Childminder in Lancashire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 07/05/2014 06/01/2011

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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 quality of teaching is outstanding. The childminder places a high emphasis on helping children make excellent progress, in particular through an extensive range of developmentally appropriate resources. As a result, children make rapid improvement in their learning from their initial starting points.  The childminder is a very kind, caring and considerate person, who effectively supports children to form close and secure attachments with her and her family. This provides a strong foundation for children to develop emotionally.  The childminder has effective strategies for working in partnership with parents, including excellent processes for sharing information about children's development and learning. This helps parents to feel involved in their children's learning.  The childminder is committed to excellence and maintaining her outstanding practice. She regularly monitors and evaluates her practice using strategies which enable her to

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This provision is outstanding

continually monitor and evaluate her everyday working practice, taking into account the views of the parents and children.  The childminder has a full and thorough understanding of her responsibility in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Therefore, children's safety and welfare is effectively promoted.

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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 children's interactions with the childminder during daily routines and play activities both inside and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and interacted with children, at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of documents, including the self-evaluation, risk assessments, the safeguarding policy and checked evidence of qualifications and suitability of all adults.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder, her husband and interacted with children, at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents from written comments recently obtained by the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in July 2001 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The whole of the childminder's home is used for childminding apart from the main bedroom. There is a rear garden to support outdoor play. She lives with her husband and their two adult children in Euxton an area of Chorley. The childminder takes children on outings and to groups on a regular basis. There are currently four children on roll, all 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 5.30pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder supports children for whom English is an additional language. She has a NVQ Level 3 and is a member of 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 upon the already excellent partnerships with parents and others to enhance even further the continuity of care and learning for children.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is outstanding. The childminder is fully committed to her role and places a high emphasis on fulfilling the individual needs of all children to ensure they make excellent progress while in her care. She understands fully how to provide a secure foundation through learning and development opportunities which are planned around the needs and interests of each individual child. Initial discussions and ongoing dialogue with parents help her to identify children's initial starting points. In addition, this exchange of information alongside an extensive range of children's observations is expertly analysed to identify their skills, interests and current level of development. Therefore she has a secure knowledge of how individual children learn and develop. She uses her knowledge of the children exceptionally well to inform planning, closely following their interests and characteristics to stimulate and engage them. As a result, each child is offered an

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who attend

enjoyable and challenging experience, tailored specifically to their needs, interests and capabilities. Children's ongoing progress and development is regularly tracked, enabling the childminder to accurately monitor the progress the children make. She dedicates a vast amount of time to completing a range of supporting documentation within development files for each child. These include lots of photographs and long observations detailing children's individual interests and abilities and highly detailed daily diaries that record what each child has enjoyed. In addition, they also include observations of children's progress and links to the planned activities which is being carried out. This provides a unique account of children's learning and development and demonstrates the excellent progress children make in their learning. Furthermore, this wealth of documentation provides wonderful opportunities for parents to support and continue

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who attend

learning at home. For example, written feedback from parent's questionnaires state that 'reading her book allowed me to discuss with my child what she had been doing'. The childminder works closely with parents and uses the exchange of information she receives from parents to support their development while in her care. As a result, she recognises the importance of working in close partnership with parents which together with high quality learning provides the foundations children need to make the most of their abilities and skills as they grow and develop.

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who attend

The childminder uses her knowledge of what children already know, alongside her knowledge of how children learn in order to provide a resource rich environment, which stimulates their natural curiosity and drive to explore their immediate surroundings. For example, she organises the environment to reflect children's current interest in books by creating a cosy book area with an extensive range of books and props which help bring stories to life. As a result, children independently access this area and settle down onto soft cushions and tell stories to one another. There is a constant flow of communication and interaction as the childminder uses a wide range of questions to encourage children to think, recall and express their thoughts and ideas. Her creative approach in supporting children to learn means, that she has created an excellent range of resource collections which are used when they show an interest in specific resources. For example, she follows

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who attend

children's interest in singing by sharing the rhyme collection basket with them. All children enjoy picking their favourite toy and the childminder uses effective teaching strategies to support their increasing range of communication skills. She extends children's interest in books further as she uses familiar stories to create wonderful interactive displays which children revisit and talk about with support and positive interaction from the childminder. For example, children use various mark making materials to create this display and sensory props empower children to talk about the story. In addition, she uses meaningful resources to help children understand the context of stories. For example, she has created a butterfly garden outdoors and created a display on the life cycle of a butterfly to help children understand a familiar story. Her extensive range of books and use of environmental print across the play area also supports children who have English as an

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who attend

additional language. As a result, all children are making excellent progress in acquiring speech and language skills and are well prepared in readiness for school.

