Childminder in Kent

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/10/2014 02/07/2009

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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

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This provision is outstanding

 Children have excellent opportunities to be independent, active learners, because the childminder offers an inspiring learning environment.  Children have developed strong bonds and attachments with their childminder, the assistant and the other children. The childminder has exceptional knowledge about the children's likes and current interests, which means that she meets their individual needs extremely well.  The childminder uses rigorous monitoring techniques to analyse the effectiveness of the practice and identify exact areas for improvement. This enables the childminder to continually deliver high quality care and learning for children.  The quality of teaching is outstanding, which means children progress and develop rapidly from their starting points.

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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 activities and the quality of the childminder and co- childminder's interaction with the children.

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Inspection activities

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

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Inspection activities

 The inspector reviewed the children's assessment records, planning documentation, self-evaluation, and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents through discussion with a parent, childminder and from information from letters.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector checked evidence of suitability and qualification of the childminder and others working or living on the premises.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2003. She lives with her family, which includes two children in Garlinge, Kent. The whole of the childminder's bungalow is used for childminding and there is a fully enclosed well-resourced garden for outside play. There is suitable access to the premises. The childminder works with an assistant. She is registered on the Early Years Register and both the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. The childminder is currently minding 15 children on a part time basis. The childminder walks/drives to local schools to take and collect children. She attends the local parent/toddler group and local childminding groups. The family has a pet cat. The childminder is a member of the Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY).

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

 further enhance the use of baby signing to increase the opportunities for non-verbal children's communication skills.

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who attend

The childminder has excellent understanding of the learning and development requirements of the Early Years Foundation stage to support children's progress. She plans a full range of highly interesting, age appropriate activities that fully engage the children continually in challenging play. This means that child-initiated play is of a high quality and the childminder is fully effective at extending and developing children's learning through play. As a result, children make excellent progress in their learning and development and have exceptional opportunities to be independent, active learners.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is outstanding. All children experience a language rich environment, which builds their communication skills extremely well. The childminder and her assistant skilfully develop high quality two-way conversation, sustaining eye contact and giving the children time to think and respond. The childminder uses meaningful contexts to introduce new words. For example, when reading a book about animals she explained baby dogs were called puppies when the child said 'baby' and pointed to the puppies. She labels objects and actions for the babies to encourage their speech development. However, although childminder uses baby signing at snack and lunch there are further opportunities to use it to increase children's non-verbal communication skills. Both the childminder and assistant are expert at using thought-provoking questions to enable the children to develop ideas, make connections and use their imagination. For

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who attend

example, during a discussion about drawing a fire engine, they talked about which shapes were needed and where the ladder and siren needed to be drawn.

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who attend

The childminder has very good systems in place to work closely with the parents and gather information to establish the children's starting points. She then uses this information to start her assessments and planning process, linking it into the early learning goals to ensure that the children are making the appropriate progress. As a result, the childminder has an accurate assessment of the children's prior knowledge and understanding and children make rapid progress from their starting points. On an on- going basis, the childminder works very closely with her assistant when observing, monitoring and assessing children's progress. They share their observations and work in partnership to link their observations to the areas of learning. Every three months the childminder tracks the children's progress to develop a very clear overview of their development, which she shares with parents. She then identifies clear, precise and sharply

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who attend

focussed next steps across all areas of learning. As a result, children make excellent progress.

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who attend

The childminder plans a flexible range of varied, stimulating and interesting play opportunities throughout the week to create an inspiring learning environment. She organises resources and toys, from a well-resourced shed, both in the playroom and the garden based on the children's current interests. As a result, children extend and develop their learning through play. A very wide range of interesting resources are available for the young children and babies to access in clear labelled boxes, including puzzles, construction blocks, musical instrument and electronic resources. The childminder uses these resources to promote the children's small muscle skills for example she provides babies with small rattles and musical instruments for them to gasp and pass from hand to hand. The childminder adapts the activities to help children to achieve their next stage of learning by providing activities that need sorting, matching and posting. As a result,

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who attend

children make excellent progress in physical development, extend their independent skills and have opportunities to develop their mathematical skills.

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

The children have an outstanding relationship with both the childminder and assistant because highly effective systems are in place to allow the children to develop strong, emotional bonds. The childminder works closely with the parents to develop an individual settling in plan. This involves gathering extensive information about their child's individual needs for example sleep pattern, eating habits, current interests, likes and dislikes. Therefore, due to this highly reflective system when children start with the childminder they settle quickly and start building bond with both her and her assistant.

