Childminder in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY437636 Inspection date 30/05/2012 Inspector Melanie Eastwell

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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 2011. She works with her mother who is an established registered childminder with 21 years experience. The co-minders work only at the mother's address. The property used for minding is in Dunstable, Bedfordshire and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The ground floor of the house and two bedrooms upstairs are used for childminding.

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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 whom may be in the early years age range when working alone. When working with another childminder they may care for no more than 12 children under eight years at any one time, no more than six of whom may be in the early years age range. They are currently caring for eight children in the early years age group. They also provides care for children aged over five years to 11 years. The childminder is registered by Ofsted on the compulsory and voluntary parts of Childcare Register.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is available to take children to and collect them from the local school and she attends toddler groups on a regular basis.

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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

The childminder has an excellent understanding of each child's needs and this enables her to be successful in promoting their individual welfare and learning. Children are very safe and secure, they enjoy the childminder's highly positive interaction with them and the very well-planned activities that are fully inclusive. The partnerships with parents are exceptionally strong and this is significant in making sure that each child's needs are met effectively. This means that children make rapid progress given their age, ability and unique starting points. The childminder has commenced procedures to evaluate her provision and she is keen to continue to embed this into her daily activity with the children and their parents.

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further?

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

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further?

 develop further the procedures for observation and assessment by clearly identifying when the identified next steps in progress for each child has been re-visited  develop further the systems for self-evaluation to further enhance the outcomes for the 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 works very effectively with her co-minder and they support each child's individual needs in a very caring manner. She is organised with her documentation, policies and procedures that are kept up to date and underpin her strong practice. Safeguarding is given the highest priority. For example, the childminder understands the importance of following the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in the event of any child protection concerns. She has completed training in safeguarding. Both childminders maintain high levels of supervision and this, alongside the detailed risk assessments, promotes the children's safety most effectively. The childminder has an abundance of play materials that are easily accessed by the children and actively encourages them to help themselves and to choose the toys they want to explore. Very effective use is made of the available space. The children are able to have free flow of the ground

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the early years provision

floor of the house and out into the garden during dry weather.

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the early years provision

The childminder has begun the process of self-reflection. She has sought the views of the children's parents through written testimonials. Parents report highly complementary comments about her commitment to their child's care and well- being and refer to the progress their child has made since starting to attend the provision. She demonstrates a good capacity for continuous improvement because she has attended a variety of relevant training courses and she is keen to continue to develop her procedures for self-evaluation in order to ensure that the service she provides responds effectively to the children's needs.

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the early years provision

Children benefit greatly from the highly effective partnership working between the childminder and their parents. She warmly welcomes them when they arrive to drop off and collect their children. Parents are asked to provide details about their child's needs and routines before they start attending. The childminder provides them with thorough information each day, both through verbal feedback and through the link books that record the activities the child has enjoyed, as well as information about their food, rest times and nappy changes. Parents are encouraged to write in these books to inform the childminder about how their child has been since the last time they attended. These books also contain photographs of the children engaged in their activities for the parents to see. The childminder has links in place with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage to ensure that relevant information is passed on when children move from one

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the early years provision

provider to another. The effective partnerships ensure that children receive a consistent approach and a smooth transition.

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and outcomes for children

The children demonstrate very clearly that they feel safe in this childminding setting. They are confident to move between their chosen activities and play materials and they indicate to the childminder if they want different items. They approach the childminder for comfort and reassurance when they need it. They are This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 familiar with the daily routines and quickly settle to sleep at rest time. All the children receive high quality, gentle, yet enthusiastic interaction from the childminder. For example, during a bubbly water activity she positions herself at the tray with the children, smiling and talking to them about what they are doing, giving lots of praise and recognition. The children smile and laugh at the sensation of the water and bubbles on their hands. This positive interaction continues throughout all the childminder's activities with the children. She ensures that she

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and outcomes for children

speaks to them clearly so they understand what is expected and she works very hard with her co-minder to support the younger children to share, take turns and think of others. All children are treated as unique individuals and with great respect. For example, each child's routines for feeding and sleeping are managed very well.

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and outcomes for children

Children are provided with a great range of activities that celebrate culture and diversity. The childminder researches any upcoming seasonal or cultural events and plans entirely appropriate activities that can be accessed by every child attending. For example, the children make colourful crowns using collage for the Jubilee celebrations, as well as Union Jack flags using recycled plastic bottle tops of red, white and blue glued onto a template. Children begin to develop an awareness of the wider world through equally well-planned and resourced activities and through the range of play materials and books that celebrate diversity.

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and outcomes for children

Each child is provided with an excellent range of healthy meals and snacks following thorough discussion with their parents about any specific dietary needs. The childminding setting is part of the local authority healthy eating award scheme. Children begin to learn about the benefits of maintaining good personal hygiene. For example, they have all taken part in a teeth cleaning activity where they received stars on a chart for cleaning their teeth both at home and in the childminding setting. This emerging awareness stems from the excellent example set by the childminder who is vigilant in cleaning her hands before preparing food and after nappy changes. For example, children either wash their own hands or have them wiped before and after eating and after playing in the garden and the childminder follows effective practices to reduce the risk of cross infection during nappy changes.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit greatly from the outdoor activities provided through a wide range of outings to different parks and play areas. They also thoroughly enjoy the free flow opportunities at home that enable them to play in the garden. For example, they explore the buggies and dolls, selecting which one will go for a walk. With the skilled support of the childminder they explore the train set and the farm animals and they learn to safely negotiate the low steps leading to the lawn and into the house. The childminder provides an abundance of play materials and resources in the garden that cover all the areas of learning. She is extremely skilled at managing the balance between enabling the children to lead their own play, to make their own choices and decisions, as well as involving them through talking to them about what they are doing, making suggestions and promoting their language skills.

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and outcomes for children

The children's progress is recorded in beautifully presented files that contain lots of This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 written observations, samples of their work and photographs of them engaged in their activities. The observations are linked to the relevant areas of learning and their progress is evident. The childminder uses the Practice Guidance document to assist in identifying unique next steps for each child However, although these next steps are considered in the planning of future activities, the childminder does not yet re-visit these and cross-reference the identified next step with follow up observations to clearly demonstrate how the observations link together. The childminder clearly demonstrates a commitment to providing each child in her care with high quality experiences in a safe and caring environment and this impacts on the children's feelings of well-being and belonging.

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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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