Childminder in Dorset

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 10/04/2013 07/01/2009

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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 are extremely active and independent learners. They access the wide range of resources confidently, to extend and build on their own ideas.  Their high levels of self- assurance, and the valuable support and encouragement from the childminder means they make extremely confident choices in what they want to play with and how they will use the resources. This has a particularly strong effect on their creativity.  The play environment is inspiring, welcoming and highly supportive of children's play and learning.  The childminder offers high levels of support to the children in her care. She is exceptionally skilled at extending and developing the children's own ideas through her encouraging and timely interaction.  There are excellent systems in place to work with parents, other settings that children attend and professionals involved in children's lives to ensure children receive the highest levels of consistent support in their care and learning.

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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 observed activities in the two main downstairs areas.  The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the visit.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder?s self-evaluation document, written policies and procedures, and the children's records.  The inspector took into account the written feedback from parents.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2004. She lives with her partner and three sons, one whom is a teenager and two are preschool age, in Blandford Forum, Dorset. All areas of the home are available for childminding purposes, with a living/play room, kitchen/diner and downstairs cloakroom used as the main accommodation. Rest and toilet facilities are available upstairs. There is an enclosed back garden available for outside play. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is accredited to receive the government funding for early education. There are currently three children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age range and attend on a part time basis. The childminder has National Vocational Qualification level 3 in children's care, learning and development.

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

 enhance the systems to gather all possible information from parents about what they know about their children when they very first join, to continue to build even further on the initial planning process.

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who attend

Children are highly active and independent learners. They are enthusiastic and extremely motivated in the activities they access. This is due to the childminder's highly effective and skilful support and encouragement. The childminder has an excellent understanding and awareness of the children's individual personalities and learning needs. She uses this information skilfully to provide targeted and focused support. This provides children with a very strong sense of self-worth, and challenges that help them to make the best possible progress. Thorough assessment systems enable the childminder to accurately map the children's progress through the Early Years Foundation Stage. This means she is able to target the activities and support to successfully promote and extend the children's continuous learning and development. Extremely beneficial systems are in place to work with parents and involve them in their children's learning. Highly effective communication

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who attend

systems mean that parents are clear on the role they play alongside the childminder, to promote their child's learning to the highest standard. They provide detailed information about their child's care needs and routines. This helps the childminder to settle children sensitively. Systems to find out all possible information from parents about what children can do when they very first join, are not as thorough. However, links with parents are still very strong and the childminder thoroughly observes children when they join her to set clear plans for development. Parents view their children's records of assessment every term. They fully understand how their own involvement contributes to their children's learning. They provide information about children's progress at home to supplement the observations made by the childminder, helping to provide a clear picture of children's all- round development. The childminder is absolutely clear on the procedures for working

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who attend

with parents to complete the two-year progress check. She is able to involve parents in their learning extremely well.

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who attend

Children thrive due to the childminder's highly positive and flexible planning that actively encourages children to follow and develop their own ideas for play. They relish and embrace the consistent opportunities they have to make free and independent choices in their play. Flexible routines means that children have the time and space to initiate their own ideas and develop them to see them through to the end, without time constraints. This means that they can fully engage and focus on what they are doing.

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who attend

Children achieve well and use their own thoughts, problem solving skills and creativity to reach their goal. This means that children are highly confident and motivated to explore. The excellent support, encouragement and timely interaction from the child minder shows children that she is genuinely interested and values the choices they make. Her highly successfully planning, observation and assessment systems mean that children make rapid progress in all areas of their learning and are ready to take the next steps in their development. Children develop considerable skills to support them in future learning, for example as they move through school.

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who attend

The childminder prioritises children's language and communication to ensure children are able to express themselves and develop positive social skills. This means children of preschool age are clear and confident communicators, with a wide vocabulary. They use their skills confidently to listen and negotiate with other children and the childminder so that they play well together. They confidently share their ideas, express their needs and share recent experiences from home. The childminder's sensitive and targeted support effectively helps to develop and extend the conversations, building the children's confidence in social situations. Throughout their play and discussions, children use mathematical language confidently to identify number, size, shape and difference. For example, they select which piece of play dough is longer and shorter, how many buses they take on a recent family outing and which coloured pens are the darkest.

