Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/11/2012 15/10/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 Children achieve highly across all areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage, and those with special educational needs and/or disabilities are exceptionally well monitored to provide detailed information for their future development.  The monitoring of planning, observation and assessment is highly precise for all children in order to provide excellent challenge and breadth in the educational programmes.  Children are exceptionally well prepared for school in terms of self-care, confidence and communication skills.  The childminder has an excellent understanding of how to support families and children with a wide range of needs so that continuity of care and education is achieved to promote children's development and emotional stability.  The dynamic approach to evaluating the provision in relation to the needs of children and families means that needs are exceptionally well met.

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Information about this inspection

Inspections of registered early years provision are scheduled:  at least once in every inspection cycle. The current cycle ends on 31 July 2016  more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged as inadequate  brought forward in the inspection cycle where Ofsted has received information that suggests the provision may not be meeting the legal requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage; or where assessment of the provision identifies a need for early inspection  prioritised for inspection where we have received information that the provision is not meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and which suggests children may not be safe  at the completion of an investigation into failure to comply with the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Information about this inspection

The provision is also registered on the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. This report includes a judgment about compliance with the requirements of that register.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector toured the areas of the premises used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 Children were observed whilst engaged in activities in the dining room and playroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times during the inspection and observed her interactions with children.

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Inspection activities

 Documentation including plans for children's learning and records of their development were examined, along with policies and other documents related to maintaining the welfare of children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents by reading several questionnaires that had recently been completed.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2002 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her four children aged 16, 15, 12 and six in central Blackpool. The whole of the ground floor is used for childminding purposes and toilet facilities are available on this floor. There is an enclosed rear garden for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The childminder has completed basic training including first aid and child protection and updates her knowledge through specific courses such as food hygiene and promoting communication skills for children. She attends a childminder group and the local Children's Centre. Shops, parks, libraries and the beach are within walking distance of the house. The childminder is able to collect children from local schools and pre-schools. She is a member of the local childminding network and has a level 3 qualification in childcare. The childminder also receives support from the local authority and is member of the National Childminding Association. She is accredited to provide funded early education for two, three and four-year olds.

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Information about the setting

There are currently seven children on roll, of whom six are in the early years age group, who attend for a variety of sessions, and one is a school-age child who attends before and after school. The childminder provides flexible care all year round from 7am, Monday to Friday, except for family holidays.

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To further improve the quality of the early years provision the provider should:

 continue the reflective practice that leads to excellent progress and care for children, and outstanding support for families.

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who attend

Children make excellent progress in all areas of learning, due to precise assessment and planning by the childminder, who has very high expectations for all children, whatever their needs. She demonstrates exceptional practice in developing systems to record progress of children, when she has concerns that they may have special educational needs and/or disabilities, to better inform her planning for their development. These are kept in a form which is readily understandable by both professionals and parents, in order to promote accessibility of information. She makes extensive use of the guidance in 'Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage' to inform her planning and enhance children's learning. She monitors her educational programmes frequently for all individual children by comparing her records for each child with the expected development for each age band in all areas of learning. Children's progress is tracked meticulously, with

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who attend

a colour-coded system to show when children demonstrate learning in relation to age linked developmental bands. Children new to the setting are observed to form a baseline of their capabilities in order to inform planning for their needs. The childminder's exemplary approach to assessment has enabled her to successfully implement the developmental check for two year-olds, using her own exceptional knowledge of individual children and information provided by parents and professionals.

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who attend

The childminder makes individual plans in order to identify areas where more information is needed to extend a child's development, and this is reflected by the progress that all children make. The childminder demonstrates first class knowledge of individual children and their families. She uses this to support her interventions, such as when she provides a range of frames so that children can decide for themselves which to use when framing pictures for different family members. This also enables children to derive emotional security by showing the significant people in their lives that they care for them. The childminder uses the opportunity to develop children's vocabulary and early maths skills, by using words like 'bigger' and 'smaller' which show comparative size. Vocabulary regarding shape is also reinforced through this activity. Excellent use is made of children's interests in order to inform planning and more spontaneous interventions, such as when

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who attend

the childminder offers simple matching games for pre-school age children which are based on their favourite characters from books and television. The childminder updates her records about children's interests frequently, in order to constantly provide activities and discussions that are interesting and relevant to them. As a consequence, children of all ages in her care have excellent opportunities to enhance their communication skills, including those with emerging additional needs for whom the childminder plans in detail, in order to narrow gaps in learning.

