Childminder in Rotherham

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY419644 Inspection date 14/07/2011 Inspector Angie Ellis

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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 parents and three other siblings in the Wickersley area of Rotherham. The childminder is registered to work with her mother, another childminder and assistants from the family home. The whole of the premises are available for childminding, which includes a lounge, reception room, hallway, dining kitchen, games room, one bedroom and two bathrooms on the ground floor. On the first floor there are four further bedrooms and a bathroom. There is a secure, spacious garden available for outdoor play. The family has three dogs, four cats, two hens, two ducks, three guinea pigs, four rabbits, a parrot, a budgie, three turtles, cold water and tropical fish.

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Description of the childminding

Care is offered Monday to Friday, all year round. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children at any one time when working alone. When working with other childminders or assistants the numbers are increased to a maximum of nine children at any one time. Of these, nine may be in the early years age range and three under 12 months. Currently, there are 16 children on roll within the early years age group. Care is also provided for children over five years to 12 years. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder has a level 3 Btech National Diploma in Early Years and has completed the required childminding training and is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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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 success of children's excellent progress in their welfare, learning and development is a direct result of the childminder, together with her co-childminder and assistants that she works with, in planning a rich, vibrant and stimulating environment. This is tailored to meet the individual needs of each child, therefore, promoting inclusive practice extremely well. Priority is given to establishing and maintaining close working partnerships with parents, the local community and providers of other settings children also attend or will move on to. Significant attention is paid to monitoring, reflecting and evaluating the service to ensure continuous improvement of a very high quality. The childminder, assistants, parents and children all play a valuable part in the process, resulting in a service that is exceptionally receptive to the needs of all of its users.

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further?

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

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further?

 developing further an environment that is rich in pictures, words and signs This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 both indoors and outdoors.

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the early years provision

Considerable priority is given to safeguarding children. The childminder and her co- workers fully understand their responsibilities to safeguard children's welfare and follow the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in relation to child protection should a concern arise. Robust systems are in place for the recruitment and vetting of any new assistants. All of the records required for safeguarding and promoting children's welfare are meticulously maintained. Comprehensive risk assessments clearly identify aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis. As a result, children are helped to stay safe extremely well. There are an extensive range of policies and procedures that inform parents well about the service that is provided.

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the early years provision

The effectiveness with which the childminder deploys resources is robust because each one of her co-workers is effectively deployed within the spacious home and garden. Independent access to high quality and well-equipped indoor and outdoor areas provides children with an extensive range of activities and experiences to stimulate their interests. This includes Makaton signs and pictures and words displayed both indoors and outdoors. For example, outdoors a picture sign says 'Can you find the chickens?'. However, the childminder and co-workers have not yet found a solution to securing picture and word labels on the self-select storage containers. The setting has highly effective steps in place to ensure resources and the environment are sustainable. For example, children are encouraged to recycle the waste products from the fruit and vegetable peelings, either to feed the chickens and other small animals, or to be placed into the compost bin. They also

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the early years provision

use the compost to plant seeds to grow an abundance of fruit and vegetables. The childminder has gained substantial experience in working with children in a variety of different settings and clearly relishes working with the children and is very enthusiastic and motivated. The childminder and her co-workers work extremely well as a team and provide consistent continuity of care for children and their families. Highly effective management practices ensure that there is a commitment to invest in continued professional development through training for all those working at the setting. As a result, they contribute fresh and new ideas and are dedicated to providing the highest standards of care and education in a fun and enjoyable way. The childminder and her co-workers are highly motivated, focused and passionate in achieving their vision of making a difference and ensuring that the outcomes for children are the best possible. They are in the process of

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the early years provision

developing a resource booklet so that children can look through photographs and choose activities that they would like to play with that are not already out to select from. Self-evaluation is embedded exceedingly well within the setting's ethos. This contributes extremely effectively to achieving the best outcomes for children and maintaining continuous improvement, for example, by seeking the views from co- workers, children, parents, as well as the local authority, and by completing the work force development plan and taking part in the 'Early Years Quality Improvement Support Programme'. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Parents and carers are provided with exceptionally comprehensive information about the setting through a variety of literature, for example, through the welcome brochure, newsletters and information displays. Parents are encouraged to share

