Gill, Claire Louise

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 28/11/2014 25/03/2009

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early years provision

This inspection: 1 Previous inspection: 1 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

 Teaching is inspirational and has a very positive effect on children's learning as the childminder uses a superb range of methods to help children engage in challenging activities. She has established successful ways to observe children's development and plan effectively for their next steps in learning.  The environment is extremely well presented with inspiring learning opportunities provided through a varied range of stimulating resources. These are well organised and encourage children to initiate their own play. Consequently, children develop very good independence and skills for their future learning.  Children's emotional well-being is superbly promoted in this welcoming setting. Children are extremely happy and have developed strong attachments to the childminder.  Children's safety and well-being is highly prioritised. The childminder implements robust risk assessment, stringent safety measures and highly comprehensive safeguarding

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This provision is outstanding

procedures to ensure that children feel safe and are secure.  Children benefit from the extremely effective partnerships that exist between the childminder, parents and other providers. Information is regularly shared to enhance children's care and learning.  There are highly successful systems in place to evaluate and monitor all aspects of the provision. 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 talked to the children and childminder at appropriate times throughout the inspection and observed a variety of activities both indoors and outdoors.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at evidence of the suitability and qualifications of the childminder as well as a selection of policies and procedures, including safeguarding and discussed risk assessments and the childminder's self-evaluation process.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector carried out a joint observation with the childminder, she discussed children's learning and development and sampled their records and looked at the planning documentation.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector took account of the views of parents spoken to on the day and by reading a number of comments on questionnaires and letters given to the childminder.

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Information about the setting

The childminder was registered in 2006 and is on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She lives with her husband and two children in a house in Kettering, Northamptonshire. The whole of the ground floor of the house, one upstairs bedroom and the enclosed rear garden are used for childminding. The family has pet fish. The childminder operates all year round from 7am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except bank holidays and family holidays. There are currently seven children on roll, four of whom are in the early years age group and attend for a variety of sessions. The childminder attends a stay and play group, visits local shops and parks regularly. She takes children to and collects children from the local school and pre-school. She holds a relevant qualification at level 3. She is a member of the Northamptonshire Childminding Association.

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

 extend the already superbly stimulating and inspirational provision through the investigation of further ways to support children's individual curiosities and patterns of learning.

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who attend

The quality of teaching provided by the childminder is outstanding. She uses her excellent knowledge and understanding of the learning and development requirements in the Early Years Foundation Stage exceptionally well. She provides a wealth of activities and exciting experiences in an extremely 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. She very effectively supports and guides their learning through a range of adult-led and child-initiated activities, extending children's thinking, interest and learning. The childminder promotes children's independence extremely well, encouraging them to lead their own learning and promoting their self-confidence. However, there is room for the childminder to enhance this superb provision even further through the investigation of children's individual patterns of play, so that children can revisit their

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who attend

chosen curiosities, to extend their learning to the very maximum.

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who attend

The childminder encourages children to develop the characteristics of effective early learning by role modelling play and then encouraging children to try and have a go. Very young children relish the individual attention they receive and stay close to the childminder, who encourages playfulness and constantly talks to younger children. They enjoy using their senses to explore the contents of a treasure basket and the childminder encourages them to experiment. They play with a range of sensory materials and are fascinated by the sounds that they can make. Children's social skills, and their ability to communicate, are rapidly enhanced because the childminder interacts very successfully with them as they play. She asks children open-ended questions to promote their thinking skills and extend their vocabulary. She listens very carefully to what children say and gives them plenty of time to respond. For example, during the childminder's planned activity,

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who attend

focused on dentists and teeth, she very effectively encourages children to recall relevant past experiences and share their knowledge of dental care. Additionally, the childminder supports this further through an interesting and useful application on a tablet computer that supports the children to clean their teeth for a suitable amount of time. Consequently, children are developing first class skills in their self-care and very positive attitudes towards a healthy lifestyle.

