Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY421757 Inspection date 08/02/2012 Inspector Ferroza Saiyed

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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 has been registered since 2011. The childminder lives with her two children aged three and nine years, they live in the Padiham area of Burnley. The home is close to shops, transport links and schools. The family have two cats and a bearded dragon lizard as their pets.

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Description of the childminding

Children have use of a lounge, dining room and a kitchen. There is a bathroom on the first floor. The ground floor of the home is accessible. There is a secure front and rear gardens.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for five children under eight years of whom no more than two may be in the early years age range. There are currently three children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range. The childminder cares for children from 8am to 6pm each weekday, with the exception of bank holidays.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is an experienced and qualified early years teacher. She is a member of the National Childminding Association and the local childminding support network. The childminder receives support from the local Early years team.

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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's individuality is appreciated and well supported as the practice is inclusive. Policies and procedures are established and clear, which results in the promotion of children's welfare being good. The childminder has a good understanding of most of her strengths and areas for improvement in her setting and takes steps to continuously improve her service. She has built strong relationships with parents and other professionals to promote secure and consistent care for children. All children in the setting are making good progress.

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further?

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

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further?

 continue to develop the systems for recording observations of children's achievements in order to clearly track their learning all areas  develop procedures to gather childrens' starting points to aid their learning and development and increase involvement with parents in supporting their children's progress so that learning and extended within the home  develop procedures to promote reflective practice and self-evaluation and identify priorities for development to improve 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 is fully aware of her responsibilities regarding safeguarding and has a good understanding of the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures. Children are further safeguarded and protected as the childminder ensures that she supervises children at all times. The childminder is trained in first aid and has good procedures to deal with accidents, incidents and administration of medication. Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment. Comprehensive risk assessments are in place and they detail how potential hazards to children, indoors and outdoors are minimized. This helps to ensure that a safe environment is provided for children. Opportunities for children to learn about safety are provided, such as fire safety, stranger-danger and road safety, to help raise their awareness of keeping themselves safe.

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the early years provision

The childminder shows a positive attitude towards attending relevant training to develop her practice. She discusses practice with other childminders and has some understanding of areas for further development. However, she has not implemented any robust procedures to monitor and evaluate her practice in order to promote outcomes for children.

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the early years provision

The childminder is highly committed to working in partnerships with others. For example, she supports children when they attend another setting which ensures a continuity of care and maximises the outcomes for the child. Partnerships with parents and carers is good and they comment favourably on their relationship with the childminder and their satisfaction with all aspects of care. They receive written information about the setting, including relevant policies and procedures and are kept up-to-date about their child's care through verbal feedback and daily diaries. The childminder invites parents and children for introductory sessions and gathers relevant information required to meet the children's individual needs, for example, dietary and health requirements. However, the systems to find out about children's starting points in relation to their learning and development are not fully robust, and some parents are not actively involved in their child's learning. This means

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the early years provision

they cannot contribute to their child's learning and development.

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the early years provision

The childminder has an abundance of toys and activities for inside and outside play. She clearly considers how to make best use of space in order to achieve the maximum benefit for children. For example, creating areas such as role play, construction and messy play to meet the needs of children. Toys are stored on low-level shelving or in boxes. This enables children to make confident choices about their learning and play. The children benefit from dedicated playrooms in the child-orientated home where colourful examples of their work, along with posters, help to promote their sense of belonging and self-esteem. The childminder actively promotes equality and diversity and achieves this very successfully. Resources which reflect our wider world and community help children develop positive attitudes towards others. 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 happy in the childminder's company and enjoy a warm and trusting relationship with her. This promotes their emotional well-being and raises their self-esteem. Activities are well organised and planned around children's interests and individual needs. The childminder completes sensitive observations which identify the next steps in children's learning and development. Whilst these observations identify next steps in children's development, it is not easy to track areas of learning achieved.

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and outcomes for children

A very good range of clean and safe resources enable children to explore, discover, use their imagination and learn social skills. Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and they show great delight in choosing a story that the childminder can share with them. Children listen attentively to stories and volunteer information and predict what is going to happen next. Counting is incorporated into their everyday routine and in activities, for example, they count the cake cases during baking activity, they use positional language as they talk about over, under, up and down. Early writing skills are also evident as children attempt to use a wide variety of tools such as crayons, paintbrushes and pencils to make marks. Children are happy and settle into the environment showing curiosity and increasing independence as they select from the resources. They have great fun as they enjoy exploring the paint and glitter to make valentine cards. Children thoroughly

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and outcomes for children

enjoy creative experiences and use their imaginations well through role play as they pretend to go shopping and make tea for their peers and the inspector.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with valuable opportunities to learn and develop an awareness of the diverse culture in which they live because the childminder has a clear understanding of differing cultures. Children enjoy making their own creations of dragons and take pleasure in eating noodles and spring roll. Children revisit this celebration as they make noodles for the inspector from strips of felt. Children enjoy a variety of good outdoor activities. This increases their confidence and develops social skills as they visit local groups to socialise with other children. They explore their local environment, such as through nature walks to find wildlife. The indoor space, the garden, visits to community groups and trips to places of interest also allow children to discover new environments and promote highly stimulating experiences. This provides them with inspiring and challenging opportunities to develop social and intellectual skills.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop an excellent awareness of health and hygiene through established routines, such as, washing hands before snack and meals, because it 'gets the germ off' and also after craft activity. Children learn about making healthy choices and gain good social skills when eating together with the childminder. They also taste food from around the world. Children are valued as individuals, they behave well and display good manners, such as saying 'please' and 'thank you' and 'bless you' when someone sneezes. Children are extremely well supported by the childminder, who has clear house rules in place to help children to begin to learn right from wrong. This is combined with plenty of praise and encouragement and consequently, children's self-esteem is effectively promoted. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 Children are developing many skills that will contribute to their future economic

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and outcomes for children

well-being. For example, they are eager to use programmable toys as they become increasingly confident in pushing buttons and switches, which means they are learning how things work. Children show tremendous respect for one another as their social skills develops, enhancing their positive disposition to learning. 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 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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