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the early years provision

information about their child initially through an 'All about me' booklet, which gives the basis for a more detailed discussion with the child's parents about their needs, likes and dislikes. Parents are updated on their children's achievements and progress on a daily basis through informal chats at the start and end of each session. Diaries are passed from the setting to the parent/carer and visa versa and these provide an excellent two-way communication record, giving details of routines, activities, mealtimes, nappy changes and sleeps. The diary for children over one-year-old provides a record of the child's learning through their interests and providing parents with an opportunity to discuss with their child what they do at the setting. For example, parents have included photographs of their child on a visit to the beach and so buckets and spades were provided at the setting. This clearly demonstrates how successful partnerships with parents benefit the

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the early years provision

outcomes for individual children's learning. There is unreserved praise from parents who think the setting is 'fantastic'.

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the early years provision

The childminder and her co-workers are highly committed to and very successful in promoting equality and diversity. They aim to include all children and their families regardless of their status, culture, ethnic background or additional needs, and they have effective policies in place which take into account children's individual needs. These are constantly being updated to ensure that they reflect the needs of current children and up-to-date legislation and knowledge. Partnerships with other agencies and other settings children also attend or will move on to are very strong and innovative methods are used to engage with them. For example, excellent relationships have been established with the local nursery and school and the childminder often accompanies children on transitional visits at the request of the parents.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder and her co-workers promote an excellent culture of learning through play in an exceptionally stimulating environment in which a wide range of activities and exciting experiences are provided to all children, both indoors and outdoors. Subsequently, children are actively encouraged to become independent in their learning and development. This results in children's progress flourishing considerably well and enables them to develop valuable skills for the future. Children love to sing action songs and rhymes within their daily routine, which demonstrates a very happy atmosphere. Valuable time for staff meetings enables them to meticulously plan for individual children to ensure that each child receives the most enjoyable and challenging experiences across all the areas of learning. Systematic and thorough observations are successfully matched to the areas of learning, and the next steps of learning are effectively identified within the

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and outcomes for children

Children have a balance between freedom and safe limits. The childminder understands children's capabilities well and that suitable types of activities and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 appropriate levels of support give children the confidence to take risks and try out new skills. As a result of this, children feel safe and secure. For example, children enjoy bouncing on the trampoline with the childminder close by to supervise its safe use. Children learn to adopt healthy lifestyles in a wide range of ways, for example, children pick the fruit when ripe to eat for their snack and learn all about the food chain, developing their knowledge and understanding of the world. Outdoor play is considered to be of equal importance to indoor play and the vast outdoor learning environment reflects this. For example, children enjoy playing in the role-play cafe. Children behave well and this is as a result of the childminder

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and outcomes for children

and her co-workers modelling calm, consistent behaviour and setting and maintaining boundaries. Children are encouraged to care for and respect each other. For example, children take turns in taking photographs with the camera. Children's awareness of diversity and the wider world are encouraged in a relevant and realistic manner. By the use of good quality resources that represent positive images of others within society, the practice, which enables children to develop skills for the future, is outstanding. There are vast activities in which children can experiment and explore. Communication, language and literacy are developed as a natural part of the setting's routines. For example, children have constant access to books, mark-making materials and painting with water outdoors. Information, communication and technology skills are developing very well, for example, through the use of programmable and battery-operated toys, computers and

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and outcomes for children

electronic equipment such as the camera. Children use mathematical language naturally during play and develop skills in numeracy, problem-solving through games, jigsaws and counting in daily routines. For example, children count the pebbles in the water tray, using one-to-one correspondence, and sing action songs and rhymes that involve counting. Everything that happens within the day is used successfully as an opportunity to learn. 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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