Adams, Dawn

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 20/03/2014 29/01/2009

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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

 Teaching is outstanding because the childminder makes excellent use of accurate assessments of children's progress to plan activities that enable each child to achieve exceptionally well, given their starting points and capabilities.  The childminder works very closely with her assistant and together they complement the activities and planning for each child because they are able to spend time with individual children as they need it.  The childminder has an exceptionally well-organised provision. She has all the required policies and procedures in place and strong systems to ensure the ongoing suitability of anyone who works with her.  Children's safety is given utmost priority. There are thorough risk assessments and planned activities that involve children in learning about how to manage their own safety during the daily routine.  The childminder and her assistant have a robust knowledge of the importance of

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This provision is outstanding

safeguarding children. The childminder is experienced in managing safeguarding issues and has attended further training.  Children make friends with others who are different ages and from different communities. They celebrate their cultural differences and play happily together.  The childminder is highly skilled in engaging parents in partnership relating to their children's care, learning and development. She seeks detailed ongoing information from parents to ensure that she can meet their children's needs to a high standard.

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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 living room and dining area.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her assistant at convenient times throughout the inspection.  The inspector spoke with the children at times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's assessment records and discussed the planning with the childminder.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability of the childminder and the assistant and took account of the childminder's self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers who were spoken to on the day of inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her three children aged 12, nine and eight years in a house in Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire. The whole of the ground floor of the house and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has a dog, three guinea pigs and fish as pets. The childminder attends a toddler group and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops, the library and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools and pre-schools. She works with one assistant on a regular basis.

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Information about the setting

There are currently 18 children on roll, six of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

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

 extend even further the already strong partnership working with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage who are involved with the children, to enhance the information that is shared about their unique needs.

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who attend

Children attending this vibrant and lively setting are provided with an exciting range of activities that cover the seven areas of learning. These activities are planned by the childminder to take account of their individual interests, any specific needs and their unique learning styles. The childminder teaches the children through her very positive and exuberant involvement in their activities. For example, young children are learning about colours and the natural world because the childminder links these areas of learning together through discussion with the children. She talks to them about the pictures in books they choose to look at and comments that the red apples are on the green tree and that the brick is blue, like the sky. The children benefit from the childminder's willingness to get fully involved in their play. She provides young toddlers with a narrative about what they are doing and makes jokes with them. This develops children's growing self-

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who attend

confidence. The warmness of her interactions promotes their sense of belonging in her home. Children thoroughly enjoy working together with the childminder to experiment how things react when they are mixed together. The childminder does thorough research to plan these experiments and supervises the children to ensure their safety. For example, children mix ingredients together and watch with wonder as masses of foam oozes from a plastic bottle. This activity prompts lots of lively conversation from the children about what is going on.

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who attend

Children are making rapid progress in their learning, which means that they are very well prepared for when they move on to school. The childminder supports children to work together and to share. She enables each child to be themselves through supporting them to be confident about themselves and their own abilities and preferences. The children are all enthusiastic to take part in all the activities that are available to them and to try new experiences. They listen to stories and the older children are developing their awareness of numbers through a wide range of counting activities throughout the day. The childminder uses every opportunity that arises to teach the children. For example, they regularly go for walks in the local park. The childminder provides them with clipboards and pictures of insects. When they find the insects they record a tally of which they see. Therefore, children are learning about different ways of recording numbers and counting

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who attend

as well as their awareness of the world around them. The confident and skilled involvement from the childminder, alongside the able support from her assistant, significantly contributes to children's curiosity and learning.

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who attend

Children's parents are strongly encouraged to be fully involved in their child's learning from when their child starts attending. The childminder seeks detailed information about their progress and interests at home and uses this, along with the initial observations she makes, to identify their unique starting points. She makes daily observations and engages parents through sending them photographs of their children during activities and uses any feedback from the child and their parents to inform the planning for further activities. Children's progress in learning is clearly evident from the records the childminder makes on the electronic system, she uses these to make observations and assessments of their learning. Children receive a very consistent approach because the childminder shares relevant information about children's progress, planning and interests with other providers who are delivering the Early Years Foundation Stage to them. However, there is scope to

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who attend

extend this partnership working even further to enhance the excellent sharing of details about each child's unique needs.

