Childminder in Cheshire East

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY340887 Inspection date 15/03/2012 Inspector Sarah Rhodes

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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 2006. She lives in Handford, Cheshire. The whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home and first floor bathroom is used for childminding. She has a rabbit as a pet.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children under eight years at any one time, no more than three of which may be in the early years age range. She is currently minding four children in the early years age group on a part-time basis. She also offers care to children aged over five years. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder collects children from the local school and goes to several toddler groups regularly.

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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 benefit from a childminder who genuinely enjoys their company, knows them well and uses every opportunity to extend their learning. They are happy, sociable children, who are developing good skills to support their future learning. The childminder has successfully implemented the Early Years Foundation Stage and records children's development in a broad way. Systems for evaluating the provisions strengths and weaknesses and driving improvements are being developed. The childminder is well organised and has produced a wide range of written documents which help the smooth running of the setting, with only the risk assessments lacking some required detail.

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further?

To meet the specific requirements of the EYFS, the registered person must:

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further?

 update the record of the risk assessments for the premises to state when they were carried out, by whom and the date of review (Documentation). 30/03/2012

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further?

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

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further?

 consolidate the use of the learning journeys to match the observations to the expectations of the early learning goals and use the record to monitor children's progress towards the early learning goals  develop the use of self-evaluation as part of an internal review to inform planning of future improvements. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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the early years provision

Children are safeguarded because the childminder is confident in her ability to identify causes for concern and to act swiftly to obtain help and advice from safeguarding agencies. She has contact details for child protection support agencies and a safeguarding policy in place. This helps to ensure children are protected from harm or neglect. The safety of children is important to the childminder and she recognises the need to always be vigilant especially when on trips out. She undertakes risk assessments for both the premises and outings. However, the written record lacks some details required by the Early Years Foundation Stage. Emergency evacuations have been practised with even young children to enhance their ability to cope in an emergency. They also learn to manage risks themselves, for example, learning road safety rules.

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the early years provision

The childminder has attended the required training. She is committed to attending further training to increase her knowledge when courses become available and is especially interested in updating her safeguarding training and knowledge of the changes to the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has made sure all required paperwork is in place with only the risk assessments needing enhancement. The childminder has started to reflect on the settings strengths and areas for improvement in an informal way. She is committed to developing the service she provides and using the Early Years Foundation Stage to support children's learning and development within a home based setting. She has a good capacity to improve further.

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the early years provision

The childminder places a strong emphasis on working in partnership with parents. A wide range of policies have been drawn up and shared with parents which ensure everyone is aware of operating procedures. She encourages parents to provide information about many aspects of their child's life at the start of the placement. Daily diaries are used to enhance ongoing verbal exchanges for parents with babies which ensures strong levels of communication between home and the childminder. Observation files for each child are shared with parents. The childminder is aware of the need to liaise with others who provide Early Years Foundation Stage care to children attending her setting to ensure the activities she provides complement their provision and strategies used. For example, behaviour management in order to work in harmony. The childminder understands the needs of the individual children she cares for and has organised her home to allow

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the early years provision

children to easily access a range of appropriate high quality equipment. She has given consideration to how she would meet the needs of children with additional needs or English as a second language. This ensures that no child is disadvantaged and all children have their needs met appropriately. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The provision for children's learning, development and welfare is good. The childminder ensures a range of activities are provided which keeps children well occupied whatever their age. She knows the children well and this means their interests can drive the planning of play experiences, for example, a child's interest craft work and jewellery. She has clear records to support her play provision. Children's progress is recorded through a collection of monthly summaries which tell the story of children's progress and identify the aspects of their all round development that the childminder has identified as needing support over the coming month. These summaries are supported by photographs and examples of children's craft work. This allows the childminder to develop a good picture of children's general development. However, this assessment system does not currently record the links to the Early Years Foundation Stage or provide a way to

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and outcomes for children

easily monitor children's progress towards all the aspects of the different early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

The children benefit from a childminder who is skilful in using conversation and general play to extend children's learning. For example, they casually discuss the phonic sounds which start their names. Children enjoy hearing stories and singing and are helped to develop a love of books. They are able to start to mark make with a range of pens and paints. Frequent craft sessions develop children's creative skills in both two and three dimensions, for example, making flowers from their hand prints for Mothering Sunday. The children's opinions are valued and the genuine interest of the childminder develops children's confidence, self-esteem and verbal skills. The home based nature of the provision is used as an asset as the childminder utilises, for example, saucepans as items children can use to experiment with rhythm and sounds. Routine activities are used to extend children's learning, for example, counting the number of steps or identifying

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and outcomes for children

numerals and looking at the shapes of toys as they play. Close links with the local community provide opportunities for children to meet up with larger groups and develop their social skills, for example, on visits to the toddler group. Using home play equipment they develop their imagination to recreate everyday situations, for example, talking on the telephone. The children have access to larger equipment in local parks, giving them opportunity to develop their balancing and climbing skills, whilst bats and balls and other outside equipment is available in the garden.

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and outcomes for children

Children's welfare is also promoted through the provision of healthy homemade diets. Clear procedures about hygiene both personal hygiene and hygiene of the home allow children to enjoy a clean and healthy environment. The importance of developing social skills and behaviour which is supportive of further learning is clear to the childminder. She works with parents and other providers to ensure consistency is developed to reinforce positive behaviours. She manages the children's behaviour in a very positive way praising the children, using distraction and keeping them well occupied. Children are making good progress in developing skills for the future and the move to school or nursery when the time comes. 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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