Childminder in Liverpool

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 09/06/2014 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

 Children thrive in the superbly resourced learning environment. The highly skilled childminder puts utmost priority on providing challenging activities for all children, which address all areas of learning. This results in confident children who are well prepared for the next stage in their learning.  The childminder is constantly updating her skills and she is keen to participate in professional development. This results in the provision of a high quality learning environment in which children flourish.  The childminder has very secure knowledge of how to protect children. This is supported by operational policies, procedures and excellent emergency evacuation drills, which ensure children are always exceptionally well safeguarded.  Parental involvement in children's learning is excellent. There are many opportunities for rich and valuable partnership working, so children's learning is also fully supported

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This provision is outstanding

at home.  The childminder plans frequent outings based around the children's interests that enhance their learning. As a result, children enjoy their time spent with the childminder as their learning experiences are extremely stimulating.  The childminder uses observations and assessments very effectively to ensure all children have their learning needs consistently met. Therefore, all children make excellent progress.

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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 planned activities and the childminder interacting with the children.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector held discussions with the childminder and children throughout the inspection when appropriate.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at the children's assessment records and planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector examined risk assessments, operational policies and procedures and the provider's evidence of self-evaluation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers in the form of letters provided by the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2007 on the Early Years Register and both the voluntary and compulsory parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her two children aged 16 and 12 years, in Liverpool. Children have access to the whole of the ground floor of the childminder's home and an upstairs bathroom. There is a secure garden for outdoor play. There are currently six children on roll, of whom four are in the early years age group. The childminder walks to collect children from school and takes them to places of interest. She regularly attends the library and toddler groups. The childminder receives support from the local authority. 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:

 enhance already superior provision by enabling children to access the resources at home, through creating story sacks or resource packs relevant to current learning needs.

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who attend

Teaching is inspirational. The childminder has an excellent understanding of how children learn and develop. Children's contributions are actively encouraged with a deep respect for all children and their families truly reflected in the first-class practice. The childminder offers highly comprehensive learning opportunities, which consistently address all learning needs by appealing to children's interests. In particular, physical development is encouraged consistently through all activities. For example, at story time, children sing and dance, jump around and use props to encourage the development of their physical skills. Children love to sing and there are many opportunities to develop communication skills through favourite songs and rhymes. This results in children's language developing through fun activities, so they are engaged and make excellent progress. The childminder implements highly successful observations, which parents excitedly feed into. A parent

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who attend

texts the childminder to provide information about her child, who has achieved something at home. The parent values the childminder and wants to share the information immediately. The childminder observes children, constantly assessing their current development level. She then effectively plans for each child's learning needs. The childminder ensures an individualised personal learning experience for each child as she expertly incorporates their interests into the activities and resources on offer.

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who attend

Stimulating activities, provide optimal challenge for children. This ensures that children are exceptionally well prepared for their next stage in learning. Children benefit from the highly skilled childminder who works hard to significantly enhance the extremely well- resourced environment. Children's interest in animals is included by the provision of a farm and figures. They actively contribute to group activities. The childminder bases an activity around a familiar story. She ensures all children are included. Children enthusiastically engage in the activity, as they use masks and resources to act out the familiar tale. The childminder encourages children to use songs and actions in their role play. Children are enthusiastic and motivated. This is a result of the expert practice on display as all contributions are valued by the childminder, who knows the children very well. Children feel secure in the learning environment, as their photographs and work are displayed. This

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who attend

results in children feeling part of this excellent environment.

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who attend

Links with parents are extremely strong, with parental feedback of a consistently high standard. Highly successful strategies are in place to ensure that all parents have many opportunities to contribute to their children's learning. Diaries are sent home regularly and the childminder gives daily feedback. Parents receive a written report each month about their children's progress. In this report, the childminder gives parents information about their children's development in the relevant areas of learning. She includes reference to the activities that the children have enjoyed and links this to their current achievements. This allows parents to gain a deeper insight into their children's learning journey. The childminder provides learning activities for children to complete at home. However, there is scope to further enhance this by providing resource packs or story sacks for children to take home and share with parents. The childminder gives parents clear information about

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who attend

how to support children's learning. Children make exceptional progress as there is a consistent approach to their learning.