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who attend

Children are highly motivated to learn and cooperate exceptionally well together, given their age and stage. Older children are particularly sensitive to babies who are very new to the setting and calmly inform the childminder when younger ones disrupt their play, rather than becoming distressed. This demonstrates superb personal, social and communication skills. This indicates that children are very well prepared for school, by being highly articulate when communicating needs or wants. The childminder demonstrates excellent knowledge and understanding through discussion of the importance of children being school ready, especially with regard to self-care, social and communication skills.

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who attend

Babies play persistently with cause and effect toys, and explore the full range of effects these toys can offer, before moving on to other activities, such as building with large pieces of train track and pushing toy engines over this. They show excellent physical development through the activities accessible and explore their environment fully as they are clearly highly secure in the childminder's care. Babies demonstrate a very high curiosity about the play of older children and the childminder helps them to feel included by supporting them to join in; for example, when she provides a peg jigsaw when older ones complete a large floor jigsaw. She also shows superb sensitivity to babies' preferences by changing the peg jigsaw for one similar to the older children's when babies reject this, rather than persisting with an activity they do not want.

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who attend

The childminder makes engaging parents with children's learning and development an absolute priority and she is involved in local authority organised schemes to promote this for vulnerable families. She demonstrates an outstanding knowledge of how to develop and maintain parental engagement with their children's learning and any professionals who are involved to support families, especially those who are at risk of becoming 'hard to reach'. This is exemplified by her commitment to provide out of hours support by telephone for parents to offer them practical strategies to help them manage children's care and development at home if they encounter difficulties.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

Children and babies show a consistently high level of self-control and understanding of others for their age and stage. Older children cooperate exceptionally well with each other and requests from the childminder, who demonstrates excellent strategies for them to copy, in order to prevent conflict. When children cannot decide who should go first in a game by discussion, she provides a dice for them to throw and the highest score goes first. They continue to use this and play persistently using this strategy, developing their memory skills through extended play with the game, and their social and communication skills through the intervention. Babies explore the resources and space fully, showing strong security. They are highly confident when using single words to communicate with the childminder and can repeat words of several syllables accurately, as she extends their vocabulary with regard to their chosen play or names of others present. They demonstrate

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

communication skills much greater than expected for their age range.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The resources on the premises are well chosen and reflect the need to develop children's early learning in all areas. The childminder makes excellent use of games to help promote school readiness in terms of early maths and literacy for pre-school age children. Resources are accessible to children as appropriate to their age and stage, including books, which are stored so that those for the youngest are at floor level. This helps children to make their own choices about what to play with and extends their independence.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The childminder provides an environment that is immediately welcoming to all individual children by displaying their names and photographs in the hall with pictures of objects that have the same initial sound as their name. She also displays artwork they have created. She uses a digital photo frame to display children engaged in activities or outings and seeks permission to electronically send photos to parents so they can see their children engaged in learning. Outings are frequent and varied, including to parks, Children's Centres, the beach and places such as dental surgeries to help children understand the importance of learning responsibility for their own health. This range of outings supports children's progress across all seven areas of learning, including knowledge of the world and expressive arts. The childminder takes particular care to develop children's knowledge of road safety and safety when travelling in cars, using

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

routines on a daily basis to reinforce this area of learning.

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The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children

The childminding areas in the house are exceptionally clean and well maintained, with a wide range of measures to promote children's safety and prevent the spread of infection. The childminder provides a very healthy diet for children and is especially sensitive when managing additional dietary needs. She has excellent strategies to minimise the social and emotional impact of this and prevent any children feeling they are not being treated fairly due to their needs or those of others. The childminder demonstrates an excellent understanding of how children's emotional security can affect their motivation to learn and adapts her practice to meet individual needs, such as if children are experiencing substantial change at home.

