Reaney, Karen

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 25/03/2013 08/09/2008

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The childminder uses observation and assessment to effectively identify where children are in their learning. She uses information gathered to plan successfully for the next steps in children's learning, helping them to make good all-round progress.  The childminder and children chatter constantly. They enjoy favourite books together and children learn new vocabulary as they try out new ideas and topics. As a result, children's communication and language and listening skills are promoted well.  The childminder knows the children very well and provides them with a safe, loving and nurturing environment. This means each child's needs are well met.  The childminder establishes effective partnerships with parents, sharing detailed information about her setting and their children's learning. As a result, they are kept fully informed and involved.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There is scope to enhance opportunities in the outdoor play area for children to explore, build, move and role play.

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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 the children playing in the kitchen and playroom, and took account of the interaction between the children and the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's records, observation and assessment files, planning documentation and risk assessments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at different times, taking into account the needs of the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of parents' views through written documentation and questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1989 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner in Halfway on the outskirts of Sheffield. The whole ground floor of the house, the bathroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has three cats. The childminder attends a toddler group, a childminding playgroup 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.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 11 children on roll, of whom five are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 6.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. The childminder holds a level 3 qualification in childcare and provides free education places for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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

 enhance the opportunities children have to explore, build, move and role play, to further extend their learning in the outdoor play area.

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who attend

The childminder demonstrates a good understanding of how to promote children's learning and development. She skilfully helps children to make progress through providing them with interesting and appropriately challenging play experiences. At the beginning of children's placements, she gains information from parents about their individual starting points. This enables her to build on their current achievements. The regular observations she carries out are used effectively to plan the next steps in children's learning and development. Her observations are shared with parents who, as a result, understand their children's achievements and what they enjoy doing. The childminder completes the progress check at age two with parents. This ensures that they both have a good knowledge of children's personal, social and emotional development, communication and language, and physical development.

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who attend

Children develop good communication skills as the childminder actively encourages and participates in conversations with them. She provides many activities which support communication and language skills and which interest the children and provide them with fun. For example, when children choose the finger puppets and together they sing rhymes and songs, the childminder introduces sound boxes where she has recorded her own voice singing the songs. This encourages children's listening and attention skills, enhancing their vocabulary and their enjoyment of the songs. Children have the time to freely explore, and they enjoy choosing toys and activities that they like. The opportunities for children to enrich their creativity are good. For example, they enjoy painting and using the play dough. They manipulate the dough and use a range of tools, such as rolling pins and shape cutters, to help mould the dough into different shapes. The childminder introduces

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who attend

simple verbal instructions to the children, such as to roll the dough out flat. This also supports their development of new vocabulary.

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who attend

Children's understanding of the world and diversity is fostered appropriately as they explore and observe features of the local environment. They learn about differences in society and take part in cooking and craft activities linked to different cultural celebrations. Children show an interest in technology and knowledge of how things work as they press buttons on interactive toys to make different sounds. The childminder introduces the more able children to the webcam on her laptop computer and they investigate the images of their eyes and their hands as they are shown on the screen. Children enjoy outdoor play in the childminder's garden and through visits to the local parks. They have good opportunities to practise their large movements through running and playing on large toys. However, there is scope to develop the use of the childminder's outdoor play area further, to enhance the opportunities children have to explore, build, move and role play

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who attend

in the larger outdoor environment. Playing with toys that fit together, such as shape sorters and puzzles, encourages young children to problem solve, and they learn about numbers as the childminder counts with them as part of their everyday experiences. This effectively promotes their mathematical skills.

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who attend

The childminder encourages parents to be involved in their children's learning and to recognise the benefits of being actively engaged in their children's play. She highlights activities their children have enjoyed with her, so they can provide similar experiences at home. Children are well prepared for their transition to school. This is because the childminder encourages them to become independent and learn skills for the future, such as practising putting on coats and shoes and using the bathroom without support.