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

The environment is highly stimulating, very child-centred and welcoming and the childminder is very nurturing. There is an excellent range of resources both indoors and in the garden for the children to use. The childminder puts a great deal of thought into planning the layout of the environment ensuring it is interesting, as low level as possible and accessible by all the individual children. The childminder and assistant have highly effective strategies in place to encourage children's independence. They offer guidance, encouragement and provide excellent support in their play, helping them to learn successfully. This effectively helps the children to make independent choices and decisions about what they are going to play with. Children help to tidy the toys away and confidently lay the table and select their own food at snack. The childminder supports children to spend the majority of their time at activities of their own choosing using these

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

activities to extend their learning. Therefore, the highly effective strategies allow children to become more confident and independent very quickly.

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

The childminder and assistant are outstanding role models and encourage respect and behaviour that is acceptable. There are excellent, consistently used behaviour strategies in place. For example, with the younger children the childminder encourages the children to share and redirects the child's attention to a more interesting toy. The older children have house rules which are made and updated by them. As a result, all children behave very well, understanding the rules in place and needing very little support to share and take turns.

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

Children have daily access to the outdoor area and the childminder develops the children's physical development excellently. They benefit from the fresh air, have opportunities to negotiate a wide range of physical play equipment using their large muscles while climbing, running and balancing in the well-resourced outdoor area. The childminder is very aware of the children's safety and they give the children the skills to manage risk. For example, the assistant explained how to use the toy hammer correctly when a child pretended to fix a petrol pump. As a result, the child used the hammer with limited risk to himself and the assistant.

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

Children benefit from a wide range of experiences that help them to learn about healthy lifestyles. The childminder supports and enriches the children's knowledge of fruit and vegetables by encouraging them to grow their own in a section of the garden. The childminder follows excellent hygiene and safety procedures for example children thoroughly wash their hands before snack and lunch. Children bring their own lunch boxes and select want they would like to eat for snack. The childminder through skilfully discussion encourages the children to develop an awareness of healthy eating and foods that are good for you. She also has robust systems in place to deal with children's allergies. Children and parents are aware of the need for care with the type of food in the lunch boxes and both the childminder and assistant have medical training to administer medication.

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provision

The childminder promotes children's welfare exceptionally well because she has a comprehensive awareness of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. Both the childminder and assistant have very secure knowledge of possible child protection issues and the process to follow should they have any concerns. They have both completed safeguarding training and there is a very clearly written safeguarding policy together with procedures outlining the steps to take if she has concerns about a child's welfare.

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provision

Safety is a high priority and robust procedures are in place. The premises are safe and secure for the children, the childminder completes daily risk assessment, and safety checks to minimise any risks or hazards. She has comprehensive written risk assessments for the various outings the children go on. There are well-documented systems in place, such as accidents and administrating medication, which the childminder reviews on a regular basis. All the required suitability checks, such as Disclosure and Barring Service checks are in place for all the adults living on the premises. As a result, all these effective strategies help to ensure the safety of the children around the home, in the garden and out in the community.

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provision

Since her last inspection, the childminder has developed rigorous monitoring system to analyse the effectiveness of her practice. She uses different audits and regularly reviews the all the children's progress. She then evaluates this against the individual learning areas, looking for the strengths and areas to develop within the practice. For example, as a result of children not making rapid progress in information technology the childminder has reviewed the environment to ensure that children have more opportunities to develop in this area.

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provision

The childminder is now regularly working with an assistant. She has carried out comprehensive checks, a thorough induction and regular supervision meetings. The childminder uses the formal supervision meetings to provide very good opportunities to discuss and support professional skills and identify training needs. On a daily basis, the childminder uses skilful questioning to consider how to improve activities and practice thereby improving his personal knowledge and skills. She uses these informal daily supervision meetings as an excellent occasion to discuss concerns about the children's progress and well-being.

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provision

The childminder has an excellent partnership with parents. She has a fully embedded system in place to seek parent's views through newsletters, parent questionnaires, and formal meetings about child's progress. She also involves the parents in the termly planning by asking for ideas or resources. As a result, the two-way flow of information means parents' views and opinions are included in planning for improvement and meeting the children's needs. Parents speak very highly of the childminder they feel well informed about their children's progress, praised the individualised care and education the children receive and felt it was always friendly and like an extended family.

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provision

To enable further reflection on her practice the childminder is reviewing her parent questionnaires to ensure she gathers more information about the parent's views to involve them in her reflective process. The childminder is constantly challenging and reviewing her performance. She uses various monitoring tools and questionnaires including the on-line Professional Association for Childcare in Early Years to review her practice. As a result, this develops her practice and has a positive impact on the children. The childminder is excellent at exchanging information with other nurseries and schools the children may attend. She has strong links with the local schools and meets and exchange information with new teacher before the child starts at school. Therefore, the teacher is aware of the child's development, personality and skills allowing her to plan for continuity of learning and a smooth transition.

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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. 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

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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.

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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 EY248352 Local authority Kent Inspection number 832990 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 12 Number of children on roll 17

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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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