Atkinson, Karan

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 29/10/2014 20/10/2011

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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

 The childminder has outstanding teaching skills and an excellent knowledge of how children learn. She uses her secure knowledge of planning and assessment systems to provide an excellent range of activities for children based on their individual learning needs and interests.  Children are very happy and enjoy their time at this very welcoming setting, where they play a full and active role in their learning. The childminder is exceptionally skilled at engaging children in conversations, developing their communication skills.  The childminder works exceptionally well with parents from the outset. This ensures children's individual needs are very closely monitored. Children form strong attachments with the childminder who establishes very warm and affectionate bonds with them. This results in children feeling very settled and content while in her care.  The childminder has a very good understanding of how to promote the health and

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This provision is outstanding

safety of children in her care. She has an excellent knowledge of child protection procedures and how to keep children safe. The childminder conducts regular risk assessments to ensure risks to children are minimised in all areas of the premises, and during outings.  There are highly successful systems in place to evaluate and monitor all aspects of the provision to inform continuous improvement. The childminder shows a very strong commitment to improving outcomes for children. She continually strives to strengthen the already excellent play and learning opportunities and the environment.

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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 had a tour of the premises during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the childminder and children at appropriate times during the inspection.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed a range of indoor and outdoor learning activities and children having their snack and lunchtime meal.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector talked to the childminder about her plans for improvement and looked at her self-evaluation form.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector sampled a range of documentation, including evidence of the suitability of adults living on the premises, children's development records, risk assessments and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took into account the views of parents and carers who provided their own written feedback for the inspection.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 1999 on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her partner and two adult children in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire. The whole ground floor of the premises are used for childminding with the exception of the dining room. First floor rooms are not used. There is an enclosed garden available for outdoor play. The family has a pet dog. The childminder visits local stay and play groups and parks on a regular basis. She is able to collect children from local schools and nurseries. There are 10 children on roll, seven of whom are in the early years age group. Children attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder provides funded early education for two-, three- and four-year-olds. The childminder operates all year round, except for bank holidays and family holidays, from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday. She holds a recognised childcare qualification at level 3

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Information about the setting

and 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 the already excellent outdoor learning environment by extending the resources for children to further use their senses and exploration skills.

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who attend

Children are very happy and comfortable in this welcoming and friendly home environment, where they explore a wealth of resources with great confidence and enjoyment. The childminder meets the needs of children exceptionally well and the quality of teaching and learning is outstanding. She provides a wealth of activities and exciting experiences in a well-planned and stimulating environment, which cover all areas of children's learning and development. The childminder has an excellent knowledge of how children learn, which is very evident as she effectively supports and guides their learning through a range of adult-led and child-initiated activities. The childminder is very passionate about her role in helping children to enjoy and achieve well and make outstanding progress towards the early learning goals in readiness for school.

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who attend

Systems for planning observation and assessments are exceptionally secure. The childminder uses accurate and precise assessments of children's development to plan motivating and engaging activities, that capture their interests and imagination. She uses her observations successfully to plan for children's individual learning needs and monitors their progress very closely, enabling her to quickly identify any gaps in children's learning. Partnerships with parents and carers are fully embedded within the provision and this nurtures a constant two-way flow of information, which benefits children's learning and development very effectively. The childminder identifies children's starting points in their learning from the outset, following an initial discussion with parents. This helps her to plan activities to further extend children's learning. Learning journey records provide a very accurate account of children's achievements and parents are fully involved in this process,

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who attend

working with the childminder to help children make the best possible progress.

