Childminder in Worcestershire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/03/2013 08/09/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 enjoy a wealth of exciting and innovative experiences to support their learning and development. The childminder uses observation and assessment extremely well to precisely identify children's individual next steps of learning and plans activities to support them to achieve.  The childminder is adept at extending or adjusting activities to meet children's individual learning needs and to ensure that no child gets left behind in their development.  The childminder has forged very strong links with parents and other professionals. She shares highly effective information with them relating to children's development and routines to ensure consistency between the minding environment, home and other settings that children attend.  The childminder is robust in identifying areas for improvement and uses the self- evaluation form effectively as a working tool to support this. She involves parents and

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This provision is outstanding

children in the process to ensure that she facilitates and maintains improvement.  Children learn to cope with their own emotions and feelings and to be responsible for their own behaviour extremely well. The childminder provides additional resources to support children in this process which provides them with the social skills they will need for the rest of their lives.

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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 children taking part in activities in all areas.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, planning, assessments and other required documentation.  The inspector sought the views of parents from letters they had written.  The inspector held ongoing discussions with the childminder and the children.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2004. She lives with her husband and one child who is 10 years of age in the village of Honeybourne, near Evesham. Most of the downstairs of the childminder's house is used for childminding, along with two bedrooms on the first floor. There is a fully enclosed garden available for outdoor play. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register.

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Information about the setting

There are currently nine children on roll, five of whom are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision is open all year round from 7.15am to 6pm Monday to Friday except for family holidays.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is accredited, holds a recognised level 3 childcare qualification and is part of a childminding network group. The childminder provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children. She collects children from the local school and pre-school and attends toddler groups on a regular basis.

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

 enhance opportunities for children to use their own imagination and design skills by further developing the use of different materials and medias for craft activities.

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who attend

Children make excellent progress and thoroughly enjoy the time they spend in this exciting, stimulating environment. They participate in an innovative range of activities to promote and support their learning and development. The childminder fully promotes children's learning and development and makes sure they have all the necessary skills they need for school. She is particularly adept at knowing when to stand back and observe children and when to step in to further extend and develop their interests. As a result, they show high levels of energy and fascination in their learning and gain confidence to develop learning for themselves. The childminder knows each child exceptionally well and she provides activities to support and suit their individual learning styles and interests. For example, she builds on children's interests in animals by providing them with practical, first-hand knowledge as she teaches them about how they live and what they eat.

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who attend

Children excitedly talk about their visits to the nearby farm where they feed the chickens and stroke the guinea pigs. The childminder teaches children about nature and life cycles extremely well. She further supports their learning as they visit a butterfly centre where they see butterflies emerge from a chrysalis. They are especially fascinated by 'Leppy' the childminder's pet gecko who they know eats crickets.

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who attend

Planning is individual to each child and precisely identifies the areas of learning that children cover through activities. The childminder skilfully links observations and planning together to incorporate each child's individual next steps. These are displayed on a next steps footprint which the childminder monitors each time children attend to ensure that they are provided with activities and resources to meet their individual learning and development goals and move them forward. The childminder is able to recognise gaps in children's learning and development and provides additional resources and support to ensure that every child makes rapid progress in line with their starting points and capabilities. Children's progress is recorded in wonderful learning journeys which the childminder uses to help children recognise and take ownership of their own learning and celebrate their achievements. They take great pride in looking at them and talking about

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who attend

the photographs of activities they have enjoyed. As a result, children show an exceptional level of self-esteem and are developing an extremely positive attitude to learning. They take their learning journeys home to share with their families and parents are encouraged to use them to share information relating to children's interests and experiences at home. The childminder then uses this information to plan activities to enhance and enrich children's learning experiences in the setting and to ensure that they make excellent progress in their learning and development across all of the areas of learning.

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who attend

Children thoroughly enjoy looking at books and listening to stories which the childminder tells with intonation and expression. Their enjoyment is further enhanced as the childminder expertly uses additional props, such as puppets to help children interact and become more involved in the story. This fully supports children to develop and use expressive language as they interact and become familiar with the story as they describe dogs with pointy noses who tickle everyone. The childminder recognises when children need additional help and support to develop their language skills. She skilfully introduces resources, such as telephones to encourage children to speak and uses simple sign language to further enhance and develop their communication. Children develop creative skills as the childminder provides them with an extensive array of craft activities to participate in, such as making Easter baskets, cutting and sticking pictures; and using

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who attend

feathers and leaves to make a collage. However, there is scope to improve the balance of craft activities led by children and she is currently extending activities, such as junk modelling, to help and support children to further develop their creative thinking independently. Children especially enjoy cooking and the childminder teaches them how to weigh and mix ingredients. They make banana muffins, mashing the banana with a potato masher and cheese biscuits, using letter cookie cutters to make biscuits to spell their names. This means children are supported develop their mathematical skills and literacy extremely well in a variety of activities.

