Childminder in Hertfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 24/05/2013 05/01/2012

p.1

early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 The childminder has very high aspirations for her practice to fully promote children's care, learning and development. She understands the importance of continuous professional development and shows a strong commitment to providing a high quality service.  The childminder ensures that children are extremely well cared for in a nurturing and supportive environment. They are extremely happy and form close and secure bonds with the childminder, which effectively supports their emotional development.  Meticulous assessment and planning for children's individual progress means that children thrive in the childminder's care. They show high levels of confidence, self- esteem and a keenness to learn and are making excellent progress towards the early learning goals.  Partnerships with parents are first class. The childminder establishes highly effective working relationships with parents, including superb information sharing. This

p.1

This provision is outstanding

contributes significantly to the childminder's knowledge of children's individual needs and results in children, who are active, independent learners.  The knowledgeable childminder provides children with excellent indoor and outside learning environments, which highly motivates and engages all children. This means that children flourish and make excellent progress in their learning as they are provided with thought-provoking activities and stimulating resources.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities in the kitchen/dining room and the living room.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and made observations.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of documentation, including children's development records, a selection of policies and children's records.  Views of parents were taken from parents' questionnaires and references.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and three children aged 10, six and three years in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. The whole of the ground floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a rabbit as a pet.

p.3

Information about the setting

The childminder is able to take and collect children from local schools, nurseries and pre- schools. She visits the park on a regular basis. There are currently five children on roll, including three in the early years age group. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays.

p.3

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

 maximise ways to build on self-evaluation by extending how the views of children are incorporated, to further assist in identifying areas for further enhancement.

p.3

who attend

The childminder has an exemplary knowledge and understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and of how children learn and develop. This enables her to provide a welcoming, child-centred environment that enables children to become independent and enthusiastic learners. The childminder is highly successful at motivating children to capture their interest and arouse their curiosity. She takes great delight and enjoyment from reading to children and her enthusiasm for books and story- telling has a positive impact on children's communication, language and literacy development. For example, children delight in looking at books with the childminder. She encourages their language development as she asks questions to encourage and extend their thinking while looking at the pictures with them. Younger children concentrate hard as they carefully turn the pages in their favourite books and excitedly point and talk about

p.3

who attend

what they can see. For older children, the childminder enhances their learning and provides them with challenge through encouraging them to make their own story sacks using their favourite stories. They are inspired by this and eagerly and enthusiastically organise their bags and delight in putting together a range of props and related activities to support their stories. The older children proudly share these with the younger children and this engages their interests as the range of resources bring the characters to life. The childminder ensures there is a balance of stimulating activities to cover the seven areas of learning with play experiences superbly planned from accurate and sharply focused ongoing observation and assessment. These are precisely matched to children's individual needs and stage of development. Consequently, all children's learning needs are identified and catered for and they are making excellent progress towards the early

p.3

who attend

learning goals. The childminder is also skilled at adapting planning to follow children's current interests and to maximise valuable and enjoyable learning opportunities. For example, the current planned topic is 'Families and all about me' as the childminder is aware of changes to families, such as new brothers and sisters being born. As part of this topic, children have learnt about self-identity and enjoyed looking at themselves in mirrors and pointing out their facial features. They delight in discussing their different reflections and the childminder has plans to extend this to include children making self-portraits. As a continuation of the theme, children are learning about body awareness and have had great fun using their creative skills to make hand prints with paint. Older children have made a height chart and enjoyed recording everyone's measurements, including the childminder. Children confidently use mathematical language as they talk about, who is

p.4

who attend

the tallest or the shortest or who has the biggest or the smallest hands. Younger children are learning the names of the different parts of their body and particularly delight in singing 'Heads shoulders, knees and toes', enthusiastically joining in with all the actions.

