Childcare on Domestic Premises, Full day care in Shropshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 15/03/2013 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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

 Management and staff have an excellent understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how to use this to support children effectively. As a result, children thrive in this setting where they make rapid progress in their learning and development.  The manager strives to provide a high quality flexible service for families to ensure their individual needs are met. Continuous ongoing improvements to the environment are addressed, such as adding a new playroom, to enhance the provision for children.  Exceptional partnerships are embedded with parents and other professionals. As a result, children are extremely well supported through times of change and transition.  The manager and staff team are highly motivated to ensure that children receive the very best care and learning opportunities at all times. Consequently, self-evaluation is used exceptionally well to scrutinise their work and make ongoing improvements.

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This provision is outstanding

 Children are highly motivated and very keen to learn in this inclusive and welcoming setting. They show an excellent level of independence for their ages as a result of exemplary staff practice and a carefully organised learning environment.

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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 compulsory part 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 observed children's activities in the kitchen and playroom.  The inspector held discussions with the manager and children when appropriate.  The inspector looked at a sample of children's records and assessments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualifications of staff, in addition to the self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents detailed within parental questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

Julie's Family Daycare was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. This registration of childcare on domestic premises operates during school holidays and after school on occasional days during the week. The registered person is also registered as a childminder. The setting is situated in the home of the registered person. The whole ground floor of the house, together with the wash house, and an upstairs bedroom are used. There is a fully enclosed area available for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The setting employs eight members of childcare staff, in addition to the registered person. The registered person holds a degree and Early Years Professional Status. One further member of staff has a degree and one has a level 3 qualification. There are three staff members who are qualified to level 2, all of whom are working towards level 3. Three further members of staff are unqualified.

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Information about the setting

The setting opens Monday to Friday all year round. Sessions are from 6am until 6pm. Children attend for a variety of sessions. There are currently 33 children on roll, 10 of whom are in the early years age group. The setting provides funded early education for three-and four-year-olds. It supports children who speak English as an additional language and children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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

 facilitate further opportunities to engage in discussion with parents to strengthen the information they receive in order to enhance children's learning at home.

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who attend

Children make outstanding progress in their learning. Staff know the children very well and planning is based on their interests and specific needs. Detailed observations are carried out during activities and this information actively contributes to planning the next steps in children's learning so they can continue to build on their achievements. Children's individual learning and development goals are set for each term. This ensures that teaching consistently maintains optimal challenge. All staff have access to this information and use it to ensure children have the opportunity to receive highly innovative challenges. The registered person has an excellent knowledge of the Early Years Foundation Stage and of how children learn in different ways. Planning is very flexible and adaptable to ensure that each child's interests and learning styles are met and they are motivated to extend their learning. For example, a change in weather conditions, such as snow, will

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who attend

transform the planned activities for that day.

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who attend

Staff interact extremely well with the children in their play so that their communication and language skills are developed to a high level. They are highly skilled at questioning children through daily routines and activities to encourage their language development. For example, the registered person skilfully joins in with building a castle with building blocks. They talk about the size and shape of the castle, identifying long and short, while also recognising the colours. This learning is further enhanced as they develop patterns with the colours of the bricks, increasing their understanding of mathematics. Children are confident to repeat the words as they begin to use language as a powerful means of sharing experiences. For example, as they gather the ingredients to make play dough they talk about the flour and salt, and decide on which colour to add to the mixture. Mathematics is skilfully introduced in an exciting and meaningful way as they

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who attend

independently weigh, measure and calculate the quantities to put in the bowl before stirring to create the play dough. Staff's skilful support allows children independence to do things for themselves, such as allowing time in routines for children to look after themselves, put their coat on, accessing the toilet independently and making choices. As a result, children are gaining the skills necessary to prepare them for the next stage in their learning and be ready to move on to school.

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who attend

Children thrive in a relaxed and homely environment with access to an exciting, varied range of resources and equipment to captivate their interests. All children are keen to explore different textures, such as pasta, beads and shaving foam. Older children enjoy winter walks as they play in the dry leaves at the park, watching the leaves fall when they scoop them up into the air, and listen to the crunch under their feet. Parents are fully involved in their children's learning as they are encouraged to contribute to their learning journals on a termly basis. They work closely with staff on ways in which to support and enhance children's learning at home, such as looking at books together or continuing activities which children enjoy. However, there is scope to improve the regularity of opportunities that parents currently have to look at their children's learning journals to consistently and fully embrace their child's learning at home.

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who attend

The playroom and wash house, which is a further outhouse that has been converted into another room for the older children, are both very well organised. Children are able to easily access the toys they want to play with. They ask for others they want, such as the train set, and staff rotate the equipment regularly. This ensures children's interest is maintained and that they are provided with many fresh challenges. Children make significant progress in their concentration and motivation to learn. They show an early interest in books as they go into the playrooms to look at them independently. Younger children enjoy rhyming books as they sit together in the tent in the playroom to read. Staff use story props, such as soft animals and puppets, to capture their interest. The enthusiastic interaction of the staff ensures that children maximise their learning experiences and are challenged extremely well at their own level. This ensures that all

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who attend

children make exceptional progress towards the early learning goals and develop important skills required for their future learning.

