Coles Linda Jane

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22/04/2013 17/12/2008

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The warm, attentive childminder welcomes children into her friendly home environment so that they feel secure and settle quickly.  The childminder provides a stimulating range of experiences for all the children so they are interested and eager to join in.  The childminder is skilled at supporting children's learning, and making sure that they are sufficiently challenged and make good progress overall.  The home and garden are well organised to encourage children to become independent in their play and personal care. They are prepared well for moves into pre-school or reception classes.  The childminder forms very effective partnerships with parents and carers. She keeps them well informed about their children's progress and encourages them to support their children's learning at home.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder generally supports the development of children's language and communication well, although she does not always speak slowly and clearly, giving children time to respond and does not routinely use recognised guidance materials to enhance her practice.

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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 childminder and minded children engaged in activities in the home and garden.  The inspector spoke with the childminder and children at appropriate times.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled documentation, including children's personal and developmental records, the self evaluation form, monitoring records from the network support worker, policies, procedures and risk assessments.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account, the written comments of parents whose children are currently attending.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1997. She is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She occasionally works with an assistant. She lives with her husband and two school aged children in Swindon, Wiltshire. She mainly uses the ground floor and first floor bathroom for childminding and there are fully enclosed front and rear gardens for outside play. The childminder walks to the local school and pre-school to take and collect children. She occasionally attends the local toddler group, takes children to the library and to local parks. The childminder currently cares for seven children who are all in the early years age range and all of whom attend on a part-time basis. The family has a cat. The childminder holds a National Vocational Qualification at Level 3 in Childcare and Education. She is an accredited network childminder and provides funded early years education for three- and four-year-

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

 enhance the support for children's communication and language development further by speaking slowly and clearly and giving children time to think and respond; using recognised guidance and supporting documents, such as Letters and Sounds and the Bristol Surveillance of Children's Communication

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who attend

This experienced childminder provides a wealth of stimulating experiences for children that make them eager to join in and helps them make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder knows each child extremely well. She discusses children's abilities with parents when they first start with her to establish what they can do already. She carefully listens and watches what children do, notes their particular interests and includes these when planning future activities. She understands how children learn through practical activities and she provides an excellent balance between indoor and outdoor learning. She supports children's play very effectively; she knows when to become involved and when it is best to allow children space to develop ideas and discover things on their own. Children are active, independent learners. They learn to make choices, become involved in their play and experiment with different ways of doing things.

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who attend

Children learn through interesting, practical activities, which are meaningful to them. They sow seeds and carefully tend the young plants. They decide that they will grow bigger if they are in bigger pots and with the utmost care, lift them from the soil. The older children begin to understand concepts of size and volume, whilst the youngest enjoy the sensory experience of handling compost. They continue their gardening theme by painting flowers in the garden; one child announces 'I'm so excited' as they carry out the paint. They learn new words, such a stalk, and use rollers to paint, which helps develop pre- writing skills. They sort and count, for example as they help lay the table for meals. They are developing essential skills for their future learning.

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who attend

A well-chosen range of regular outings into the local community helps children to develop their curiosity and knowledge of the world around them. Visits to the library and regular stories at home, help children develop a love of books. They enjoy snuggling up with the childminder and taking turns to 'read' to each other. This promotes their language and pre-reading skills. The childminder talks a great deal with the children and she encourages them to talk about what they are doing. She generally supports their language development well, although she sometimes speaks too quickly and does not give children enough time to think and respond. She has attended training in monitoring children's speech and language but has not put this into practice, in order to benefit children who are progressing less well in this area.

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who attend

The childminder keeps a comprehensive and informative learning folder for each child. The childminder illustrates her observations and assessments with photographs and examples of children's work. She uses these effectively to record children's development and to help her complete the progress check at age two. Parents are kept well informed of their children's progress, through daily discussions, diaries and meetings. They appreciate the childminder's helpful advice, for example to establish sleep routines. They borrow resources, such as safety scissors and threading beads to practise new skills at home. The childminder fully supports children moving on to other settings to ensure continuity in their care and learning.

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

This cheerful childminder thoroughly enjoys looking after children. Because of her warm and enthusiastic approach, children are happy, very settled and feel secure in her care. She provides a welcoming, child-centred family environment, where child grow in confidence and feel a valued member of the group. She organises her home and garden extremely well to meet children's needs. Children choose from an excellent range of high quality resources, which are stored mainly in transparent boxes. The childminder plans to add photographs to the written labels so the children can see more easily what is available. Children enjoy playing in the garden every day. A covered area means they can go out whatever the weather. This especially benefits those who learn better outside.

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

The childminder discusses children's health and daily routines with their parents. She works closely with them to encourage healthy eating and manage important milestones, such as toilet training. The childminder encourages children to manage their own personal care from an early age. They understand why they must wash their hands and even the little ones have a go at putting on their shoes by themselves. Older children are extremely warm and caring towards younger children and offer help when needed.

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

Children play safely in a secure house and garden. The childminder uses everyday opportunities to teach children how to keep themselves safe. They practise road safety on trips within the community and help to tidy away toys. They learn from a young age to use equipment with care and that boundaries are there to protect them, without stifling their freedom or making them unduly fearful. Children behave extremely well because they understand the childminder's expectations of them and because they are busily occupied with interesting activities. They learn to be sensitive to others needs, such a baby needing a sleep or coming inside so a child can visit the toilet. By visiting local toddler groups and meeting up with other childminders and their children, they learn to mix with others, appreciate differences and gain other useful life-skills.

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provision

The childminder has a professional approach to her childminding service. She has a thorough understanding of her responsibilities to meet all the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage framework. She shares her knowledge and experience by contributing to the support system for newly registered childminders. She organises her day well to provide all children with highly stimulating experiences and a welcoming environment. She tailors her activities to meet each child's learning and development needs very well overall. She uses effective methods to monitor children's progress and involve parents in their child's learning.

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provision

The childminder has a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding issues and the procedure to follow if she has concerns. She routinely updates her knowledge of child protection issues to help protect all children in her care. She informs Ofsted before using an assistant so they can check their suitability to work with children. She checks her home every day before children arrive to make sure all is safe. She thinks carefully about possible hazards before she takes children on outings and takes action to minimise any risks.

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provision

The childminder establishes very effective and supportive relationships with parents. They exchange relevant information regarding the care of their children and the childminder updates them regularly on their children's progress. Parents comment very positively about the care their children receive. They especially like the welcoming, friendly environment and the range of activities their children enjoy. The childminder understands the importance of her responsibility to develop partnerships with other settings the children attend to provide consistency in their care and learning. She has attended training to help her support children with additional needs, and access professional help if needed.

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provision

The childminder reflects constantly on her practice and sets herself high standards in the care she provides. She successfully identifies areas for development and has challenging yet realistic goals for improvement, such as extending the outdoor covered area and introducing more frequent parents meetings. She has a strong commitment to training and furthering her knowledge, as demonstrated by achieving a level 3 childcare qualification and attending numerous short training courses. She fully addressed recommendations made at the last inspection to improve her monitoring of children's progress and her risk assessments for outings.

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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 108777 Local authority Swindon Inspection number 845948 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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