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who attend

Craft and creative resources are freely available at all times which means that children have freedom to express themselves creatively. They choose coloured paper and card, scissors, glue, pens, envelopes, 'jewels' and other items. The childminder gives children freedom to express themselves creatively. She is on hand to extend the activity by asking thoughtful questions in response to children's comments. She encourages them to problem solve and think things through for themselves, for example, how they can make the 'jewel's successfully stick on the card. The childminder talks through the features of a face when a child is unsure what features to add to their picture. A child asks the childminder to draw a car and dinosaur. The childminder gives highly effective instructions and encouragement so that the child independently creates their own work, adding wheels, doors and windows to the car. Through effective questioning, the child then

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who attend

decides to draw their family members in the car and shares a recent trip to the Sealife Centre. This leads to further discussions about different transport and animals they see. The childminder finds a toy dinosaur for the child to copy. The children show a sense of pride at their own achievement. The discussions about home life and family members prompt a preschool age child to turn their picture into a card for their 'mummy'. They tell the childminder, 'I need to write her name on it'. The childminder sounds out each letter with them, with clear instructions about how to form the letters when asked. This means that the child is able to independently write the name. The child completes the activity by finding an envelope to put their creation in. The childminder does not interfere with the direction of the children's play. Her excellent support means that children have the full confidence to follow their own ideas and achieve their own outcome.

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

Children are very happy, extremely settled and highly confident in the childminder's welcoming, inviting, child-orientated home. They have very close emotional attachments with the childminder and other children at the setting. This means they have high levels of confidence to independently select their own activities and positively contribute to conversations and interact with others. The childminder's highly flexible and supportive planning and routines means children have the time and space to fully engage, thoroughly explore and see activities through to the end. The childminder's playroom is very well resourced. It is inviting and interesting without over stimulating children's senses. Toys and resources are stored at child height and clearly labelled and accessible. The highly supportive, stimulating and accessible environment provides children with excellent opportunities to freely choose what they want to play with and how.

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

Children demonstrate a very clear understanding of the boundaries for expected behaviour. The childminder has a very positive attitude and approach that encourages children to value and respect each other. This means that children learn from an early age to be kind, polite and considerate of the needs of others. For example, a preschool age child says 'please' and 'thank you' unprompted during their play, and reminds others to do the same when they ask for a toy. The excellent range of toys and resources positively support children in learning about difference and diversity. This helps them to accept and value their own needs as well as those of others around them. The range of resources helps them to identify with different situations and make connections to their own lives.

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

The childminder strongly prioritises children's health and safety. She follows highly effective procedures to ensure that children receive consistent and positive messages about making healthy lifestyle choices. For example, the childminder's written policy informs parents to provide nutritional and healthy foods only. She provides nutritious and balanced meals and snacks that provide children with something tasty from each of the different food groups to support their healthy growth and development. Children enjoy these and contribute by making their own independent choices. For example, at snack time, the childminder uses magnetic pictures of different fruits for children to choose from. Children enjoy daily opportunities to play outdoors and be physically active. They enjoy using equipment and resources that help them to quickly gain control and coordination and balance, for example, using scooters. Children demonstrate a very clear

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

understanding of potential hazards around them. They recognise the need to be careful around hot drinks, how to use scissors safely, and the need to use scooters carefully when going downhill. This means they are able to confidently adapt their behaviour and play to keep themselves and others safe at all times. This responsible attitude contributes to their excellent skills for future learning, for example at school.

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provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development, and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. She is committed to providing the best possible service to the families that use her. She successfully achieves this through attending regular and ongoing training that benefits the children and improves her practice. For example, she has attended training in healthy eating, achieved her level 3 qualification, and is working towards her foundation degree in early years. Ongoing and up-to-date training enables her to effectively monitor the education programme and make beneficial changes to her day-to-day practice. The childminder also receives highly positive support and encouragement from her local authority that enables her to develop and update practice. The childminder uses feedback from parents to adjust her service to ensure she continues to meet all individual needs.

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provision

These highly successful tools work exceptionally well to promote effective self-evaluation and secure continuous improvements.

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provision

The childminder's extensive commitment and dedication to childminding means that she has a secure and very confident knowledge of the safeguarding requirements. She is absolutely clear about child protection issues and the correct procedures to follow should she have a concern about a child in her care. Prioritising children's safety means the childminder provides a very safe, yet challenging and stimulating environment, where children learn about realistic potential hazards around them. Clear documentation and risk assessment procedures highly support children's safety. This means children are able to explore freely under very positive levels of supervision.

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provision

Highly beneficial partnerships are in place with parents, other settings and professionals involved in the children's lives. The childminder takes an active role to ensure parents are clear about her practices and expectations for partnership working. This means they play an important role in making decisions about the setting, and support their children's learning at home. Excellent links with other settings and professionals mean that all concerned are able to work together extremely well. The highly professional partnerships mean they are all able to provide a consistent approach to help children achieve key next steps and targets, and that the children settle well and gain confidence in the different environments they experience. The childminder uses highly considerate and productive systems to ensure that children manage new situations they encounter with confidence under her sensitive and nurturing support.

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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 EY290999 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 833792 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 3

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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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