Childminder in Essex

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 05/07/2013 13/02/2012

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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

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This provision is outstanding

 The childminder's extremely effective planning ensures children are offered rich, varied and exciting learning experiences, which help them to develop superbly across all seven areas of learning.  Children develop high levels of self-confidence because the childminder is extremely skilled in helping children to form secure emotional attachments. They enthusiastically explore the world around them, using familiar adults as a secure base.  The childminder demonstrates inspirational practice, which is worthy of disseminating to others. She effectively monitors the educational programme and all aspects of her provision to ensure that every child in her care benefits from stimulating, challenging and inspiring activities.  Children are keen, excited and motivated during their day with the childminder. They are active learners who make rapid progress in their learning because the childminder has a sharp focus on their capabilities.

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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 activities in the playrooms, kitchen, garden and activity room and viewed all areas of the home used for childminding.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder, her assistant and children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at records and documentation to support the childminder's service, for example, children's personal details, information about their learning and development, written policies, risk assessments, accident and medication records and proof of the suitability checks carried out for adults working with children and living on the premises.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents provided in references and written feedback on the childminder's provision.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged 10 and 11 years in a house in Chelmsford, Essex. The whole of the ground floor, the activity room above the garage and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a pet dog and a hamster. The childminder's husband works as her assistant and her sister is in the process of registering as a second assistant.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis.

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Information about the setting

There are currently ten children on roll, all of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round from 7.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childminders and Early Years.

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

 further enhance the already outstanding outdoor provision, by providing further opportunities for children to make choices about when they play and learn outdoors.

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who attend

The childminder's knowledge of how children learn through play is superb. She uses her expert knowledge to provide children with an excellent balance of well-planned, challenging and stimulating experiences, as well as opportunities to guide their own learning. This ensures that children make optimum progress across all seven areas of learning in relation to their starting points. The childminder and her assistants know the children extremely well and use effective systems for observing their play. The observations are proficiently used to plot children's achievements and to plan interesting, challenging and exciting activities to help them to move on to their next stages of development. A weekly evaluation of the range of activities the children have participated in provides the childminder with opportunities to identify any gaps in the educational provision and to review each child's progress. The childminder is piloting a computer

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who attend

software system, which will enable her to record and plot children's progress electronically. Parental feedback on this improvement is positive, as once fully established, it will enable parents to track their children's progress more efficiently and see at a glance what activities they have been participating in each day.

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who attend

When planning activities, the childminder prepares children well so that they are familiar with what to expect. For example, a recent trip to a local event for children, began a number of weeks beforehand. The childminder introduced the event to the children and talked about how they were going to get there. Consequently, children established that they were going to use public transport and experience a real life scenario. A range of activities leading up to this day, enabled children to develop their communication and language skills. For example, the childminder used songs and rhymes to further enhance the outing. In addition, children participated in activities, which enabled them to use numbers effectively to recognise the bus number when it arrived. This promotes children's mathematical awareness. The childminder skilfully uses role play to ensure children are kept safe during outings. For example, she encourages the children to keep together and

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who attend

hold hands during role play activities and practices getting on and off the bus, in preparation for outings.

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who attend

Children's speech and language is superbly supported because the childminder uses clear and comprehensive speech with the children. For example, she asks children clear questions, which helps to extend their thinking and provides them a good amount of time to consider their answers and respond. Children's literacy skills are carefully extended by the childminder who provides excellent opportunities for children to use a wide range of drawing materials to make marks on paper and other resources. For example, children practise writing recognisable letters, with chalk on the patio slabs in the garden. This also provides exciting opportunities for children to explore numbers as they write the numbers one to ten and use them to calculate and count backwards from ten to one. Some children are able to count beyond ten, which demonstrates children's excellent knowledge of numbers. Children thoroughly enjoy exploring nature and the natural world. They look for

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who attend

bugs and insects, listen to and recognise birds and provide bug friendly spaces within the childminder's garden. Children's imagination is superbly followed by the childminder, who enables them to express themselves in whichever way they choose. For example, children have turned a garden flower pot upside down to make a cosy house for fairies.

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who attend

The extensive range of activities offered to children, enables them to develop excellent skills in preparation for their next stages of learning, such as, 'big school'. For example, children proficiently put their shoes and hats on in preparation for playing in the garden. They learn about the importance of 'good listening' and taking directions from adults through the childminder's calm and clear rules.

