Taylor, Charlotte Ann

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY427326 Inspection date 18/10/2011 Inspector Jane Wakelen

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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 and two children aged two and half and four years in Larkfield, Aylesford. The childminder's home is a townhouse situated in a residential area. The ground floor and first floor are used for childminding, with one bedroom on the second floor. She has two cats as pets.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of whom no more than two may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding three children in the early years age group. She also offers care to older children aged up to 11 years. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects children from the local school and attends several Sure Start children's centres and mother and toddler groups.

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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 settle well and form good relationships with the childminder who knows them well. They are secure and develop a strong sense of belonging because the childminder includes all children in her care, providing appropriate resources and activities. She has a good understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements, enabling good outcomes for children. The partnership with parents is extremely positive, but partnerships with other providers involved in the children's care are less established. The childminder generally evaluates her provision well and demonstrates a strong commitment to maintaining ongoing improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the partnerships with other providers who share the care of the children to make sure the provision complements the experiences children have elsewhere  improve the system of self-evaluation to further identify strengths and areas to develop to monitor the effectiveness of the provision fully and further improve outcomes for children 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 well protected within the childminder's care because she has a good understanding about safeguarding children. She has produced a well-written policy to share with the parents, enabling them to understand her role and responsibilities relating to safeguarding. All relevant contact details are available, together with the government booklet 'What to do if you are worried a child is being abused'. This provides the childminder with factual information to enable her to follow the procedures of the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The childminder ensures that all people living in her home have the relevant suitability checks carried out and verifies the identification of any visitors. She uses a visitors' book to record their details to further protect children. Comprehensive risk assessments are completed at least once a year and records of them are made. These are supported by the use of daily checklists and written risk assessments for outings,

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the early years provision

fully promoting children's well-being and safety.

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the early years provision

Children can help themselves to a good range of appropriate resources that support their development across all six areas of learning. They make choices about what they do as they move around the play areas. The childminder provides activities that build on the children's interests and the next steps for their individual learning. The environment is used effectively to enable children to have quiet places to play, such as the cosy book area or space to push the dolls' buggy around indoors. The childminder has a good understanding of each child's background and individual needs, enabling her to provide appropriate support and learning opportunities. Equality and diversity is actively promoted through the use of toys that reflect positive images of people's differences. Visits into the local community, and attending various toddler groups, enable children to further learn to value the diversity of others.

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the early years provision

Highly positive relationships are formed with parents enabling individual care needs to be met for each child. The childminder constantly works with parents to support children's changing needs and to ensure their children feel comfortable and settled. Parents are given copies of all the policies and give written consent for aspects of care, such as permission to use public transport, apply sun cream and for the childminder to seek emergency medical treatment. This actively supports children's welfare and individual needs. Good two-way communication takes place to ensure parents are fully informed about the provision, how their children have been and about the progress they are making in their learning and development. This is done through daily verbal communication, emails and use of text messages. The childminder is aware of other settings children attend and gains some information relating to children's experiences there from parents. However, she

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the early years provision

has not initiated partnership working with the other providers involved in the children's care to promote continuity of care and to work together to support children's achievement effectively.

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the early years provision

The childminder is enthusiastic and well motivated to provide a good service to all This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the users of her setting. She constantly seeks parental views through verbal discussion and makes changes to children's care to ensure their interests and needs are given high priority; for example, moving mealtimes so that all children can eat together to provide a social occasion. The childminder demonstrates a clear awareness of her strengths and generally has well-targeted plans for improvement. Her methods of self-evaluation do not use a systematic approach to help her to monitor the effectiveness of her provision fully; however, her commitment to, and plans for, development are likely to result in further improved outcomes for children.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and content in the care of the childminder and build good relationships with her and her family. Children are encouraged to move around the home freely and make choices from the available toys or activities provided by the childminder. They can request alternatives and use toys which reflect their interests, helping to support their sense of belonging. The environment is conducive to learning and the childminder has been creative with how she uses space within her home; for example, a cosy book corner has been made in the space under the stairs, using cushions and a small book rack. This gives children the opportunity to play quietly if they wish. Outdoor play and learning is given high importance and the childminder ensures children have good opportunities to visit local places of interest to see wildlife and have walks in the wood. They learn about the natural world and collect resources for collage work, such as leaves.

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and outcomes for children

Small world toys indoors, such as the cars and dolls' house, provide opportunities for children to act out familiar roles. This is further supported by the role play items, for example, dressing up clothes, play kitchen and baby dolls.

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy listening to stories with the childminder and interact well, asking appropriate questions to support their understanding. They have regular opportunities to make marks using pens, pencils and paint, developing good hand and eye coordination and pre-writing skills. The good variety of resources for collage artwork encourages children to use their creativity and imagination. They show pride in their achievements as they happily show their creations to the childminder and take them home to share with their parents. Children are beginning to use mathematical language in their play, talking about size and shape. They refer to the long piece of dough they mould and the different shapes they make with the cutters. The childminder encourages children to count in everyday activities to support their numeracy skills. The use of electronic toys, learning about cause and effect, together with children's literacy and numeracy

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and outcomes for children

skills all support their development of skills for the future.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to learn about living a healthy lifestyle. They have daily exercise and benefit from fresh air, either playing in the garden or being taken on walks to the lakes, park or the woods. Personal hygiene routines are fully This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 implemented into the daily routine, enabling children to gain self-care skills and understand the importance of these. Each child has their own coloured towel, helping them to identify their individual towel, and preventing cross-infection. This is well supported by good hygiene routines carried out by the childminder to fully promote children's health and well-being. A good range of healthy meals and snacks encourages children to make healthy choices and to taste different food, ensuring they have their 'five a day' for fruit and vegetables.

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and outcomes for children

Children are secure and develop a sense of belonging to the setting. They understand the rules the childminder has in place and adhere to these. They show an understanding of safety issues, and reflect this through their play, for example, they ask for the baby doll to be strapped in her pram to keep her safe. They hold onto the hand rail when using the stairs and know they must hold the childminder's hand when on outings if not strapped in the buggy. The childminder talks to children about keeping themselves safe when using various tools, such as cutters with the dough and sitting on the chair when eating. This helps children learn to keep themselves safe.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good relationships with the childminder and their peers. They learn about taking turns and sharing the toys with lots of praise and encouragement from the childminder to raise their self-esteem. A reward system is used for the children and acts as a visual aid to help them learn about good behaviour. Children work well independently and also cooperatively having good opportunities to meet their local community through various groups they attend. This enables them to learn about diversity in society. 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 2 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 2

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 2 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 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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