Childminder in Stockport

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/10/2013 24/07/2013

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early years provision

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

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This provision is good

 The childminder is skilled and knowledgeable and supports children's learning well. She understands how children learn best and provides them with a wide range of activities and resources. Consequently, children make good progress in all areas of their development in relation to their starting points.  Children feel safe and secure and develop strong, emotional attachments with the childminder, who provides a caring and loving environment, which effectively promotes their all-round well-being.  The arrangements for safeguarding children are well established and detailed policies and procedures are consistently implemented to ensure their safety.  Partnerships with parents and other early years providers are good. This ensures that children experience consistency and continuity of learning and care and are effectively supported in their transitions to other settings, including school.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 There are occasionally some missed opportunities to extend children's development outdoors, across all seven areas of learning, through even more effective use of the garden area.  Opportunities for children to investigate, explore and use a wider range of media and materials, in order to further enhance their already very good imaginative skills, are less well established than in some areas.

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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 compulsory part 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 lounge/playroom.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder and talked to children 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 feedback questionnaires.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory part of the Childcare Register. She lives in a house in the Gorse Hill area of Stretford, Manchester. The whole of the ground floor, the first floor bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The childminder has three cats as pets. She attends toddler groups and visits the shops and park on a regular basis. The childminder collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. She occasionally works with an assistant.

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Information about the setting

There are currently nine children on roll, three of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder also cares for children aged between six and 10 years before and after school and during school holidays. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays and two weeks at Christmas.

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Information about the setting

The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. She holds an early years qualification at level 3 and is accredited to provide early education for two-, three- and four-year-old children.

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

 extend opportunities for children to use outdoors for learning throughout the year and in a wider range of contexts, such as problem solving, risk taking or exploring nature

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

 build on children's existing very good imaginative skills, for example, by providing open-ended resources that can be used in different ways, such as pieces of fabric, pegs and cardboard boxes for them to make dens and shelters.

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who attend

Babies and children are enthusiastic, eager and motivated to learn in this good quality provision. Their learning and development is significantly enhanced by the childminder, who has a very good understanding of how to capture children's interest and recognises fully that they learn through play. Teaching is rooted in a comprehensive knowledge of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage, which ensures that children make good progress in relation to their starting points. Children have access to a broad range of good quality resources and challenging experiences to support their individual learning and development needs.

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who attend

The childminder places high priority on helping children to acquire communication and language skills and in supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. As a result, children gain the skills, abilities and attitudes that prepare them well for the next stage in their learning and school. For example, the childminder teaches children to share and take turns and cooperate with each other as they play. Children attend toddler groups in the local community, which helps them learn to interact with children and adults away from the childminder's home. Babies and children demonstrate high levels of confidence as they freely move around the environment. For example, babies smile and laugh with delight as they discover that music plays and lights flash on and off when they press a button on an interactive toy. Resource boxes are well organised and clearly labelled with photographs to support children to make independent choices

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who attend

about what they want to do. For example, older children independently access their favourite resources, such as number games, small world toys and wooden bricks. The childminder provides sensitive support to help children to achieve, which effectively builds their self-esteem.

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who attend

The childminder helps children to develop their communication and language skills as she role models new words and uses repeated phrases to extend their vocabulary. She successfully and intuitively 'tunes in' to babies' attempts to communicate through facial expressions and gestures and repeats the sounds they use to enhance their understanding of two-way conversation. Children thoroughly enjoy cosy one-to-one times with the childminder when they snuggle up to look at books. The childminder is skilful at using open-ended questions, such as 'What does it feel like?' to develop children's thinking skills and help them communicate their thoughts and ideas. Children demonstrate good communication and language skills as they describe the lion in the book as 'nice and soft' and 'he's got a tail' and explain 'he needs his mummy'.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with a wide range of opportunities, activities and experiences to promote their physical skills. For example, babies enjoy the freedom and space indoors to move, stretch, roll and cruise along furniture. The childminder encourages them to crawl as she places toys that excite them just beyond their reach. Older children develop large muscle control and coordination as they have opportunities to use large climbing equipment at the park, walk up and down steps and ride an assortment of wheeled toys. However, while all children benefit from opportunities to play outside, the presentation of the outdoor learning environment and opportunities for them to learn outside, are not as well embedded as those for indoor learning. As a result, children, who prefer to learn outdoors have fewer opportunities to extend their skills in this area.