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

Parents are made very welcome and have the opportunity for a flexible and gradual settling-in period to help their children settle. Staff are sensitive to parents' wishes and have exceedingly well-considered strategies in place to help and comfort new babies. For example, they encourage parents to provide as much information as possible and to provide a diary stating important information, such as children's individual routines, their diet and skin care to help keep to familiar routines. In addition, staffing rotas are looked at to ensure that staff working with the children are stable and familiar faces help them to develop strong and secure bonds. Children bring in their special books and toys to show and share with others as their confidence grows. Parents and children have opportunities to talk about special events in their lives with the staff, for example, what happened overnight or at the weekend, so they are fully aware and can share their experiences.

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

Daily communication books ensure that parents receive lots of information about their children's achievements during the day. This ensures a smooth transition, supporting children as they move between their time at home and their childcare setting. Management and staff are consistently good role models and provide clear guidance for children to ensure that they are aware of the setting's expectations. Consequently, children are exceptionally well behaved and know and understand the boundaries within the setting. They are very helpful, for example, putting toys away, clearing their plates and putting these into the dishwasher after lunch.

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

Children benefit from daily fresh air and exercise. They have many opportunities to play and explore outside, enjoying the outdoor area on the farm. Children have free access to the secure enclosed back yard, accessible straight from the kitchen and wash house, all year round. They have access to an abundance of first-class ride-on toys, balls and balancing equipment to increase their physical skills. The outdoor areas are skilfully used as an outdoor classroom, and children relish opportunities to use the swings, slide, climbing frame and the large lawn to play ball games. Team games are a favourite, which are organised during school holidays, and provide the opportunities for all children to work together. This builds on their social and negotiation skills.

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

Discussions are skilfully held with the children about the food they eat, and why they need to be healthy. Healthy and nutritious meals are made fresh each day and often include produce grown by the children. Food tasting sessions are always an outstanding success as the children learn about and taste different types of fruit and vegetables. In addition, the children have plenty of opportunities to grow their own vegetables, and taste the apples, pears, plums, nuts and damsons from the orchard. The children are encouraged to actively contribute to the growing cycle as a whole. For example, fruit peelings are deposited in the compost bin for use in composting the garden.

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provision

Children are cared for in a safe and secure environment where stringent procedures are in place to ensure the utmost priority is given to children's welfare. All staff attend safeguarding children training at least every three years, with the lead practitioner updating her knowledge every year. This ensures all staff have an excellent understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. New information is shared with all staff straight away and the appropriate policy updated and amended. As the majority of children attending this setting reside in Wales, the lead practitioner has also attended child protection training in this neighbouring country. This ensures that she has a clear understanding of local procedures and can fulfil her responsibilities in this regard.

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provision

Children benefit from the manager's excellent understanding of the learning and development requirements and her experience of working with children. She regularly undertakes training as she strives to develop her knowledge and practice to support children and the staff working with them. Staff keep up to date by regularly accessing information on the Ofsted and Department of Education websites. They subscribe to various educational publications in order to stay well informed. This helps them to continue their inspirational vision of how they can continuously take the setting forward to improve children's early years experience even further. All staff share the vision of providing quality care and excellent learning opportunities for all children. They work very closely together as a team, talking on a daily basis about work, improvements, ideas and problems. Views are heard and acted upon as they actively contribute to the running of

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provision

Everyone who lives and works on the premises holds an enhanced disclose issued by the Criminal Records Bureau, and new staff undergo a robust induction period. This ensures that all staff have a detailed understanding of their roles and responsibilities. They access ongoing training and have a detailed programme of professional development. Supervision and one-to-one appraisal meetings identify training needs and requirements. In addition, regular staff meetings ensure the team works to the same vision. For example, any staff attending training courses cascade their new expertise to all of the team. This also ensures that children receive continuity in their experiences.

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provision

An outstanding working relationship with parents and other agencies exists where information is shared with appropriate people on a regular basis. Consequently, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities receive the support and appropriate intervention they need to progress. A parents' notice board strengthens and supports information to parents about forthcoming outings and items needed for activities. Parent partnership meetings are arranged so that all parents and staff can discuss ideas together. Parents are provided with many suggestions as to how they can support their children's learning at home, although there is scope to develop this further so that information is provided on a more regular basis. Questionnaires are given out to gather information about how to best care for children and families' needs. Comments from parents include, 'the flexibility of the setting has helped me return to work'. The registered person is also

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provision

an accredited childminder in the Shropshire network, offering free early education to three- and four-year-olds. This also enables her to share ideas and best practice with other early years providers. She regularly communicates with staff at local nurseries and schools to complement children's learning and provide continuity of care.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY453798 Local authority Shropshire Inspection number 883950 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childcare - Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 20 Number of children on roll 33

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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