Childminder in North Yorkshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 04/08/2014 11/08/2009

p.1

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

p.1

This provision is outstanding

 Children thrive and make rapid progress with their learning and development because they are supported extremely well by a highly skilled and knowledgeable childminder.  The childminder has highly effective systems for working in partnership with parents and others involved in the care and development of the children.  The childminder is committed to excellence and maintaining her outstanding practice. Meticulous systems of self-evaluation ensure continuous improvement across all areas.  The childminder is extremely organised and maintains all paperwork and documentation to a very high standard.  The childminder has a full and thorough understanding of her responsibility of meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She has a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of child protection and the procedures to follow, should she have any concerns.

p.1

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

p.2

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.

p.2

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.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector made observations in all rooms, during outside play and at snack and lunch time.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke with the childminder and the co-minder and interacted with the children at appropriate times during the inspection.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at a selection of policies, children's records, assessment files and adult suitability checks.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector viewed the self-evaluation documents and took account of the comments from parents.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1986 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband in Ingleton village, North Yorkshire and works with another registered childminder. The children have access to the first floor, comprising of an open-plan lounge with dining area and kitchen, a bathroom and a playroom. There is an enclosed garden for outdoor play. The childminder takes and collects children from the local schools and other early years settings. There are currently 40 children on roll, 14 of whom are in the early years age range and they attend for a variety of sessions. The childminding provision operates all year round from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years and is accredited to receive funding to provide early years education for three- and four-

p.3

Information about the setting

year-old children. The childminder holds a foundation degree in Early Years, Education and Care.

p.3

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

 extend the already excellent partnerships with parents to include gathering even more information when children first start, to add to the accuracy with which children's prior skills are assessed.

p.3

who attend

The childminder is highly committed to her role and has an excellent understanding of how to promote children's learning and development through high quality, exciting and stimulating play experiences. She works extremely closely with her co-minder to provide inspirational provision, with exceptional delivery of the educational programme. The shared knowledge of the children is used effectively to inform planning, closely following children's interests to stimulate and engage them. Children's progress is regularly tracked, enabling the childminder to accurately monitor the rapid progress the children make. Well- presented and detailed development files provide a wonderful journey of each child's progress. High priority is placed on keeping parents informed of their children's progress. For example, each progress report is sent to parents for their comments and the excellent information sharing enables parents to know about their children's progress. This ongoing

p.3

who attend

relationship promotes high continuity of learning for the children. There are opportunities for parents to be even more involved in their children's learning, for example, through providing even more information when children first start, to increase the accuracy of the assessment of children's. The childminder uses highly effective teaching techniques to guide, support and encourage the children to be active and independent learners. There is a constant flow of communication, as the childminder uses a wide range of questions to encourage children to think, recall and express their ideas and thoughts. She is skilful in interacting sensitively with the children, inspiring their own ideas without taking over. For example, during play with the role play kitchen, children have great fun making food for the childminder. They pretend to cook and prepare the food and talk about what they have made. The childminder asks if they could take her order and asks what they might need. The children

p.3

who attend

quickly find a clipboard and pencil and begin to make marks on the paper, pretending to take the childminder's order. She congratulates them for their excellent letter-formation, pointing out some of the letters they have written are in their names. This excellent support from the childminder encourages children to explore their ideas further and use their other skills during their play. Children thoroughly enjoy listening to stories read by the childminder. She allows the children to choose a book and keeps them engaged through highly effective questioning. As a result, children learn to think about the storyline and what might happen.

p.4

who attend

Much care and attention is taken to provide children with a stimulating, inspiring and imaginative play environment. The childminder uses each area of her home exceptionally well to support the children in their play. For example, the balcony area overlooking the vast scenery is stocked with binoculars, magnifying glasses, and books about insects and birds. Children have a wonderful time using the binoculars and sharing what they can see with their peers. Children demonstrate their curiosity for how things work as they say, 'I wonder what will happen if I hold these binoculars the other way around?' Children are motivated, inspired and demonstrate they are extremely keen learners. As a result, they are excellently equipped with the skills, attitudes and dispositions they need, ready for school or the next stage of their learning.

