Childminder in Kent

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY357719 Inspection date 07/11/2011 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 2007. She lives with her husband and daughter aged five years in Faversham, Kent. The whole of the ground floor and a bedroom and bathroom upstairs in the home are used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden for outside play. The family has two guinea pigs and a large indoor fish aquarium containing fish and turtles. This provision is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and 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, of whom no more than three may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding seven children in the early years age group. When working alongside another childminder she can have six children under eight years, of whom no more than six may be in the early years age range. She also offers care to older children aged up to 11 years.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder drives or walks to local schools to take and collect children. She also attends the local Parent and Toddler Group. The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association.

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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 enjoy attending the childminder's home and are made to feel welcome in the caring environment. The childminder plans some exciting, varied opportunities for the children that help them to make generally good progress in their all-round learning. Children feel safe and secure because of the good procedures implemented into the childminder's practice. Partnership with parents is given high importance with a good two-way flow of information to provide continuity of care for children. The childminder uses self-evaluation with some success and demonstrates a strong commitment to ongoing improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 analyse all observations and use what you have found out about children's development so that you can plan for the next steps in all aspects of their learning  develop further a system of self-evaluation to assess what the setting offers against robust and challenging quality criteria 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 a good understanding of her role in ensuring children are safe in her setting. She attends safeguarding training on a regular basis to keep her knowledge up-to-date and effectively implements her written policy. Contact details and the necessary information are available to enable the childminder to contact outside agencies if she has any concerns about a child's welfare. She carries out daily risk assessments of her home and garden and risk assessments for outings; helping to ensure children are safe and secure. Children learn about keeping themselves safe as they learn about road safety and follow the house rules to keep safe indoors. The childminder regularly updates her first aid qualification and obtains necessary parental consents to promote children's well- being.

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the early years provision

The broad range of resources is in good condition and suitable for the children's use. The childminder varies the choice available and children help themselves to the resources they wish to play with. Resources include those that reflect positive images of equality and diversity. All children are made to feel welcome and their individual needs are met. Children learn about different cultures and festivals as they participate in activities learning about various celebrations; for example, children enjoy making a dragon for the Chinese New Year and making 'Divas' for Diwali celebrations. The childminder carries out observations and makes a record of them. She identifies the next steps for children's learning based on some of the observations and uses this to inform her future planning. As a result children are making generally good progress towards the early learning goals. However, because not all observations are fully evaluated there are times when children are

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the early years provision

not fully challenged by the planned activities.

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the early years provision

The partnership with parents is given high importance. Questionnaires are used to obtain parents' views and regular verbal communication takes place when children arrive and are collected. The parents take home children's 'learning journeys' and are encouraged to add to them. The childminder has produced written policies and procedures to share with parents so they are clear about her role and responsibilities. She also sends out a regular newsletter to keep parents fully informed of future events. The childminder has developed good partnerships with other agencies, who share the care of the children, enabling their individual needs to be met and promoting consistency of care.

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the early years provision

The childminder has addressed recommendations from the previous inspection and is aware of many of the strengths and weaknesses in her provision. However, her system of self-evaluation is not sufficiently robust to fully identify all potential aspects for improvement. The childminder attends regular training and she monitors the activities she offers to evaluate the effectiveness of her provision for children's learning and development. This is quite successful but has failed to identify that some of the activities offered lack challenge for more able children. She demonstrates a strong capacity for continuous improvement, promoting good outcomes for children. 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 settled, confident and show increasing independence. They thoroughly enjoy the activities they engage in. They sit playing creatively with the play food, joining the pieces together with the fastenings or pretending to cut the food with the little wooden knives. They enjoy acting out familiar roles from home, such as bathing the baby or changing baby's nappy. Books are a firm favourite for all the children, with a good variety within their easy reach. Younger children like the childminder to read to them and show familiarity with well-known stories. They point out objects in the pictures and the childminder extends their language offering them new vocabulary. The childminder talks to the children all the time, asking open-ended questions and encouraging children to reply. She offers praise when young children try hard to pronounce new words, encouraging them to try again. Children have lovely opportunities to learn about the natural world. They

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and outcomes for children

plant seeds for fruit and vegetables, such as tomatoes, strawberries and peppers and observe the process of growth. Once grown, children pick the produce and eat it, gaining good skills and an understanding about sustainability.

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and outcomes for children

Children have good opportunities to use large play equipment in the park, visit the local play centre, go on walks in the country or play in the garden. This wide range of opportunities enables children to play with other children, learn about their local community and develop good physical skills. Creative activities enable children to use a variety of resources, such as paint, glue, collage materials and to draw using their imaginations and design skills. Children enjoy completing puzzles, using problem-solving skills and receive support from the childminder to find the correct pieces to fit. They learn about shapes and sort different coloured objects. Counting is an everyday occurrence through routine activities. Children practise their recognition of numerals by looking at house numbers and vehicle number plates when on outings and look at price labels on food during trips to the shops. They learn skills in the use of information and communication technology using

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and outcomes for children

computers, a play telephone and remote control cars. These skills, together with their numeracy and literacy, support their development of skills for their future.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn the importance of a healthy lifestyle as they are encouraged to be active and engage in a variety of activities outdoors. Children play in the garden on a daily basis, benefitting from the fresh air and exercise. They learn about healthy eating as they make choices from the snacks available. Drinks are always available, with even the youngest child able to reach their own drink. Children bring a packed lunch which is appropriately stored in the refrigerator. Cooked, nutritious, meals prepared by the childminder are also offered. She takes into account children's preferences and any dietary needs or allergies. Good hygiene routines for hand washing and nappy changing minimise the risk of cross-infection.

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and outcomes for children

Children learn to keep themselves safe by following the house rules and knowing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 why some behaviour is not acceptable. They receive gentle reminders from the childminder about being kind to others and to remember to say 'please' and 'thank you'. Children help to tidy away the toys and receive praise and encouragement in their learning, actively promoting their self-esteem. Children learn about 'stranger danger' and road safety when on outings and they know it is important to stay with the childminder. Children make very good relationships with each other and the childminder. They learn to respect people's differences and enjoy outings where they meet people from their local community. 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 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 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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