Childminder in Southampton

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY437091 Inspection date 20/03/2012 Inspector Judith Reed

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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 registered in 2011. She lives with her children, aged two and four years, in the Thornhill area of Southampton. The whole of the home is available for childminding, although children mainly have access to the ground floor, which has toilet facilities. A well fenced rear garden is available for outside play. The family has a pet rabbit. The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of these one may be in the early years age group. She is currently caring for one child in this age group. She also offers care to children aged five to 11 years. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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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 are happy and settled in the childminder's home. They make choices about their own activities and there is a good balance of child-initiated and adult- led activities. Children make good progress in their learning and development overall. They are safe and have their good health extremely well promoted. Partnerships with parents are very well established to promote children's care and learning. The childminder completes self-evaluation of her provision and plans further training to ensure continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 improve opportunities for children to use information, communication technology to support their learning, for example, computers.

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the early years provision

The childminder has good arrangements in place for safeguarding children. She is familiar with the procedures to protect children and has a written policy in place which is shared with parents. She also shares a flow-chart showing steps to follow if she has any concerns about the children. The childminder is well organised and ensures she has the required documentation and records in place. Risk assessments are completed for many different outings, the home and the garden. The childminder also uses daily check lists and cleaning rotas to help ensure children's health and safety.

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the early years provision

The childminder builds positive, professional relationships with parents. She This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 invites them to provide an evaluation of her service for inspection. Parents report that they are very happy with the care provided and their children are encouraged to talk and develop their communication skills. They complete 'All about me' documents when the children commence to help the childminder set starting points for their learning journey. They appreciate that their children experience group situations as well as trips to places of interest. Parents are provided with good quality information about the Early Years Foundation Stage. They view their child's learning journey records regularly and make very positive comments. Daily diaries are used to enhance communication and keep parents fully informed about food consumed, nappy changes, nap times and activities or outings. The

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the early years provision

childminder plans to liaise with other early years providers and agencies when required. She hopes to provide consistency for the children when they attend other early years provision.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes equality and diversity by offering a range of books and hand puppets which reflect diversity. Children have the opportunity to celebrate festivals including Christmas and Chinese New Year. The childminder plans activities to meet the individual needs of the children she cares for, therefore ensuring their ongoing progress. She ensures children are able to make choices about their own activities and provides a wide selection of appropriate toys and equipment. The toys are displayed around the living room and children can help themselves from well labelled, low level, storage drawers and units. The garden is used every day and children enjoy the opportunity to take part in physical play activities, as well as creative painting and printing.

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the early years provision

The childminder is skilled at evaluating her childminding provision and makes continual improvements. Plans are fully evaluated and the childminder ensures children's ongoing learning by ensuring their individual needs are effectively met. A written self-evaluation of the whole provision is also completed and this helps to target ongoing training which will be a benefit to the childminding provision

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and outcomes for children

Children enjoy challenging experiences across most areas of learning and they are active learners. There is purposeful play and exploration with a balance of adult, and child-led activities. For example children choose to play outside and are encouraged to make choices about going on the slide, or throwing a ball around. They receive praise and encouragement. The childminder offers children the opportunity to do some printing with cut fruit. They enthusiastically join in the painting/printing activity outside on a large plastic sheet. They use various fruits to print with different colours of paint. The childminder and the children work together to put paint onto plates and the children choose the different fruit pieces to use for printing. They repeatedly press the fruit halves onto the paint and then the paper, making marks and demonstrating their control. They successfully make marks and enjoy the opportunity to be messy and create large scale pictures

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and outcomes for children

together. The childminder also invites children to name the fruit and the colours of the paint during this activity, reinforcing their learning and supporting ongoing This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 development. Children move on to play in home corner. They select various fruits and vegetables and successfully name the items. The childminder plays with the children and supports them. She demonstrates how to use tools. These activities link to the planning for this week of 'Our bodies'.

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and outcomes for children

Children are learning about nutrition and eating healthy foods. A chart is displayed to record the number of fruit and vegetables consumed each day. All areas of learning and development are enhanced and included through the effective planning of activities. The childminder undertakes regular observations of the children to include in the learning journal records. Children develop good skills for the future through playing with various hand-held game consoles and computerised toys. However, they have fewer opportunities to use ICT, such as computers, to support their learning. Children's understanding of the wider world is demonstrated through their imaginative play. The childminder encourages children to respect themselves and each other. Children communicate effectively and make their needs known.

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and outcomes for children

Children feel safe as they know the childminder's home is secure. The childminder helps children learn to stay safe by supporting them to learn about crossing roads safely and be aware of stranger danger. Children have a positive attitude towards learning and enjoy the activities available. They share the toys and begin to play together in a cooperative manner. They understand the need to keep the environment tidy and help to tidy away toys. Children behave well. They respond well to the expectations of the childminder and are very familiar with the daily routine.

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and outcomes for children

Children's good health and well-being are extremely well promoted. The childminder helps them to learn how to stay healthy and fit through carefully planned activities and daily routine. Excellent hygiene practices are in place. For example, the childminder talks to the children about keeping clean and how to remain clean after washing their hands. Children help wash the fruit before having snack and use bathroom to wash their hands before having snack. Children automatically wash their hands following nappy changes and use their own individual towels for hand drying. Children make healthy choices about what they eat and drink. The childminder asks children to choose the snack they would like to have from a chart on her refrigerator door. She displays pictures of a wide range of fruits, vegetables, bread sticks, dips, biscuits and drinks of water, milk, juice and fruit smoothies. Children stick their own pictures onto the picture they wish to eat

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and outcomes for children

or drink. Children choose grapes, strawberries and oranges and sit at a low table and eat the fruit from individual bowls with forks. 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 3 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 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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