Childminder in Stockport

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 12/06/2013 27/01/2011

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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 are happy, sociable and confident, and thoroughly enjoy their time in a relaxed and stimulating environment. All children make excellent progress in their learning as they experience a wealth of interesting activities and enjoy the vast range of resources.  The childminder is highly skilled and sensitive, and helps children to form secure emotional attachments and feel very secure within the setting. She has an excellent knowledge and understanding of the children that she cares for, and skilfully supports them in their next steps in learning.  Children are exceptionally well motivated, eager to join in and consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning in this well-resourced, exciting, homely and nurturing environment.  The childminder demonstrates an excellent understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage.

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This provision is outstanding

The thorough implementation of robust policies and detailed procedures successfully promotes children's safety and well-being.  Outstanding partnerships between the childminder, parents and other providers ensure children's needs are quickly identified and exceptionally well met. The highly successful strategies in shared learning help ensure children are extremely well prepared for the next steps in their learning and school.

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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's activities in the two playrooms, kitchen and outdoor environment.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at various documents, including a sample of policies and procedures, planning, observation and assessment systems, and children's individual learning records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents from written statements and feedback questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and adult child, who is also a registered childminder, in the Cheadle Hulme area of Stockport, Cheshire. The whole ground floor of the house, except for the utility room, is used for childminding. There is a large enclosed rear garden available for outdoor play. The family has a pet cat.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends local toddler groups. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. The childminder operates Monday to Friday from 7.30am to 6pm, all year round. There are currently nine children on roll, five of whom are within the early years age group. The childminder is a member of the local childminding group and the Professional association for Childcare and Early Years. She holds a level 3 qualification in home-based childcare.

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

 enhance the already highly stimulating and exciting outdoor environment by giving children extended opportunities to investigate the natural world, for example, by providing chimes, streamers and windmills to investigate the effects of wind.

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who attend

Children thrive and are highly motivated to learn in this extremely high quality provision. The childminder has excellent skills and knowledge of the learning and development requirements, and a superb understanding of how children learn. The exciting, stimulating and extremely well-organised environment, both indoors and outdoors, along with high quality teaching, ensure that all children make rapid progress towards the early learning goals. Children are fully engaged and deeply involved in their activities, and experience rich, varied and imaginative learning opportunities. This is because the childminder has a superb knowledge and understanding of the children she cares for and combines their interests with their developmental learning needs when planning activities. Consequently, children consistently demonstrate the characteristics of effective learning. For example, they roll cars down a cardboard tube and discover that some cars are too big to fit. When

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who attend

the cars get stuck in the middle they learn that by tipping up the tube they will go down. This demonstrates that they are learning through exploration, being active and trial and error. There is an extremely sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and supporting physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children are exceptionally well prepared for school and their next stage of learning.

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who attend

Children develop their social skills as they play harmoniously together, collaborate in their play and demonstrate a caring, helpful attitude to each other and the childminder. The childminder successfully promotes children's growing ability to cooperate in their play as she encourages children to take turns and share resources. Babies demonstrate their confidence as they freely explore the environment and seek out other children and the childminder to share their experiences and interact in their play. The childminder takes children to various playgroups, the library and local shops, which helps children learn to socialise with children and adults away from the childminder's home.

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who attend

The childminder places a strong emphasis on helping children to develop their communication and language skills. She uses highly effective strategies, like small group work, to develop children's communication skills, by playing games like, 'Simon says', children learn to listen carefully to instructions. This type of activity also develops children's physical coordination and helps them to extend their vocabulary for parts of the body. The childminder seizes every opportunity to develop children's communication and language skills. For example, experiences, such as creative activities at the table, provide children with a wealth of opportunities to extend vocabulary about colour, shape and texture. They also provide a means for children to talk about their home and family. Children enjoy books and stories and point to the text and say 'What does that say?', which demonstrates their understanding that print carries meaning. All children make

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who attend

excellent progress in this area of development. Young babies are well supported by the childminder, who values the personal words they use to communicate and uses gestures, actions and facial expressions to encourage the progression of their language development.

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who attend

The well-organised outdoor environment and exciting range of resources provide a haven for children to develop their physical skills. For example, they develop their spatial awareness as they skilfully avoid obstacles during a game of 'tig'. They enhance their large muscle control as they pedal bicycles and ride wheeled toys, and develop their coordination skills as they throw, catch and kick balls. Children demonstrate their developing manipulative skills as they enjoy writing cards with crayons and pencils, use paintbrushes and skilfully manipulate shapes into a sorting toy. Babies are encouraged to develop their small muscle control as they press and push buttons on interactive toys and turn the pages of a book. Children have endless opportunities outdoors to develop their knowledge and skills across all areas of learning. For example, they develop mathematical concepts as they count how many hoops they can throw onto the hoop-la game. They

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who attend

also use their imagination as they pretend to go shopping, and learn about the natural world as they investigate leaves, twigs and flowers and plant and grow seeds. Further enhancing the use of the already highly stimulating and exciting outdoor environment is an area for possible development, in order to build on children's existing excellent knowledge of the natural world.

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who attend

Planning draws on observations, which are both spontaneous and focused, children's interests and frequent information from parents. The childminder identifies children's next steps in their learning and plans purposeful and challenging play experiences to enhance their knowledge, understanding and skills. Assessment is highly precise and meticulous. It tracks children's progress from entry to the provision through each term they attend. The childminder uses the 'Development matters in the Early Years Foundation Stage' guidance to exemplary effect, in order to establish children's current and future learning needs. The system enables the childminder to easily identify children's strengths and areas where more development is needed. Therefore, any gaps in learning can be addressed quickly and timely interventions can be sought if necessary. Children are observed closely during the time after joining, and starting points are ascertained through this and the information

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who attend

from parents, in order to subsequently measure progress.

