Kenyon, Tina Louise

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 14/03/2014 31/10/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 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 1 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 1

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This provision is outstanding

 The childminder has very robust procedures to identify children's starting points in partnership with parents, and this effectively informs the planning for children's next steps of learning and development.  The childminder sustains a highly comprehensive assessment and planning routines, ensuring children are exposed to meaningful opportunities to learn and develop their skills while with childminder.  Children learn through play and their experiences with the childminder are tailored to reflect their individual needs and current interests.  Children are provided with broad choice of resources and equipment indoors and outdoors. Children benefit from the variety of visual aids and the well-organised, enabling environment.  The childminder supports children's transitions exceptionally well. She works alongside parents to ensure children are emotionally supported from the beginning and throughout their time with her.

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This provision is outstanding

 Children feel secure and comfortable with the childminder, who is highly skilled in encouraging children's independence by providing them with a rich environment that celebrates their individualities.

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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 interacted with the childminder and children throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector conducted a tour of the premises and outdoor area during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed activities with children indoors and outdoors, snack and lunchtime.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a range of documentation and records, including children's assessments and policies.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of a parent present during the inspection and parents' feedback in written questionnaires.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked through the certificates and professional development training the childminder has participated in and the impact of training on her practice.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2010 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband, two adult children and two children aged five and 13 years in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. The whole ground floor of the house, one bedroom on the first floor and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a pet dog.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends toddler groups and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and parks on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. There are currently five children on roll who are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder operates all year round, Monday to Friday, from 7.30am to 6.30pm, except Bank Holidays and family holidays. She is a member of Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years. The childminder provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds.

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

 enhance the already excellent partnerships with parents so that children continue to make excellent progress in their learning.

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who attend

The educational programme promoted at the childminder's provision is outstanding. The childminder has excellent understanding of how to implement the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The partnership with parents is exemplary. Parents actively contribute to their children's learning and development in the beginning and throughout their time with the childminder. The childminder maintains highly comprehensive and well-documented practice. Children's starting points are effectively identified by parents and the childminder in partnership. The childminder understands the needs and interests of children through her routine observations and assessment procedures. Therefore, she provides meaningful learning opportunities for children, who develop exceedingly well according to the expectations of their age. The childminder often shares the planning folders with families, who effectively

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who attend

share their opinion about their children's learning needs with her. Children learn through play. They are exposed to a rich and varied learning environment that enables them to be highly independent, creative and imaginative.

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who attend

Teaching is inspiring. Children are confident learners and actively participate in activities. They flourish in their learning because the childminder provides them with an excellent support to their individual needs. The childminder prepares sensory baskets to encourage individual children to experiment with different textures. This is to support children in developing new skills and to challenge their individual learning. There is a great balance of adult-led and child-initiated opportunities. The childminder visits a farm with the children. She then sets up a very realistic farm play with farm toys, soil and hay for them to explore. Children and childminder share their knowledge and experiences about farm and farm animals while playing together. The childminder effectively communicates with children by using open-ended questions to engage them. As a result, they are extremely confident communicators. The childminder complements the learning by offering children

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who attend

a wide variety of books about farms and farm animals. Children independently choose their books and compare the pictures of animals from the books with the animals from the farm play. Learning is embedded because the childminder thoughtfully plans different ways to teach according to children's individual aptitudes. Children explore the farm play independently. They extend their learning outdoors where they prepare a patch in the garden to plant potatoes, expanding even further their understanding of nature.

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who attend

The childminder provides children with excellent opportunities to be imaginative. They are able to extend their play because resources are easily accessible and superbly labelled. The childminder provides children with outstanding visual aids to support their learning. She skilfully prepares the environment to meet the needs of children. Children have opportunities to initiate and extend their play independently. While one child plays with tools, the other plays with dolls and prams, and soon they fix the pram together with the tools. The book area is very well organised and there is a comfortable area for children to enjoy their favourite stories. The childminder actively contributes to children's language and communication development. She is exceptionally consistent in supporting children to learn new words and to use simple sentences. The childminder often reads books and sings favourite nursery rhymes with the children. Therefore, children are rapidly

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who attend

developing their language skills and communicate well. The childminder provides children with different opportunities during their time together. They attend playgroups, visit local parks and participate in activities with other children and childminders. The childminder effectively plans activities to support children's physical development, both when they go on outings and during outdoor play in her garden. Children explore nature and learn about the world during walks. The childminder challenges the development of children's physical abilities. She enhances all aspects children's experiences in the garden by providing them with a wide variety of resources and equipment, such as climbing frames, slides, a mud kitchen and writing tools.