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

Well-organised settling-in procedures and systems, enable children to feel relaxed, comfortable and secure in the childminder's care from a very early stage. Children and their parents develop exceptionally warm and caring relationships with the childminder and her family. Children approach the childminder and her assistant with ease and enjoy the reassuring cuddles and kind words they receive from them. Younger children explore their surroundings from the secure base of the childminder and her husband, who share the key person role. They both demonstrate substantial knowledge of the children's needs, likes and interests, which helps them to respond to the children's requirements in a professional and timely manner. Children show extremely high-levels of self-confidence as they make good use of all areas on the ground floor of the childminder's home. Children thrive on the extremely positive praise and encouragement they receive from the

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

childminder. They behave very well and develop a caring approach to their peers, showing real pleasure in their company.

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

The well-organised and effective environment within the childminder's home, enables children to develop secure independence and self-care skills. The childminder and her assistants facilitate their independence, while still supporting them where needed. For example, children are encouraged to use the ground floor toilet and hand-washing facilities on their own, or with limited help, as the childminder can see and hear them at all times. Children like to help with the preparation of routine activities, such as, snack time. They confidently count how many children are present and collect the correct amount of bowls from a low and easily accessible drawer in the kitchen.

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

Children remain healthy and safe within the childminder's care as she is meticulous about providing children with healthy and nutritious snacks, she ensures children are always well-hydrated and provides excellent opportunities for them to experience fresh air and exercise. Children enthusiastically learn about foods which are good for them through discussions and topics. For example, the childminder's planning is currently linking the children's story 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar', with the National Health Service's campaign; 'Change for Life'. Children also learn about where fresh foods come from, as they help to grow fruit and vegetables in the childminder's garden and in her allotment. Regular access to the childminder's well-equipped and exciting garden, ensures children have excellent access to fresh air. The childminder has plans to make access to the garden from the garden room better by installing an appropriate sized step. Once this work is completed,

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

children will be able to make further choices as to whether they play indoors or outdoors, enhancing the already excellent outdoor provision.

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

Children's safety is given consistently high priority within the childminder's care. Rigorous risk assessments, ensure that children remain safe while on outings and trips with the childminder. Children are provided with good opportunities to determine some risks for themselves. For example, children who are careful are able to sit on the families high breakfast bar stools for their snacks and meals. They understand the importance of sitting still and know the childminder's boundaries, with regards to asking to leave the table and waiting for her to agree. This provides her with time to support them getting on and off of the stools. Children learn to negotiate steps as they walk carefully up and down an external metal staircase, which leads to the activity room situated above the childminder's garage. Children are superbly prepared for their next stages of learning, as the childminder encourages them to become confident when meeting new people, by

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

attending events in the local area and through regular uses of toddler and activity groups.

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provision

The childminder is extremely knowledgeable about the requirements of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. She uses her secure knowledge to deliver both the learning and development and the safeguarding and welfare elements to an exemplary standard. Robust systems have been developed to enable the childminder to monitor the educational programme she delivers and to evaluate its success. She reviews her educational provision at the end of each day with her assistant. They consider the individual children's needs, the range of activities they have offered and the amount of child participation in those activities. The local early years advisor visits the childminder on a regular basis to help her to evaluate her provision and to make suggestions for future improvements or training.

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provision

Children are extremely well-protected in the childminders care as she has extensive knowledge of safeguarding children and clear procedures to follow, to do so. She ensures her knowledge is consistently updated through appropriate training courses and uses literature and the internet to keep abreast of current guidance on safeguarding children. All adults living on the premises or having regular contact with children are vetted and proof of their suitability checks are available on file. Visitors to the childminder's home are monitored and a clear record of their attendance is recorded in a visitors book. Well- considered risk assessments are in place for the childminder's home and outings. These successfully enable the childminder to review safety within her provision.

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provision

The childminder is firmly committed to providing exceptionally high quality provision for every child in her care and their family. She succeeds in this, through extremely well written policies and procedures and implements these effectively. The childminder uses self-evaluation and reflective practice to review all aspects of her provision on a regular basis. She is constantly identifying improvements and making changes that will benefit the children in her care. For example, a review of the environment in which children play, identified that the end room of the ground floor of the house, or the garden room, would be better presented as a playroom, than a dining room. This room extends from the kitchen and leads directly to the garden. Parents play an extremely active role in the childminder's evaluation of her provision. They provide her with verbal and written feedback, which she uses to inform her practices and to make any necessary changes and

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provision

The childminder has extremely good partnerships with parents and others involved in children's lives. Her commitment to partnership working is exemplary. The childminder provides parents with comprehensive written procedures and information about her setting. She meets with them on a regular basis to review the provision for their children and to discuss any concerns or issues they have about her childminding. Regular newsletters provide parents with information about the range of activities their children participate in and any changes within the provision. She includes information on the Early Years Foundation Stage Framework to ensure parents understand and remain well- informed about early years education. The childminder has secure links with other early years settings, which children attend and works closely with local primary schools to aide a smooth transition for children approaching school age.

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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 EY433348 Local authority Essex Inspection number 870467 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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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