Childminder in North Lincolnshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY227493 Inspection date 17/10/2011 Inspector Judith Rayner

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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 2002. She lives with her husband and two children aged 12 and 19 years in the village of South Killingholme, close to Immingham in North Lincolnshire. Access to the home is usually via the gate to the side of the home. The whole ground floor of the childminder's home with the exception of the bedroom and one bedroom on the first floor is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the Voluntary and Compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to provide care for six children under eight. When working with an assistant may care for more children. There are currently 28 children on roll, seven of whom, are within the early years age group. They attend various days and times throughout the week. The childminder walks to local schools to take and collect children. She attends the local toddler group, takes children to the mobile library and the local park.

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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 are cared for in a warm, welcoming and very safe home where they independently access a mostly good range of toys and resources which supports their learning and development well. Excellent partnership with parents, successfully addresses all children's welfare, safety and health needs. Records, policies and procedures and most records of children's development are detailed, address confidentiality and are organised well. The childminder is very reflective and uses excellent systems to make improvements to which children benefit extremely well.

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further?

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

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further?

 undertake observations on a more regular basis to ensure the tracking of children's progress improves  increase the range of toys, resources and children's experiences that positively promotes diversity.

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the early years provision

The childminder places a strong emphasis on children's safety in the home, garden and when on outings. She has very thorough knowledge on safeguarding issues and is fully aware and confident in her role and responsibilities to ensure children are safe in her care. An in-depth and clearly written safeguarding policy is in place which is shared with parents from the onset. Very effective safety strategies are in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 place, such as, visitors are recorded and identification of each person is checked before entering the home and the use of external cameras and mirrors support the childminder in monitoring children's safety in the areas where they play. Excellent systems for undertaking risk assessments are implemented very well. Daily visual checks supported by written records undertaken at least annually identify any hazards and action is taken immediately to ensure children are safe. Supervision of

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the early years provision

children is robust and very effective. As a result, children feel very safe to explore and investigate because of the excellent practice delivered and maintained by the childminder.

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the early years provision

The childminder is very well organised whilst taking into consideration children's individual needs, such as, sleep, meal times and school runs. Time spent indoors and outside fully support children's all-round development. An abundance of toys and resources outside entice children to explore and investigate such as, the sand pit room and recently covered area where children are able to access an imaginative and home corner area in all weathers. Inside, toys and resources are attractively presented and easily accessible enabling children to develop their independence skills. The childminder employs an assistant working together to ensure all children's individual needs are met well. The childminder talks to children about other's similarities and differences and provides some resources, experiences and toys to extend children's learning and understanding further. Records, policies and procedures are clearly written, very well organised and

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the early years provision

informative highlighting how children are cared for and how the childminder operates.

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the early years provision

The partnership with parents is excellent. The childminder works tremendously hard to be welcoming, informative and proactive in addressing the children's needs whilst fully respecting the parents' views and wishes. She provides a very supportive role to all parents who commented on the high value they place on the service that the childminder provides. A wide range of written information including daily diaries and discussions supports the ongoing needs of children and keeps the parents up to date with their child's progress. Parents are also actively involved in fund raising activities which support the purchase of new toys, equipment and trips to the beach and parks. There are good systems in place with others who are involved with the care and learning of children who attend the childminder's home with regular discussions between other professionals. The childminder has made significant improvement since the last inspection and makes highly effective use of

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the early years provision

self-evaluation to rigorously and extensively monitor the provision. She is skilled and confident to reflect on the service she provides. She works hard to improve her own knowledge and skills through undertaking a wide range of training courses and making continual improvements to the outdoor area ensuring children are safe, such as, by dividing up the grass area and pathway with fencing. The recommendation made at the last inspection has been successfully addressed ensuring confidentially when sharing information about children with parents is effectively maintained. 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 in their learning and development because the childminder has a good understanding of how children learn through play. She implements the Early Years Foundation Stage into her practice well ensuring children are offered a wide range of experiences and challenges tailored to their individual needs and interests. Play is planned in accordance to children's interests and what the childminder has identified in the observations undertaken. However, observations are not undertaken frequently enough to enable the childminder to track children's progress thoroughly. Despite this, the childminder knows her children well and is confident to encourage children to take the lead and then is skilled to extend this further through providing further resources and physical and verbal support.

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and outcomes for children

Good relationships are in place between the childminder and children. Children show a strong sense of belonging and are respectful of their surroundings and toys. They willingly help tidy away toys before getting more out or when they are preparing for lunch. Children enjoy the company of the childminder and respond very well to cuddles and interaction. Their self-esteem is very good because of the constant praising delivered by the childminder. Very positive words such as, 'well done', 'that's clever' and 'wow' help even the youngest of children feel proud and confident in what they achieve no matter how small. The language skills of children are enhanced very well because the childminder constantly talks to the children, gets down to their level and offers warm smiles and positive verbal encouragement. The childminder also talks slowly and repeats words to enable the youngest of children to develop their communication and language skills. Children

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and outcomes for children

enjoy play dough, and show great concentration and enjoyment prodding, rolling and cutting up the dough using a range of tools whilst developing their small muscle skills. They build with construction placing large bricks on top of one another to self-selecting jigsaw pieces from the draw to using small world animal figures to make foot prints and patterns in the play dough. Children enjoy being outside exploring the garden and good range of toys from slides, to trikes, to wet sand and the outdoor kitchen and home corner area. They use numbers in everyday activities counting the bricks, puzzle pieces and animals.

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and outcomes for children

Children from a young age learn about the importance of stopping germs from spreading. They wash their hands before they have food and after they have played with messy play activities. The childminder and assistant are good role models because they talk to the children about stopping germs from spreading and wipe surfaces down where children eat. Menus are rotated on a regular basis with favourite meals selected by children such as, 'noodle night'. These are healthy and well-balanced meeting children's dietary needs. Children learn about safety as they regularly participate in fire drills learning what to do should they need to leave the house quickly to talking about road safety when out on trips. To help children develop the skills they will need for the future they are provided with a good range of toys and activities. Children are encouraged to be independent as they self- select toys of their choice and learn about where to put rubbish in the kitchen to

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 recycling objects. 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 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 2 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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