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who attend

The childminder has strong partnerships with schools children attend. She shares children's individual planning folders with teachers. The childminder ensures she maintains routine conversations with teachers so together they can support the continuous learning between school and the childminder's provision. Therefore, children are provided with great support in order to progress even further in their learning and development.

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

Children and childminder display high levels of involvement. They have created very strong bonds and enjoy their time together. Parents also display great attachments with the childminder. These relationships are created from the very first experiences they have together. The childminder tailors the settling-in period with parents to ensure children are emotionally comforted before starting effectively in the provision. Parents very effectively share information about their children's care needs. The childminder provides children and their families with a very homely and welcoming environment where children are the utmost priority. This means the move from home to the setting is extremely well managed and children settle quickly.

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

The childminder promotes healthy living practices in her provision extremely well. Children are provided with healthy options during meals and independently participate in personal hygiene practices. Children independently choose their plates and cups, help the childminder to choose their favourite food during meals and independently clean their hands before and after eating. Children competently feed themselves and are given time to enjoy the meal. The childminder consistently talks to children about the importance of keeping things tidy to avoid accidents, and together they tidy up toys after play. A child takes a sponge from the sensory basket and starts to clean the playroom floor. Other children join in the activity and together with the childminder they organise the play area very effectively while having fun. Children explore the outdoors in many different ways. They fully benefit from the dynamic outdoor provision offered to them. They go out for

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

walks in parks and in the local community to learn or simply to have fresh air.

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

The childminder is an excellent role model for the children. She supports them exceptionally well by praising and reassuring them. Therefore, they thrive in her setting. Children's behaviour is exemplary. They play alongside each other happily and are very caring and understanding towards each other. Children are very comfortable with the boundaries the childminder sets for them as she effectively supports them to take turns. She knows children well and provides them with an individualised approach to their needs. Children learn about the importance of keeping safe and participate in fire evacuation procedures. They learn about keeping safe when going upstairs, during meals and during play. The childminder celebrates different cultures and festivals in her setting in a range of exciting experiences, which helps children to gain awareness of diversity. Children effectively learn about respecting others and the childminder promotes a very inclusive

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

practice where children are supported and encouraged to be independent according to their individual skills.

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provision

The childminder displays an excellent knowledge of her responsibilities under the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She maintains an organised and meticulously detailed documentation and records of children while in her care. The childminder has an excellent understanding of keeping children safe. She is very clear about safeguarding procedures and knows who to contact if she has a concern about a child in her care. This means children are kept absolutely safe. Thorough risk assessments are carried out of the areas children use. The childminder maintains written policies and permissions from parents and shares all her policies and procedures with them. She keeps parents informed of her practice and educational programme through routine newsletters and informative leaflets about how to support children's learning and how to keep them safe.

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provision

The childminder effectively monitors her educational programme and assessment procedures to ensure they have positive impact on children's learning. Parents are skilfully made aware of the importance of participating in their children's learning. The continuous mutual support between home and childminder is one of the best aspects of the provision. Parents are very enthusiastic to participate and effectively work alongside the childminder to support their children's next steps of learning. The childminder works in partnership with local children's centre and with the local authorities. She effectively supports children during transitions to school and maintains three-way sharing between her provision, home and school exceedingly well. Therefore, children fully benefit from the outstanding practice the childminder promotes. Children are kept safe and secure with excellent opportunities to learn and develop their skills while in the care of the childminder.

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provision

The childminder is highly motivated and participates in training to enhance her knowledge and to ensure she provides children with highest standards of care and education. She effectively reflects on her practice with the children. She routinely sends questionnaires to parents and to children. Parents contribute exceptionally well and they are eager to participate by giving their suggestions to the educational programme and to care-related practice.

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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 EY418607 Local authority Hertfordshire Inspection number 874376 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 4 Number of children on roll 5

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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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