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provision

The childminder has an outstanding understanding of how to keep children safe and also how to support families in this respect too. She has an excellent grasp of her own policies and local authority procedures for reporting suspected abuse. She maintains and reviews all documentation needed to meet the statutory requirements of the revised Early Years Foundation Stage and to ensure the safe and effective running of the setting. The childminder demonstrates an extensive commitment to working with a very wide range of professionals who support families and children. She offers her home regularly for multi- agency meetings in order to help parents and children feel more at ease during what might otherwise feel a daunting experience. As a result, children receive appropriate interventions to support their development. She shows an exceptional knowledge of strategies to help parents and professionals engage to improve opportunities for children

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provision

in and away from her setting, and offers support for each family based on their needs. She provides support for parents if they have to attend appointments where this might be a barrier to attending, in order to ensure equality of opportunity. The childminder also adapts to the changing needs of families and children by being flexible over a wide range of issues, such as, accommodating collection of children from home and taking them to activities when parents cannot do this. Her management of the needs of individual families is exemplary.

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provision

The childminder undertakes regular and well-targeted training, as well as maintaining the training and knowledge needed to meet statutory requirements and those of the local child-minding network. She has implemented strategies for enhancing children's communication skills as a result of training and the progress made by children in this area demonstrates its success. The childminder uses the Ofsted self-evaluation tool in order to examine her practice and implement enhancements based on the needs of individual children and families. Self-evaluation is highly comprehensive for all areas of practice and the childminder constantly takes into account the views of parents, children and other professionals when adapting her practice to meet the needs of children and parents. This leads to outstanding support for families and children, whatever their needs.

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provision

The childminder has a robust understanding of how to monitor her educational programmes to ensure that each child develops their potential in all seven areas, including those with additional needs. The childminder has a very strong commitment to child- initiated learning. She uses this to either offer spontaneous interventions to enhance learning, or makes plans to incorporate children's observed interests into activities which they can choose from. She monitors her provision to provide a balance of outings, which reflect the needs of the range of children who attend and their interests, along with her knowledge of the experiences they receive when not in her care. As a result, all children make excellent progress and gaps in learning are narrowed for children with identified needs. The childminder makes effective plans to support children when they leave her care, by passing on detailed information regarding their learning and development to the

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provision

new setting. She promotes discussion with children about the skills they need for when they go to school as part of their everyday experience, in order to support school readiness. As a result, her procedures to support transitions are highly effective.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory part of the Childcare Register are Met The requirements for the voluntary part of the Childcare Register are Met

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Grade Judgement Description

Grade 1 Outstanding Outstanding provision is highly effective in meeting the needs of all children exceptionally well. This ensures that children are very well prepared for the next stage of their learning. Grade 2 Good Good provision is effective in delivering provision that meets the needs of all children well. This ensures children are ready for the next stage of their learning. Grade 3 Satisfactory Satisfactory provision is performing less well than expectations in one or more of the key areas. It requires improvement in order to be good. Grade 4 Inadequate Provision that is inadequate requires significant improvement and/or enforcement. The provision is failing to give children an acceptable standard of early years education and/or is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be inspected again within 12 months of the date of this inspection.

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Grade Judgement Description

Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not Met The provision has no children on roll. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

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Inspection

This inspection was carried out by Ofsted under Sections 49 and 50 of the Childcare Act 2006 on the quality and standards of provision that is registered on the Early Years Register. The registered person must ensure that this provision complies with the statutory framework for children’s learning, development and care, known as the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY231147 Local authority Blackpool Inspection number 892812 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 7

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Telephone number

set out in the guidance ‘raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted', which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk.

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Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

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Type of provision

Full-time provision is that which operates for more than three hours. These are usually known as nurseries, nursery schools and pre-schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the higher fee for registration. Sessional provision operates for more than two hours but does not exceed three hours in any one day. These are usually known as pre-schools, kindergartens or nursery schools and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. They are registered on the Early Years Register and pay the lower fee for registration.

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Type of provision

Childminders care for one or more children where individual children attend for a period of more than two hours in any one day. They operate from domestic premises that are usually their own home. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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Type of provision

Out of school provision may be sessional or full-time provision and is delivered before or after school and/or in the summer holidays. They are registered on the Early Years Register and must deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Where children receive their Early Years Foundation Stage in school these providers do not have to deliver the learning and development requirements in full but should complement the experiences children receive in school. 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,

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Type of provision

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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. To receive regular email alerts about new publications, including survey reports and school inspection reports, please visit our website and go to ‘Subscribe’.

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Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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