St Dunstan Church of England Primary School

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 126312 Inspection date 21/03/2012 Inspector Beryl Witheridge

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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 1999. She lives with her family in Bean, Dartford. The whole ground floor of the childminder's house is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed garden for outside play.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered to care for a maximum of six children aged under eight years, at any one time, of whom three may be in the early years age group. She is currently minding 13 children part time of whom five are in the early years age group. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and on both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder drives to local schools to take and collect children. She attends the local parent/toddler and childminding group. The family has dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises and horses (in a nearby field).

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Description of the childminding

The childminder can support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She is a member of an approved childminding network and is currently in receipt of funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four years.

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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

The childminder's in-depth knowledge of the children and their specific needs enables her to promote their individual welfare and learning exceptionally well. The challenging and exciting activities planned within the encourage children to explore, investigate and make excellent progress in all areas of learning. Engagement with parents is mostly highly effective and contributes significantly to each child's receiving close continuity of care. The childminder evaluates her service objectively; she is very reflective in her self-evaluation. She is extremely pro-active in looking for areas to help develop the outcomes for children. She has an exceptional capacity for maintaining continuous improvement.

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further?

To further improve the high quality early years provision the registered person should consider:

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further?

 encouraging parents to add to their children's learning and development records. 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 an extensive understanding of the local safeguarding children procedures. She communicates her duty of care to the parents through a highly developed safeguarding policy and supporting documentation. She gives children's safety high priority. The childminder carries out thorough risk assessment of the home, garden and resources so that any hazards are minimised promptly. She also has clear records of risk assessments carried out for each outing showing excellent consideration to possible risks.

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the early years provision

Children are fully valued as individuals; the childminder treats boys and girls with equal concern. The children come from many differing backgrounds; they learn about each other, their homes, their families, their cultures and their language. The childminder enables them to share their experiences and to acknowledge and appreciate their differences and similarities. The childminder is highly positive in promoting diversity and provides children with a wide array of resources promoting equality and diversity. The children learn about their local community and the wider world through outings and activities that develop their sense of inquisitiveness and wonder.

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the early years provision

The childminder is exceptionally well organised. All required documentation is in place and she has devised a wide range of polices and procedures which are shared with parents and underpin her outstanding practice. She works incredibly hard on her self-evaluation. She keeps a clear record that she updates regularly. She has built this into a very useful document that helps her to identify her many strengths and areas for future improvement. She continues to develop her professional knowledge by completing relevant courses that enable her to build on her meticulous working practices. She works closely with other childminders to ensure her knowledge is up to date and she is using best practice in her childminding service.

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the early years provision

The childminder understands the importance of establishing links with other settings. She provides funding for early years children, so they do not attend other pre-school settings or nurseries. However, she has exceptionally close links with the reception teacher at the local school. She uses this link to ease children's transition into school and to continue to share their developmental progress until the end of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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the early years provision

The childminder has built extremely close working relationships with parents. Information about the children's well-being is shared regularly, both verbally and in writing. Parents receive copies of the policies and procedures and a copy of any updates. The childminder shares their children's learning and development records. They also receive a termly report on their children's development. There is a section for them to add their comments about the progress their children are making, however the childminder does not actively encourage parents to complete this. Parents complete regular questionnaires that ask for their opinion of the childminder's service, she includes their comments in her self-evaluation. The childminder provides newsletters to keep parents up to date with any changes, This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 outings or ideas she may have to involve them in their children's learning. For

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the early years provision

example, asking them to collect vouchers from supermarkets that she has been able to use to purchase new play equipment for use outdoors and gardening equipment. She demonstrates a superb understanding of how establishing effective partnerships support children's learning and development.

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and outcomes for children

Children are happy and secure; they show they feel safe and flourish in the childminder's nurturing care. They build warm relationships with her and other children. They have a playroom with easy access to an exciting, challenging and stimulating range of toys. The childminder encourages them to use the resources in a broad variety of ways to extend their learning and enjoyment. This enables them to make continued progress and development towards the early learning goals. The childminder sets up her home to make it an inviting environment where children are confident to make independent choices about what they play with. For example, they thoroughly enjoy building together with construction resources and then use it as a farm for the play animals. They love playing catch with the numbered beanbags and show an outstanding grasp of number concept as they add the different numbers together.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder discusses with parents what children can do when they first start and tracks their progress through regular observations. She uses these observations to identify their next steps. She uses this information to plan activities based on children's individual needs, interests and abilities. The childminder clearly plans for children's future needs, she assesses and evaluates the activities to ensure she is providing them with experiences across all areas of learning. Her records of children's learning and development are meticulous and she makes excellent use of photographs of the children at play to complement her written observations and assessments.

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and outcomes for children

Children show an exceptional sense of belonging in the childminder's care. The room is adorned with examples of their art and craftwork showing their contributions are highly valued. Children excitedly talk about the activities and excursions they have shared in the past, as depicted in the photographs displayed. The childminder is highly skilful in supporting children of different ages, through her interaction she ensure the same activity is meaningful for all by asking questions and providing resources that are age appropriate. Children learn extremely well through this interaction, for example, when building with the construction toys a young child finds a red brick and puts it in place. The childminder tells them it is 'red', the child repeats the word and receives a huge clap and cheer from all the children taking part. The child is so thrilled they continue to select and affix more red pieces, delighting in the further praise they

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and outcomes for children

receive. The child's sense of achievement is clear for all to see.

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and outcomes for children

Children show an excellent awareness of personal hygiene. They know that they must wash their hands before eating to 'get rid of the germs'. They each have This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their own toothbrush and clean their teeth twice a day after meals. Parents provide most of the food for their children. The childminder has a healthy eating policy and ensures that the options provided are well balanced and children are able to make healthy choices. Children grow their own fruit and vegetables, which they nurture. They pick them and have tasting sessions and cooking activities, such as, making jam for their parents. The childminder gives high importance to children's safety. They take part in regular emergency evacuation drills and demonstrate an in depth knowledge of road safety, saying 'they must hold hands and cross when the green man tells them'.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder uses effective strategies to promote children's impressively outstanding behaviour. Children receive lots of praise and encouragement to build their confidence and self-esteem. The childminder embraces opportunities to promote children's skills. There is a buzz of conversation and the childminder shows a genuine interest in what children have to say. Children extend their vocabulary through discussion and sharing books; children love to participate in the telling of stories, answering questions and anticipating what happens next. Children have an inspiring and stimulating range of experiences that contributes significantly towards their ongoing learning and development. 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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