Hunt, Nicola Elizabeth

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 18/08/2014 Not Applicable

p.1

early years provision

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

p.1

This provision is good

 Children benefit from consistent care because the childminder builds strong partnerships with parents.  The childminder plans a range of exciting activities and outings. Teaching is good because she understands the value of play and how children learn. This supports children well in developing their skills and knowledge across all areas of learning.  Children are well protected as the childminder fully understands and effectively meets the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage.  The childminder is fully committed to reflecting on her practice and making improvements. As a result, children experience a good quality learning environment.

p.1

It is not yet outstanding because

 Sensory resources are not always stored in places where they are fully accessible to enable independent choice and support children in extending their exploration and investigation skills.  Children are not able to optimise their learning outdoors because the outdoor area is not fully operational as a highly stimulating environment.

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 observed activities and interaction between the childminder and the children during play.

p.2

Inspection activities

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

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at documents relating to the Early Years Foundation Stage provided by the childminder, including children's assessment records.  The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder.

p.2

Inspection activities

 The inspector discussed self-evaluation, training and verified that suitability checks have been completed.

p.2

Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2011 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children aged seven and two years in a house in the Hazel Grove area of Stockport. The whole of the ground floor, upstairs bathroom and the rear garden are used for childminding. The family has two rabbits as pets. The childminder attends toddler groups and activities at the local children's centre. She visits the shops and park on a regular basis. She collects children from the local schools. There are currently seven children on roll, three of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. She operates all year round from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. She is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years.

p.3

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

 make natural materials more freely available to children by storing these at a lower level, in order to promote children's independent choice and ability to explore and be creative

p.3

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

 enhance the use of the outdoor area in order to create a highly stimulating and well-resourced environment where children can be more challenged.

p.3

who attend

Children play happily in a welcoming and caring environment. The childminder is enthusiastic and demonstrates a good knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements. She uses initial observations and information gathered from parents, to identify children's starting points. This helps her to effectively support children's individual learning and development. The childminder then uses this, along with her regular observations of children, to help her provide challenging and age-appropriate daily activities. The childminder uses an on-line system to monitor the progress of children. Parents are involved well in their child's learning because they can log in at any time and view the activities their children have been participating in. This enables them to continue the learning at home. The childminder mostly provides children with a good range of different resources that cover all areas of learning. However, children are offered

p.3

who attend

some natural resources to play with but they are stored on top of a cupboard and are not freely available to enable children to independently extend their creativity by making their own choices. Therefore, children cannot build upon their prior learning in exploring and testing out their ideas. The childminder organises planned activities in the local community to support children's development further, such as outings to toddler groups where they learn key skills to share and take turns. Children develop their creative skills as they enjoy painting with chunky paints, which are easy for younger children to hold. They make a range of marks, supporting them in developing early writing skills. The childminder encourages children to share and take turns with the resources, which helps them consider the needs of others. She always ensures she has a variety of interesting toys for children to choose from. The

p.3

who attend

activities also include those that she knows the children enjoy. Therefore, children are enthusiastic and motivated and make consistently good progress in all areas of learning by developing the key skills required for their next stage of learning.

p.4

who attend

Children are developing their skills in problem solving and early mathematics as they try to work out which shapes go into which hole. They also work out how to put together pieces on a train track. The childminder encourages children to use their imagination. For example, children take pleasure in pretending to iron clothes and cook dinner. She talks to children about what they are doing using relevant questions such as, 'what are you drawing?' which supports children's communication and language skills. Children visit the park where they have the opportunity to use their large physical skills. The childminder takes the children into the garden, which she has started to develop. However, this is at an early stage and does not provide children with highly stimulating and challenging experiences that maximum their learning in the outdoor environment to the fullest potential.

p.4

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

The childminder has an established settling-in procedure in place, which supports children in settling quickly and smoothly into the setting. As a result, children are confident and self-assured in communicating their needs and show a strong sense of belonging. This is due to the positive relationships they have with the childminder. The childminder gathers a good range of information from parents when children begin at the setting, which enables her to meet their individual needs. The childminder prepares children emotionally for the transition to school as she supports them in gaining key skills that will aide their future learning and talks to them about the process and what will happen.

p.4

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

The childminder supports children to understand how to keep themselves safe. For example, when children sit on the edge of a box, the childminder asks them to stand up in case they fall in. Children listen well to the childminder and recognise the potential danger when this is explained to them. They follow the childminder's request, which keeps them safe and develops their understanding of how to assess and manage risks. The childminder supports children to be independent and take care of the environment. For example, children help to tidy away the toys when they have finished using them. The childminder offers the children praise, which supports them to behave well and builds their self-esteem. Toys and resources are mostly available at children's height so they can choose what they want to play with independently. The childminder helps children learn how to adopt a healthy lifestyle. She promotes good

p.4

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

hygiene and uses age and stage appropriate methods that enable children to independently take care of their self-care needs. For example, she puts a bowl of water on the floor so children can easily reach it. They wash their hands before eating and dry their hands on individual hand towels, which minimises the risk of cross infection. The childminder operates a healthy eating policy and ensures parents are aware of this because they provide children's main meals. The childminder supplements main meals by providing children with healthy snacks, which ensure they are well nourished and are learning how to make healthy choices. Children have water freely available throughout the day, which ensures they have plenty to drink and do not become thirsty. Children have plenty of exercise and fresh air because they regularly visit the park and walk to school.

p.5

provision

The childminder has a good understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements and the correct procedures to follow should she have concerns about a child's welfare. She has recently attended safeguarding training, which has enhanced her knowledge even further. This contributes to ensuring children are well safeguarded. Risk assessments are documented to help the childminder monitor potential risks. She completes regular safety checks of her premises, resources and of any outings to ensure the continued safety of children. She implements effective safety measures to reduce identified risks and to protect children from harm. For example, safety gates prevent young children having free access to the stairs and the kitchen and the premises are secure both inside and outside.

p.5

provision

The childminder is constantly self-evaluating her provision and is continually making changes according to the ages and stages of development of children who attend. For example, the childminder recognised the fishpond in the garden posed a risk so she covered it in order to protect children. She holds an appropriate early years qualification at level 3, which gives her good underpinning knowledge of child development. The childminder has attended recent training, which has improved her knowledge in recognising signs of learning and developmental delay, which may indicate a need for children to be provided with additional support. The childminder prints reports off the on- line system she uses, which enables her to see at a glance the progress children are making and to consistently track this. She uses this data to focus children's activities on the areas where children have made least progress.

p.5

provision

The childminder works well in partnership with parents. She gathers their viewpoints using questionnaires and uses any suggestions to influence future decisions for prioritising improvements. Parents demonstrate they are happy with the service the childminder provides. The childminder has also built effective relationships with other providers of the Early Years Foundation Stage. For example, when children were learning about the weather at school the childminder extended this by taking children for a walk in the park and talking about the leaves on the trees. This helps to support and extend the learning that takes place at school by providing children with consistency. The childminder is aware of the need to do likewise if children also attend nurseries or pre-schools. She knows that there may be occasions when she is required to work in partnership with specialised professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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 EY421554 Local authority Stockport Inspection number 797467 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

p.8

Name of provider

Date of previous inspection not applicable

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