Childminder in Devon

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY253418 Inspection date 07/07/2011 Inspector Leoarna Mathias

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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 was registered in 2003. She lives with her daughter in a semi- detached house which is situated on the outskirts of Buckfastleigh, Devon. The children are able to use the whole property, although most activities take place downstairs. The family has a dog, which is kept muzzled whenever minded children are present. The childminder is registered to care for up to six children, including three in the early years age group. She is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder currently has 10 children on roll, three of whom are aged under eight years. The childminder specialises in offering art and craft activities to school-aged children after school, in the school holidays and during term time for home-schooled children. She has previously worked as a professional artist.

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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

Overall, the childminder creates a highly inviting and inspiring environment for the care of children, particularly for those with a strong interest in art and craft. Children are given particularly skilled support for their learning and development by the childminder who has a very secure understanding of how children progress. She is fully committed to continuous improvement, having a well-developed vision for her practice and an ongoing commitment to her own professional development. She ensures that children's safety and health are very well promoted, through a range of measures that demonstrate that the welfare of the children is a clear priority at all times.

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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 further the rich and diverse learning and development opportunities in the outdoor environment.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a very secure understanding of how to keep children safe. She supervises children closely, prioritising their safety through effective risk assessment procedures which are properly documented and regularly reviewed. She holds regular fire drills and equipment checks, and encourages children to develop their own sense of risk assessment as they cook and use other household This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 or art equipment. The childminder is exceptionally confident of her role in relation to any child protection concerns she may have, and has a detailed policy in this area to effectively underpin her practice.

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the early years provision

The childminder has a unique, strong and very well- thought through vision for her practice. She has a particular interest in supporting the creativity and growing independence of the children. Always starting with how she is succeeding in helping children to make progress, the childminder is very much able to reflect on her practice and bring about continuous improvement. For example, she frequently reviews her policies and paperwork to ensure that she is up-to-date with the latest guidance on such matters. The childminder also achieves high levels of continuous improvement through a clear commitment to her ongoing professional development, through training and accessing new avenues of learning for children. For example, an interest in learning in the outdoor environment has led her to access some Forest School training, as well as seeking information and input from a range of outside agencies, such as a nearby bat protection group. This helps her

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the early years provision

to enrich the learning experiences of the children she cares for, by taking them regularly into the outdoors. Similarly, the childminder is now introducing improvements to her own garden so she may extend her 'classroom', having identified limitations to her work while the area remained unimproved. The childminder is inclusive in her practice, finding innovative ways to ensure all the children in her care are given every opportunity to learn and progress. She also works hard to encourage children to recognise the diversity within our society and around the globe. They take part in various projects inspired by celebrations from other countries and find out about different cultures. For example, a child develops an interest in Egypt and in hieroglyphics in particular. Together they research the meaning of these images and explore alphabets from around the world before going on to make ceramic tiles with depictions of hieroglyphics on them, using

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the early years provision

melted recycled glass to create blues and greens.

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the early years provision

In working with a significant number of children that are home- educated, the childminder is, responsible for a significant part of their learning and development. She welcomes this opportunity and values her role in providing an outstanding learning environment, a stimulating range of resources and the adult input needed to support children's creativity, imagination and natural impulse to learn. In return, parents report extremely high levels of satisfaction with the work that she does with their children, noting how she regularly shares her professional knowledge of how children learn in order to ensure genuinely high levels of continuity of care and learning. Parents access high quality documentation, including a regular newsletter which supports the flow of information. The childminder's practice benefits from her proactive use of the guidance of outside agencies and professionals. She also forms meaningful partnerships with the schools attended

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the early years provision

by the children, so that there is a shared approach to their learning experiences. 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 making very good progress towards the early learning goals in all six areas of learning. All children have the fullest opportunities to explore an enormous range of art techniques, which promote the development of their creativity and imaginations to a very high degree. They take part in activities such as batik printing, marble printing on paper, mask making and ceramics. All of these activities are well supported by the childminder, who ensures children access an excellent range of resources and supports them with her own in-depth knowledge of these techniques. Activities are organised to ensure that the knowledge and skills they gain from each project is broad and detailed and cover several areas of learning. Similarly, when taking part in activities that are not related to art, children are encouraged to learn across the six areas of learning identified in the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, one child expresses an interest in

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and outcomes for children

creating a recipe book based on their regular experiences of making soup with the childminder. With her help, the child achieves this in an innovative way, using pictures researched and printed from the internet to create an ingredients list and developing their understanding of clocks and time-telling in order to show how long each stage of the process should take. Another child learnt a song about the nations of the world at home. On sharing this with the childminder and other children, they take a map of the world which they label with the nations mentioned in the song. They ensure that the labels are colour-coded so that even the youngest children can begin to identify the locations of nations around the world. This has led the childminder to ask each child who goes on holiday abroad to collect items whilst there that represent that country. When they return they place them in a bag made with an image of the country's flag on it. As a result, children

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and outcomes for children

gain knowledge of using foreign currency, learn about the country they are visiting in a meaningful way, and help to make resources to share this learning with others upon their return. The childminder uses children's unique interests to help her plan for their learning across the curriculum and for the benefit of all who attend. All children take part in regular trips out with the childminder to make use of the outdoor environment; they take an autumn walk, collecting natural items that represent the season, returning to then complete art work based on their finds.

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and outcomes for children

The huge range of excellent projects fully demonstrates the strength of the childminder's understanding of how children learn and develop. She encourages children to play a full role in their own learning, while maintaining a firm grasp on the larger picture of promoting their development across all areas of learning. She demonstrates an excellent knowledge of the strengths and challenges faced by every child in her care, and is able to help them fulfil their full potential. She records their progress, keeping large amounts of their completed work, and uses this to plan the next steps for each child. The childminder strongly believes in children's natural motivation to learn and skilfully, and with the utmost enthusiasm, provides the expertise, support, encouragement, resources and environment they need to make impressive progress.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning how to keep themselves healthy and safe. Through close supervision they are encouraged to stay safe while using a wide range of tools and This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 resources. For example, they know how to use woodworking tools and a sewing machine safely. As they help to prepare their own meals and snacks, they have ample opportunities to learn about eating healthy foods. Children are also learning what it means to be part of a group, to share and take turns and develop relationships and social skills. For example, they take turns when using information technology equipment by using a timer without prompting. They also show that they can work happily together on projects, such as building dens. In short, they are cared for in an environment where they are encouraged to give of their best at all times by a childminder who treats them with respect and consideration.

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and outcomes for children

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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