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

The childminder provides a comfortable and relaxed environment which is stimulating, well resourced and welcoming to all children, who are clearly settled and feel secure. The care and consideration the childminder provides ensures that the children are nurtured and that warm supportive relationships are established with her from the start. This fosters their emotional well-being. Children move around the home with confidence knowing the childminder is close by to support and guide them. They make independent choices in their play, as resources are stored at low level. As a result, children have the freedom and readily instigate their own play. The childminder works closely with parents. She finds ways to put parents at ease, particularly when children first start attending. Daily chats and written daily diaries ensure that important information about children and their family lifestyle is shared to support continuity of care.

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

Children have good opportunities to socialise with others as the childminder takes them to local toddler groups, childminding groups and the children's centre. This helps to develop their understanding of the need to share, take turns and play, as well as preparing them for different transitions in their life, such as nursery. The childminder has good relationships with the local school. She supports children on their initial visit to their new setting to help provide reassurance and a sense of security. As a result, the transition from the childminder's care to school is highly effective. The childminder is a good role model, who teaches the children about kindness and respect through praise and the positive example she sets. She adopts various ways to celebrate children's achievements, for example, by offering positive praise. This helps to raise children's self-esteem and confidence.

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

Children are offered healthy snacks and meals by the childminder. She also works in partnership with those parents wanting to provide their own food for their children. The childminder ensures that children have free access to drinks throughout the day so they remain hydrated. There are regular opportunities for outdoor play, coupled with the variety of trips out, which encourages children to have a positive attitude to exercise. This enables them to benefit from fresh air and further promotes their good health. The home is effectively risk assessed indoors and outdoors, ensuring that the children can explore the home environment safely. Children feel safe because the childminder helps them to learn about safety issues through simple explanations and routines. They learn the importance of keeping the playroom tidy and are quick to help the childminder to put the toys away after use. They practise road safety daily and the fire evacuation procedure at

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

regular intervals. This helps them learn well about risks and how to keep themselves and others safe.

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provision

The childminder understands her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Effective systems are in place to monitor each child's progress. As a result, the childminder is able to plan activities which effectively support and challenge children's interests and learning. The childminder has an extremely clear understanding of safeguarding issues and her responsibility to protect children from harm. She has attended advanced child protection training and advises parents of her responsibilities through discussion and access to a broad range of policies and procedures. The childminder implements robust risk assessments which help to create a child-friendly and safe environment for children to play and explore with confidence. She remains constantly vigilant and reassess the environment to reflect the ages and level of understanding of the children that attend. In

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provision

addition, the level of close supervision offered to the children is consistently high.

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provision

Relationships with parents are well established. The childminder provides parents with clear information which outlines her policies and procedures and provides useful information about herself and the care she offers. She has an active interest in parents' views about their child. She provides written information in the child's daily diary and observation notes so that the childminder and parents work together for the benefit of the child. The positive comments from parents demonstrate their pleasure with the service that is offered. The childminder has established good links with other settings that children attend. This means that she can effectively promote consistency in their experiences and share her detailed knowledge of the children, ensuring an effective and supportive transition from one setting to another.

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provision

The childminder is very enthusiastic about her work with the children and demonstrates a very positive attitude to continually raising the quality of the care she provides. She has addressed the recommendation from her previous inspection by further establishing the partnership working she has with other providers. She has completed many self- evaluations of her practice. She also sets herself a monthly action plan and incorporates parents' and children's views, using these to guide and inform practice. This ensures she focuses clearly on each aspect of her childminding and continues to ensure good quality provision for the children. She works closely with other childminders in her local group, who together focus on ensuring high quality standards are maintained. The childminder enjoys the challenge of training, and uses any courses attended to enhance her provision and benefit the children. She is an accredited member of the local home-based childcare

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provision

network, offering free early education to two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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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 300437 Local authority Sheffield Inspection number 907301 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 11

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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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