Setting 104599

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 27/03/2013 19/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 Children are happy and settled at the setting and enjoy a broad range of experiences that support them to make good progress in all areas of learning.  Children are confident and feel secure because they form warm and trusting relationships with the staff.  Children play in a well-organised environment, which effectively encourages their curiosity and independence.  Effective systems for monitoring staff practice are followed to continually drive improvement.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 there is currently no 'buddy' system in place to further support children's sense of security  children do not have regular opportunities to use mathematical language.

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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 activities in all areas indoors and outside.  The inspector had discussions with the manager, staff, parents and children.  The inspector undertook a joint observation with the manager.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records and procedures.

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Information about the setting

Grafton Childcare registered to provide childcare on domestic premises in 1991 and operates from a private house in Newton Abbot, Devon. The house is accessed by steps leading to the front of the house or via a sloped rear entrance. Children have use of the ground floor, which includes two playrooms, a dining room, a role-play room, a conservatory and toilet facilities. Sleeping facilities are provided in bedrooms on the first floor. There are enclosed garden areas available at the front and rear of the property for outdoor play.

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Information about the setting

The group is open every weekday, all year round, from 7am to 7pm. A childminding service is also offered from these premises at times when the childcare on domestic premises is not operating. The group is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. There are currently 67 children on roll, of whom all are in the early years age group. The group receives funding for the provision of free early education to children aged three and four. The owner of this privately run group holds a qualification in early years care and education at level 3. She is studying towards a foundation degree. Eleven members of staff are employed to work with the children, most of whom hold, or are working towards, appropriate early years qualifications. One member of staff has Qualified Teacher Status.

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

 develop the key person system further to incorporate a 'buddy' who knows the child and family as well, and can step in when necessary

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

 provide more opportunities for children to use the vocabulary involved in adding and subtracting in practical activities and discussion.

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who attend

Children are happy and well motivated to learn. They engage in a wide range of activities which interest and excite them; consequently, they make good progress in all areas of learning. Staff have a good understanding of child development and support children effectively to become creative and critical thinkers. For example, children use different shape and size cardboard boxes outside to make models of trains and other vehicles. Before they make their model, they predict which box will move more quickly down the slide, discussing what they think and testing out their ideas.

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who attend

Children's communication and language skills are well promoted. Staff engage children in conversations about the creatures they would expect to find in the sea. Children talk about lobsters having claws and jellyfish stinging with their tentacles. This helps children learn about the world they live in and extends their understanding and vocabulary. Children choose from a variety of easily accessible resources and freely change and adapt these taking charge of their own learning. For example, children buy a ticket from the ticket office in the role-play area. They talk about where the train is going and enjoy pretend drinks of tea and cake from the buffet carriage. They extend their play as they pretend that there are dragons that want to get on the train and speak in quiet voices so the dragons do not hear them. This shows they use their imaginations well and are developing good language to express themselves and their ideas. Resources include a good range of

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who attend

books and toys, which reflect positive images of diversity. This means that children learn about the wider world through their play.

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who attend

Children have some opportunities to practice their mathematical skills. For example, they take turns to put items onto a weighing scales and talk about which side is heavier or lighter. During physical play sessions, staff encourage children to count the number of times they jump, which helps children count in sequence. However, staff sometimes miss chances to extend children's understanding of number further or consolidate their learning. For example, when children count objects with ease, staff do not challenge children further through simple addition and subtraction.

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who attend

Staff make regular observations of the children engaging in activities. They use these observations to effectively identify the next steps in children's learning and plan a stimulating, purposeful and balanced educational programme. Children have many opportunities to develop the skills that will support them as they move through the setting and onto school.

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

Children have warm and trusting relationships with the manager and her staff and behave in ways that show they feel safe. This means that their physical and emotional well-being is effectively supported and they are confident to explore their environment. Babies enjoy a spacious, warm and welcoming environment to move around, explore in safety and have daily access to the outdoor play area. Babies use their senses to explore the items in treasure baskets, press buttons, shake rattles and place objects inside containers. Babies and younger children have lots of warm interaction and eye contact with staff, who respond to their gurgles and early attempts to form words. They thoroughly enjoy the cuddles they receive, and smile happily when spoken to. There is an effective key person system, which helps children to feel secure and confident. However, there is currently no 'buddy' system in place to ensure they have a special adult around if their key person is

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

not present, to further support children's sense of security. Staff consistently praise the children for their achievements, which promotes their self-esteem and boosts their confidence.

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

Children's behaviour is very good. They are seen being kind to one another, taking turns and waiting patiently. The manager and her staff demonstrate a good understanding of appropriate behaviour management strategies and they work well together as a team to ensure these are followed consistently. Children's physical development is given a high priority and they have daily opportunities to be active and let off steam all year round. They actively explore different ways of moving outside. They move sideways like a crab, backwards or on their tiptoes. They also extend their role-play to the outside as they pretend that the big bad wolf is in the house and take on different roles to retell the story.

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

Children develop a good understanding about healthy lifestyles. Children learn about good hygiene routines such as washing their hands before mealtimes. Staff follow careful procedures for changing nappies, which help to minimise the risk of cross-infection. Children choose from a selection of healthy snacks and enjoy a freshly home-cooked meal each day for lunch.

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

Children learn about how to keep themselves safe as they negotiate the small steps that divide areas of the house. They practise the emergency evacuation procedure regularly so they know how to get out of the premises safely and quickly in the event of a fire. Staff are vigilant about supervising children at all times and carry out daily risk assessments of the house, garden and any outings. This helps to ensure children can play safely.

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provision

Leadership and management of the setting is good. Staff have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in meeting the Early Years Foundation Stage requirements for both learning and development, and safeguarding and welfare. For instance, they have all the required policies and procedures including those relating to suitability. The educational programme is well monitored to ensure it has sufficient variety and challenge. This includes how well staff are meeting the needs of all children and closing any gaps in achievement that are identified. The manager has completed an Ofsted self-evaluation form. Although this was completed some time ago, she has other effective systems to evaluate and monitor the provision and has clear plans for the future. Staff show a good understanding of the setting's strengths as well as areas for further development and are keen to make sure the provision continually improves.

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provision

Children are well safeguarded because staff have a good understanding and are confident of how to promote children's welfare effectively. Robust recruitment procedures and induction processes ensure staff's suitability is established and on-going appraisals are undertaken to help drive improvement and identify training requirements. Regular risk assessments are completed to make sure the premises and equipment are in a suitable condition. Most staff hold current first aid qualifications and know how to act in the event of an emergency. Partnerships with parents are strong. Parents are fully involved with all aspects of their child's learning and care. Extremely informative newsletters provide parents with information about the Early Years Foundation Stage, their children's progress and ideas to further support their children's learning at home. Parents are encouraged to send in 'wow' cards so the staff can share children's achievements from home during circle time. Parents

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provision

comment positively about the setting and state that they are 'extremely happy' with the provision. Arrangements are in place to involve parents in the two-year-progress check and appropriate systems are in place to share information with other settings the children attend. This is to ensure a consistent approach to children's learning and development.

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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 104599 Local authority Devon Inspection number 910132 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childcare - Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 34 Number of children on roll 67

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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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