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who attend

Babies develop their small muscle control as they press buttons on interactive toys, turn the pages of a book and handle resources that they can squeeze, pull, suck and shake. Older children develop the fine manipulative skills, which they need to prepare them for writing as they make marks with their fingers in shaving foam, manipulate small world toys and build models with a range of construction toys made of wood and plastic that fit together in different ways. Children develop good imaginative skills as they make up their own stories and explore a wide variety of toys and equipment. For example, children find a box and put a teddy inside, explain that he is hungry and needs some dinner and feeds him 'corn on the cob'. Children put the teddy on the cushion for a sleep and tell the childminder to 'be quiet' saying 'sh'. However, opportunities for children to further enhance their imaginative skills, using a wider range of open-ended resources have yet to

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who attend

be fully embraced to promote their learning even further.

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who attend

Observation and assessment is accurate and precise and as a result, children make good progress in their learning and development. The childminder uses a computer software application effectively to record ongoing observations and assessments and as a result she has a good understanding of children's current and future learning needs. Consequently, she can plan effectively for children's next steps and successfully track their progress, so that any gaps in their development are quickly identified. The childminder skilfully uses children's interests to plan activities that will support their developmental needs. For example, when children are motivated by a television character, she provides appropriate resources that they can use in a variety of contexts to help them make further progress across all areas of learning. Children are observed closely when they first start with the childminder and their starting points are ascertained through during this initial period.

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who attend

Partnerships with parents are strong and make a significant contribution to effectively meeting children's individual needs. Parents are fully involved in their children's learning and consistently inform the childminder of children's achievements and experiences they have had at home. This means that the childminder can plan activities to build on children's prior knowledge, experiences and skills. Children's learning journal records contain a wide range of information, including photographs, focused observations and detailed summaries of their learning. The childminder values parents' input and shares information about how they can help support their child's learning through simple activities at home. Parents are given feedback about what their children have been doing through daily conversations and they regularly review children's learning records. As a result, children's individual needs are well met.

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

The caring and sensitive nature of the childminder means that children form secure attachments and their emotional well-being is consistently supported. Babies are nurtured by the childminder, who intuitively understands and responds to their physical and emotional needs. They spend quality one-to-one times with her engaging in activities, such as sharing books and participating in messy play. There is a clear bond between the childminder and the children as they laugh, talk and play together. The childminder is full of fun and children are clearly happy, content and motivated by her enthusiasm.

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

The arrangements for supporting children as they move from home to the provision are carefully planned with parents, to meet each child's individual needs. Through close links with parents, changes are discussed and plans updated to reflect the alterations in the child's overall development, especially across the prime areas of learning. As a result, children very quickly adapt to the environment and daily routines and confidently form new friendships. The childminder provides opportunities for children to make choices in their activities but also, very importantly, provides a familiar routine, which helps them feel safe and self-assured. This successfully supports children with the transition from home to the provision. Children separate from their parents on arrival with confidence and demonstrate their sense of security as they explore the environment independently. They benefit from the opportunities to mix with children of different ages within the

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

childminder's home. This enables older children to learn about the needs of babies and younger children learn from the positive role modelling of the older children. When children move onto school, the childminder completes transfer documents, which successfully supports children with the transition process.

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

Children develop good self-help skills because the childminder teaches them to adopt a 'can do' attitude and encourages them to do things for themselves whenever possible. Their good health and self-care is securely embedded as they attend to their own care needs. For example, children are independent as they manage their own personal needs in readiness for school. Children respond to lots of positive interaction from the childminder as she praises them for their achievements and when they independently carry out tasks. Babies express their feelings if they are tired, hungry or cross and seek the comfort of the childminder if they are upset. Young children begin to respond to appropriate boundaries with encouragement and support because the childminder maintains a clear and consistent approach to help children manage their feelings and behaviour. The childminder is fully aware of the need to manage behaviour at a level that is appropriate for children's

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

ages and stages of development and their level of understanding. As a result, their behaviour is consistently good.

