Harrison, Stacey

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY426524 Inspection date 01/11/2011 Inspector Dianne Andrews

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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 four children aged three months, 18 months, nine and 14 years old in a house in Manchester. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's house, except for the bedroom, is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The family have a cat and two rabbits.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of three children under eight years at any one time, of these, not more than one child may be in the early years age range and none may be aged under one. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and on compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are presently six children on roll, of these, three are in the early years age range.

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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

Most aspects of the provision are suitably organised, but the childminder has failed to ensure that the regulator is aware of a significant incident, which affects her registration. This potentially compromises children's welfare. The childminder knows the children and their families well, and works with parents to provide a service they are happy to use. She has a suitable knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage learning and development requirements, which she uses effectively to help children make satisfactory progress, although systems to support this are in their infancy. The childminder has a positive attitude to improvement and a realistic view of her practice. She has begun to use self- assessment to plan for the future development of her service.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 ensure that the risk assessment identifies all aspects of the environment that need to be checked on a regular basis and take all reasonable steps to ensure that hazards, particularly with regard to outdoor area and hygiene procedures, are kept to a minimum (Suitable premises, environment and equipment) (also applies to both parts of the Childcare Register) 01/11/2011

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further?

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

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further?

 use assessment to plan the next steps in a child's developmental progress to ensure each child receives appropriate support. 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 a safeguarding training course and shows a sound understanding of child protection issues and of her responsibility to safeguard children. Her child protection policy is shared with parents so that they understand her duties in this area. The childminder has recently had a baby, however, she failed to notify Ofsted of this event, which affects her conditions of registration. It is a legal requirement to do so. On this occasion Ofsted does not intend to take further action. The childminder has adapted her service and has continued to meet the required adult to child ratios, and as a result there has been little impact on the children's well-being.

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the early years provision

The premises are adequately maintained. The childminder is, on the whole, vigilant about children's safety inside the home and has completed a risk assessment document to confirm which areas are checked on a regular basis and how most hazards are minimised. However, the childminder has not reappraised the environment when changes have been made and the risk assessment does not cover all aspects of the outdoor area to show how the bird bath or the debris in the front garden is made safe or how children's access to the new pet rabbits affects their safety.

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the early years provision

Children enjoy stable, trusting relationships within the setting, which are supported through the healthy relationships developed between the childminder and their parents. She gets to know and understand their children's likes and dislikes and helps them to feel secure about the care arrangements. She provides a service that is inclusive for all children and their families, demonstrating an understanding of their individual family circumstances. Parents have access to a copy of the policies and procedures within a prospectus, to explain to them how the service operates and can refer to an informative notice board as they enter the premises. Although the service is very new, parents have begun to offer positive feedback through questionnaires, commenting particularly that they are very pleased with the care their children receive.

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the early years provision

The childminder is developing her partnership working with other settings children attend. She has long established relationships with these practitioners to promote appropriate communication. She liaises appropriately with parents to so that she is aware of any specific learning needs or of any particular advice to encourage continuity in children's learning.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes children's good health appropriately through the provision of healthy snacks and meals to suit their preferences. She has undertaken food safety training and displays posters as reminders in key areas, for instance, regarding hand washing routines and safe refrigeration practices. However, the sleep arrangements in place do not protect children from the potential risks of cross-infection, as children sleep on unprotected cushions, which may then be accessed by other children during their play. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 The childminder has developed a suitable range of age-appropriate resources since registration. Although they are not stored in an accessible manner, children know what is there and ask for the toys they want, so making some choices about their play. The childminder has begun to use self-evaluation as a tool to plan for future

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the early years provision

improvements that would benefit the children further. She acts on advice from other practitioners, but has not accessed support from her local authority to help her to develop her practice, for instance, through training opportunities.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and settled in the childminders care. They are content and willing to take part in activities. Learning Journeys are completed for children who do not attend full time education and include observations, supported with photographs of a selection of activities across the areas of learning. The childminder recognises the next steps to follow to bring children on in their development, but has not used her observations proactively when planning future activities.

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and outcomes for children

Children readily seek comfort and reassurance and enjoy the childminder's involvement in their play. She introduces activities that she knows will hold their interest, such as, play with a wide variety of cars on a floor mat. Children develop their imagination and use of mathematical concepts as they bend the mat to create a hill and tunnel, they manoeuvre the vehicles up, over and through. They show preference for familiar makes of cars, developing their language skills as they talk freely about home and making connections in their learning as they play. They make some choices about the resources they want to access, asking the childminder to fetch the toys for them, for instance, 'the big bus' and then adding it to their game.

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and outcomes for children

Children seek to do things for themselves, for instance, proudly unzipping and taking off a jumper when becoming hot, safe in the knowledge that the childminder is close by if they need help. They create noisy effects as they gleefully transfer the building bricks into different receptacles, watching the adults' reactions. They develop their positional language and spatial awareness as they fit the blocks in and sit on top, repeating the activity several times. They learn to keep themselves safe as they play, for instance, as the childminder reminds them that if they sit on the edge of the box it will tip up and they will get hurt.

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and outcomes for children

Active lifestyles are encouraged as children have opportunities to benefit from fresh air and exercise as they walk to the local amenities they attend. After initially being reluctant, through the childminder's perseverance, they now prefer to walk wherever they go rather than to go in the car. They play in the garden and use the larger equipment available at the park to develop their physical skills. They help themselves to drinks of water, whenever they are thirsty, to promote their good health.

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and outcomes for children

Children play with other children each morning at a variety of community toddler groups, developing their social skills and enjoying a suitable range of play options This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 in the spacious environments. They are beginning to gain an understanding about diversity as the childminder uses opportunities appropriately to explain about the resources, which show positive images of people with disabilities. Children behave well and respond favourably to the childminder's guidance. 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 3 The extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles 3 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: Not Met (with actions)

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

The registered provider does not meet the requirements of the compulsory and or voluntary part/s of the Childcare Register.

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

To comply with the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register, the registered person must take the following action/s by the specified date:

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Annex B: the Childcare Register

 take action as specified in the Early Years section of the report (Suitability and safety of premises and equipment) 01/11/2011

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