Childminder in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY425348 Inspection date 13/09/2011 Inspector Vivienne Dempsey

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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 2011. She lives with her husband, co- childminder, brother, lodger and son aged two years in Redcar. The whole of the ground floor of the property is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder works regularly with her co- childminder. 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 five children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. When working with her co-childminder they can care for a maximum of five children in the early years age range. There are currently five children attending who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage and attend on a part-time basis. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is satisfactory.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

The childminder works closely with her co-childminder to ensure a warm, welcoming environment is provided for all children and their families. Children's individual care and learning needs are well met. However, systems to observe and assess children's learning and development are still in the early stages. The childminder has developed sound links with parents to ensure continuity of care and to keep them informed of their children's daily activities, development and progress. She recognises the value of continuous improvement. For example, she attends regular training to develop her knowledge and skills and works closely with her co-childminder to help develop the service they provide, while promoting outcomes for children. However, systems to highlight the setting's strengths and areas for improvement are not fully developed.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop systems for self-evaluation to make sure areas for development are clearly highlighted to ensure continuous improvement  develop systems for self-evaluation to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development that will improve the quality of the provision  develop further systems for observing, assessing and planning to fully promote children's learning and development and to monitor their individual progress towards the early learning goals. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The childminder has attended safeguarding training and has a sound understanding of safeguarding issues and procedures. She knows who to contact with any concerns and a written safeguarding procedure is in place and shared with parents, all of which helps to protect children's welfare. Children are able to move around the home safely and freely as daily checks are completed. Written risk assessments are also in place, which further helps to protect children's safety. A clearly defined procedure for the emergency evacuation of the premises is in place. Regular evacuation drills are carried out and details recorded of any problems encountered. Appropriate fire detection and control equipment is in place, for example, smoke detectors and a fire blanket. However, the fire blanket is not always readily available, which does not fully protect children's safety.

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the early years provision

Children are happy and confident in the childminder's care. They are fully involved and interested in their play. They have easy access to varied activities, as well as taking part in planned activities and outings. Children are able to make choices about what they do; this ensures they are happy, content and fully occupied. The childminder has developed sound relationships with parents. A sufficient range of practical information is collected through the children's records at registration. A daily two-way sharing of information also keeps parents fully informed of their children's progress and ensures continuity of care. For example, daily diary sheets are in place informing parents of activities children have been involved in and snacks and meals they have eaten during the day. Parents have access to all policies and procedures, which informs them of the service provided. The childminder and her co-childminder care for children who access care and

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the early years provision

education in more than one setting. They have a sound understanding of the benefits of sharing relevant information with other practitioners to ensure continuity and coherence, promoting outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The childminder does not currently care for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, she has a good understanding of systems they need to have in place to ensure children's individual needs are met. A sufficient range of resources are in place to develop children's understanding of differences, such as good quality jigsaws, books and posters. The childminder is very keen to develop the service she provides and has some plans in place to develop her knowledge and skills, such as attending relevant training. However, formal systems for self-evaluation are not in place and, therefore, all areas for development are not clearly highlighted.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has a sound knowledge of the practice guidance. She uses this knowledge to provide a suitable range of resources and experiences to meet the children's needs and interests. The childminder and her co-childminder are developing systems for observation, assessment and planning. Observations of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 children's learning and development are recorded. The childminder is beginning to use these to plan activities to promote children's learning and development. Observation files are in place for each child and these show some progress children make. However, observations are not always linked to the stage of development and do not fully show children's progress towards the early learning goals, which impacts on the childminder's ability to plan the next steps for learning.

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and outcomes for children

Children take part in regular fire evacuation drills, which develops their awareness of dangers and how to stay safe. Routines, such as tidying away toys from the floor, encourage children to take responsibility for their own safety. The childminder talks to children about road safety on outings. This positively contributes to children developing a sense of danger and how to keep themselves safe. Children understand and adopt healthy habits and they are keen to show how they wash their hands before meals and snacks. They talk about and demonstrate how they wash between their fingers and show how they pop the soap bubbles. Paper towels are used to dry their hands, which helps to prevent the spread of infection, protecting children's welfare. Children confidently take their own shoes off when they arrive and mainly dress themselves as they change from their nursery uniform into their play clothes. This demonstrates their desire to help

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and outcomes for children

with dress and hygiene routines. Children engage in a suitable range of physical activities, both indoors and out. They enjoy dancing and doing the actions to familiar songs and rhymes, and regularly visit local parks and play areas.

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and outcomes for children

Children are confident communicators. They interact with others, negotiating plans and activities, and take turns in conversation. Children confidently talk about the pictures they are making and what they are going to do next. For example, a child states 'I am going to make a spider and use the pipe cleaners for his legs.' Children are keen to learn and quickly devise their own game with the available resources, such as 'the ping game', moving spiral pasta along the floor by pressing one end to make it slide forwards. They become very excited and laugh loudly as the pasta quickly moves forward. This also demonstrates that children are interested in how and why things happen. Children enjoy a range of craft activities and have fun using a range of materials to make pictures. They confidently use glue sticks to achieve their desired effects. 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 3 The effectiveness with which the setting promotes equality and diversity The effectiveness of safeguarding 3 The effectiveness of the setting’s self-evaluation, including the steps taken to promote improvement The effectiveness of partnerships 3 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 3

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 3 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 3 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 3

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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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