Childminder in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 19/03/2014 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

 The childminder provides exciting and highly engaging activities which stimulate children's natural curiosity and explorative nature, such as playing with corn flakes and porridge oats.  The childminder uses highly effective strategies to teach children early literacy which ignites their interest in stories and books.  The childminder carries out close observations of children's play to monitor their progress. The highly productive two-way flow of information with parents provides children with excellent consistency in their learning.  The childminder allows children to lead their play and follow a routine which meets their own needs extremely well. Consequently, children display high levels of self- esteem and contentment.  Finely tuned self-evaluation enables the childminder to provide rapid and highly effective ongoing improvements in the exceptionally high quality of care she provides for children.

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This provision is outstanding

 The childminder has an excellent knowledge of how to keep children safe and ensures that those who work with her are fully aware of the procedures they need to follow.

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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 lounge, dining room and garden.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector had discussions with the childminder, work placement student and children.  The inspector discussed a planned activity with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation including children's records, safeguarding procedures, self-evaluation and evidence of suitability checks.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2012 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged 14 months and six years in a house in the Sandhills area of Leighton Buzzard. She uses the whole of the ground floor home and the rear garden for childminding. The family have a pet cat.

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Information about the setting

The childminder attends a toddler group and the local children's centre. She visits the local shops and park on a regular basis and collects children from the local schools. The childminder holds a level 6 and Early Years Professional Status. There are currently five children on roll; three are in the early years age group who attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder is open all year round from 7am to 6pm Tuesday to Friday except for family holidays and bank holidays.

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

 continue to challenge and excite children's interest in early mathematics by providing displays of numerals, such as number lines for children to begin to recognise numbers.

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who attend

The childminder provides exceptionally high quality care for children because of her excellent teaching methods. She displays a depth of understanding about how children learn and utilises every opportunity to extend and enhance children's knowledge. When children play with corn flakes and porridge oats in a large tray on the floor, the childminder extends their ideas by providing further resources. This opens up learning for children to use their language and communication skills. They fill boxes and plastic egg shells with the mixture and shake it to hear the sound. The childminder adds more mixture to change the sound and children copy her. The children explore the activity with their whole bodies, climbing into the tray and young children put the mixture into their mouths. The childminder is able to skilfully adapt the activity to suit children's differing ages and abilities. She provides older children with spoons and containers so they can

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who attend

spoon the mixture into the differing pots and containers. This increases their hand-eye coordination and control of the small muscles in their fingers. Children make marks in the mixture as they run their hands and fingers through it and observe the patterns they make. Children know that print carries meaning because the childminder displays a vast range of letters and words around the home. There are fewer displays of numerals, such as number lines, to complement the excellent opportunities children have to explore size, shapes and counting in their everyday activities. The childminder's teaching of literacy is highly engaging and stimulates children's interest in books and stories. She tells children stories as well as reading for them, so they benefit from listening to spoken words to enhance their vocabulary and extend their concentration and listening skills. The children have a focus book and story for each half term, which the childminder encourages

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who attend

children to become familiar with. She makes vibrant baskets of items to accompany the stories, including masks, photographs, puppets and pictures. Key words from the story and theme are pegged on the radiator for children to see. This dynamic approach to stimulating children's early interest in reading enables them to become very well prepared for school.

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who attend

Children ask to play outside and the childminder quickly responds to their request. In the garden they enjoy going inside the playhouse and open and close the door repeatedly as they discover they can do this themselves. Younger children particularly love the outdoors and when newly walking, experience different surfaces and inclines which help them to balance and increase in control. They use push-along toys, such as toy lawn mowers to steady themselves and move around. Older children kick, throw and roll balls with the childminder increasing their strength and accuracy. Children choose to spend long periods of time in the garden and take toys from inside out with their as their play develops. The childminder encourages children to choose where they play and for how long. When she goes to tidy away an activity children seem to have finished with, they come over and begin to play again. The childminder leaves the activity for children as she allows them to

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who attend

direct and follow their own ideas. This creates a sense of autonomy amongst children who become highly confident and extremely skilful in directing and determining their own play and learning. This provides children with the important skills they need to be successful in their future learning.

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who attend

The childminder keeps detailed records of children's learning and development. She works with parents when children first start in her care to determine what they know and can do already, and forms clear starting points for each child. From this, she develops personal learning plans for children. Here, she pin points exactly what children need to learn next to help move them forward in their development. This is a highly effective approach to ensuring that activities and support are well suited to children's needs. As a consequence, children make rapid progress and are working above expectations for their age range. The childminder's close relationships with parents facilitates a two-way flow of information which is highly productive providing consistency and enabling parents to further support children's excellent learning at home.

