Little People Childcare

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 30/01/2014 Not Applicable

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: Not Applicable 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 develop their exploration and investigation skills exceptionally well. As a result of high quality teaching, children make outstanding progress in all aspects of their learning.  The childminder monitors and evaluates the educational programmes very well, setting challenging targets to improve the provision so that all children are helped to achieve their full potential.  Children have excellent relationships with adults in this secure and welcoming setting.  The childminder and her assistants have an exceptional knowledge of each child's backgrounds and needs, helping children to form secure emotional attachments and providing a strong base for their developing independence.

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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 main play room and the garden.  The inspector held a meeting and carried out a joint observation with the owner.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder and her team about the progress of the key children and their understanding of the setting's policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's observation, tracking and assessment records, planning documentation, evidence of suitability of adults working with children and a range of other documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers spoken to on the day of the inspection and from a range of written information.

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Information about the setting

Little People childcare provision registered in 2013. It consists of a childminder working with three assistants. The group operates from a chalet bungalow in Three Legged Cross, near Verwood, Dorset. Children have use of the ground floor of the premises, along with a designated playroom in the converted garage. Toilet facilities are accessible in both areas. There is an enclosed rear garden available for outside play. The childminder's family has two dogs to which the children have supervised access. The group is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. Children attend for a variety of full and half days. There are currently 19 children on roll, of whom 16 are in the early years age range. The setting operates Monday to Friday, from 8am to 6pm, all year round. The childminder and two assistants hold early years qualifications, while the other assistant is currently studying towards an early years

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

 extend children's awareness of health by talking to them about the effect of exercise on their bodies and the positive contribution it can make to their health.

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who attend

Children thrive and make exceptional progress in their learning and development due to the highly skilled and motivated adults who care for them. Superb teaching accurately challenges and extends children's learning. The childminder and her assistants have an extensive understanding of each child's developmental level and use this to plan highly enriching learning activities. They gain excellent, extensive information about children's starting points and use these to identify the progress children make. They complete precise and detailed individual observations of children's progress and use these very effectively to identify children's next steps of learning. They undertake the required two- year-old progress checks which accurately reflect how children are developing and excelling in their overall development. Parents are fully involved in their children's learning and help identify children's future learning targets with the childminder or her assistants.

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who attend

Planning is of high quality and very unique. It encompasses a plethora of information, illustrated through photographic evidence, and is linked to the areas of learning supported by the children's interests and ideas. This translates into a range of exciting and worthwhile activities to challenge and encourage children's learning and development.

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who attend

Children are inquisitive and very absorbed in their learning. They benefit highly from the free flow provision which offers high quality activities that are challenging for all children. For example, children are actively engaged as they explore and create mixtures using the soil and straw outside. There is a sharp focus on helping children to acquire communication and language skills, while supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. The childminder and her assistants engage constantly with the children, listening attentively and valuing their verbal and non-verbal communication. Adults skilfully use opportunities to enrich children's vocabulary and extend their conversation. For example, they teach children to talk about weight, numbers, quantity, addition and subtraction while using vegetables and weighing scales. As the conversation unfolds, instigated by the children, they discuss shapes, size and colours. This ensures all

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who attend

children are consistently challenged to progress further in their learning and are very well prepared for school and their next stage of learning. Children regularly go to the library to select books that they take home in their book bags to read, keeping parents fully involved. Books are easily accessible and are used as a source of knowledge and for pleasure. Adults are adept at teaching children the enjoyment of books through their animated vocalisation of the story and continual encouragement of children's participation.

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who attend

The childminder provides toys and equipment in the outdoor play area which fully ignite children's interest, so that they maximise their exploration and investigation skills. For example, they develop mathematical concepts when playing in the mud kitchen by filling and emptying containers, pouring water through a funnel and using scoops to fill buckets and bottles with mud. Children take part in bug hunts and nature walks in the field next door. The adults teach them how to build bug houses using the eco materials. This means children learn the value of the natural environment as a learning resource. Babies are highly inquisitive and delight in exploring the treasure baskets, scrunching the foil paper and listening to the noise. This teaches babies to use their senses and be engaged in meaningful experiences by grabbing, smelling, listening, rubbing, and staring. Babies are mesmerised by the sequence light display which is projected onto the walls, and

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who attend

fascinated by the light-changing flower and disc. Through this they learn to recognise colours and distinguish shapes. Older children learn new language connected to sensory activities such as ice play, in which adults teach them about the changing properties of ice as it forms and melts. Children take part in cooking activities which further develop their mathematical skills, as they learn to measure, pour, mix and chop the ingredients to make cakes or quiche. Children's creativity is highly valued and adults use an exceptional range of sensory materials to teach children to explore and investigate. Children express themselves creatively and develop their senses through an extensive range of mediums, such as painting activities, dough and sand and water play. These positive early experiences allow children to flourish and make excellent progress in their learning and development.

