Patterson, Angela Anita

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY431557 Inspection date 17/01/2012 Inspector Vivienne Dempsey

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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, two adult daughters and her child aged six years old in Durham City. The whole of the ground floor and upstairs bathroom of the property is used for childminding. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outside play. The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools and pre-schools. The family have two pet cats.

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Description of the childminding

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. There are currently three children attending, who are within the Early Years Foundation Stage, all of whom attend on a part-time basis. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years. She is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder supports children, who speak English as an additional language. She 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

The childminder provides a warm, welcoming environment for all children and their families. Children's individual care and learning needs are well met. Systems to observe and assess children's learning and development are in place. The childminder has developed good links with parents to ensure continuity of care and to keep them informed of their children's daily activities, development and progress. She recognises the value of continuous improvement. For example, she attends regular training to develop her knowledge and skills. She works closely with the local authority advisor to help develop the service she provides, while promoting outcomes for children. However, systems to highlight the setting's strengths and areas for improvement are not fully developed.

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further?

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

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further?

 increase the range of available resources to promote children's understanding of differences  develop systems for self-evaluation, in order to help promote continuous improvement to the provision and 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

The childminder has a good understanding of safeguarding issues and procedures. She knows who to contact with any concerns and a written safeguarding procedure is in place and shared with parents. All of which helps to protect children's welfare. Children are able to move around safely and freely as daily checks of the home are completed. Written risk assessments are also in place for individual children and these are assessed according to the child's age and stage of development. A clearly defined procedure for the emergency evacuation of the premises is in place. Regular evacuation drills are carried out and details recorded of any problems encountered. Appropriate fire detection and control equipment are in place. For example, smoke detectors and a fire blanket are in place.

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the early years provision

Children are happy and confident in the childminder's care. They are fully involved and interested in their play. They have easy access to varied activities, as well as taking part in planned activities and outings. Children are able to make choices about what they do. This ensures that they are happy, content and fully occupied. The childminder has developed good relationships with parents. A wide range of practical information is collected through the children's records at registration. A daily two-way sharing of information also keeps parents fully informed of their children's progress and ensures continuity of care. For example, daily diaries are in place informing parents of activities that children have been involved in and snacks and meals they have eaten during the day. Parents have access to all policies and procedures, which informs them of the service provided. There are currently no children attending who access care and education in more than one setting.

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the early years provision

However, the childminder demonstrates a good understanding of the benefits of sharing relevant information with other practitioners to ensure continuity and coherence.

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the early years provision

The childminder does not currently care for children who have special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, she has a sound understanding of systems they need to have in place to ensure continuity in their learning and development and their individual needs are met. A sufficient range of resources are in place to develop children's understanding of differences, such as, some jigsaw puzzles, books and small world play people. However, these resources and activities are limited and do not fully promote children's understanding of other cultures. The childminder is keen to develop the service she provides and has some plans in place to develop her knowledge and skills, such as attending relevant training. She has started to use the Ofsted self-evaluation tool and seeks parent's views to evaluate the service she provides. However, formal systems for self-evaluation are not fully in place and therefore, all areas for development are not clearly

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the early years provision

highlighted. This does not fully promote 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

The childminder has a good relationship with children in her care. She provides a clean and caring environment for children in which they feel safe and secure to learn. She has a good range of resources and provides a varied range of experiences to meet the children's individual needs and interests. The childminder has developed good systems for observation, assessment and planning. Observations of children's learning and development are recorded within children's observation files. Next steps in children's development are highlighted and these are used to plan activities to promote children's learning and development. Observations are linked to the six areas and show children's progress towards the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

Children are very well behaved and respond to the childminder's praise and encouragement. Children have good opportunities to develop their creative skills as the childminder provides a range of dressing-up clothes and opportunities for role play. For example, children enjoy making cards and decorations and playing with the pretend kitchen. This engages children in imaginative play and role play based on own first hand experiences. Children regularly visit the local libraries and enjoy sharing their favourite stories with the childminder. This helps to develop and promote children's love of books. Young children enjoy painting and using a variety of colours to make marks, which helps to develop their early writing skills. Babies enjoy playing with musical instruments and giggle and laugh at the noises they make. A good range of interactive toys are available, which helps to promote children's understanding of everyday technology. They enjoy pressing buttons to

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and outcomes for children

Children take part in regular fire evacuation drills, which develops their awareness of dangers and how to stay safe. Routines, such as tidying away toys from the floor, encourage children to take responsibility for their own safety. The childminder talks to children about road safety on outings. This positively contributes to children developing a sense of danger and how to keep themselves safe. Children understand and adopt healthy habits and wash their hands before meals and snacks. This helps to prevent the spread of infection, protecting children's welfare. Children engage in a good range of physical activities both indoors and outside. They regularly visit local parks and play areas and enjoy playing in the childminder's garden. 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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