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

Children form extremely secure emotional attachments both with the childminder and their peers. The childminder knows every child exceptionally well and can clearly demonstrate how she is helping them to move forward and make excellent progress in developing their personal, social and emotional skills. She provides younger children with physical interaction and cuddles to help them to form emotional bonds and attachments and develop a sense of security in their surroundings. Older children are quick to seek out the childminder for a cuddle if they become tired or need reassurance. She is always close at hand to offer support especially when children are unsure or are faced with an unfamiliar situation. In-depth information relating to children's likes, dislikes and routines is sought from parents before children start. Children attend settling-in sessions to familiarise themselves with both the childminder and their new surroundings and this supports them

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

extremely well in making the transition from home to the childminder. The childminder positively responds to children's individual comfort routines if they become upset. As a result, children settle well and the childminder is able to provide learning experiences tailored precisely to their individual needs.

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

The childminder expertly helps children to manage their own feelings as she introduces additional resources, such as eggs with different faces on them and puppets with happy and sad faces. She uses these to help children to understand and deal with their emotions by asking them to find the face that matches the way that that they feel and encouraging them to have happy, smiley faces. Children's behaviour is managed exceptionally well and their self-esteem is promoted as the childminder offers continual praise and encouragement for every achievement no matter how small. She helps and supports children to consider the impact their behaviour may have on others so that they can change their actions in the future. The childminder is adept at turning negative situations into positive learning experiences. This provides children with the social skills they will need for the rest of their lives. The childminder is wholly supportive of children when they

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

move to school. She eases the transition as she takes them to school to meet their new teachers, introduces books about school into daily routines and tells the children that going to school is a nice, exciting experience .

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

Children are safe and secure both within the setting and on outings as the childminder has extremely effective procedures in place to identify and prevent potential hazards. She has developed an extremely effective plan to ensure children are safe should an emergency occur. The childminder teaches older children how to dial 999 and they practice using old mobile telephones. This equips them for life situations. Resources are plentiful and of high quality. They are stored to enable children to safely and easily choose where and with what they wish to play with. Resources are regularly rotated whilst ensuring that children always have access to their favourite toys. The childminder shares resources with other childminders to maintain children's interest at all times and provide them with a stimulating environment in which to learn and develop. Children learn to keep themselves safe through discussions as the childminder sensitively reminds them how to use

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

equipment safely. For example, they pretend that the cutter they use to cut pizza in the role play area is sharp and the childminder teaches them how to hold and use it correctly. They learn to look for cars as they cross the road and practice evacuation procedures from all areas of the house. Equality of opportunity is exceptionally well promoted and all children are welcome in the setting. Resources such as role play, books and small world figures provide children with positive images of diversity. Children learn about differences as they look at books which contain letters written by children from around the world. This helps them to understand how children in other countries live, what they eat and what clothes they wear. For example, children are learning to sing in French and sing 'Frere Jacques' pronouncing the French words beautifully.

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provision

Children are exceptionally well safeguarded as the childminder has an exceptionally good knowledge of child protection policies and procedures. She is clearly able to recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and knows that these may not always be physical and may include inappropriate behaviour or play. She fully understands her role in protecting the children in her care and regularly updates her child protection training to further ensure children's safety at all times. The childminder has developed an exceptionally strong network of support with other professionals. She works closely with the local schools and nurseries and shares information with them to develop consistency and continuity in children's learning and help each child to reach their developmental goals. Partnerships with parents is exceptional. Parents are wholly valued and their views are sought and respected. Comments for improvement are welcomed and acted upon. Daily

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provision

communication provides them with information about their child's development and ongoing personal routines. Parents are exceptionally pleased with the care the childminder provides. She informed them that her inspection was due and they all wrote letters expressing their views. Comments are extremely positive. They say that the childminder shows considerable patience and love when children are settling in and are initially upset. They say the childminder is professional and totally dependable, provides a wonderful, caring environment for the children and they learn every day they are with her.

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provision

The childminder is very experienced and qualified. She is totally committed to providing children with high quality care. She regularly updates her training to enhance her knowledge and expertise and implements what she has learnt to provide children with an enriching and stimulating learning environment. She uses documentation, such as the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and Development Matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage effectively to recognise any gaps in children's learning and identify their next steps to ensure that all children in her care make excellent progress. She is pro-active in identifying areas for improvement and uses the self- evaluation form effectively as a working tool to support this. She involves parents and children in the process and asks them for suggestions to help her to improve. As a result, they feel valued and appreciated. She talks to children about their likes and dislikes and is

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provision

quick to implement any suggestions to ensure that children have a valuable and enjoyable learning experience within her setting.

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provision

As a result of the childminder's excellent knowledge and dedication children thrive in a stimulating yet homely environment where their needs are routinely met and they feel supported and valued. Above all, children have fun as they learn and develop. They thoroughly enjoy the time they spend with the childminder and the skills they learn from her. Her strong support and guidance help them to prepare for school readiness and lay firm foundations for the future.

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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 EY289001 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 906548 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 9

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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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