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who attend

The childminder encourages children to develop the characteristics of effective early learners by role modelling play and then encouraging children to try and have a go. Children's social skills and their ability to communicate are rapidly enhanced because the childminder interacts very successfully with them as they play. The childminder is a very positive role model and she listens very carefully to what children say and gives them plenty of time to respond to questions. Lovely conversations evolve through play and the childminder carefully builds on each child's language skills and makes sure they all have time to express themselves. All children love to look at books, including the youngest children who sit quietly turning the pages over to find their favourite characters. Children thoroughly enjoy choosing a song to sing from the song bag, which contains a range of toys that link to a song and they also choose a musical instrument to play. All children

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who attend

have excellent opportunities to use a range of mark making tools, such as, brushes, chalks, shaving foam and cornflour and water mixture. Older children develop their phonic skills to support their future learning and reading skills. Some children write their name on artwork and confidently talk about letters and sounds that make up their name. During activities the childminder asks children open-ended questions to promote their thinking skills and extend their vocabulary with questions, such as 'Can you find?', 'Where's the baby one?' and 'What is this one called?' She role models play and talks to children about what they could do. For example, while playing with the Rainbow rice she suggests the younger children try to scoop it up and put it into the pot. Children love to fill containers with rice and work out how to use the funnel, older children are excited as they look for the big and little spiders hiding in the rice and count how many they have found.

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who attend

Children's mathematical skills are progressing very well. They learn about colour sequences, shape names and numbers as they play and begin to understand simple calculation and concepts, such as more and less.

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who attend

Children's understanding of the world is fostered very successfully. They spend time exploring the local environment and talk about the weather and different seasons. Children confidently talk about the animals they see during visits to the garden centre, including chickens, turtles and rabbits. Children use their senses and explore the contents of a treasure basket and they are encouraged to describe how each object feels. They play with a range of sensory materials and are fascinated by the crunchy leaves during a sticking activity and play outside with the squidgy water gel beads. Children are able to access an excellent range of electronic resources to help develop their early technology skills and role-play resources for pretend play and dressing-up. Children have very good opportunities to spend time outdoors. They enjoy a range of activities in the garden all year round. They become involved in planting and growing activities; they explore the

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who attend

properties of sand and like to ride on bikes and scooters. Through evaluation and reflective practice the childminder plans to extend the range of sensory materials and resources to further build on children's exploration skills. Overall, children develop excellent skills to support their future learning as they move on to nursery or school.

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

Children flourish and show they feel extremely secure in this nurturing and welcoming home. They settle very well, develop a sense of belonging and form strong emotional attachments with the childminder. This is very evident in their confident play, explorations and their understanding of routines and what is going to happen next. The childminder is an exceptional role model for children. She is sensitive, very caring and recognises children as unique individuals. Children show that they feel safe and they like to snuggle in for cuddles, which helps them feel secure. The childminder encourages children to develop positive relationships with the other children and she helps children to be patient and learn how to share and take turns. Excellent relationships with parents from the outset mean that the childminder has a very good understanding of children's needs and parents' preferences. Ongoing discussions ensure that parents are kept fully informed about their

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

child's day and activities. This means that children's well-being is very successfully supported.

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

The childminder places a very good emphasis on promoting equality and inclusive practice and all children and their families are valued and respected. She helps children to learn about the needs of others and the wider society and has made her own resource book to support children's learning in this aspect. This provides children with a wealth of meaningful information about how society is made up of people with different needs. For example, it shows how some people read and communicate with each other by using braille and sign language; it also shows pictures reflecting diversity, gender equality in work roles and resources that help people with disabilities. This, combined with activities linked to different festivals and listening to music from around the world, further enhances children's understanding. The childminder is very clear about her role in supporting children with additional needs. She understands how partnership working with local

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

agencies and other professionals will ensure all children achieve well. The childminder has also considered strategies to support children who speak English as an additional language by working with parents to identify some key words and phrases in their home language to help them settle and feel reassured.