p.4

who attend

The childminder plans an environment that is rich in signs, numbers, words, rhymes, books, pictures, music and song. Extensive use is made of wall displays to make a stimulating learning environment for children. Children also develop a strong sense of belonging and a sense of achievement as many pieces of their artwork are displayed. For example, they recently enjoyed learning about St David's Day and about Welsh customs and traditions. As part of the topic, they made large swords and shields, which are displayed and children talk about with pride. Children's knowledge and understanding of the world is promoted through activities and topics, such as 'World Earth Day' in which children's understanding of the environment is increased through activities, such as learning about recycling. There is a carefully considered balance of adult-led and child- initiated activities to enable children to make their own discoveries and to develop the

p.4

who attend

skills, attitudes and dispositions, which they will need for their future learning. The childminder demonstrates outstanding enthusiasm, engagement and motivation of children and has exceptional teaching skills.

p.4

who attend

The childminder provides parents with a wealth of information to ensure that they are kept fully informed about their children's learning and development. This includes information about the Early Years Foundation Stage and how the childminder implements the framework to help children to make progress in their learning. Information gathered from parents when children first attend is used effectively to establish their starting points and the childminder plans their learning accordingly. She ensures that children's achievements are then regularly discussed. For example, parents have opportunities to see their children's development books whenever they wish to and more formal reviews are also used to share and exchange information on their progress and attainments. Consequently, parents have excellent opportunities to be involved in their child's learning, which impacts significantly on their child's progress.

p.4

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

Children's behaviour is exemplary. The childminder is an excellent role model and empowers children to take responsibility for themselves as they learn to listen, share, take turns and be kind to others. Consequently, children learn how to play cooperatively. The childminder has clear and consistent behavioural expectations and therefore, children learn right from wrong and are beginning to understand how their behaviour can have an impact on others. Children learn respect for themselves and others as the childminder explains why some behaviours are not acceptable. She is extremely alert to responding to children's different personalities and she offers regular praise and encouragement, which contributes effectively to their developing high levels of self-esteem and enables them to feel valued in the childminding environment. They learn simple house rules, such as to use good manners at mealtimes, with children positively encouraged to say 'please' and 'thank

p.5

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

Children actively participate in an extensive range of stimulating play experiences in a dynamic, child-centred environment. From an early age, children's independence is encouraged and they play an active role in the setting. For example, children enjoy laying the table at mealtimes and help to tidy away resources at home time. Also, older children spontaneously help younger children in their play. The childminder gives priority to making sure that children settle well and new children and their parents are exceptionally well supported to ensure a successful settling-in period that is tailored to the needs of the individual child and their family. This ensures that children can feel safe as close bonds are formed and this creates security for children, which encourages them to be confident in their surroundings and their play. Purposeful relationships between the childminder and parents ensures that children's care is significantly enhanced by the exceptional

p.5

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

organisation and outstanding commitment of the childminder. She has high regard for the well-being of all children and she effectively and efficiently organises her time with the daily routine planned around the needs of individual children to ensure that an inclusive and enabling environment is provided. These highly effective systems support children's personal, social and emotional development exceptionally well and prepare them for transitions, such as starting school or nursery. Children's social skills are supported further as they attend a variety of groups outside the home, learning to mix with a wider group of children in different environments.

p.5

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

The childminder is proactive in implementing highly effective strategies to promote and safeguard children's health. The exceptional guidance and support she provides help children to gain an excellent understanding of good hygiene practices and promotes a real desire to become increasingly independent in their personal care. Children are provided with nutritious food choices. Their dietary requirements are discussed with parents to ensure individual dietary needs are catered for appropriately. Children eat an excellent range of healthy foods and regularly talk about their favourite fruits and vegetables. The childminder grows a variety of fresh produce in the garden, which children take an active role in caring for and then enjoy picking when ready, so it can be used as part of a nutritious diet.

p.5

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

Children's physical development is fully promoted. They learn that physical activity is good for them and can be fun. Children participate in regular walks and visits to the park. They delight in taking part in obstacle courses in the garden and also enjoy soft play sessions where they learn to confidently climb and balance. Children love to dance when joining in with 'music and movement' sessions and musical statues is a particular favourite. They are learning about the benefits of physical exercise and regularly talk about how exercise makes their muscles strong. Children's understanding of keeping safe is evident and they have extensive opportunities to learn about how to keep themselves and others safe. When out walking, they discuss road safety and know that they must 'stop, look and listen' and not to walk near the kerb. Children learn how to stay safe in an emergency and actively participate in regular fire drills. The childminder helps children to gain a strong

p.5

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

awareness of how to keep safe and they enjoy taking manageable risks. For example, when using the slide, children learn how to manage it safely with the support of the childminder.

