Childminder in Durham

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/02/2013 23/07/2009

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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

 The childminder has a very secure knowledge of the areas of learning and an excellent understanding of how children learn. She plans activities and experiences that are interesting, challenging and tailored to individual children's capabilities.  The childminder has excellent relationships with parents and other professionals involved in children's care. The successful partnerships established help to ensure consistency of children's care and learning and also ensure that parents are fully encouraged to be actively involved in their child's learning.  Children feel exceptionally safe and secure because of the extremely close relationship they have with the childminder, who treats all in her care with great warmth, fun and affection.  The childminder is totally committed to the ongoing development of her service and her own professional development. She makes excellent use of training opportunities and

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This provision is outstanding

values feedback from her assistant, co-childminder, children, parents and outside agencies to develop areas of her practice.  The childminder provides a rich, enabling environment and excellent support for all children, this prepares them for their next stages in learning extremely well.

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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

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Information about this inspection

 scheduled more frequently where Ofsted identifies a need to do so, for example where provision was previously judged 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 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  scheduled 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 had a tour of the premises and observed children playing.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning journeys, a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through written comments that they left for the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, her co-childminder and her assistant at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2009 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband who is also registered as a childminder and their two children aged six and 12 years in a house in Willington. The childminder also works with an assistant. The whole of the ground floor and the rear yard are used for childminding. The family has two pet dogs.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently seven children on roll, five are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions and two are school-age children who attend before and after school. The childminder is registered to provide funded education for two- and three- year-olds. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

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

 enhance children's mark-making and writing skills by providing consistent opportunities for them to practise their writing during role play activities.

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who attend

Children are extremely happy and content in a welcoming and child-orientated environment that helps them to feel at home and extremely secure. The childminder has an excellent understanding of the importance of working with parents from the start. This enables her to precisely establish children's starting points, interests and routines. All children have excellent learning records, which identify how observations are used to highlight children's next steps in learning. These are then used to ensure that activities are based on children's interests and stage of development. The childminder works very closely with her assistant and co-childminder to carry out regular summaries of children's progress. She has a very clear understanding of the progress each of them is making in their development and where she can enhance their learning. She has a very good awareness of her responsibilities to provide a written summary of the development of

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who attend

each two-year-old in partnership with any providers sharing care. She already regularly summarises every child's progress and shares this with parents. This means that any areas of concern are easily identified. Children display high levels of confidence in the stimulating and welcoming environment children. They engage enthusiastically in activities both indoors and out for extended periods of time and sing songs spontaneously as they play. The childminder makes learning fun; she sings songs to the children as they play and successfully participates with their chosen activities. Talk and discussion is used to extend children's learning at their level. For example, as the children play with building blocks she encourages older children to make identifiable objects such as houses and to count how many windows they will need. Younger children are highly praised as they try to fit blocks together and identify

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who attend

colours. Children's progress is significantly enhanced by constant access to the richly resourced outdoor play area. They develop their mark- making skills as they use outdoor chalk boards and she encourages them to try to write their names in the sand. However, children have few opportunities to practise their writing during role play activities. She supports children to become active learners as she encourages them to think about what would happen if they add water to the sand and encourages their language skills as she asks them they describe it.

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who attend

Young children's vocabulary is extended because the childminder gives meaningful praise as they attempt words and she responds enthusiastically to babies' gurgles. Throughout all areas of play the childminder maximises opportunities to discuss differences in size, colours and numbers. For example, they talk about how big their towers are and older children are extremely confident to count to ten and beyond. Children have excellent opportunities to develop their physical skills. Younger children move around outside with ease, confidently playing on ride on toys and playing hide and seek with the childminder. A large strip of wall paper is used to maximum effect as young children use coloured water, brushes and ride on toys to make marks while the childminder encourages older children to count how many 'hops long' the paper is. She further enhances their mathematical skills as she joins in with the activity, asking if they think she will have 'more

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who attend

or less hops'. Children's understanding of the world around them is actively promoted, for example, they take turns to be the 'recycling monitor' and go on visits to the local nature reserve where they search for mini beasts. As a result, children are keen and eager to learn. This supports them in making excellent progress towards the early learning goals in preparation for school.