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

A very good emphasis is placed on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development to help children develop the underpinning skills needed for their future success. The childminder uses excellent strategies to support children in managing their own behaviour. Distraction, discussion and negotiation effectively help all children to build strong relationships with each other. They learn about the importance of sharing, being kind and listening to others. Children do extremely well in developing their personal and independence skills. They wash their hands before mealtimes and try to put their coats and shoes on before going outside. Children receive plenty of praise and encouragement and this helps boost their self-esteem and confidence. Children are animated and enthusiastic as they make choices about their activities, which are well prepared and attractively set out. The environment is stimulating with an excellent range of toys and

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

resources which are stored to maximise opportunities for children to make choices. The childminder constantly reviews the play environment to maintain children's interest and engagement. The childminder gives high priority to children's safety. She is vigilant and supervises the children well. Good attention is given to minimising potential risks to children in the home, garden and while on outings. Children learn about how to use equipment and resources in a safe way, they learn about road safety on outings and how to exit the premises in an emergency. Children are encouraged to adopt a healthy lifestyle and enjoy a range of fresh and dried fruit at snack time. They help themselves to a drink when thirsty and their beakers are accessible. Currently, parents provide a packed lunch for children and they sit together and talk about their morning. The childminder maintains highly effective hygiene practices at all times. The premises are clean and well-organised to meet children's needs.

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

The childminder has excellent systems in place to support children's continuity in care and learning as they move between different settings. She works very closely with parents and information is shared about children's learning and development. The childminder helps to prepare children for their next phase in learning by reading specially selected books from the library and talking to children about their new nursery or school.

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provision

The childminder has an outstanding knowledge of the safeguarding and welfare requirements. She has a comprehensive awareness of safeguarding procedures and is confident in the action to take in the event of a concern about a child in her care, or an allegation. She has completed training and she has clear policies in place which she shares with parents so they understand her role in this aspect of her practice. Robust procedures are in place to keep children safe. This includes vetting procedures for household members to ensure their suitability. Risk assessments support the childminder in identifying and minimising risks to children on the premises and during outings. The childminder supervises the children well and access to the premises is closely monitored. Visitor's identification documents are checked on arrival and details recorded. All the required documentation to ensure the safe and efficient management of the provision is in

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provision

place and maintained accurately. Policies and procedures are implemented very effectively and updated to reflect any changes in the provision. All documentation is stored to ensure confidentiality.

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provision

The childminder has an excellent knowledge of the learning and development requirements and how children learn. She has very successful systems in place, which enable her to monitor the success of the educational programmes and this helps her to identify areas where children may need additional support or encouragement. The childminder works very closely with parents and she gives them opportunities to be involved at all levels. There is excellent communication with regard to children's progress and achievements and parents are actively encouraged to share their observations from home to support the assessment process. This ensures that children make the very best possible progress in their learning and development.

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provision

The childminder is highly motivated and professional, providing an inclusive and stimulating environment in which children are respected as unique individuals. Systems for self-evaluation are highly reflective and continuous. The childminder is constantly reviewing all areas of practice to identify better and more successful ways of working. She has established links with the local children's centre and attends forum meetings to support information sharing and inform best practice. The childminder continually strives to improve the provision for children and build on the already excellent learning opportunities and the environment. She recognises possible areas for development in her provision, such as extending the range of resources available for outdoor play to further stimulate children's senses and exploration skills. The childminder has successfully met the action and recommendation that were raised at the last inspection. By doing so, she has

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provision

improved information sharing with parents by sharing all policies and procedures. Furthermore, she has extended her links with other early years providers, which means that children's progression and continuity of learning and care is supported well.

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provision

The childminder has received excellent feedback from parents and carers about the quality of her provision and from the local children's centre, about her involvement and interactions with the children during her visits to the centre. Parents comment on how effectively children's social skills are developing with visits to toddlers groups and they appreciate the wide range of resources used to support children's creative play. Parents are very pleased how well children's speech and language has improved and they love being able to access to children's learning journey records, which helps them to link learning at home. From the comments made it is clear that parents are very pleased with the progress children make in their learning and development and how well they are prepared and ready for 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. 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 227501 Local authority Worcestershire Inspection number 871407 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 10

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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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