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

Children clearly demonstrate that they feel very safe and confident in the childminder's home. They develop an extremely close bond with her and the assistant and show this because they approach them for comfort and reassurance as they need it, they are confident to choose their own play materials and they are fully consulted about all aspects of the provision that affect them. For example, children are involved in the menu planning, the planning of their own activities and in the selection of new toys and resources for the setting. This full involvement promotes children to feel a great sense of belonging and value.

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

The childminder works very closely with children's parents when they start attending. She encourages parents to visit with their child and she finds out detailed information about their routines and individual care needs. She recognises the importance of this and impresses on their parents the value of their information from home, which enables her to meet the children's specific and individual needs extremely well. The close partnership continues throughout the child's time in the childminder's care. Her enthusiastic and tenacious involvement with them means that any required changes to the child's care are identified and decided upon together. Children behave very well. They fully understand the expectations for behaviour and they listen to the childminder when she gives gentle reminders, to which they respond very positively. The children demonstrate that they are making friends. They look out for each other and show care and concern. The childminder

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

provides lots of very positive feedback and facial expressions to the children to celebrate their efforts and achievements. This results in children's self-esteem and confidence being rapidly raised.

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

Children are provided with a wealth of activities to develop their understanding of healthy lifestyles and how to keep themselves safe. For example, they walk to and from school. The childminder organises exciting outings for them and they visit local parks where there is space to run around, to use large equipment and to explore. They are provided with a lovely range of meals and snacks that are freshly prepared by the childminder. She has detailed discussions with parents about any specific dietary needs and allergies and she accommodates a variety of different requirements very effectively. Children help to set the table for meal times and sit together as a large, happy family group. Meal times are social occasions where all the children chat together about what they have done during the day. Children learn about managing their own personal hygiene through positive discussion with the childminder and the assistant who support them to wash their hands and to use

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

their individual hand towels, which helps to reduce the risk of cross infection. Children enjoy being involved in activities where they learn about safety. The childminder talks to them about emergency evacuation and fire safety and they learn about how to get out in case of an emergency.

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provision

The childminder has a very good understanding of how to keep children safe because she follows the requirements for checking the ongoing suitability of assistants who work with her, through involving them in induction procedures and regular, ongoing involvement in the planning and care needs of each child, to ensure they know what is required of their role. The childminder is experienced in managing safeguarding issues and she demonstrates a full understanding of the importance of following the Local Safeguarding Children Board procedures in the event of child protection concerns. The adults working with the children have the required clearances in place. Thorough risk assessments of all aspects of the premises, the family pets and the outings the children are involved in contribute to a safe environment for the children.

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provision

The childminder and her assistant work exceedingly well together, which results in children receiving a high quality experience in the childminder's home. The childminder holds a level 3 qualification and she has attended a number of training courses, which has had a very positive impact on the quality of the learning environment and the individual knowledge of and planning for each child on roll. She takes the lead in all aspects of the care and teaching of the children while being ably supported by her assistant, who is also committed to providing high quality care for the children. The childminder carries out very effective monitoring of the educational programmes for the children and ensures that the progress they make is clearly evident through observation and assessment. This monitoring enables the childminder to make precise assessments for each child and the childminder then finely tunes her plans according to their individual needs and learning

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provision

The childminder has developed highly effective partnerships with the children's parents and with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage who are involved with them. Parents' input from home is fully valued and this results in children receiving a very consistent approach and a smooth move between home and their carers. Parents report highly positive and complementary comments about their child's care and learning and about how well the childminder meets their needs. The older children also report the things they like about being at the childminder's and comment that she is 'awesome'. The childminder is absolutely committed and passionate about the children in her care and to continue to develop her childminding service. She has made significant changes since the last inspection and has grown in her confidence and knowledge. This results in all children attending receiving an exciting experience that is tailored to their unique interests and

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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 EY355767 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 956173 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 18

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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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