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who attend

The childminder works exceptionally well with parents and other providers and schools to ensure continuity of care and education and that children's needs are effectively met. For example, close partnership working with local nurseries ensures that the childminder has detailed information about what children are learning in the other setting they attend. As a result, the childminder plans activities to complement children's learning and builds on their existing knowledge and understanding.

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

The childminder is extremely caring and sensitive, and enables babies and children of all ages to form strong, secure emotional attachments. The childminder's knowledge of the children in her care and her commitment to nurturing the well-being of every child are excellent. This successfully promotes their developing independence and exploration. Babies actively seek out the childminder for comfort and cuddles when they need reassurance, are tired, hungry or have just woken up from their afternoon nap. The childminder is always close by and responds quickly and intuitively to children's individual needs to ensure they are comfortable at all times. The childminder encourages children to do things for themselves and praises them when they complete a task. As a result, babies are confident to feed themselves and cooperate with care routines, and older children tidy away resources in preparation for lunchtime.

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

Children learn about expected levels of behaviour from the positive role modelling of the childminder and from each other. Children's behaviour is exemplary because the childminder provides them with clear and consistent boundaries and helps them to learn to manage their own feelings. They are actively involved in devising the 'house rules' and articulately explain that they 'have to share', 'cannot run in the house' and 'must say please and thank you'. Effective settling-in procedures and the highly sensitive interaction of the childminder ensure that children who are new to the setting develop a strong sense of belonging. The childminder gains extensive information about children's interests and care routines from parents, which has a significant impact on the settling-in process and supports the transition from home. For example, the childminder finds out that a new child particularly enjoys a certain television programme, so purchases a game and drinking cup

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

that portrays their favourite character. Therefore, when the child arrives for the first day, they can relate the resources to those enjoyed at home, which helps them develop a strong sense of belonging. The childminder shares detailed information about children's learning and development with the settings that children also attend and those they move on to, which supports the transition process and ensures continuity of care and education. Children of all ages demonstrate an excellent understanding of how to manage risk and keep themselves safe and healthy. For example, they learn about road safety as the childminder teaches them how to cross roads. While out walking, children learn about possible 'stranger danger' and the safety procedures they must follow. These include holding on to the pushchair, staying close to the childminder and listening carefully to what she says.

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

Children are provided with daily opportunities to engage in physical exercise through continuous access to outdoor play. They enthusiastically participate in exercise as they follow the actions of the childminder as they march around the garden playing musical instruments in the 'band'. Children demonstrate their awareness of the importance of a healthy diet as they enjoy nutritious snacks, such as breadsticks, rice cakes and fruit and raw vegetables, provided by the childminder. Parents are aware of the healthy eating policy and provide children with a healthy lunch box, containing raw vegetables, nutritious sandwiches and home-made meals for children to eat at lunchtime. Children confidently explain that 'cucumber and tomatoes make our bodies big and strong'.

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provision

The childminder has worked as a childminder for many years and has a wealth of knowledge, expertise and experience which she successfully translates into practice. She works in partnership with a co-childminder and together they make up a highly professional and knowledgeable team whose practice centres entirely on children's individual needs. The childminder embraces new initiatives and enthusiastically welcomes the fresh, new ideas of the co-childminder. This results in a high quality service that continues to evolve and improve. Systems in place for self-evaluation are robust and well documented, and clearly identify the strengths of the provision and targeted priorities for further improvement. The recommendation from the last inspection has been fully addressed because the childminder has reviewed and updated all policies and procedures. The childminder is extremely committed to professional development training and attends

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provision

numerous courses to strengthen her knowledge, understanding and skills. She liaises very closely with local nurseries to share good practice and implement new ideas.

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provision

Children's well-being is strongly promoted as the childminder gives safeguarding very high priority and is fully aware of her role and responsibilities to ensure children are protected from harm. Thorough and recently updated safeguarding policies and procedures are in place, shared with parents and underpin the excellent practice. Visitors are monitored and screened through the intercom system, which ensures children are kept safe from unwanted intruders. Comprehensive risk assessments are completed to the highest standard and include all areas and activities accessed by children. As a result, children's safety is exceptionally well promoted.

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provision

The childminder has an extensive understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage and effectively uses her comprehensive knowledge and skills to maximise children's learning potential. As a result, children progress towards the early learning goals is significantly enhanced. Rigorous systems are in place to monitor the educational programmes, planning and assessments so that children benefit from rich and varied learning experiences based on their individual needs. The accurate and precise arrangements for assessment and tracking children's progress mean that the childminder can implement early interventions to support children's learning, including the involvement of external agencies if necessary.

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provision

Children are extremely well prepared for their transition to the next stage in their learning and school. This is because the childminder works closely with reception class teachers to find out relevant information about how she can best support children in readiness for school. She provides fun and enjoyable actives to help children gain the skills, abilities and attitudes that will equip them well for their future learning.

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provision

Parents are highly complimentary about the quality of the provision and comment on the caring, friendly nature of the childminder and the wonderful learning experiences she offers the children. They comment that children make good progress in their learning and are confident to leave their children in her care, knowing that they are settled, happy and safe.

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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 306741 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 855139 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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