Ashford, Jennifer

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 11/12/2014 18/03/2009

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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

 The childminder meets the emotional needs of young children exceptionally well and they form extremely secure attachments.  The childminder plans and organises an extensive range of activities both at home and out in the local environment. Activities are constantly varied and frequently follow children's interests. As a result, children make very good progress in their learning and development.  The childminder is constantly reflective in her practice; she is open to new ideas and to making changes.  The childminder is extremely proactive in her approach to sharing practice issues and mentoring other providers.  The childminder has extremely positive relationships with the parents and shares a huge range of information about her childminding service, keeping them well informed about their children's routines and development.

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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 looked at children's learning records, the self-evaluation form, a selection of policies and children's records.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of one parent spoken to on the day and the views of other parents via questionnaires and references.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector spoke to the childminder at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Information about the setting

The childminder has been registered since 2002. She lives in a house in Poole with her husband and their two school-aged children. All areas of the home are used for childminding. The childminder works with an assistant on occassions. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register, as well as the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. There are currently five children on roll; all of whom are in the early years age group. The childminder supports children who learn English as an additional language. The childminder has an appropriate childcare qualification at level 3 and has studied child psychology at level 4.

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

 maximise opportunities to discuss with children the effect their actions have as they investigate resources and materials.

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who attend

Children are extremely happy and settled in this highly stimulating and interesting environment. They benefit from being with a very caring and supportive childminder who gives them her full attention and is able to provide a secure and nurturing atmosphere. The childminder plans and organises an extensive range of activities both at home and out in the local environment. Children explore the local area, learning about keeping safe, the natural world and developing their physical skills as they do this. For example, older children learn about sea safety while they are out catching crabs along the coast. Younger children talked about being careful not to bump their heads, as they crawled in the homemade den under the table. Activities are constantly varied and frequently follow children's interests. The childminder provides excellent support for the younger children who demonstrate high levels of confidence and independence. They are extremely well

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who attend

motivated and very eager to join in. They particularly enjoy it when the childminder engages in their play, for example crawling into the den and reading stories in the half dark. As a result, children make very good and sometimes outstanding progress in all areas of their development. The childminder has an expert knowledge and understanding of how to promote children's learning in all areas. She provides rich and imaginative experiences for all children in her care. The childminder gives extremely good emphasis to the development of children's communication skills. She talks clearly to them as she introduces new words and encourages them to repeat these back to her. For example, she copies the sounds made by babies and then extends these into complete words. Babies copy her as she does this. They respond by laughing and smiling as they successfully form words such as 'Mum' or 'Dad'. The childminder encourages older children to tell stories and to enjoy books. She

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who attend

follows educational programmes such as Every Child a Talker to develop children's communication and language skills. The childminder uses highly successful strategies to engage parents in these programmes and to involve them in their children's learning at home. Older children confidently help themselves to resources and are independent learners. For example, they find the wind up torches and the childminder quickly joins them and encourages discussion about how to make the torch light come on. She encourages children to work things out and solve solutions. The childminder supports children as they complete puzzles and talks about moving the pieces around to fit the spaces. On occasions, she misses some opportunities to discuss with children the effect their actions have as they investigate these resources and materials. For example, talking about the patterns on the puzzle pieces to help children find where to put them, or

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who attend

discussing what happens as the torch is wound up. The childminder provides very good support for children to develop their physical skills as they play in the safe garden, visit local play parks, or enjoy music and movement or sports sessions at local amenities. She encourages babies to develop their walking skills by holding their hands and supports older children as they climb steps or use ride on toys. Children also develop their fine motor skills as they carefully turn the pages in the books or complete art and craft activities. Children learn about nature and growing as they watch the chrysalis change into a butterfly and talk about how this happens. All children are acquiring excellent skills to equip them for their future learning. The childminder has an extremely good understanding of child development and plans her day according to the children's interests and areas for further development. She constantly

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who attend

develops and enhances her knowledge and understanding as she meets with other professionals and takes part in numerous training courses and learning opportunities. The childminder gets to know the children quickly through making observations and in her discussion with parents. She talks to parents when children first start and asks them for information regarding their child's routines, comforters, interests and development. This provides her with the information she needs to help children feel secure, to settle quickly and to help target planning effectively to strengthen children's current achievements. Parents are kept extremely well informed about their children's progress as they access information in their child's learning record every day. The childminder often sends photographs during the day to show parents what their children are doing and learning. This provides all parents with an excellent update on what their children have done and

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who attend

enjoyed and how each child is developing. Parents also receive a very detailed, verbal feedback at the end of the day. They can share information about their children's learning and development at home by completing 'wow' stickers, which are then added to their child's records. The childminder also makes her own observations and uses these to inform extremely accurate assessments for each child, which cover all the required areas of learning. Targets or next steps are then set for individual children to make sure that they maintain the best possible progress. The childminder uses an additional recording system to track and monitor children's progress and to ensure that all children are developing as expected. This information is also used to feed into the progress check for two-year-old children if appropriate.

