The quality and standards of the early years provision and outcomes for children The following statements are a selection of inspectors' judgements from childminders' reports, written during April and May 2010. EYFS curriculum The childminder makes effective use of the Early Years Foundation Stage and practice guidance to ensure outcomes for children are exceptionally good. Children's natural curiosity and ability to be independent learners is supported exceedingly well. Children are confident and enjoy their time spent with the childminder. They make good progress overall in their learning because the childminder adapts planned activities and follows the children's interests closely. Children are cared for in a warm, welcoming and relaxed home environment. As a result, children are well settled and respond to the caring interactions of the childminder, who readily offers support and guidance throughout the day. The childminder is exceptionally skilled at differentiating activities to ensure that all children are happily occupied. The childminder has an extensive knowledge of child development and how it links to the early learning goals. The childminder's planning and organisation ensures children are engaged, challenged and enjoy their learning experiences. The children and the childminder enjoy their time together. Children are confident in making decisions in their play and busily go from one activity to another, telling the childminder what they are doing and seeking her support when needed. The children are supported in their learning, as a range of interesting and challenging activities are readily available to them all. Time and consideration is given to each child's individual needs. The use of the outside environment is a strength of the provision which is also commented on by parents. Children enjoy the range of activities they can engage in outdoors, learning about the natural environment, being physically active and creative. Children learn about living things as they grow plants and vegetables which they are able to harvest and eat. They help tend the chickens and they enjoy spending time sitting watching the newly acquired chickens in their run. She provides a good balance of indoor and outdoor play as well as attending a variety of social venues. Opportunities for children to practise their mark-making skills in varied and enjoyable ways take place outside as well as indoors. For example children use large paintbrushes and water to draw roadways on the ground for their vehicles to follow. The addition of a soap solution to the water adds to children's exploration as they brushed the water around creating soapy bubbles. Young children's communication and literacy are being fostered through constant communication and regular story and nursery rhyme time with the childminder. The excellent interaction of the childminder with the children enhances their learning because she is skilled in using questions, promoting children's conversation and encouraging them to think and find solutions for themselves. The childminder actively engages the children in the activities provided and demonstrates a good awareness of how to encourage their participation and development by involving all children in the same activity. The childminder gives good support to each child and is successfully promoting their learning and development. Children have access to a range of good quality and well presented resources, which are organised to support the age and stages of development and promote children's independence in following their own interests and desires. She uses appropriate books, mirrors, activity centres and toys for babies to reach for and develop their body awareness, senses and mobility. The childminder organises daily routines to ensure that babies and toddlers receive plenty of one-to-one attention while others are resting. The childminder also provides regular outings and trips to toddler groups and children's centres, to foster the children's social and physical skills, and knowledge and understanding of the world. The childminder organises and plans her day and activities around attendance at local groups with children, their individual care routines and their choice of play activities. The childminder ensures that children receive a balance of child-initiated and adult-led activities. There is a good balance of adult-led and child-initiated play. The childminder plans activities, such as cooking or gardening, but the children are given choices throughout the day as to when they undertake those activities enabling them to choose for themselves from the good range of resources displayed. When children of varying ages are together, she skilfully includes them all. For example, school age children play a balancing blocks game with two-year-olds, patiently letting the little ones take turns, even though the toddler's digital dexterity and coordination is less refined and the block tower quickly falls down. Similarly, babies are included in baking and craft activities, sitting in the high chair and patting down the glued paper or feeling the texture of the baking ingredients. The childminder is presently using action songs, new finger foods and time in the garden to help a ten-month-old progress safely towards walking, and is increasing their confidence, ability to make choices and healthy eating. Observation, assessment, record keeping and planning The childminder uses her knowledge of children's individual interests and characters to plan a range of enjoyable activities that stimulates their interest in learning enabling them to take a lead and become active learners. Sensitive observations are routinely carried out which enable the childminder to monitor the progress children are making and identify areas for further development. This information is used to guide children's learning through play based activities using the child's individual interests as a starting point. Consequently, children are well motivated and have developed good dispositions and attitudes towards learning. She observes children as they play, sharing this with parents and is beginning to compile journals showing samples of crafts and periodical summary observations linked to the areas of learning. However, there is currently no baseline starting point from which to build with progression shown, nor are next steps identified and shown to feed the planned learning. This means that potential learning opportunities may fail to be maximised to progress children towards the early learning goals. The childminder has begun to develop systems for observing and assessing children's progress and development. These systems are in there infancy; however, the childminder is focused on improving this area of her work. Files about the children's progress are established and parents are regularly shown the written observations being collated about their child. At present, parents are not closely involved in helping to establish their child's starting points or subsequent assessments and plans for their progress. However, the childminder is enthusiastic to develop her planning and assessment skills. She makes written observations of