Childminder in Doncaster

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 317700 Inspection date 16/09/2011 Inspector Diane Turner

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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 1999. She lives with her three teenage children in a detached house in the Hatfield area of Doncaster. All of the ground floor of the childminder's home and a bedroom on the first floor is used for childminding purposes. Toilet facilities are situated on the ground floor and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play to the rear of the premises. The home is situated close to schools, shops, parks and public transport links. A dog is kept as a pet.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder has a childcare qualification at degree level and is accredited to provide funded nursery education. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register to care for six children under eight years at any one time, three of whom may be within the early years age group. The childminder's partner is registered as a childminder at her home and when working with him or her assistant the numbers of children who may be cared for at any one time can be increased to 12 children under eight years, with no more than six in the early years age group. Both childminders have equal responsibility for the childminding service. In addition, the childminder is registered on the voluntary part of the Childcare Register and is registered to provide overnight care for two children under eight years at any one time. There are currently 22 children on roll,

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Description of the childminding

seven of whom are within the early years age group. They all attend on a part- time basis.

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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

Children are cared for in an extremely warm, welcoming and fully inclusive environment where each one is held in the highest regard. Children have great fun participating in a wide range of highly motivating activities and as a result, they make excellent progress in their learning and development. The partnership working with parents and other providers is exemplary and undoubtedly contributes to ensuring a fully integrated approach to children's care, learning and play. Comprehensive policies and procedures are implemented extremely well to safeguard children and promote their welfare, demonstrating that the childminder's understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage is robust. The childminder is highly motivated and shows a tenacious approach to promoting continuous improvement and to maintaining an outstanding level of care and learning.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider: This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006  extending the opportunities for children to enjoy sensory experiences in the garden.

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the early years provision

The childminder gives the highest priority to safeguarding children. She has an excellent understanding of her responsibilities in terms of child protection issues and this is reflected in her written policy. She ensures the children understand fully about 'stranger danger' and she empowers them to say 'no' if they feel uncomfortable in any situation. The childminder keeps a detailed record of any visitors to the home and robust safety assessments are undertaken on a regular basis to ensure any risks are minimised effectively. These are backed up by meticulous daily checks. The children are actively encouraged to manage their own risks through discussion and by role playing particular scenarios. The childminder is extremely proud of the children's understanding of fire safety, discussing how, for example, they immediately line up to evacuate the home if the smoke detector is activated.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides children with a very rich and exciting learning environment both indoors and outside. There is an abundance of posters, photographs and children's art work displayed and they have free access to an excellent range of toys and resources, including those to promote sensory experiences indoors. The childminder has identified that she would like to extend the opportunities for this outdoors. The childminder demonstrates an extremely dedicated approach to providing the best care that she can. Her reflective practice and in-depth assessments of the service are used in an excellent manner to accurately identify her strengths and areas for improvement. She actively seeks and values the views of children, parents and her co-childminder and any recommendations are implemented immediately. The childminder shows she is highly committed to attending training to extend her knowledge and practice. A

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the early years provision

good example of this is how, since her last inspection, she has gained a childcare qualification at degree level. The childminder is driven to helping others to improve the outcomes for children. For example, she provides a mentoring service for other childminders and runs a group where children and their parents and carers can play and learn together.

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the early years provision

Promoting equality and diversity is at the heart of everything the childminder does. Parents are asked to complete a 'passport of information' for their child where they can record an abundance of information about their individual needs. The childminder goes the 'extra mile' to support every child and their family and children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities are welcomed and fully included. The childminder gives the highest priority to enabling children to learn about the diverse society in which they live through an extensive range of resources and celebrating festivals from around the world. The childminder has excellent links with other providers in the local area. She is a member of the advisory board for the children's centre and her partnership working with the local school is superb. For example, every term, meetings are held to discuss effective team working for the children who attend both settings.

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder engages with all parents in an excellent manner and this ensures the care the children receive is an extension of their home life. Information parents receive is of a very high quality and the childminder takes time to get to know the whole family. Prior to the placement beginning, parents and children make several visits and the childminder also visits the family at home. This is crucial in helping to build up a firm foundation for future partnership working. Information is shared on an ongoing basis in various formats and the childminder readily provides advice and ideas to support children's learning at home. Written testimonials from parents clearly reflect their utmost satisfaction of the service.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is extremely knowledgeable about the different ways in which children learn and develop. She is highly skilled in the way she interacts with them and above all she makes their learning fun. Consequently, the children are curious, highly motivated and have a real thirst for knowledge. They react very positively to the open-ended questions the childminder asks them and they are very keen to engage in conversation. Their range of vocabulary is excellent and they skilfully use signing alongside their spoken words. For example, they confidently discuss how fruit is good for them as it contains vitamins and relate how they are making concrete in the toy cement mixer to make a floor. They confidently explain difficult concepts, such as opposites.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has an extremely caring approach and as a result, the children feel completely safe and at ease in her care and they behave in an impeccable manner. They spontaneously use good manners and are highly independent, with even the youngest taking off their own shoes and attempting to hang up their coat. They show a respectful and caring manner towards each other and they confidently discuss their emotions. The children's ability to sustain their concentration is excellent. This is particularly evident as they listen to one of their favourite stories about a flamingo, especially when the childminder uses props alongside the book. They wait with bated breath to see which character will come out of the bag and become fully immersed as the story unfolds. Their efforts are rewarded by the childminder with an abundance of praise which effectively raises their self-esteem.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder makes excellent use of everyday opportunities to promote the children's learning and to enable them to use their skills. For example, she asks them to count how many are present at snack time and to work out if they have enough pieces of banana to go round. The children absolutely relish being outdoors and are very keen to demonstrate their excellent physical skills and the control they have of their bodies. For example, they skilfully negotiate a pathway as they use wheeled toys and use paint brushes to great effect as they make marks and pictures with water. The children are actively encouraged to grow their own fruit and vegetables from seed and to nurture these. They delight in picking their own tomatoes which they have as part of their snack. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder skilfully empowers the children to manage their own risks and as

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and outcomes for children

a result, they follow safe and responsible practices. For example, they use knives safely to cut up their fruit at snack time and during music and movement activities they march carefully in a line with regard for each other. They delight in relating how they wear gloves when helping to pick up fallen apples in case there are any wasps. The childminder gives high priority to extending the children's learning in the local community. For example, they visit the marina, explore woodland areas and delight in recalling their visit to the local greengrocers. The childminder maintains a learning journey for each child which contain a phenomenal amount of information about their progress, based on both written and photographic observations and examples of their work. This evidences the children's development in a highly effective manner and provides parents with a superb record of their children's formative years.

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and outcomes for children

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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