Little Ridge Community Primary School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 114481 Inspection date 14/11/2011 Inspector Janet Thouless

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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

Children only attend this setting before and/or after the school day and/or during the school holidays. The judgements in this report reflect the quality of early years provision offered to children during those periods.

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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 registered in 1985. She lives with her husband in Lindfield, West Sussex close to village shops and the park. Children have access to the ground floor of the premises where playrooms and sleep and toilet facilities are located. An enclosed garden is available for outside play. The childminder also runs a nursery school from the same premises and offers childminding as an additional service to families and children attending, or who have attended, the nursery school. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time, of these no more than three may be in the early years age range. When working with an assistant a total of six children in the early years age group may be cared for. She is currently minding five children in this age group. She also offers care to children aged over

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Description of the childminding

five years to 11 years. The setting supports children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who speak English as an additional language. The childminder is a Qualified Teacher and holds Early Years Professional Status.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Overall the quality of the provision is outstanding.

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The overall effectiveness of the early years provision

Children are cared for by a highly experienced childminder who has an astute understanding of the individual characteristics and needs of the children. This enables her to work very effectively to meet their learning and welfare needs. Children thrive in the exceptionally well organised child-friendly setting, which enables them to make choices, develop their independence, and access a wealth of stimulating learning and play opportunities. The childminder's practice is exceptionally well supported through the positive relationships with parents and other settings. This ensures excellent channels of communication are in place to fully support the welfare and learning needs of children. A reflective approach is mostly in place to enable the childminder to evaluate her level of provision and gain a full understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. She is fully aware of the need to continue self-evaluation in order to provide high quality care for

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 developing self-evaluation to identify the setting's strengths and priorities for development in particular the partnerships with others that will improve This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 the quality of provision for all children

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the early years provision

Children are exceptionally well protected because the childminder has an excellent knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and arrangements for safeguarding children are robust. The childminder implements an extremely comprehensive range of policies and procedures which are updated on a regular basis and are used to underpin her practice. Comprehensive risk assessments of all areas which children may come into contact with are recorded effectively. As a result, children are confident to explore and learn in a secure and safe, yet challenging indoor and outdoor environment. The childminder makes extremely effective use of self-evaluation to help her identify her strengths and priorities for future development to improve the quality of her provision for all children. She undertakes ongoing, relevant early years training to enhance her skills and evaluates what she does in order to further improve her practice. Her dedication

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the early years provision

results in excellent outcomes for children across all their learning and development. However, systems used for self- evaluation do not fully include the main strengths of partnerships with others.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from being cared for in an extremely enabling home environment, which is welcoming and child friendly. The excellent range of activities and resources are extremely well presented in colourful boxes, containers and baskets and are in excellent condition. Children are developing a great knowledge and understanding of diversity through the excellent range of resources and artefacts which reflect traditions within the children's cultures. The childminder is passionate about developing children's progress and development. She places the promotion of equality of opportunity at the heart of her provision. For example, Bilingual children are spoken to in both English and their home language to help welcome and settle them and to aid a smooth transition. Children's additional needs are fully respected and integrated in to the daily routines of the setting. For example, the childminder has established effective partnership with the speech therapist and

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the early years provision

consultant to meet the individual need of children.

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the early years provision

The childminder works extremely well with parents, offering a very flexible childminding service before and after school which complements the nursery school provision. Parents are kept exceptionally well informed and many opportunities are provided for parents to know how their child is developing and to become involved in the setting. Parents are provided with a wealth of photographic evidence of their children at play. Children select books for their book bags to take home and read with parents. Parents are also asked to contribute to their children's nursery school books which detail the children's journey through the setting. This includes a highly reflective personalised alphabet using photographs, pictures and crafts which are special to the children. Parents comment that they are extremely delighted with the books and it is something they will treasure. Highly effective systems are in place to support the liaison with other childcare

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the early years provision

practitioners. This provides worthwhile opportunities to share children's written termly profiles, enabling a cohesive approach in the development of children's next This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 steps in their learning. For example, the childminder identified that particular children thrived in the outdoor environment. Therefore, further consideration was given to creating and integrating an outdoor programme of activities between both settings.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has developed strong and caring attachments with the children. Children are extremely happy, confident and settled. They receive excellent support with their learning and development and feel safe and secure in the childminder's care. There is a great emphasis on children learning through play and having fun. Planning for each child stems from the childminder's observations of their interests, play and achievements, all of which are recorded in great detail in individual learning journey folders. The adult led, planned activities are then accurately set at the right level for each child to ensure they each enjoy and achieve consistently at their own level and pace. The childminder's positive behaviour management strategies means children are acknowledged and praised for their efforts and respected as individuals. For example, the childminder offers praise to acknowledge their contribution and as a result, children acquire a positive

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and outcomes for children

On arrival children quickly change out of their outdoor shoes and self register. They then choose a badge with a smiley or sad face and attach it to their name. This enables the childminder to talk to them about how they are feeling and have discussions on how their friends are feeling which shows them how to develop an understanding of others. At breakfast children show an interest in the day ahead and express ideas on what they would like to do. Children state that they would like to play outside in the adventure play area and go for a walk. Whilst eating breakfast children discuss the many fruits and vegetables displayed on the table. The childminder extends children's thinking by asking many open-ended questions. They explore using their senses and feel for the texture and smell of peppers, melon and leeks. The childminder takes this opportunity to introduce words that sound the same and their meaning, for example, leeks are vegetables and a leak

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and outcomes for children

Children's interest in listening to stories is fully promoted. They show absolute delight in naming familiar animals in a story line using rhyming words and giggle as they repeat favourite words. They have frequent opportunities to mark make and develop their ability to identify letters through the use of phonic sounds. The childminder writes individual rhymes based on things she has heard and seen. These rhymes are then shared with parents and they are encouraged to share them with their children as part of supporting their communication, language and literacy skills. The wealth of creative media enables children to be creative as they enjoy making a rocket from a cardboard box. Samples of their work are displayed on the walls, creating a bright environment and instilling a sense of pride into each child. Children enjoy problem solving as they piece together a train track. 'We need two straight pieces so they join together' they state. They giggle excitedly together

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and outcomes for children

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 as they pretend the train gets stuck in the mud 'we need a big crane to pull it out'. They invite new children to play and show them how to place the train on the track. They explore the garden for creepy crawlies and enjoy investigating the newly acquired spider's web. They use their imaginations extremely well as they enjoy pretend play in the new adventure playground whilst others simply appreciate standing and taking time to observe the world around them.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from many visits in the community to help them learn about their immediate environment. They attend musical concerts at Lindfield Church; visit the zoo, nature reserve and take part, along with their parents, in the village summer fair. Children learn about keeping safe as they hold the magic rope which gives them amazing listening powers when out walking. Children stop when they hear a car and wait to listen to instructions before crossing the road. To support children in adopting a healthy lifestyle the childminder uses locally sourced produce to prepare healthy and nutritious snacks and meals. Children sit together at meal times and enjoy participating in extremely worthwhile conversations about healthy food options. These positive early experiences provide children with an exceptional start in life to enable them to develop the skills needed for their future success. 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 1 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 1

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Stage

The extent to which children achieve and enjoy their learning 1 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 1 The extent to which children develop skills for the future 1

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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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