Childminder in Northumberland

Inspection date

Previous inspection date 22 April 2015 11 August 2009

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

Previous inspection: Good 2 How well the early years provision meets the needs of the range of children who attend Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

The contribution of the early years provision to the well-being of children Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

The effectiveness of the leadership and management of the early years provision Outstanding 1

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This inspection: Outstanding 1

The setting meets legal requirements for early years settings

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This provision is outstanding

 The childminder is professional, caring and modest, and clearly has the needs of young children at the heart of what she does. Therefore, children are safe, exceptionally well cared for and are treated as unique individuals.  Children are confident and highly motivated. They eagerly participate in spontaneous play as well as the planned activities. For example, they plant seeds, hide shells in the sand and pretend to feed the farm animal figures with hay and beans.  The childminder monitors children's progress and her provision extremely well through precise assessment and self-evaluation. Therefore, she has a strong drive to improve even further.  Children's emotional well-being is positively supported as the childminder is a good role model. She is calm, caring and competent, and care practices meet children's individual needs exceptionally well.  The childminder ensures that parents are well informed and have regular opportunities

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This provision is outstanding

to share what they know about their children's routines, learning and development. Therefore, excellent partnerships ensure very good consistency for children.  Children have very good opportunities to be physically active and benefit from lots of fresh air. They climb, slide and swing competently on the sturdy garden equipment.  Children make excellent progress in all areas of their learning because of the precise planning and effective teaching provided by the childminder.

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

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

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What the setting needs to do to improve further

 enhance exploratory play for children even further by making sure they have chances to experiment with water before adding objects and items.

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Inspection activities

 The inspector observed and discussed the activities in the main play area and the outside area.  The inspector checked evidence of the suitability of the childminder and household members.  The inspector took account of the views of parents and carers from information included in the childminder's own parent surveys.  The inspector spoke to the childminder and interacted with children at appropriate times throughout the inspection.  The inspector looked at the childminder's training certificates, children's assessment records and learning journals, the self-evaluation form and a sample of policies.

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who attend. This is outstanding

The childminder plans an excellent range of activities and topics that follow children's interests. She is an excellent practitioner as she extends children's learning exceptionally well and builds on what they do. For example, when children play with the till, purses and money and say they are 'going shopping' she joins in with their imaginary play. She names items for them to buy, helps them to count in context and follows this up by planning a visit to a real farm shop. Consequently, children are actively involved in meaningful experiences. The childminder completes regular assessments on children's learning. These are accurate, sharply focused, shared with parents and clearly show the next steps in children's learning. Children make excellent progress and are extremely well prepared for school. For example, pre-school children sound out letters and manage to write some of the letters in their name confidently, on the easel. Children love to play with sand and

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who attend. This is outstanding

water, but occasionally the childminder intervenes too quickly by adding too many items to the water trough. However, she quickly recognises that this does not allow children to explore the properties of water and they remove items together.

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outstanding

Children thrive in a highly stimulating and well-resourced environment both inside and out. They choose what to do and access equipment easily. For example, outside they hang out the wet dolls clothes on the low-level washing line with real pegs and enjoy games initiated by the childminder, such as hiding the shells in the sand pit. Consequently, they are highly motivated and eager to play and explore. Children enjoy a variety of fresh fruit for snacks and the childminder talks to them about what is good for them. She ensures that children understand why they need to wear sun hats and sun cream in hot weather. They help to prepare their sandwiches for lunch and pour their own drinks. This supports their health, self-help skills and independence exceptionally well. The childminder is very calm and competent. Therefore, children behave extremely well, learn to share and demonstrate care and concern for toddlers.

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provision is outstanding

The childminder has a very good knowledge of the requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage. She safeguards children extremely well as she clearly understands her procedures, provides high levels of supervision and makes the most of training. For example, she accesses higher level courses in child protection. She also completes other training sessions that help her to update her overall skills and knowledge further. This has a positive impact on children's care, safety and learning and development. She regularly checks her priorities for improvement, so that she has a continuous and an astute understanding of what she needs to do to drive improvement even further. The childminder works exceptionally well with parents. They regularly contribute to their children's learning journals and she provides books and story sacks for parents and children to take home. This benefits the children's learning extremely well.

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Setting details

Unique reference number EY259826 Local authority Northumberland Inspection number 860507 Type of provision Childminder Registration category Childminder Age range of children 0 - 17 Total number of places 6 Number of children on roll 8

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Name of provider

Date of previous inspection 11 August 2009

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Telephone number

The childminder was registered in 2003. She operates all year round, from 7.30am to 6pm, Monday to Friday, except for bank holidays and family holidays. The setting is situated in Cramlington, Northumberland.

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Telephone number

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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Telephone number

procedures set out in the guidance ‘Complaints procedure: raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted. If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. 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, safeguarding and child protection.

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Telephone number

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Telephone number

T: 0300 123 4234 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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