Childminder in Essex

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY362765 Inspection date 06/10/2011 Inspector Sarah Clements

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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 2007. She lives with her husband and two children aged seven and 21 years old in Southend-on-Sea in Essex. The whole of the childminder's home is used for childminding, with the exception of one bedroom on the first floor. A secure enclosed garden is used for outdoor play activities. The family has no pets.

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Description of the childminding

The provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight years at any one time, no more than three of whom may be in the early years age range. There are currently four children in the early years age range, attending the setting on a part-time basis. The childminder occasionally works with an assistant. There are strategies in place to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder walks and drives to local schools and nurseries to take and collect children. She attends local social groups with the children and takes them on regular outings. The childminder is a member of an approved childminding network and holds a relevant early years qualification to level 3.

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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

Children feel extremely safe and secure at all times and enjoy learning through play in an inclusive and welcoming environment. Overall, observation and assessment is used effectively to ensure children continue to make good progress in all areas of their learning and development. Excellent engagement with parents and carers helps them to be fully involved in their child's care and to feel exceptionally well informed of their child's achievements. Continuity of care is promoted further by good liaison with the other early years settings. The childminder's strong commitment to training ensures that she is always up-to-date with current good practice and is able to make ongoing improvements to benefit the children in her care.

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further?

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

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further?

 extend the use of observations and assessments to ensure they are matched to the aspects of learning and development in the Early Years Foundation Stage and used more systematically to identify the next steps in learning for each child. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are fully safeguarded as the childminder has outstanding policies and procedures for identifying and responding to concerns about children's welfare. She has attended advanced safeguarding training and demonstrates an excellent understanding of the agencies she must report any concerns to. Highly robust risk assessments ensure that all potential risks to children's safety are fully minimised, both within the home and during outings. These are recorded meticulously to fully meet the Early Years Foundation Stage requirement. The childminder ensures all adults who live and work on the premises complete all necessary suitability checks and any visitors to the setting are asked to sign in and out of a visitor's book to further protect children's welfare. Children benefit from an excellent range of exciting and stimulating toys and equipment, which significantly enhance opportunities for them to explore and learn through their play. Great emphasis is

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the early years provision

placed on ensuring the environment is very spacious, comfortable and accessible for all children.

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the early years provision

Equality of opportunity is fully promoted by the childminder as she ensures every child receives the support they need to participate in all aspects of the provision. For example, she has completed numerous training courses to ensure she has the skills and knowledge to meet the specific needs of children with special education needs and/or disabilities. Parents comment very positively on the partnership they have with the childminder and the quality of care their children receive. In regular questionnaires, parents state that their children 'enjoy themselves so much' at the setting and confidently provide suggestions for future activities to build on their children's interests. The childminder keeps parents fully informed on how their children are cared for and what they achieve each day by sharing verbal and written observation records and photographic information. In addition, an informative parent's information folder and vibrant displays of documentation in

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the early years provision

the entrance hall ensure that parents have free access to valuable information about the childminding provision. The childminder regularly liaises with practitioners at other early years settings, sharing information about children's changing routines and promoting continuity across the different settings that children attend.

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the early years provision

The childminder is experienced and holds a relevant level 3 qualification to support her role. She values opportunities to share ideas and discuss her practice with other registered childminders through the local childminding network and uses the Ofsted self-evaluation form to review her service more formally. The recommendation raised at the last inspection has been tackled very well to ensure children are now offered more purposeful opportunities to learn about diversity and the wider world in their play. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children are making good progress towards the early learning goals in every area of their learning and development. The childminder's enthusiasm and support encourages children's sustained concentration and helps to extend and challenge their thinking whilst they play. For example, she prompts them to identify the colours of different puzzle pieces and challenges them to find five more objects that are yellow. Younger children are supported to become confident and skilful communicators as they learn to say new words, such as 'dragonfly' when sharing books together. They use language confidently in their role play situations as they pretend to call to the childminder on an imaginary telephone to invite her over for dinner. All children happily investigate and explore the array of different resources, making their own choices from various low-level toy boxes. Their spontaneous interests are supported very well through the flexible provision of additional

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and outcomes for children

resources. For example, when children recall helping to bottle feed a younger child, the childminder enables the children to relive the experience by providing a range of dolls, cups and bottles. Children have good opportunities to learn about the uses of everyday technology as they confidently operate a digital camera to take photographs of each other. This means that they are developing strong skills for the future. The childminder has established a learning journey record to celebrate each child's progress, which includes a selection of meaningful written observations and photographs to show the children's achievements. Although, the childminder is keen to develop her use of these observations, she does not always match these to the expectations of the Early Years Foundation Stage or use them systematically to identify the next steps in learning for each child. Consequently, children's progress towards the early learning goals is not as clearly mapped as it

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and outcomes for children

Children form very secure relationships with the childminder. This is evident in how happy, settled and relaxed they are in her care. They are developing a strong understanding of positive behaviour because of the childminder's calm manner and good use of age-appropriate explanations. Children respond well to this as the childminder spends a great deal of time listening to what they say and praising their achievements. There are many opportunities for children to widen their awareness of diversity. For example, they use pictures of people from different ethnic backgrounds and people with special educational needs and/or disabilities to make placemats for use at meal times. These then inspire children's ongoing discussions about people's similarities and differences.

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and outcomes for children

Children have excellent opportunities to lead a healthy lifestyle. They visit the local park to use large play equipment and enjoying taking resources into the garden where they benefit from the fresh air. Children gain a superb understanding of the importance of healthy food as they explain that 'carrots and blackberries are good things to eat'. They intuitively follow excellent hygiene routines, such as washing hands after using the toilet and before eating, using antibacterial liquid soap and their own personal hand towels to prevent the spread of infection. The childminder ensures children play in a very clean and safe environment. Children display an excellent awareness of safety issues and recognise how to keep themselves safe. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 For example, they relate to the many child-friendly posters which are displayed to act as a constant reminder of important road safety rules and fire evacuation

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and outcomes for children

practises. 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 2 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 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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