Childminder in Dorset

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/06/2014 24/07/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 2 Previous inspection: 3 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 2 The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision 2

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This provision is good

 The childminder focuses extremely well on meeting the needs of the individual children and their families; as a result, children thrive in her care.  The childminder and her assistant foster children's communication and language well through the positive interaction from the childminder and her assistant.  The childminder completes regular assessments of children and uses these successfully to plan activities to support children's learning and development.  Strong partnerships with parents' means that children receive the support they need and contributes to meeting their individual needs.  The childminder has a clear drive for the continuous development of her provision.

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It is not yet outstanding because

 The childminder does not make the most of opportunities to develop children's understanding of writing for a purpose.  Creative activities are often adult-led and do not always enable young children to explore and express themselves freely.

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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 the activities and interaction between the childminder and her assistant with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documents relating to the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage provided by the childminder, including children's progress folders.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and her assistant at appropriate times throughout the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the childminder's self-evaluation systems and comments from parents.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2001. She lives with her three children in the village of Verwood, in Dorset. Childminding takes place on the ground floor of the premises, with toilet facilities easily accessible. Children have access to a specific outside area for outdoor play activities.

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Information about the setting

The childminder works with an assistant and currently has 12 children on roll, and of these, seven are early years children. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The family have a border collie dog, a cat, two guinea pigs and a rabbit. Children have occasional access to the animals under the supervision of the childminder.

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

 increase children's access to mark making resources to provide them with opportunities to experiment with writing, such as during role- play activities

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

 provide opportunities for children to be more independent through creative play activities and experiences.

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who attend

The childminder has a good understanding of children's individual abilities and stages of development. She researches the starting points in their development through liaising closely with parents. This provides her with details of children's likes, preferences and interests, enabling her to support children's learning from the start. The childminder observes children in their play and assesses their progress accurately. Planned activities provide a good level of challenge and help the children make further progress. For example, when the childminder identifies there are gaps in children's mathematical development she organises specific activities to focus on number and counting. Quality of teaching is good.

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who attend

Positive interaction from the childminder and her assistant means children receive good support are supported well to acquire new skills. As a result, the children make good progress in their learning in relation to their starting points. The childminder keeps parents well informed about their children's development through ongoing discussions and sharing the children's development folders. She encourages parents to contribute to the folders to share how they support their children's play and learning at home. This helps parents to feel fully involved in their child's learning.

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who attend

Children enjoy their play in the stimulating environment and are motivated to learn. They enjoy using their senses to explore the playdough and have fun as they use their fingers and the various tools to press and manipulate the dough into shapes. The childminder encourages children to experiment pushing the dough through holes in the shapes and the children wait in anticipation to see what happens. This generates lots of excitement and promotes children's active learning as they push hard and watch the dough slowly appear in long strips. Children smile happily feeling proud of their achievement. The childminder praises their efforts helping to boost the children's confidence and self-esteem.

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who attend

The childminder and her assistant effectively support children's early communication skills. They continually talk to the children to describe what they are doing, skilfully extending what the children are learning. For example, they introduce new words as children play with the dough, such as 'curly, curly' and 'squishy'. This increase children's vocabulary and promotes their language development. As the children decide to roll their dough into a line and make snakes the childminder allows them to follow their interest. She introduces mathematical language, such as 'long' and 'short' pieces raising children's awareness of size. Children are encouraged to count the numbers of snakes they can see and they confidently count that there are four snakes. This helps develop children's understanding of number.

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who attend

Children experiment and explore using their senses through a range of materials and mediums. They show good control and concentration as they use the tools, such as paintbrushes. The planned activity is adult-led with the children given paper with pre- drawn pictures of frogs to paint. Though the children enjoy the painting, the activity reduces opportunities for children to freely express themselves and be creative. Children have some access to writing tools to allow them to explore mark-making activities. However, the childminder does not always support children in fully developing their writing skills. For example, children are not encouraged to write their names on their artwork or offered any writing materials to write shopping lists as they play shops. This means that the childminder misses opportunities to help children understand about writing for a purpose.