p.4

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

Children are extremely happy and content in the care of this warm and nurturing childminder. She is highly skilled and sensitive to children's needs and the importance of them forming secure emotional attachments. For example, the childminder encourages parents to share what they know about their children, the routines in place and other important information. This helps the childminder to provide close continuity of care for children, further supporting their emotional well-being. Babies and young children are offered lots of cuddles and enjoy looking at books, whilst sitting close to the childminder. The childminder supports children in making decisions in their play and deploys resources very effectively to encourage children's independence and desire to explore. Children develop wonderful friendships and show care and consideration from a young age. Older children are heard using wonderful manners and sharing resources with one another.

p.4

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

Younger children are seen giving one another cuddles and offering kisses. As a result of the secure relationships in place with the childminder and their peers, children are highly confident, self-motivated and emotionally excellently prepared for the next stages of their learning.

p.4

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

The childminder promotes children leading healthy lifestyles very well. They learn through high quality activities and discussions about healthy eating. For example, children thoroughly enjoy a board game together that involves matching pictures of food. The childminder asks the children if they think each item is healthy and why. They go on to talk about where the foods grow and if they have tasted the different fruits and vegetables. Children enjoy plenty of fresh air, as they have daily opportunities to play in the garden area. They enjoy playing on the grassed area with a range of garden play equipment, including a see saw, climbing frame and skittles. Regular trips to the park and other activity venues provide opportunities for larger physical play and for children to use a greater range of movements. The childminder effectively supports children's growing understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, during walks out, children

p.4

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

learn about road safety and talk about why they must wear high visibility jackets to ensure they can be seen.

p.5

provision

The childminder has an excellent understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She works very effectively with her co-minder to monitor the delivery of the educational programme to ensure children make the best possible progress. Precise assessments of children's development mean any gaps in learning are promptly identified and acted upon. The childminder gives children's safety the greatest consideration. She has a firm understanding of her responsibilities in meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. The childminder's home is safe and secure and subject to highly detailed risk assessment. Furthermore, the childminder gives great priority to children's safety outside of her home. For example, thorough risk assessments of all outings the children are taken on are also carried out. This helps to

p.5

provision

ensure children's safety and security at all times. The childminder is well informed of her role in dealing with any concerns she may have about a child in her care. She has a comprehensive safeguarding policy in place that includes a vast amount of information regarding safeguarding and child protection. She uses her excellent knowledge to ensure children are safe both inside and out of her home. The childminder is extremely well organised and all paperwork is maintained to a very high standard.

p.5

provision

Self-evaluation is a particular strength. The childminder works closely with her co-minder to complete consistent and sharply focussed evaluations across the whole childminding provision. This enables the childminder and her co-minder to draw out their strengths and address their areas for development. The childminder demonstrates a strong drive to improve. She maintains her continuous professional development through regular training, which she entirely embraces and imbeds within her setting. This impacts greatly on the quality of provision for the children and their families. For example, following recent training the childminder has implemented a very successful link with parents via a letter sent to the children. The letters include an observation of the child at play with reference to prior skills, new achievements and specific examples of activities that can be continued at home. This affords parents a wonderful insight into their children's development, as

p.5

provision

well as wonderfully supporting parents to continue learning at home. Partnerships with parents are very well established. A wealth of information is available for parents to view in the entrance hallway, including certificates, menus, policies and photographs. There is an excellent two-way flow of communication, as information about the children's care and learning is shared very regularly. The views of parents are gathered via questionnaires and feedback from children's development files. Parents speak highly of the childminding provision, commenting on the excellent progress their children are making and the quality of the progress records. The childminder works in close partnerships with other early years settings also. She shares information regarding children's assessments and progress files and uses information she receives to help her assess and track children's progress.

p.5

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

p.6

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. We re-inspect nurseries and pre-schools judged as requires improvement within 12 months of the date of 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

p.7

Grade Judgement Description

is not meeting the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. It will be monitored and inspected again within six months of the date of this inspection. Met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider continues to meet the requirements for registration. Not met There were no children present at the time of the inspection. The inspection judgement is that the provider does not meet the requirements for registration.

p.7

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.

p.8

Setting details

Unique reference number 400661 Local authority North Yorkshire Inspection number 868898 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 40

p.8

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.

p.8

Type of provision

For the purposes of this inspection the following definitions apply:

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.8

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.

p.9

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,

p.9

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’.

p.10

Type of provision

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.10