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who attend

Every area of the childminder's home is used as an opportunity for learning and fun. The wealth of accessible resources means that children are confident to initiate their own play experiences. In addition, she plans appropriate adult-led activities which empower children in their learning. They experience an abundance of play experiences which ensure they make excellent progress across the areas of learning. For example, the childminder carries out an adult-led activity using rice with a range of resources, such as, funnels, spoons, numbers and shapes which helps children to learn and develop through play. The childminder encourages children to consider the different aspects of mathematics through number recognition, counting and early calculations. They develop excellent hand to eye coordination as they carefully scoop up the sand and pour them into the spinning wheels. Children have a wealth of experiences to enhance their understanding of the world around

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who attend

them, such as growing an extensive range of plants from seeds and participating in numerous festivals planned by the childminder. Children develop their imagination and creative skills as they create cards to celebrate a current festival. They are encouraged to write recognisable marks and explore mark making through an appropriate selection of materials, such as, creating marks in sand and paint. There are a number of resources, activities and play experiences provided to help promote children's awareness of and understanding of cultures and diversity. It is a very inclusive environment where everyone is made feel welcome. As a result, the childminder actively promotes and raises children's knowledge and understanding of different festivals and cultures from around the world. The childminder's knowledge and understanding in how children learn means that they access resources and play experiences which stimulate their learning and development

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who attend

fully across the seven areas of learning and development. Her creative approach to planning means that children are given numerous opportunities to participate in exceptional experiences which extend the range of resources offered. For example, when carrying out themes, such as 'Africa' the childminder enhances the main spaces used by children by making adaptations to the room with the addition of numerous resources which cover all areas of learning and development. In addition, she uses her creative approach in providing rich, varied and imaginative experiences which enthral children's innate curiosity and interest as they are eager to explore resources. For example, younger children enjoy the range of sensory resources where they show high levels of involvement as they spend time experimenting with various textures and sounds.

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

The childminder is highly skilled in supporting children to learn and develop within a warm and developmentally stimulating playful and resourceful environment. She is a very kind, caring and considerate person, who effectively supports children to form close and secure attachments with her and her family. This provides a strong foundation for children to develop a high level of emotional well-being. The childminder recognises the importance of working in close partnership with parents and listens carefully to their contributions, to ensure their wishes are followed and children's individual needs are effectively met at all times. The emotional security for children is exemplary. They respond to the childminder and her family by showing affection through facial expressions, positive gestures and physical interactions. For example, the youngest children show great excitement and raise their arms in anticipation to be lifted up by the childminder's husband. The childminder

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

support children's well-being extremely well by offering constant recognition, praise and encouragement to help them to reach their full potential. Their personal and emotional development is embraced because she gives them her full attention and actively participates and interacts with them during the routines of the day. For example, she provides warm and responsive interactions during personal hygiene routines and carries out simple gestures as children arrive or waken from their sleep, such as high five which effectively embrace the unique characteristics of some children in her care.

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

Children enjoy their time accessing the extensive range of resources accessible both indoors and in the, creatively organised, outdoor area. Children move with confidence and enthusiasm around the highly stimulating play environment set out by the childminder across both the indoor and outdoor play spaces. They demonstrate this extremely well as they negotiate and manoeuvre their bodies to climb up the slide and use wheeled resources around the garden. They show high levels of excitement and engagement in their choice of play experience when outdoors. They are developing an awareness and understanding in how to keep themselves safe, because the childminder provides challenging yet safe experiences for children. She empowers children to develop an excellent range of physical skills, such as climbing up the steps to the slide, but is always on-hand to supervise, support and encourage children to develop positive attitudes

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

towards learning and managing their own level of risk. She acts as a positive role model and explains the reasoning to why they take turns or carry out personal care routines in a developmentally appropriate manner which helps children to develop a deeper level of understanding when developing personal, social and emotional skills.