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who attend

Children take part in growing and planting activities, such as planting their own sunflower seeds. This helps them learn how to care for flowers and help them grow. They learn about nature and the life-cycle of living things through specific planned activities. For example, children are able to see tadpoles that have come from the childminder's pond and learn about changes that take place as the tadpoles develop. The childminder takes children to the library to get books about tadpoles and frogs to look at with the children. This widens children's learning experiences and teaches them about the world around them.

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

The nurturing environment and childminder's warm and caring manner means that children feel secure and content. Children are happy and settled due to the trusting relationships they have with the childminder and her assistant. They tune into the children's individual needs making sure that each child receives individual attention. This enables them to follow children's particularly routines and they are quick to recognise when children need a cuddle and a little extra reassurance. This fosters children's emotional well-being well. As children begin to become independent in their self-care they receive sensitive support from the childminder to help them learn new skills. Children show their growing confidence as they take decisions for themselves and make independent choices about their play. They access a good range of play equipment and resources generally easily accessible, such as choosing their own book from the low shelf.

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

The childminder is clear of her role to provide children with a safe and secure environment. She continually checks the play space to identify any hazards and takes the necessary action to minimise risks to children. For example, when a crack appeared in a glass window she taped it up and had it checked immediately to make sure it was safe, and ordered a new panel. The childminder discusses the organisation of outings fully with her assistant so they can take account of the children's individual needs. This enables them to make sure that they keep all children safe. The childminder is attentive to helping the children effectively learn how to keep themselves and others safe. For example, she teaches children the importance of sitting properly on their chairs so they do not fall. Children frequently practise fire drills so they know how to respond in an emergency. The childminder sets a good example to children and praises them for cooperating and

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

showing kindness to others. She talks to children to help them learn to share. For example, she explains to children to have one more turn with a particular tool during the playdough activity and then to pass it to the other. Children listen and cooperate well, showing they understand about taking turns.

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

Children develop a good understanding of the need for healthy lifestyles. They enjoy frequent opportunities to be outdoors through use of the childminder's garden and regular outings to local parks. This means they get plenty of fresh air and exercise. Consistent hygiene procedures are in place and children willingly respond to the daily routine of hand washing. This teaches them about keeping clean after using the toilet and before eating. Children enjoy healthy and nutritious snacks of fresh and dried fruit. The childminder gathers information about children's individual dietary needs from parents and the childminder makes sure she accommodates these.

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provision

The childminder is well organised and understands her responsibilities in meeting the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She has taken positive action to address all the recommendations from her last inspection successfully. This includes continually reflecting on what she provides for children and introducing a journal to help her prioritise areas for development. She has a good understanding of her strengths and areas for further development and works closely with her assistant to improve her service. She has recently revamped her observation and assessments systems introducing tracker books to enable her to monitor children's progress more effectively. This includes the completion of the two-year-old progress checks.

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provision

The childminder has a good working relationship with her assistant and has informal discussions to identify any training needs to support her professional development. She monitors the quality of her assistant's practice and this means the children benefit from good quality care and interaction. The childminder links with other early years providers that children attend to share information enabling her to support children's ongoing learning and development. She consults the early years advisor for advice and support on how to best improve the provision for children.

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provision

The childminder has attended safeguarding training and has a secure knowledge of child protection issues. She is well aware of how to respond if she has a concern about a child in her care. The childminder reviews her risk assessments systems for her home to minimise hazards for children so that they can play freely and safely. She has recognised that her first aid qualification will expire later on in the year and has already begun to research courses available. All the required records are in place and stored securely and confidentially. This helps the childminder and her assistant to support children's welfare.

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provision

The childminder works supportively and effectively with parents. She establishes particularly good working relationships with families, enabling their children to settle well. Parents receive comprehensive information about her service, including details of her business arrangements and copies of her policies and procedures. This keeps them well- informed about the childminder's service. Parents are happy with the service the childminder provides. They comment how the childminder has a 'genuine drive to provide the best for children' and that she provides 'excellent communication' to work in partnership. The childminder supports the children to become independent and gain new skills to help them prepare for the next stage in their learning, such as starting pre-school.

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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 160247 Local authority Dorset Inspection number 814243 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 12

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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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