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

The emotional well-being of the children is given utmost priority. Relationships are consistently strong, ensuring children form secure emotional attachments. Children exhibit high levels of motivation and are self-assured, though they know the childminder is always on hand to help if needed. Children are very well behaved any issues are dealt with quickly and calmly. The childminder gets down to the children's level and explains why it is important to follow certain rules. Children respond very well, apologise and activities continue with minimal disruption.

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

Children play confidently exploring the excellent range of activities on offer, interacting with the childminder who gets down to their level and supports their learning through play with developmentally appropriate resources and effective questioning. Children play independently acting out scenarios with toys. The childminder skilfully encourages the children to consider how the villain in their play, could change their behaviour and become a good friend. Children engage and enthusiastically discuss their ideas. The childminder offers highly effective support that develops children's thinking skills. The childminder knows the children's needs instinctively and constantly implements interventions to aid progression. When children do not enthusiastically wash their hands, the childminder implements steps to ensure enjoyment from water based activities, such as providing experiences to play in water, pouring and splashing. The childminder encourages and

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

supports the children to ensure the experience is enjoyable. As a result, the children begin to wash their hands independently.

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

Children feel confident and supported at all times and display their close relationship with the childminder, with an abundance of affection. They are encouraged to play and actively explore the learning environment. They know how to explore safely, managing risks in their own play. Resources are readily accessible, labelled clearly and stored at a level to encourage children to choose what they want to play with. Children enjoy snack time, which is well organised and is a highly enjoyable experience, in which they enjoy talking to their friends, while learning about healthy choices with regards to food items. The childminder consistently builds healthy practices into the children's routines, such as brushing teeth and washing hands before eating. Children have an excellent understanding of why such routines are important to maintain good health, as the childminder explains everything clearly and calmly.

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

Children develop an excellent understanding of how to keep themselves safe through procedures, such as routine fire drills. The childminder carefully plans the process of the evacuation drill, so that is meaningful to the children, by incorporating familiar characters. This makes the process fun and meaningful, especially for children who do not like the sound of the fire alarm. The childminder has visual plans of the evacuation route clearly displayed, so everyone is familiar with the plan, which further ensures children's safety.

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provision

The childminder has an excellent knowledge of how to respond to any concerns about a child. She has in place comprehensive policies and procedures, which ensure children are well protected and are kept safe at all times. The childminder has clear documentation and records, which are maintained to a high standard, indicating that safety and welfare consistently underpin her practice. The childminder is committed to constant improvement and considers children's opinions when implementing any changes. She has recently renovated her house and a key consideration was improving the experiences for the children. She installed a downstairs toilet, which is only used by the children. Parents are invited to feed into improvement plans and any feedback they give, is promptly acted on.

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provision

The childminder closely monitors the educational programmes to ensure they are broad and balanced, reflecting both interests and individual learning needs. Children's development is effectively tracked, which results in any gaps in learning being addressed quickly and they continue to make excellent progress. The childminder is committed to her own professional development as she is aware this will benefit the children in her care. She has attended training on learning and development, communication and language and children managing risks in their play. She continually updates her knowledge through reading relevant articles and journals. This commitment to her profession impacts on the children as they benefit from her new understanding and skills that are used to improve experiences. She uses skills from a den making course to create outdoor cosy spaces and a storytelling course has encouraged more exciting stories complemented with props and

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provision

toys. As a result, children's experiences are exceptional as the childminder continually strives to improve. Partnerships with parents are excellent. Every parent has the opportunity to add meaningful contributions to their children's learning journey, through reports that the childminder sends home monthly. In addition, the childminder supports children by working very closely with schools that they are due to attend. She has excellent partnerships with the local children's centre and has successfully worked with professionals to support children's needs. This provides parents with opportunities to engage fully with their children's learning. The childminder is part of an informal childminders' network and works closely with other childminders to provide opportunities for the children she cares for, to participate in a larger group setting. The childminder is dedicated to ensuring the needs of all children in her care are effectively met. She works

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provision

hard to maintain this warm environment in which children experience an excellent start to their educational journey.

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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 EY348261 Local authority Liverpool Inspection number 905277 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 6

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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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