation to child protection. All adults resident in the household are suitably checked and the childminder is vigilant with regard to visitors. She checks identification carefully and keeps associated records. The childminder conducts risk assessments of her premises and implements appropriate measures to minimise potential hazards. Consequently, children can play safely in most areas of her clean and suitably maintained home. Procedures to respond to emergency situations are strong as the childminder has a panic system installed in her home. Children's health and well-being are suitably promoted. Both the childminder and her assistant hold current paediatric first aid certificates and implement clear procedures regarding

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the early years provision

accidents and medication. The childminder positively promotes a healthy lifestyle by ensuring children are well nourished and have permanent access to some healthy drinks. Some effective procedures are in place to help prevent the spread of infection and the childminder provides children with daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise through planned outings and play in the neighbouring childminder's garden.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides a welcoming service that is responsive to individual needs. She observes in detail and tracks what children can do so she can identify where children are not making as much progress and provide tailored support. This helps to narrow the achievement gap. She values children's home languages and helps children understand differences. The childminder speaks several languages and encourages children to communicate in different ways. She helps children understand the world they live in by taking them out to community venues regularly. She uses space within her home effectively to ensure every child is able to access appropriate activities and play materials. Her dining area provides interesting areas to explore and is used to display a wealth of children's artwork and stimulating items of interest, such as, pictorial timelines to help very young or non-verbal children understand the routines of the day.

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the early years provision

Through secure transition arrangements children settle quickly and develop a strong sense of security within the setting. Good communication systems and documentation ensures that children's care needs are met and that parents are well informed of how the setting operates. Initial questionnaires help the childminder find out about children's care needs and what she can do to help her provide a continuation of their learning journey. Parents are regularly informed of their child's activities and progress as the childminder electronically sends them information on a weekly basis. They value this communication and, on the childminder's feedback questionnaires and reports, they offer high levels of praise, for example, one stating 'care is of an excellent standard, my child is clearly thriving'. The childminder has a strong understanding of the benefits of partnership working to promote continuity of learning for children. Her partnerships with other

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 childminders extend children's learning and social experiences and her links with community services, such as the toy library, increase the range of resources available to support children's play and learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder has worked hard to continually develop her provision since she registered. She has attended some training sessions which have helped her deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage securely. She has also visited a centre of excellence following which she increased resources that provide sensory stimulation for children. The childminder has a clear understanding of what she needs to do next. For example, she knows she needs to access food hygiene training to underpin the clear procedures she follows when preparing food. She is also keen to further extend her own core qualification and has taken steps to enrol to undertake training to achieve her Early Years Professional Status. A detailed self-evaluation demonstrates how the childminder understands what good practice looks like, however, she is not able to clearly evidence the small number of outstanding judgements she has given herself and she is not using any quality

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the early years provision

assurance methods or quality criteria to help her monitor and evaluate her provision, which results in a small number of weaknesses in the outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder's secure knowledge of how to promote learning through play helps children make good progress and enjoy their time with her. She knows each child very well. She records her detailed observations of what they can do and uses her teaching skills and experience to plan some relevant future learning priorities. She matches up her observations to the Early Years Foundation Stage, however, the assessment tracker records she currently uses are not entirely effective in helping her plan the next natural steps in children's development across all areas of learning. The childminder plans and provides a varied range of activities and experiences using a monthly topic planning web. This ensures she provides a broad range of experiences for them.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder skilfully incorporates opportunities for learning in everyday play and routines. Children's mathematical development, for example, is fostered when they count the number of times they blow the 'dandelion clock' during outside play. Their use of mathematical language is an integral part of their play, describing, for example, the 'long' snakes they make with the playdough. Children's communication skills develop well because the childminder plays with them and speaks with them continually. She questions children effectively, which makes them think and remember. She has a secure understanding of the effectiveness of modelling vocabulary and sounds to support children's speech and language acquisition and during short adult-led sessions she introduces new concepts which are then reinforced during play. Children become active, independent thinkers and learners in the setting because the childminder enables

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and outcomes for children

children to follow through their own ideas. They know what is available and ask the childminder for activities they want to do. Their interests are responded to and, as a result, children's attention during self-chosen activities is good. The This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 childminder values every child as an individual and, because they feel a strong sense of belonging and self-assurance, they are confident individuals who express themselves freely and creatively. They engage in a range of activities using different media creatively, for example, making animal masks using paint, using paint to make their own marks and threading pasta to make necklaces. Children sing happily in play in English and have learned one song in Dutch, which is the first language of their childminder.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder's respectful, nurturing care results in children who are learning to behave well and care for others. They use their manners impeccably and they develop special relationships with the childminder's family. Children play well together and are gently encouraged to share and take turns. As a result of the childminder's positive relationships, children adopt caring tendencies and, at times, kiss and hug their special friends. Clear house rules, such as, not to stand on furniture, along with reward systems, help children to understand what is expected of them and, consequently, they behave in safe ways. Children know and understand the safety routines that are an integral part of practice. For example, they instinctively search for the safety straps on their booster seat as they sit at the dining table. The childminder ensures children are encouraged to adopt healthy lifestyles through the provision of healthy, often multi-cultural, food. They

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and outcomes for children

independently respond to their own need for drinks which are permanently accessible on the table. However, they are not developing healthy drinking habits as the childminder provides cordial or fruit juice as opposed to water for their routine drinks. Children access fresh air and exercise on a daily basis when they are taken out into the community or to play in the garden where they show real curiosity in nature and living things. Children learn about personal hygiene as they wash hands as part of their daily routines and they dry their hands on their individually coloured towel hung in the kitchen. They sleep as needed during their own daily routines, however, the childminder does not routinely provide older children with individual bedding when they nap on the sofa, which hinders procedures to prevent the spread of infection. 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 3 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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