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

Children are developing high levels of self-confidence and self-esteem as they are supported to become independent learners who are actively encouraged to carry out tasks for themselves. For example, the childminder encourages the younger children to attempt to zip up their own coats and older children can access the bathroom independently. Children behave extremely well because the childminder acts as a positive role model. She uses an excellent range of both verbal and non-verbal interactions as she provides genuine praise and encouragement during children's participation in their play. Children learn from an early age about robust hygiene practices. For example, they know that they wash their hands to keep them free from germs. Effective practice is embraced while children are outdoors. For example, the childminder sets out washing facilities and ensures children's water tumblers are accessible which helps promote their good health while

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

outdoors. All areas of the family home are clean and well maintained. Children enjoy having their snack and meals together. The childminder provides children with an extensive range of fruit which enables them to try different foods and she uses excellent communication skills to help raise their awareness and understanding of varying textures and characteristics of food. Children are learning about a number of aspects of the living world because the childminder provides a wealth of experiences where they learn about the natural world and their immediate surroundings. For example, they participate in planting seeds and following the patterns of growth. They enjoy smelling the range of herbs outdoors and use the fruits grown to create an array of food, such as, jam, cakes and salads. As a result, children are actively involved in first-hand experiences where they explore and experiment with different textures and materials as they learn and develop.

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provision

The childminder has an excellent level of knowledge and understanding of the Statutory framework for the Early Years Foundation Stage. Therefore, she is more than competent to support children's learning and to implement the safeguarding and welfare requirements. As a result, all the requirements are maintained to the highest level. Children's safety and welfare is paramount. The childminder demonstrates an excellent understanding of her role and responsibility to effectively safeguard the children in her care and relevant documentation to enable her to fulfil this role is easily accessible. Comprehensive risk assessments are undertaken in the home and garden and for all outings. These are reviewed annually and more frequently as required to ensure children are kept safe and secure at all times. Organised fire evacuation procedures, carried out at regular periods throughout the year empowers children to participate in this safety

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provision

routine. In addition, fire evacuation procedures are clearly explained to any visitors who call at the childminding provision. Comprehensive policies and procedures are in place and these are rigorously reviewed as necessary following any updates to legislation or local procedures. The childminder has an excellent understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She uses ongoing observations to monitor the planning to ensure that educational programmes continually provide an extensive range of stimulating, challenging and dynamic activities and play experiences for all children. By monitoring the effectiveness of her planning, this means that play experiences evolve which naturally take children on to the next stage in their learning. As a result, children are constantly stimulated and eager to access the wide range of accessible resources and play experiences provided by the childminder. By doing

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provision

so, children are extremely enthusiastic and are motivated to learn, as they display high levels of involvement and positive attitudes towards their learning through enjoyable and stimulating play experiences tailored to meet their unique needs.

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provision

The childminder has effective strategies for working in partnership with parents, including excellent processes for sharing information about children's development and learning, this helps parents to feel involved in their children's learning. The settling-in process provides the childminder with opportunities to gather relevant and detailed information about children's individual care and learning needs. She shares pertinent information about each child and keeps parents fully informed about their child's daily experiences. These include extensive information about children's individual involvement in play experiences, their current interests, skills and level of abilities, including meticulous information on their daily care routine. She shares information regarding children's assessments and progress files. A wealth of information is available for parents to view in the entrance hallway, including certificates, procedures, multi-cultural posters and

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provision

photographs. Written comments from parents are extremely complimentary about the childminder. Recorded comments state that the childminder is 'consistently calm and loving', she is 'extremely dedicated in delivering a very high service' and she is 'a positive role-model'. The childminder fully understands the importance in working in close partnership with parents and other early years settings that children attend. She shares information regarding children's assessments and progress and uses information she receives to help her support the emotional well-being of individual children. There is scope to develop these partnerships further to enhance the continuity of learning for children.

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provision

The childminder is committed to excellence and maintaining her outstanding practice. She regularly monitors and evaluates her practice using strategies, which enable her to continually reflect on the service she provides. For example, she closely observes children's interests and different levels of ability to ensure she provides a supportive and responsive environment which meet their individual needs. Numerous files of evidence reflect the extensive range of planned activities and play experiences provided. This helps to ensure that children make excellent progress in their learning. Ongoing evaluation of the range of resources means that she continually reflects on what is available for children to play with. In addition, she uses research books which inspire her own creation of additional resources to enhance the existing range of play experiences available. Her commitment in reviewing practice is demonstrated further through the collection of notes

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provision

recording new ideas and areas to develop. This helps to inform the ongoing reflection and evaluation of her practice. Furthermore, she has recently reviewed her parental questionnaires to ensure that her self-evaluation process takes into account the views of parents. Her dedication in improving her knowledge and skills is demonstrated very well through her attendance on various training courses. As a result, she is constantly improving her knowledge and transferring this into developing her practice and therefore raising outcomes for children. She actively seeks support as necessary from local authority advisors and reflects upon the information received in order to help her update procedures and continue to develop her 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 503679 Local authority Lancashire Inspection number 847976 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 4

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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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