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who attend

The childminder makes excellent use of suitable guidance documents to support her in monitoring children's progress across all areas of learning. Through initial in-depth discussions with parents, the childminder finds out about children's experiences, what individual children know, like and can do. She uses this information to plan and provide an exceptionally varied range of activities and experiences for the children, which ensures they develop strong skills in readiness for school. Through observations, and sharply focussed assessments of each child's abilities, she is able to clearly identify the next steps in children's learning. The childminder is well aware of the importance of providing parents with a progress check for children aged between two and three years. The assessment records in place for children are meticulous and assist her when carrying out this development check and the regular termly progress summaries that she undertakes. She

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who attend

shares these assessments with parents which provide them with an excellent overview of the progress their children are making. This also informs them of their children's next steps in learning so they can complement children's learning at home. The childminder's exceptional understanding of child development ensures that she is constantly thinking about how her teaching can move children's learning on. Consequently, children make outstanding progress and are developing first class skills and attitudes to prepare them for 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. The childminder is an exceptional role model for children. She is sensitive, very caring and recognises children as unique individuals. Younger children show that they feel safe as they snuggle in for cuddles, which helps them feel secure. Relationships with parents and carers are excellent and the childminder strives constantly to involve them in all aspects of their children's care. The childminder speaks with parents daily, on arrival and collection, about children's individual needs and they share information in the children's online diaries. The childminder ensures that she updates these diaries regularly throughout the day which enables parents to check in while they are at work. This provides them with excellent feedback and reassurance about

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

their children's day and offers a very good way for them to be fully involved in their children's care and learning.

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

The childminder places very strong emphasis on supporting children's personal, social and emotional development to help children develop the underpinning skills needed for their future success. She 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 meal times and independently use the toilet. 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 resources which are stored to maximise

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

opportunities for children to make choices. The childminder constantly reviews the play environment to maintain children's interest and engagement.

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

The childminder superbly supports children's understanding of healthy lifestyles. She provides a range of healthy and nutritious snacks and home-made meals, and shares menus with parents. She uses innovative drinks dispensers to ensure suitable healthy drinks are readily available for children throughout the day. Food preparation is a learning experience for the children, as they make their own sandwiches at lunchtime, applying their chosen spread and filling. The children learn about safety when using knives and other food preparation tools as they carefully cut their sandwich or use shaped cutters. Children develop excellent personal hygiene skills. They learn to wash their hands before eating and after using the toilet and they blow their noses and put tissues in the bin to reduce the risk of cross-infection. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise, developing physical skills and confidence as they play in the childminder's well-resourced garden and

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

on larger equipment at local parks. The childminder uses these opportunities to reinforce how to use equipment safely, enabling children to take safe risks, under close supervision. Consequently, children learn how to protect themselves from harm. Children further develop an understanding of how to keep themselves safe in a number of ways. For example, during daily outings the childminder discusses road safety, supporting the children's understanding of safe places to cross and the hazards they need to be aware of. As a result, children are learning about being healthy and how to promote their own physical well-being and safety.

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provision

The childminder is highly professional and organised. She demonstrates a robust knowledge and understanding of the safeguarding and welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. Children are thoroughly protected from harm as she has a clear understanding of her role and responsibility to report any child protection concerns that may arise. Risk assessments are rigorous and used very effectively to help minimise hazards, both within the setting and on the many outings which the childminder provides for the children. These are also regularly reviewed to ensure that any potential safety risks are swiftly identified and addressed. Children's safety and welfare are given high priority as the childminder underpins her expert knowledge with detailed policies and procedures. Consequently, children's safety and well-being are very well promoted.

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provision

The childminder takes extraordinary pride in all areas of her work and constantly strives to improve her provision. She has an excellent system of self-evaluation and this is something she has improved in line with the recommendation from her last inspection. She recognises that ongoing evaluation, reflection and training are crucial to maintaining a high standard, quality provision and keeping abreast of changes. All improvements identified relate to her commitment to providing a stimulating home environment, which is continuously changing, in order to meet children's needs and promote their overall development.

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provision

The childminder has forged highly successful partnerships with parents and other professionals. This enables her to meet children's individual needs extremely well. The childminder actively encourages parents to be involved in their children learning both in the setting and at home. She produces regular newsletters to keep parents well informed of any planned outings or special activities. She provides all parents with very comprehensive daily feedback in a range of ways and has established very good relationships with parents to share information about children. Parents highly value the childminder's provision; they comment that the childminder is so caring and that their children love coming to her house. They also comment that the childminder's excellent communication informs them very clearly of what their child has been doing. The childminder has developed extremely effective relationships with the other providers of

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provision

settings that children attend. She links closely with these providers through discussion, and detailed documents, in order to outline extremely focused and relevant learning opportunities and next steps for children. This highlights the high level of importance which she places upon working together with everyone involved with the children in her care. In this way, they successfully meet the changing needs of the children, continually supporting their exceptional progress.

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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 EY320975 Local authority Northamptonshire Inspection number 849098 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 7

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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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