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who attend

The childminder is extremely proactive in developing excellent relationships with parents. She regularly shares information about children's ongoing development through an electronic system so that parents can access and add to them at their convenience. This is combined with regular written summaries of children's progress. Parents have excellent opportunities to be involved in their child's learning. They are encouraged to actively contribute to their children's learning records through comments on the observations and weekly sheets about what they children have been doing at home. The childminder also provides hand-out sheets of activities that children have enjoyed with ideas to further enhance the activity. This means that parents can build on children's learning at home.

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

Children are cared for in a fully inclusive, welcoming environment where their individuality and sense of belonging is actively promoted. A wealth of information is on display for parents and children's artwork and photographs are attractively displayed, valuing children's efforts. Children become increasingly independent as they have access to a wide range of interesting resources which are rotated regularly by the childminder. A catalogue of available toys along with storage which is clearly labelled with pictures and words, enables all children to make confident choices. However, there is scope to improve mark- making and handwriting opportunities during role play activities. The relationship between the childminder and the children is excellent. They come to her for cuddles and make confident choices about what they would like to do. For example, the children state that they would prefer their snack 'outside today'. This shows that they are extremely well

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

settled in her care. The well-established key person approach helps children to form secure attachments with the childminder, co-childminder and assistant. This promotes their emotional well-being and independence very well.

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

Adults in the setting provide positive role models for children and are effectively deployed, providing support and encouragement to children. As a result, children behave well; they are encouraged to share toys and all actively participate at tidy up time. Reward stickers and mini award ceremonies for achievement effectively supports the development of children's confidence and self-esteem. The childminder manages transitions extremely well. Partnerships with parents are given the utmost priority, this means that settling-in sessions are used to maximum effect to help children to get to know her and the setting. This genuine commitment to working with others includes accompanying children on visits to the local schools and nurseries to help to familiarise them with the settings. This means that transitions are managed exceptionally well and children are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.

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

Through play, discussion and special events children are actively involved in learning how to care for themselves and keep themselves safe. They are fully aware of the routines of hand washing and talk about the display of healthy foods at snack time. Planned activities such as growing vegetables and trips to the local green grocers provide children with ample opportunities to taste new foods and learn about where food comes from. Constant access to the outdoor are along with exciting outings within the local community, for example, to go pond skipping ensures that children benefit from fresh air and exercise. Through planned activities with visitors such as the 'lollipop lady' and the police children have excellent opportunities to learn about how to keep themselves safe outside of the home.

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provision

The effective team working, involving the co-childminder and her assistant, ensures high standards are achieved. The childminder and other adults in the setting clearly recognise their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. They have attended safeguarding training and demonstrate a secure understanding of the signs of abuse and the procedures for reporting concerns. Recruitment of assistants is thorough to ensure their suitability. Comprehensive risk assessments, along with the use of safety equipment ensure that any risks to children are effectively minimised.

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provision

The highly committed childminder seeks to increase her knowledge and provide high quality care and learning for children through reading and training. Consequently, she has an excellent understanding of her responsibilities in ensuring that she meets all of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder effectively monitors the activities she provides for children through her assessments to ensure that she provides a wide variety of experiences across all areas of their learning.

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provision

The childminder has a genuine commitment to improving her service, which includes providing support for her assistant and co-childminder. She has fully addressed the recommendations raised at the previous inspection. This has resulted in excellent relationships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage. All adults in the setting meet regularly to discuss and reflect on their practice, this helps to ensure that the childminder's high standards are implemented by all. The childminder's self-evaluation incorporates views from her local early years advisor and parents, and identifies areas for future development. This successfully promotes outcomes for children.

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provision

Partnerships with other practitioners and professionals are highly effective and are creating consistency in supporting children's welfare, learning and development. This includes sharing information about children's progress with other settings and working with health visitors and speech and language therapists. This ensures that children receive all the support they need to make strong gains in their development. The childminder has developed extremely close working partnerships with parents, sharing excellent extensive information so that she can meet children's needs exceptionally well. For example, parents receive highly comprehensive documentation and information at the start which clearly outlines how the childminder works and how she uses the Early Years Foundation Stage to promote children's learning and development. As a result, parents speak highly about the service provided by the childminder. They describe the setting as 'exceptional' and say

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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 action. 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 EY382928 Local authority Durham Inspection number 858794 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 3 Number of children on roll 7

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Telephone number

set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: 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.

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Type of provision

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, which are usually the childminder’s 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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