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

Children display exceptionally high levels of self-esteem and confidence. The childminder shares information with parents when they drop off children to find out about how well children have slept and what they have eaten. The childminder and parents share a daily diary outlining what time children have had their nappies changed, slept and eaten. The childminder follows routines with suit children because she encourages children to determine the routine. She recognises the signs that they are getting tired or hungry and responds by giving lunch earlier and bringing forward sleep times. This means that children's needs are met very well and they are emotionally ready and able to learn. The children form very close bonds of attachment with the childminder and the work placement student who works with her. When they are initially upset in the morning as they separate from their parent, both are soothing and comforting for children. As children

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

feel secure, they stop crying quickly and are happy to explore the activities on offer. The childminder prepares children extremely well for starting pre-school and school as she gives them the confidence they need to ask for help if they need it and to enjoy new experiences.

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

Children are adept at recognising their own needs from a very early age. Before going to play in the garden they find their shoes and say that it feels cold and so they will need their coat. Children are equally capable of recognising their own need for drink, food and rest. They serve themselves their lunch from bowls on the table and ask for more if they still feel hungry. This helps children to learn about their own appetites and maintain their own well-being extremely well given their young age. Children wash their hands before they eat as they climb upon a step to reach the sink and follow the hand washing pictures with the childminder. This helps children to understand the importance of hand washing in order to minimise the risk of the spread of infection. Children sit together at lunch time and enjoy the social occasion with the childminder and work placement student. Children are enthusiastic to try new foods and learn about where foods come from as they plant

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

Children behave extremely well because the childminder gives them many choices throughout the day. The childminder is a superb role model for children and is nurturing and respectful to them. This in turn, helps children to play and learn together harmoniously. Children enjoy a great deal of fresh air as they choose to play outside for long periods of time. They learn about risk and challenge as they try to climb slide. The childminder helps children to understand that climbing the slide is not possible because it is too slippery and also not safe as other children may want to slide. Children learn about how to move in and out of the garden safely as they bend down to negotiate the step and hold on to the door for support. The childminder ensures that children are always safely strapped into chairs at meal times to prevent falls. This helps children to understand that there are measures in place to help keep them safe.

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provision

The childminder has an extensive understanding about child protection and wider safeguarding issues. She is fully aware of the signs and symptoms which might cause her concern about children's welfare and has a robust procedure in place for passing on any such concerns. The childminder supports work placement students and ensures that they are thoroughly vetted before they start work with her. She confirms their suitability to work with children through confirming that they have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in place. The childminder provides work placement students with copies of her policies and procedures to make sure that they are aware of their roles and responsibilities. The childminder undertakes thorough risk assessments to identify and minimise any likely risks for children inside and out of the home. The childminder is highly qualified and experienced and uses her expert knowledge with

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provision

excellent effect. She delivers inspiring teaching to children and shares her first class practice with those who are training to become qualified childcare practitioners. The childminder maintains a programme of professional development to continue to enhance her superb knowledge and guide the work of others. The childminder completes meticulous self-evaluation, drawing upon the feedback she gathers from parents, children and local authority workers. She critically reviews her work, looking for ways to improve the quality of care she provides for children. She rotates toys and uses her previous experience of working with children to adapt and plan challenging and fresh activities for children to explore. The childminder has plans in place to further develop and extend upon the excellent care she provides in order to meet the changing needs of parents and the local community.

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provision

The childminder significantly enhances children's learning and development because her of exceptional assessment and monitoring of children's progress. Plans for learning are highly comprehensive and enable children to make rapid progress. The childminder ensures that parents are actively involved in children's learning and development able to share their knowledge of children's achievements. Therefore, children's learning journals are a highly accurate account of what children can do. Consequently, the childminder is able to quickly identify if children's progress does not meet expectations. The childminder works with her local children's centre and appreciates the benefit of working with other professional to support children should the need arise. The childminder shares information with other providers where children attend. This enables them to complete the progress check for children at age two, using the information the childminder provides. The childminder has

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provision

yet to need to complete the check herself for children, but gathers ample information to do so when needed. The childminder builds excellent relationships with parents and engages them in children's learning from the very beginning. Parents are keen to express their appreciation of the outstanding care she provides for children.

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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 EY453856 Local authority Central Bedfordshire Inspection number 918582 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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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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