Childminder in Croydon

Inspection report for early years provision

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Unique reference number EY223185 Inspection date 30/07/2012 Inspector Linda du Preez

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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 2002. She lives with her child age nine years, in a residential area in the London Borough of Croydon. All areas of the property are used for childminding except for the master bedroom. There is an enclosed garden available for outside play. The property is located close to local transport links, schools, shops and recreational amenities.

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Description of the childminding

The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register to care for a maximum of four children aged under eight years. She is currently caring for five children in the early years age range and also cares for older children. The childminder cares for children seven days per week for a variety of flexible hours for 52 weeks per year, she offers overnight care. She is willing to take and collect children from local schools. The childminder supports children with special education needs and/or disabilities and children who are learning English as an additional language. The childminder has a degree in Early 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

Children enjoy their time with this highly experienced childminder who has an excellent understanding of the individual needs all children in her care. The childminder is extremely caring and exceptionally well organised, this enables children to feel secure and make choices as they develop their independence. Overall, they access a wealth of stimulating play opportunities and make outstanding progress in their learning and development. The childminder has developed exemplary partnership with parents and other agencies, which fully enhances continuity in children's care. The childminder strives to continually enhance the extremely high standards of her childminding service. This means that she has an excellent capacity to maintain 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?

 developing systems to teach all children to form letters correctly by using a consistent approach to labelling their work and writing their names. 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 takes all necessary steps to safeguard children. She has attended many training courses and is highly knowledgeable about local safeguarding procedures. She implements a wide range of procedures, such as risk assessments and demonstrates an excellent commitment to maintaining a clean, safe and secure environment.

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the early years provision

The childminder effectively evaluates the provision and engages in regular cycles of planning and reviews. She has reorganised the outdoor area and invested in excellent resources to support outdoor learning. Since the last inspection, she has achieved a degree in Early Years and has attended many useful, informative training courses. This has enabled her to maintain and continue her outstanding practice and support learning and development to an exceptionally high standard.

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the early years provision

The childminder provides highly impressive resources, which are organised so that children feel motivated and are able to make choices about what to play. Furthermore, she is extremely knowledgeable about how to provide a challenging yet caring environment with an excellent balance of adult-led and child-initiated play. She offers the children a great deal of support when needed, but also encourages them to become independent and explore according to their own level of interest.

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the early years provision

The childminder promotes equality and diversity, and provides many positive images and resources, representing people from different backgrounds. Children benefit from learning about many cultural festivals in innovative ways. For example, they enjoy activities, such as crafts, stories, cooking and music from variety of cultural traditions. The childminder places a strong emphasis on preventing gaps in achievement between different groups of children, for example, by rearranging the outdoor area in order to captivate boys' interests and learning. She provides high levels of support and seeks specialist advice for children with additional needs. She takes the lead role in establishing relationships with other providers which supports continuity in children's care and opens channels of communication. She liaises successfully with other providers within the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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the early years provision

The childminder collects comprehensive information, which successfully identifies individual starting points for children's learning and development. Parents are fully involved in contributing to on-going assessments to support progress towards their next steps. Parents receive highly useful detailed information about procedures, routine, plans and activities. Parents play an active role in the evaluation of the provision when they complete questionnaires; this ensures that their thoughts and ideas are included in future developments. Parents comment on how much they value the childminders exceptional organisation, caring approach, and dedication to her role. This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has established extremely strong attachments with children in her care. Consequently, babies enjoy the comfort of cuddles and all children know how to seek reassurance when needed. This creates a homely atmosphere in which everyone feels safe and valued. Children make excellent progress in their learning and development. They move freely and confidently within the home showing high levels of independence and curiosity in relation to their capabilities and starting points. Babies enjoy a range of resources, which actively promote early development. They crawl around confidently and develop their physical skills, they feel encouraged by the childminder. They smile, laugh, and are comfortable due to her warm interaction. Toddlers venture into the outside area where an excellent range of easily accessible toys and resources entice them to explore and investigate. They access tactile toys and enjoy exploring through their senses,

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and outcomes for children

experimenting with how things look, sound, and feel.

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and outcomes for children

The childminder has an outstanding approach to promoting children's health and wellbeing. Children know to wash their hands prior to eating and the childminder reinforces the importance of hygiene through discussions and explanations. All age groups make great strides in their physical development. Babies relish climbing and clambering over age appropriate equipment and older children enjoy using a wide range of activities to practise climbing jumping and balancing. The childminder encourages children to develop an awareness of safety. For example, she plans activities about keeping safe in the warm weather by wearing hats, applying sun lotion and drinking lots of water. Children learn to keep the environment tidy and safe during tidy up time and throughout the session. Children also learn how to use the environment by taking supervised risks when outdoors and the childminder asks older children to help her to identify risks before playing outside. Therefore,

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and outcomes for children

children develop an exceptionally strong sense of safety.

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and outcomes for children

All children benefit from opportunities to express themselves creatively due to the excellent resources for imaginative play, music, dance, and many resources to explore media and materials. The childminder displays their work and photographs of them playing around the home to place value on their contribution. Children of all ages are developing excellent skills for the future. They make marks enthusiastically, producing recognisable symbols and letters. The childminder encourages children to practise and develop their early-writing skills, but does not always use a consistent approach to the formation of letters. The childminder encourages all children to use numbers throughout their play, for example, she sings simple number songs to babies. Older children enjoy measuring the size, shape, and length of everyday items. Children have access to a computer; they are able to learn how to control the mouse and navigating around the program.

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and outcomes for children

Children have excellent opportunities to learn about the community that they live in through well-planned outings. For example, they visit the local library, parks and shops. The childminder uses consistent methods to manage children's behaviour and offers lots of positive praise to acknowledge children's efforts. Consequently, children are extremely well behaved and the provision has a calm atmosphere in This inspection was carried out under sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 which children in all age groups thrive. 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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