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

The childminder works exceptionally well with parents to ensure that she has an outstanding knowledge of each child's routines and care needs. The childminder talks with parents about any allergies or health needs the children may have to ensure she meets their dietary needs. She forms very strong bonds with each child and gets to know them and their families extremely well. This enables her to provide sensitive support and high quality learning and development for each child as an individual. Children are extremely secure and settled with the childminder and her family and demonstrate high levels of confidence and self-assurance and a strong sense of belonging. The childminder puts a very strong emphasis on care practices, and safety and safeguarding are central to all areas of her practice. Children develop a strong sense of independence, as they are encouraged to take care of their own personal needs. They help to put away the toys as

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

they finish with them and are encouraged to 'have a go' as they put on their own coats or shoes to go outside to play. The childminder uses frequent praise and encouragement as she interacts with the children and they respond extremely well to this. They behave very well and clearly understand about healthy lifestyles and keeping safe. The childminder provides children with a highly stimulating environment with child- accessible resources both indoors and outside. Resources and materials are laid out for easy access and children confidently help themselves to toys and equipment from the clearly labelled containers. Children relish the opportunities to explore and find out what is available and are easily able to initiate their own play and learning in all areas. They develop their independence and cooperation skills while being extremely well supported by the childminder, who often plays alongside them. The childminder skilfully interacts with

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

children when needed but knows when children are developing their own play and do not require support. The outside play space is varied and interesting and children use this area nearly every day. They are encouraged to move between indoors and outside as they wish and eagerly look for new experiences. Younger children enjoy playing with the older children and the childminder encourages them to learn from each other. This helps children to form good friendships and to play and learn well together. Children frequently visit groups, the library and pre-schools. During these occasions when they meet and socialise with other children and adults, they further develop their social skills. These experiences all help to prepare them for the next stage in their life such as starting at pre-school or school.

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provision

The childminder is extremely well organised and has a robust and well planned weekly routine. This ensures that the needs of all children who attend are exceptionally well met. She supervises children very closely and provides highly successful adult support. The childminder has an excellent understanding of her duty to safeguard children and to meet the welfare, and learning and development requirements. Her safeguarding policy is robust and comprehensive and she knows how to contact her local safeguarding children board should she need to make a referral. She organises her procedures, records and mandatory documents efficiently and they are easily available for parents to see at any time. These records underpin the extremely good practice delivered by the childminder. Thorough risk assessments are carried out on the premises, equipment and outings, and ensure that children play in a very safe and secure environment. All records are regularly

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provision

checked and updated and shared with parents. The childminder has developed comprehensive and effective systems to track and monitor children's progress. She has developed links with other providers and settings to ensure continuity of care and learning for all children. This enables her to provide an educational programme that is interesting and stimulating and meets the needs of all children as individuals. The childminder is continually reflective and has extremely effective systems in place to enable her to develop and improve her own practice. She mentors other childminders and shares her excellent practice with them. Since her last inspection she has continued to access a range of training and further improved her knowledge of safeguarding and child psychology. She plans a programme of professional development and identifies training opportunities for the future and is very keen to complete further

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provision

training. The childminder builds extremely positive relationships with parents. She obtains and shares a vast amount of information about each child's daily routines and achievements and talks to parents about their children's learning at home. She encourages parents to take part in the educational programmes that she follows herself and provides ideas for many activities that they can complete with their children at home. Parents can easily see how their children are developing when sharing and talking about the children's learning records. Parents are encouraged to contribute their own comments. Parents state in questionnaires and thank-you letters that they are extremely pleased with the care and education provided for their children. Parents spoken to during the inspection also reiterated how pleased they were with the provision for their children. Parents feel that their children have made excellent and consistent progress and that the support of the

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provision

childminder has helped them to go back to work confident in the fact that their children are extremely well cared for.

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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 EY102162 Local authority Poole Inspection number 842471 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 5 Number of children on roll 4

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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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