p.6

provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and is fully aware of her responsibility to meet the requirements. This is reflected in her outstanding practice with exceptionally well-organised and informative documentation, which is robust, effectively shared with parents and which underpins highly effective childcare practice. Continuous professional development takes high priority and the childminder makes excellent use of training opportunities, such as short courses run by the local authority or the children's centre. She has also been studying hard and is near to completing a level 3 early years childcare qualification. This has given the childminder an in-depth knowledge of child development to enable her to provide children with high-quality early education and care.

p.6

provision

The childminder has made significant improvements since her last inspection and has addressed all areas highlighted for development. This has had a positive impact on children's care, learning and development. Since undertaking the early years course, the childminder now understands the importance of reflective practice as a way of ensuring continuous improvement. She now closely monitors and evaluates all areas of her practice. Her commitment to continuous improvement through meticulous and ongoing assessment of her provision reflects her strong drive to support children's achievements over time and sustain the highest levels of care and education. For example, the childminder closely monitors the quality of her delivery of the educational programme to ensure that any gaps in children's learning are quickly identified and addressed to enable children to make very good progress across the seven areas of learning. Also, a rigorous, self-evaluation system

p.6

provision

has been introduced and this is used by the childminder to systematically identify her strengths and areas she wishes to enhance and develop further. This includes seeking the views of parents through the provision of parental feedback sheets and parents' comments are extremely positive and demonstrate that they value the service provided. Opportunities to incorporate the views of children in the evaluation process have not been fully explored, so the childminder can continue to build on her already first class service.

p.6

provision

Arrangements for safeguarding children are exemplary. The childminder has an excellent understanding of how to safeguard children's welfare and is clear on her role and her responsibilities if she did have a concern. She regularly undertakes safeguarding training and child protection guidance leaflets and publications are readily available alongside an informative safeguarding children policy. She has ensured that all household members have appropriate checks completed and all relevant documentation is available for parents to see in the childminder's portfolio. Children's safety is paramount and highly effective measures are taken by the childminder to minimise potential hazards. For example, the organisation of space and resources is highly considered to maintain a safe environment for children, while still ensuring that their independence is promoted. Also, the childminder ensures that children are closely supervised and supported in their play with thorough and

p.6

provision

rigorous risk assessments in place, so they are protected at all times.

p.7

provision

The childminder strives to provide an inclusive environment and children and parents are welcomed into the childminder's home. Well-established and purposeful relationships with parents ensures that children's care and learning needs are fully promoted. For example, highly effective communication sharing ensures a consistent approach with daily diaries, helping to ensure a two-way daily exchange of information to meet children's needs. A comprehensive newsletter is another way used to effectively share information with parents. The childminder understands the importance of fostering trusting and respectful relationships with parents to enable children to make optimum progress and to reach their full potential. Extremely effective partnerships with other providers delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage are in place. The childminder has forged close links with local schools, nurseries and pre-schools. She has regular discussions with teachers and

p.7

provision

children's key persons about their achievements and ensures her planning reflects topics they undertake at the other settings. For example, children are keen to show pictures of chicks, which they have made with the childminder and which are displayed in her home. These were a continuation of a topic covered at the children's pre-school. Children talk excitedly about how they made the chick pictures using yellow feathers and how they enjoyed taking them into show the pre-school teacher. This supports children's learning in true partnership. The childminder has also forged links with a children's centre and regularly networks with other childminders. She finds this is highly beneficial, as it is good way of sharing good practice and experiences and keeping up to date with current and forthcoming changes to early years practice.

p.7

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

p.7

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

Setting details

Unique reference number EY427189 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 875870 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 5

p.9

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.

p.9

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.9

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.

p.10

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,

p.10

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’.

p.11

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.11