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

The childminder teaches children to be aware of the importance of healthy eating as she provides them with nutritious snacks and home-made meals and encourages them to try new foods and textures. Children learn about the importance of good hygiene routines because the childminder teaches them that they need to wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating, in order to remove germs. Children have daily access to outdoor play to access regular fresh air and exercise as well as opportunities to rest, relax and play quietly. As a result, children's health and hygiene is successfully promoted, which in turn has a positive impact on their physical and emotional well-being.

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

The childminder gives high priority to keeping children safe both indoors and when on outings. Babies and children are kept safe as they are closely supervised at all times and can access a wide range of developmentally appropriate toys and equipment. Consequently, they can explore and investigate objects and materials using all their senses in complete safety. In addition, the childminder gently reminds children to walk carefully around the babies, so that they do not hurt them. She teaches children about 'stranger danger' and the rules of road safety when out walking, which helps them develop their understanding of keeping themselves safe.

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provision

The childminder has a secure knowledge of the educational programmes and consistent monitoring ensures that children experience a broad and balanced range of experiences that help them progress successfully towards the early learning goals. She demonstrates a good understanding of her responsibilities to meet the requirements of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Observations and assessments are accurate and precise and effectively demonstrate children's current learning and development and clearly identify targets for their next steps in learning. The childminder consistently monitors her routines, resources and planning, in order to meet children's learning needs that cover all seven areas of learning. She has yet to complete the progress check at age two but has attended relevant training and has the necessary documentation available for when this needs to be completed.

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provision

The childminder has a good knowledge and understanding of how to protect and safeguard children and is fully aware of what to do and who to contact if there are any child protection concerns. Parents have access to organisational policies and know the procedure to follow should they have any concerns about the childminder or her associates. The childminder has a comprehensive set of detailed policies and procedures, which are followed meticulously. Children's safety is further enhanced through the implementation of rigorous risk assessments and daily checks of the indoor and outdoor environment. Furthermore, the vigilance of the childminder, consistent supervision of all children and security systems, such as locks on doors and gates, ensure that they are kept safe at all times.

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provision

The childminder is committed to her work with children and this is reflected in her enthusiasm and the enjoyment she demonstrates when interacting and playing with the children. The childminder accurately identifies the strengths and areas for development of the provision and her practice through the effective self-evaluation process. She works closely with the local authority early years advisor to discuss areas for development and devises detailed action plans to prioritise areas for improvement. Parents are fully involved in the process and their ideas and suggestions are sought through the implementation of written feedback questionnaires. The childminder seeks the views of children through discussions, when she talks to them about the things they like to do and any ideas they may have for further improvement.

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provision

Recommendations from the last inspection have been successfully addressed. For example, the childminder has purchased a wide range of multicultural resources, encourages children to taste foods from around the world and celebrates different festivals. As a result, children learn about the similarities and differences between people and the diverse society in which they live. The childminder is proactive in seeking support and advice to help her to improve the service she provides and learning outcomes for children. For example, she attends the local network childminding group where she gathers ideas and shares good practice with other childminders. The childminder attends training sessions to ensure her knowledge and skills are kept up to date.

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provision

Partnerships with other early years providers, including schools are strong. There is an effective system in place for two-way sharing of information about children's learning and development. This means that children experience consistency and continuity of care and learning. The childminder completes transfer documents to pass on to schools, which successfully supports children with the transition process. Parents are very happy with the care and education their children receive and the service provided. They comment that the childminder displays a caring attitude and that children are happy and well settled.

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The Childcare Register

The requirements for the compulsory 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 EY431213 Local authority Trafford Inspection number 934087 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 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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