Childminder in Wandsworth

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY440500 Inspection date 10/07/2012 Inspector Linda Close

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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 2012. She lives with her husband and family in a house located in the Tooting Bec area of the London Borough of Wandsworth. There are two children in the family who both attend primary school full time and one of these is under eight years old. The whole of the house is used for childminding and there is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder's home is accessible to those with limited mobility. There are toilet and hand- washing facilities on the ground and first floors. Children may sleep in bedrooms on the first floor and there is a playroom in the loft room where children can play under direct supervision. There are currently two children on roll who are in the early years age group and both attend part time. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She is registered to care for a maximum of five children under eight

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Description of the childminding

years at any one time and three of these may be in the early years age group. The childminder is happy to walk to local schools to take and collect children. She attends the local parent and toddler group and is a member of a local childminder support group.

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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 confident and they have settled well with the childminder. They enjoy their play and they are making good progress in their learning. The childminder has established good working relationships with parents and their liaison helps them to work together successfully to meet the individual needs of the children. The childminder evaluates and improves her activity planning, her record keeping and her resources effectively in most respects. She welcomes the valuable advice provided by local authority development workers and she makes suggested improvements without delay. She is eager to attend further training courses to keep abreast of new developments in childminding practice, which shows that she has a good capacity to secure continuous improvement.

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further?

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

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further?

 provide further opportunities for children to explore flexible resources that can be used in many different ways, for example guttering, boxes or materials to make dens and shelters. 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 a good understanding of safeguarding matters and she has clear policies and procedures in place which state her responsibilities. She shares her documents with parents so that they know what steps she must take if she should have any concerns about children's welfare. The childminder has assessed potential risks in her home and garden and she has taken steps to keep children safe, including the use of safety catches on lower kitchen cupboard doors and she uses safety gates to prevent accidents. Well documented emergency evacuation practices take place regularly and smoke alarm tests are conducted monthly, which contributes to children's safety.

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the early years provision

The childminder invites local authority development workers to visit her in her home and she carefully heeds their advice. She makes good use of their contributions as part of her worthwhile self-evaluation process in which she measures her work to make sure she meets the requirements of registration. She makes adjustments to improve outcomes for children, for example, by extending her risk assessments which are now comprehensive. The childminder is very keen to provide a good quality service to children and their parents. She asks parents for feedback and their responses are very positive. She consults parents about all aspects of their child's care. She works closely with them about matters which include feeding, behaviour management and sleep routines, and she makes changes from day to day as children's needs change over time. Parents report very favourably on the childminder's systems of communication and they are very

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the early years provision

pleased with their child's achievements.

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the early years provision

The childminder has experience from working in a primary school, which helps her to appreciate the value of working with specialists and health professionals when there is a need. She will happily work with these advisory staff and with school staff in the future if there is a need, although she has not been called upon to do this as yet. The childminder respects each child's family background and she makes good use of her linguistic skills to promote the development of their home language and the English language. She helps each child to make good progress in their learning and development. She plans fun activities linked to cultural celebrations and takes children out to meet and play with children from diverse communities at local children's groups. The childminder provides children with a very wide range of good quality dolls, toys, games and books and many of these reflect diversity. She has child-sized furniture, a sturdy cot and a high chair and

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the early years provision

ample space indoors and outside for children to play in comfort. However, her resources do not include many which can be used in different ways by children such as plastic guttering, boxes or materials to make dens and shelters. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

Children show that they feel safe with the childminder in their relaxed body language and in their smiling faces. They benefit from having the full attention of the childminder who talks to them and cuddles them. The childminder recognises and responds to children's individual needs promptly. She shows this when offering drinks, snacks and clean nappies as soon as the child shows they may need them. This helps to keep children comfortable, calm and contented. They curiously explore their surroundings, crawl after balls and move toys and confidently offer toys to visitors in case they too may like to play, which shows how confident they feel.

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and outcomes for children

Children benefit from having a carefully planned day with activities and outings that are chosen to meet their individual needs. The childminder knows that young children are happiest when they are busy and she prepares resources and activities so that children can move smoothly from one worthwhile play activity to the next. She makes sure that they can choose toys and games independently by arranging toys in low-level storage in her play spaces indoors and outside. She encourages children to share, take turns and be kind to one another when they are playing together at her home or at playgroup. Her positive behaviour management techniques are successful and the children are well behaved.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder talks to the children as they play and she comments on their play using clear speech to help them to learn to speak. Young children gaze at her, listen and smile and they show that they are beginning to understand words like 'under' and 'over there' when they are looking for balls that have rolled away. Children are making many verbal sounds. They babble and gurgle to the childminder as they play, which shows that they are developing their verbal communication skills. The childminder surrounds children with pictures, words and numbers and she counts one, two, three when they are playing. She offers them toys to handle and explore, including many which are battery operated or run on friction. They can already fit cubes into a base and press a button to activate the toy. Children's activities and play materials and the childminder's encouragement successfully help them to develop the skills that they need for future learning.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder prepares a varied menu of healthy meals and snacks for the children for every week. She offers children healthy, fresh fruit at snack time and they eat their banana and citrus segments with obvious enjoyment. She makes sure that the children play in clean, bright surroundings and she teaches them the value of hand washing from an early age. The childminder takes children to baby yoga classes when they are available and she involves them in energetic play in her garden. They crawl through tunnels and play peek-a-boo with the childminder, which they find very amusing. She helps children to stand when they are learning to walk and they are very happy to be upright.

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and outcomes for children

Outings and play with small world toys help children to gain knowledge and understanding of the wider world. Children play with a large farm set and learn the names of the animals. They look at vehicles when they are on outings and have This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 great fun playing at being fire officers. They find out about the local area when they go to the library to take out books and they experience play in larger groups in different surroundings with other children. The childminder collates Learning Journey documents for each child which include many photographs with helpful notes about what children are learning. She makes good use of spreadsheets to identify children's progress in relation to the early learning goals and she plans ahead effectively to help children make the next steps in their learning. 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 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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