Childminder in Richmond upon Thames

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number 403857 Inspection date 09/07/2012 Inspector Janet Thouless

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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 2001. She lives with her husband and school age child in Hampton, Middlesex. The home is situated close to shops, parks, schools and public transport links. The whole of the childminder's home is used for childminding, with the exception of the main bedroom. The family has two cats. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for a maximum of four children under eight years at any one time, of these not more than three may be in the early years age range. She is currently caring for one child in the early years age group. The childminder also offers care to children aged over five years to 11 years. She has a diploma in Montessori teaching. The childminder collects from local schools. She is a member of an approved childminding network.

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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

Children are cared for by a highly experienced childminder who has an astute understanding of the individual characteristics and needs of the children. This enables her to work very effectively to meet their learning and welfare needs. Children thrive in the exceptionally well-organised child-friendly setting, which enables them to make choices and develop their independence. Overall, they access a wealth of stimulating learning and play opportunities. The childminder's practice is exceptionally well supported through the positive relationships with both parents and other settings ensuring excellent channels of communication are in place to fully support both the welfare and learning needs of children. A reflective approach is in place to enable the childminder to evaluate her level of provision and gain a full understanding of her strengths and weaknesses. She is fully aware of the need to continue self-evaluation in order to provide high quality care for

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further?

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

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further?

 dxtending further the range of outdoor resources to enable children to have access to more challenging physical play 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 exceptionally well protected, because the childminder has an excellent knowledge and understanding of child protection issues and arrangements for safeguarding children are robust. The childminder implements an extremely comprehensive range of policies and procedures; these are updated on a regular basis and are used to underpin her outstanding practice. She uses rigorous risk assessments to help her identify potential hazards and implement very effective safety measures. This means children can move around freely and safely as they explore resources and activities of their choosing. Children's safety is given a high priority. The childminder constantly talks to children about keeping themselves safe by using equipment, such as scissors appropriately and the importance of staying together and listening to instructions with regards to road safety. The childminder makes extremely effective use of self-evaluation to help her identify

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the early years provision

her strengths and priorities for future development to improve the quality of her provision for all children. She undertakes on-going, relevant early years training to maintain and enhance her skills and evaluates what she does in order to further improve her practice. The childminder is very keen to improve further and constantly liaises with her local authority development worker to gain advice and suggestions towards best practice. Her dedication results in excellent outcomes for children across all of their learning and development.

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the early years provision

Children benefit from being cared for in an extremely enabling home environment, which is welcoming and child friendly. The excellent range of resources are extremely well presented and all are easily accessible to children. The childminder gains extensive information about the children's background to provide her with the details to value and reflect their home life positively. For example, when children help parents at their allotment they embark on making scarecrows. Through discussion, children devise an extremely comprehensive list of all that is required before creating their scarecrows. This is then presented in highly reflective children's 'Fun Books' which are special to them and helps children develop a positive sense of themselves. The childminder helps children to understand about each other's differences through very well planned activities and resources, positively promoting positive images of today's society.

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the early years provision

The childminder places a high emphasis on working in partnership with parents. She has an excellent understanding of the role that parents play in children's on- going welfare and development and strives to develop professional yet friendly relationships with parents. Parents receive regular information about their child's day and have regular opportunities to feedback to the childminder through daily discussions. The childminder actively takes note of parents' requests and adjusts her day according to their needs and wishes for their children. Parents have access to a wealth of information, displayed, written and verbal, to inform them of the service that they are receiving and the care and learning that their child receives. Parents comment that they are extremely happy with the exceptional service provided. The childminder has established highly effective links with teachers that share the care of children. This provides worthwhile opportunities to share school

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the early years provision

This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 topics and children's current interests, enabling a cohesive approach in the development of children's next steps in their learning.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has developed very strong and caring attachments with the children. Children are extremely happy, confident, settled and receive excellent support with their learning and development. As a result, they feel safe and secure in the childminder's care. Children's behaviour is excellent. They are totally aware of the expectations and boundaries in place and they are extremely capable of making their needs known. In addition, the childminder gives meaningful praise and encouragement to children. Their efforts are acknowledged and their achievements celebrated. Children's individual personalities, likes, and dislikes are acknowledged and valued. This builds children's self-esteem and confidence extremely well. As a result, children make excellent progress in their personal, social and emotional development. The childminder is very skilful at providing a balance of adult-led and child-initiated play and experiences. She uses open ended

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and outcomes for children

questions to challenge children's thinking which lead to lengthy discussions about the activities and the resources being used. She collates very informative written and photographic observations of children, these very clearly link to progression and the expectations of the early learning goals.

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and outcomes for children

Children develop excellent levels of independence as they initiate their own play experiences and select resources independently. They happily explore new experiences and demonstrate extremely high levels of interest and involvement. For example, they show great delight in exploring the pirate ship, discussing with others where treasure can be hidden and the need to devise a map to locate it. The childminder introduces story and reference books on the life of pirates to extend children's interests further. Children are confident communicators, they share their views and confidently ask questions if unsure. They have very frequent opportunities to mark make and are beginning to recognise the formation of letters in their name and everyday words. The wealth of creative media enables children to be creative as they draw still life sketches of sunflowers and wildlife in the garden. Children have excellent opportunities to learn about the world that they

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and outcomes for children

live in through outings in the local community and further afield. For example, they visit theatres where they learn about circus skills, local music making events and London attractions. Children's development skills are supported extremely well. They carefully handle large bubble tubes, skilfully waving the wand in their preferred hand to blow bubbles as well as carefully catching the bubbles again on the wand. Children's skills in problems solving, reasoning and numeracy are fully enhanced. For example, they build symmetrical shapes with colourful blocks and count gold coins up to 100.

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and outcomes for children

Children know the importance of good health and physical exercise to promote a healthy lifestyle. They participate in meal planning and are encouraged to share This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 their food preferences and try new food types. They benefit greatly from lots of fresh air as they visit local parks. This enables them to develop and refine their physical skills as they play energetically. In addition, children enjoy the use of a fort, scooters, bikes and ball games in garden play. The childminder acknowledges the need to continue to develop physical challenges in garden play. These positive early experiences provide children with an exceptional start in life to enable them to fully develop the skills needed for their future success. 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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