what children can do and matches these to the expectations of the six areas of learning. The childminder considers how she can promote and provide for each child's next steps and works in close communication with parents to make sure that her care is consistent and complementary to that provided by relatives and other carers. She is not presently undertaking initial starting points assessments with parents, and is not yet providing summaries of progress to show exactly how the children are progressing over periods of time. Nevertheless, parents comment in the daily diaries about how their children have 'come on' in the few months that they have been placed. She monitors children's progress by carrying out regular observations and is able to identify what children need to do next. However, this information is not always used for future planning and is not clearly recorded. This means that there may be some gaps in the progress children make in their learning. The childminder uses diaries successfully to evaluate the days' activities and inform future planning. She reviews the assessment system to plan each child's next steps, though is not yet monitoring their progress towards each early learning goal. The childminder has an intuitive understanding of how children learn and develop. This is enhanced by her detailed system to record children's achievements and to plan for their future learning needs. Thus, she can clearly demonstrate how children make very good progress in relation to their starting points. The childminder seeks appropriate information from parents to enable her to meet the individual needs of children, for example, about their general welfare, personal routines and preferences. However, this does not clearly identify children's developmental starting points when they first attend. Each child has their own developmental file. They include samples of children's art work, photographs of children undertaking various activities and observations. The observations clearly link to the areas of learning, however, they do not include the next steps in children's learning. Behaviour management The childminder uses excellent positive behaviour management strategies, using clear and consistent boundaries so that children develop their knowledge of acceptable behaviour, they learn to share, take turns and show consideration for others. Mealtimes provide very good opportunities for children to learn good social skills and manners. They are beginning to learn about social behaviours and offer materials to each other mostly without prompting. Children are able to review the house rules and boundaries which are displayed on the wall. They enjoy receiving certificates for achievements and behaviour periodically which reinforces positive social behaviours. This helps them to develop the attitudes that will help them to develop skills for the future. Children learn to cooperate and understand how their behaviour may affect others safety. For example, they willingly tidy the floor so they can move around safely. Each child receives good attention, strong praise and warm encouragement from the childminder. As a result, they are polite and have a strong sense of security in order to succeed in a welcoming, homely environment. Children's behaviour is excellent. They cooperate and share the resources and the time of the childminder. They are encouraged to respect each other by thinking through and discussing the effect their actions may have on each other, for example, they know to be quieter whilst a child is going off to sleep so that they do not disturb them knowing that once they are downstairs they can play loudly again if they wish. They are good at sharing, knowing that each will have a turn and they are encouraged to say please and thank you at the appropriate times. They help put the resources away before moving onto the next activity, the organisation of which enables them to put them in the correct boxes ready for when they want to play with them again. Children are involved in helping to devise the rules and boundaries for good behaviour, including tidying up after themselves. As a result, they share, take turns and are polite without being reminded. Healthy lifestyle choices, personal care, independence, emotional development Children are offered the choice as to whether they serve the snack time to other children in the morning or serve lunch later in the day. This helps children to make choices and decisions for themselves as well as providing good opportunities for them to develop their independence and social skills. Healthy eating is actively promoted through the freshly prepared meals and healthy snacks which are provided. Children learn the importance of good personal hygiene through daily routines. Children have access to drinks throughout the day and attention is given to providing drinks when children are outside particularly in hot weather. Familiar routines for health and hygiene help children to establish good understanding of personal health. They explore physical health each day when walking in the community and using the local parks. Children are encouraged to learn about eating for health and follow the five-a-day programme utilising charts on the walls to chart their progress. The childminder raises children's awareness of their own personal safety when they are out and about by encouraging their awareness of road safety. Children are well protected from illness and infection because the childminder provides a clean and hygienic environment. Their awareness of a healthy lifestyle is effectively promoted through the provision of home cooked, nutritious meals, snacks and drinks. Procedures are in place should a child be taken ill or have an accident. Children's physical development is well promoted. They enjoy fresh air and have good opportunities to develop their large muscle movement at local parks and within the garden. Children are helped to develop positive relationships with each other as they build friendships with the childminder's own children and while they attend toddler groups. Positive behaviour is well fostered through the childminder's policy and her effectiveness as a good role model and calming approach. Children's skills for the future are supported well through everyday routines and activities, which reflect children's interests and developmental stages. They benefit from good levels of support and interaction from the childminder. Their emotional needs are particularly well met. Babies and toddlers enjoy lots of cuddles developing their sense of security and belonging. Children have some opportunities to practise the emergency evacuation procedures with the childminder to ensure they are familiar with what to do in an emergency. However, this is not the case with all the children currently attending. Children are encouraged to become independent and begin to express their own physical needs. The childminder supports these burgeoning skills through sensitive and timely intervention. For example, a child takes himself to the toilet, the childminder goes up to help him wash his hands and praises him warmly.
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