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

Children have extremely warm and loving attachments with the childminder and her assistants who work in harmony with each other to create a homely atmosphere. They recognise and support the uniqueness of each child, which is reflected in their caring and supportive interactions. The high quality attention, from either the childminder or one of her assistants, helps children gain an exceptionally strong sense of security. For example, when toddlers become tired after a busy morning of play, they snuggle up with an adult for a cuddle demonstrating strong emotional attachment. Children thrive in this secure and welcoming setting. Adults build the children's trusting relationships from the start. The key person system plays a successful role in the rapid progress children make in a relatively short time. The excellent settling-in processes support children extremely well and meet the needs of all families. For example, discussions and observations with parents are used

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

systematically to identify children's starting points, routines and interests. This means that adults plan for and meet children's individual needs exceptionally well.

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

The childminder provides a very well-resourced environment, indoors and out. The use of the home is flexible and the designated playroom is bright with artwork created by the children on display. This values the children's work and promotes an excellent sense of belonging. The very well equipped areas have cosy corners and an abundance of resources that are easily accessible to children in low level boxes. Children's learning is extended uniquely through the inclusive environment as there is a vast array of labels, pictures of the children and numbers on display. There are pictures and photographs of people in their country of origin, for example Afghan people, to promote children's understanding of the wider world. The childminder is an experienced early years professional and uses her skills to enhance children's understanding of the world. There are effective resources to raise children's awareness of the wider world within their natural

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

play, such as books, dolls from different countries, cooking activities and different materials for dressing up.

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

The childminder and her assistants give high priority to helping keep children safe. They teach children from a young age how to use knives safely while they prepare ingredients for cooking and children learn fire safety as they participate in making fire pits in the garden. Adults further promote safety as they stay with sleeping children to ensure their health and safety needs are continually maintained. Children benefit highly from the individual attention they receive and thrive from the extremely positive praise and encouragement. As a result, children's behaviour is exemplary.

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

Children's health and overall welfare is promoted to a consistently high level as they play in an extremely clean, secure and comfortable environment. Children enjoy a range of activities which help them to recognise the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. For example, they choose the fruit they want to eat at snack time. They learn about good hygiene by following routines such as brushing teeth after meals and washing hands before eating and after playing in the garden. Children enjoy daily opportunities for fresh air and exercise and experience a wealth of learning opportunities in the local community and the setting. For instance, children create dens in the garden and visit local parks and soft play areas. The childminder is a trained forest school practitioner and maximises children's learning through the outdoors in a safe and nurturing manner while providing a unique learning experience. Children learn how to exercise in different ways by attending dance

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

classes and taking part in exercises and musical movement at the setting. All this give them extensive opportunities for their physical development. However, at the end of these activities the childminder and her assistants do not always make the most of the opportunity to teach children about the effects of exercise on their bodies and the positive contribution it can make to their health.

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provision

Children are extremely well safeguarded as the childminder and her assistants have a robust understanding of safeguarding issues and are clear about their roles and responsibilities to protect children. They are extremely aware of children's safety and security at all times. Comprehensive policies and procedures are followed vigilantly to ensure children's welfare is effectively safeguarded and promoted. The childminder has a thorough written safeguarding policy and knows what action to take if she has concerns about a child. All the required checks are completed to confirm that adults in the setting are suitable to be in regular contact with the children. Meticulous risk assessments are carried out to address any potential hazards and the childminder ensures children's safety and security at all times. All adults who work with the children are first aid trained and confident in acting in a timely manner when dealing with any accidents that may occur.

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provision

Documentation and records are exceptionally well organised and reviewed regularly.

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provision

Efficient organisation of the provision underpins the outstanding practice. Children's welfare is exceptionally well-supported because all adults they are extremely secure in their knowledge and understanding of the Statutory Framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder ensures her assistants receive effective induction and ongoing training to help them understand their roles and responsibilities and provide a consistent approach to supporting children to learn. All of the adults who work with the children in this family-feel setting are totally dedicated to their work with children. This means that children are extremely well supervised and the child to adult ratio allows for one to one attention on many occasions during the day.

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provision

The childminder is very well qualified and regularly attends a variety of training to enhance her working practices and inspire learning and development for all children in her care. She demonstrates a consistently highly professional approach to her role, both as a registered childminder and working with her assistants. Rigorous, on-going reflection and monitoring of her own practice and that of her assistants effectively promotes high quality outcomes for children. The childminder's constant drive to gather new ideas ensures that the provision continues to promote the very best outcomes for children. Objective self- evaluation that fully involves parents and children means that action plans have ambitious targets for improvement. In particular, there are advanced plans in place to extend the range of resources that enhance children's outdoor learning experiences.

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provision

The childminder has established exceptionally strong links with parents. This consistently contributes to meeting children's needs. Parents are extremely well informed about all aspects of their children's care and the childminder creates exciting ways for them to share in their children's learning. Parents receive ongoing information through the 'Little People Link' books and frequent discussions about their child's care and learning. Parents are actively encouraged to submit their comments on line and to their children's learning journey records, which contributes significantly to the overall accuracy of the childminder's planning. The childminder proactively initiates effective partnerships with practitioners who care for children in other early years settings to ensure children's progress is readily shared and a cohesive approach in their learning is fully maximised across provisions.

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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 Requires improvement The provision is not giving children a good standard of early years education and/or there are minor breaches of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected within twelve months of the date of this inspection. 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

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Grade Judgement Description

the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. 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 EY463784 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 929058 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childcare - Domestic Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 19

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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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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