Childminder in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY315236 Inspection date 16/01/2012 Inspector Lynn Clements

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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 2005. She is registered to care for a maximum of five children at any one time, of whom, three may be in the early years age group and one may be under one year at any time. The childminder is currently caring for one child in the early years age group and four older children. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder lives in a residential area of Cambourne, Cambridgeshire. She lives with her three older children. The whole of the property, managed by the childminder, is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is a member of the National Childminding Association. The childminder is fully qualified to National Vocational Level 3 in Early Years Care and Education.

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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

The childminder has a good knowledge and understanding about the individual needs of the children in her care, helping her to promote their learning and development well. Children clearly demonstrate that they feel very safe and secure in the childminder's extremely well-organised home and together they all thoroughly enjoy learning about the wider world around them. Partnerships with parents and others involved in the care of the children are outstanding. They are clearly supporting purposeful continuity of care for each child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This means that each child make good progress given their age, ability and starting points. The childminder develops and reflects on her practice and the service she provides, in order that she can continue to meet user needs well.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the current system of sensitive assessment for learning to make sure that targeted next steps for children are clearly linked to the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage to make sure that future learning continues to build securely on progress towards the six early learning goals. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

The steps taken to safeguard children are excellent. The childminder has a comprehensive awareness of safeguarding issues and updates her training to make sure that her practice remains effective and that children remain safe and protected from harm. The childminder works collaboratively with other key agencies and her comprehensive policies and procedures are implemented consistently and robustly to ensure any concerns are prioritised and dealt with effectively. She clearly understands about vetting procedures and never leaves children with adults visiting her home, who have not completed a Criminal Record Bureau check. The childminder has devised wide-ranging risk assessments, which help her to keep children safe in her home, garden, car and while on outings or simply travelling to and from school each day. She has completed training over and above that required by legislation and this includes a National Vocational

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the early years provision

Qualification Level 3 in Early Years Care and Education. She has also completed an up-to-date paediatric first aid training course, making sure that she knows what action to take in the event of an emergency. She is committed to supporting children and makes sure that they learn about potential hazards, helping them to confidently recognise and understand how to keep themselves safe.

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the early years provision

Furniture, equipment and resources are of high quality and plainly suitable for the children to support their differing ages and stages of learning and development. The environment is extremely conducive to learning and safe. It is managed exceptionally well and carefully looked after by the childminder and the children who take pride in their setting. The addition of child-height storage enables the children to make their own decisions. This builds on their self-help skills as they select from a wide range of high quality toys and activities, which appeal to their particular interests. Children clearly benefit and thrive, as a result of the setting they are in. The provider is taking well-considered steps to ensure resources and the environments are fully sustainable. The childminder places the promotion of equality of opportunity at the heart of all her work. She effectively and actively promotes equality and diversity and tackles unfair discrimination, ensuring that all

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the early years provision

children are well integrated. The childminder has an exceptional knowledge of each child's backgrounds and needs and successfully helps children to learn about and understand the society in which they live. She is also considerate of other cultures and customs celebrated by the families, who attend her setting. With the children, she takes the time to find out about these, so that parents wishes and beliefs are fully respected. For example, including in risk assessments, drawn up by the children and childminder prior to outings, they check on anything which might impact on the religious beliefs of some of the children and their families, then taken action to ensure this did not occur. There are well-established channels of communication between all partners involved with individual children to fully support them as they move between the childminder's home and their various schools and nursery settings. There are highly positive and focused relationships

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the early years provision

with all groups of parents, who report that their children love to attend. They add that they would happily recommend the childminder to other families and find her setting warm, friendly and very welcoming. Parents and their children are involved in the childminder's reflective practice. Their input enables the childminder to This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 develop and tailor her service to meet their particular care requirements.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder is resolute in helping all children, including those with English as an additional language to make good progress in their learning and development and promoting their welfare. She helps them to develop the personal qualities that enable them to take responsibility for small tasks and develop skills for the future. The childminder has a good understanding about how children learn through play and free-flow investigation. She takes the time to observe and assess them as they play, learning about their interests, likes, dislikes and abilities. Then using this information to help plan future opportunities personalised to meet their individual learning needs. Learning records are compiled and shared with parents, who are encouraged to include learning that happens at home. This provides important information for the childminder about the whole child. The childminder links the observations she makes about the children's progress to the six early learning

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and outcomes for children

goals. However, the Practice Guidance for the Early Years Foundation Stage is not used as consistently when she is identifying the different next steps learning intentions for each child to make sure that future learning opportunities continue to help them make good progress towards the six early learning goals. Children have good relationships with the childminder and each other. Their behaviour is very good and the childminder is consistent in her approach using distraction or redirection with younger children while finding open discussions, including a focus on emotions works best with the older children. Children play well on their own and those from different backgrounds and cultures work and play in harmony.

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and outcomes for children

Children show consideration to each other as they take turns and share resources. They explore their creative ideas as they have fun making three dimensional models of racing cars and their drivers. Time is taken when creating these to select and match the colours of their favourite cars. Children evidently know and are able to confidently name a wide range of different colours, including orange, purple and dark blue. They develop their understanding of simple technology as they use videos and cameras to capture their creations as a permanent record. Children explore letter sounds, developing simple phonic skills for later learning. They have access to a host of excellent quality books to read and share. Children demonstrate a good understanding about seeing to their own needs, including good control over more intricate physical skills. For example, as they put their coats, scarves and gloves on before going outside. They are developing mathematical concepts, such

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and outcomes for children

as positional language as they talk about the train going over the bridge, the toys which are put into the box and the books which are over there.

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and outcomes for children

Children show good awareness about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle. They adopt good personal hygiene routines and understand the importance of healthy eating. They engage in a wide range of physical activities, both indoors and outside, increasing their understanding about the importance of regular exercise as part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Children safely use a range of tools and equipment within the setting and know how to handle these, in order to keep safe. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Their understanding of safety issues and how they demonstrate this is exceptional. Children are extremely confident and competent in communicating their thoughts and show a mature response to taking responsibility about their own and others' safety. 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 2

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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 2 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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