Childminder in Hampshire

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 16/12/2014 16/04/2009

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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 is constantly reflective in her practice; she is extremely open to new ideas and to making changes, which benefit children.  The childminder provides excellent support for all children, including those with health issues. She is extremely proactive in her approach to working with parents and other professionals.  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.  The childminder meets the emotional needs of young children exceptionally well and they form extremely secure attachments.

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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 spoke to the childminder at appropriate times throughout the observations.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector looked at children's learning records, planning documentation, the self-evaluation form and a selection of policies and procedures.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector also took account of the views of all parents who had completed questionnaires or left letters and references.

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Information about the setting

The childminder registered in 2005. She lives with her partner and two school-aged children in a house in Poulner, close to the centre of Ringwood, in Hampshire. Childminding is carried out on the ground floor of the premises only. Children have access to the rear enclosed garden for outdoor play activities. The family has a cat and a guinea pig. The childminder is registered on the Early Years Register and the compulsory and voluntary parts of the Childcare Register. She is currently minding twelve children, of whom four are in the early years age range. The childminder holds a relevant childcare qualification at level 3.

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

 strengthen systems for self-evaluation to ensure that improvement plans focus on teaching and the impact on children's learning.

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who attend

The quality of teaching is excellent and children benefit from the sensitive support and interaction they receive from the childminder. 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 is very caring and gives children her full attention while providing a secure and nurturing atmosphere. Children demonstrate that they are extremely happy and settled, in this stimulating and interesting environment. The childminder plans and organises an extensive range of activities both at home and out in the local area. She frequently follows the children's interests and is extremely flexible in her approach. The childminder provides excellent support for the younger children who demonstrate high levels of confidence and independence. They are extremely well motivated and very eager to join in. They

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who attend

demonstrate a keenness to learn and a 'have a go' approach to trying new experiences. For example, they very much enjoyed a Christmas painting activity planned by the childminder. They enthusiastically developed this themselves as they started to make spotty pictures using their paint covered fingers. Children particularly enjoy it when the childminder engages in their play and benefit greatly from the praise and encouragement they receive for their successes and achievements.

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who attend

The childminder gives extremely good emphasis to the development of children's communication skills and on supporting their physical, personal, social and emotional development. She talks clearly to them as she introduces new words and encourages them to repeat these back to her. She ensures that she makes eye contact and gets down to the children's level so that they are able to hear what is being said. The childminder supports children very effectively as they look at books or sing songs together. She encourages them to join in and repeat words after her, praising any new learning that takes place. She talks to children about what they have done in the past and gives them time to think and recall past events. The childminder provides an extensive range of visual stimuli and this supports children's interest in words and numbers.

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who attend

The childminder provides excellent support for children to develop their physical skills as they play in the enclosed garden, visit local play parks or go for a pretend bear hunt in the woods. She provides a wide range of equipment outside and children are able to free flow between the environments, learning to scoot or climb. In addition, children develop their small muscle skills as they complete puzzles or create their own pictures. They learn about nature and the world around them as they walk to school or visit groups where they socialise with other children and adults. All children are acquiring excellent skills to develop their confidence and equip them for their future learning.

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who attend

The childminder has an extremely good understanding of child development and a clear understanding of how children learn. She plans her day according to the children's interests and areas for further development, providing them with rich, varied and imaginative experiences. She continually develops and enhances her knowledge and understanding as she takes part in further 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. The childminder uses observations to inform extremely accurate assessments for each child,

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who attend

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 this information to feed into the progress check for two-year-old children if appropriate. The childminder monitors children's progress in all areas of learning to ensure that every child is developing as expected.

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who attend

The childminder keeps parents extremely well informed about their children's progress as they access information in their child's learning record and daily diaries. This provides all parents with an excellent update on what their children have done and enjoyed, and how each child is developing. The childminder uses highly successful strategies to engage parents in their children's learning at home. She develops excellent links with other settings that children attend, and successfully shares information about children's learning and development. This makes an extremely strong contribution to meeting children's needs.

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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. She talks with parents about any allergies or health needs the children may have and works extremely effectively with parents and other agencies to include and support all children. The childminder provides excellent support to ensure that children learn about healthy eating and that their specific health needs are effectively met. 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 experiences for each child as an individual.

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

Children are extremely secure and settled, with the childminder and her family. They 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 often 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 taking risks and managing their own safety as they explore the local woods or use larger equipment at the park. Younger children talk about packing away the toys before getting out others to ensure that they do not trip over them.

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

Children develop a strong sense of independence, as they are encouraged to take care of their own personal needs. They confidently select play materials and resources and often initiate their own play and learning. The childminder uses frequent praise and encouragement as she interacts with the children and they respond extremely well to this. The childminder deals with any sharing or turn taking issues efficiently and calmly. As a result, children behave very well learning to negotiate with each other and to work cooperatively.

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

The childminder provides children with a highly stimulating and exciting environment with child-accessible resources both indoors and outside. Resources and materials are easily accessible and children confidently help themselves to toys and equipment from the well- labelled containers. Children relish the opportunities to explore and find out what is available often becoming engrossed in their own imaginative play. For example, they line up the cars and trains as they pretend they are in the garage or feed the dolls before their own snack time. The childminder often plays alongside the children providing effective and well-targeted support. This allows them to develop their independence and social skills confidently. The childminder skilfully interacts with children when needed but knows when children are developing their own play and do not require support.

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

The outside play space is varied and interesting. Children are encouraged to move between indoors and outside as they wish and eagerly look for new experiences. This supports their individual learning preferences well. Children frequently visit groups, the library and local pre-schools with the childminder. During these occasions, when they meet and socialise with other children and adults, they further develop their social skills. This helps children to form good friendships and to play and learn well together. These experiences all help to prepare them for the next step 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 routine. She organises her procedures, records and mandatory documents extremely efficiently, and they are easily available for parents to see at any time. These records underpin the extremely good practice delivered by the childminder and ensure that she meets the needs of all children who attend exceptionally well. The childminder supervises children very closely and provides highly successful adult support. She has an excellent understanding of her duty to safeguard children and of how to meet the Early Years Foundation Stage 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. The childminder carries out comprehensive and effective risk assessments on the premises, equipment and outings to help ensure that children play in a very safe

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provision

and secure environment. She checks and updates all records and shares these with parents.

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provision

The childminder has developed comprehensive and robust systems to track and monitor children's progress. She has developed highly effective partnerships with other providers 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 a very reflective practitioner and has extremely effective systems in place to enable her to develop and improve her own practice. Since her last inspection, she has continued to access a wide range of training and has identified training opportunities for the future. She completes comprehensive self-evaluation, which clearly shows the improvements she has made over the years. She draws up clear improvement plans and continually makes changes to her already excellent practice. However, some areas for improvement are less focused on teaching and the impact on

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provision

The childminder builds excellent partnerships with parents. She obtains and shares a vast amount of information about each child's daily routines and achievements. She talks to parents about their children's learning at home. Parents can easily see how their children are developing when sharing and talking about their children's learning records. They are encouraged to make their own comments and this contributes to meeting their children's needs. Consequently, this helps to ensure that appropriate interventions are secured if required. Parents state in questionnaires, references and thank-you letters that they are extremely pleased with the care and education provided for their children. They feel that their children have made excellent and consistent progress. They comment that the childminder's, 'communication is second to none' and that 'she tailors activities for the children's needs brilliantly'.

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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 EY313541 Local authority Hampshire Inspection number 834384 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 8 Total number of places 6 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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