Illakowicz, Monika

Illakowicz, Monika

Unique reference number (URN): EY548890 Address: 16 Swansley Lane, Lower Cambourne, CAMBRIDGE, CB23 6BT Type: Childminder Registered with Ofsted: 15/08/2017 Registers: EYR, CCR Registered person: Illakowicz, Monika

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Safeguarding standards met

The safeguarding standards are met. This means that leaders and/or those responsible for governance and oversight fulfil their specific responsibilities and have established an open culture in which safeguarding is everyone's responsibility and concerns are actively identified, acted upon and managed. As a result, children are made safer and feel safe.

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How we evaluate safeguarding

When we inspect settings for safeguarding, they can have the following outcomes:

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How we evaluate safeguarding

Met: The setting has an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not met: The setting has not created an open and positive culture of safeguarding. Not all legal requirements are met.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children progress through the curriculum, with a focus on their personal, social and emotional development. This helps them to feel secure and confident in their learning. Children develop their language development exceptionally well. They build their vocabulary at every opportunity. Children benefit from sitting calmly to read a story before their morning sleep. These activities help children to develop their early literacy skills and enjoy reading.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children are highly motivated and have a positive attitude to their learning. They are encouraged to take the lead in planning their learning for the month ahead. Children receive support during transitions by regularly visiting school and keeping in close contact with teachers, ensuring that the process is smooth and reassuring.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The nurturing and inspiring childminder develops very warm, trusting and respectful relationships with children. Younger children are visibly happy in her care, smiling and seeking her attention as they crawl around the rooms. Children say how much they love the childminder, describing her as 'kind' and 'lovely'.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder discusses emotions with all ages of children, using emotion stars, books and puppets. Older children often use the resources with younger children. They explain what the drawings on the emotion stars mean and help the younger children to begin to understand their feelings.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children feel extremely safe and secure. They move confidently around the house and choose what they play with. When children need extra support, they ask for a kind word or a cuddle, and the childminder responds quickly with warmth and affection. This positive emotional environment helps children to feel valued, supporting their curiosity, independence and enthusiasm for learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children actively contribute to a respectful culture. The childminder and children together set clear expectations for how they should interact with each other. They encourage turn-taking, sharing and showing consideration for others and their differences. Children then create their own rules and boundaries, reminding each other if the rules are not being followed. From a young age, children learn hygiene routines, such as handwashing, to keep their hands clean from germs. They also help to prepare fruit for a snack, understanding that only 2 children can use fruit knives at a time. The childminder works to promote the importance of punctuality and attendance by building positive and supportive relationships with parents and carers.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder knows each child and their family extremely well. She responds with sensitivity to their individual needs. The childminder notices when children need extra support, such as help with brushing their teeth in the morning, and offers timely and practical assistance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's health and wellbeing are a high priority. Children spend extensive time outdoors being physically active through local community initiatives or while visiting the childminder's allotment. The childminder also uses these experiences to teach children about healthy lifestyles and where food comes from. She promotes children's independence from an early age. Children confidently use knives to help prepare their daily fruit, and they take responsibility for simple tasks, building essential self-care and life skills.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Younger children settle in exceptionally well. The childminder gathers detailed information from parents and carers and carefully follows familiar routines, ensuring a reassuring transition. She manages sleep routines with warmth and consistency, fostering strong emotional attachments and creating a secure and nurturing environment. Children use a range of thoughtfully chosen resources to help them to talk about and understand their emotions. Older children model these strategies and share them with younger children, helping them to develop their early understanding of their emotions and positive relationships.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder thoughtfully supports each child's individual learning and development by observing their unique interests, strengths and needs. She knows exactly what she wants children to learn. Her curriculum centres on all children being confident and kind, believing in themselves and being well prepared for school. The childminder prioritises children's physical, personal, social and emotional development by providing a safe, supportive and stimulating environment. She plans activities that encourage movement, independence and healthy routines focusing on spending time outside and on her allotment, where the children help to grow and harvest vegetables and fruit.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Parents and carers comment that their children are ready to succeed in their later learning because the childminder plans activities that match their children's individual needs and skills. The childminder thoughtfully supports each child's individual learning and development by observing their unique interests, strengths and needs, then extending their learning. The childminder builds vocabulary into every area of learning, especially in mathematics, using precise language such as 'up', 'under' and 'over' while pushing a toy car over a bridge to the younger children. The curriculum is enriched with real-world experiences that provide opportunities that build children's knowledge and understanding of the world. For example, the childminder plans visits to the local library and a weekly toddler group, as well as chances to care for chickens and grow vegetables on her allotment. Children learn about taking care of the environment

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

and the importance of helping others. They take part in litter picking in the local community. These meaningful experiences nurture children's curiosity, broaden their understanding of the world and give them the confidence to take part in community life.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents to support every aspect of their children's development. She provides daily updates on children's routines, progress and experiences. The childminder holds parents' meetings to discuss each child's development and offers practical ideas for activities at home, such as supporting children to brush their teeth and with toileting.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder consistently monitors children's communication skills through everyday interactions, play and observation. She discusses children's learning sensitively with parents and carers and seeks advice from speech and language professionals when needed. The childminder implements recommended strategies within daily routines, ensuring that support is timely, targeted and well tailored to each child's individual needs. Although no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or from disadvantaged backgrounds are currently attending the setting, the childminder demonstrates an excellent understanding of how to recognise when children may require additional support and the steps to take in response.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder places a high value on diversity and inclusion. She provides books and resources that reflect a wide range of cultures and family structures. When children seek further knowledge, the childminder provides suitable resources and supports them as they process what they are learning. The childminder's ability to identify when children may require additional support, through the use of her observations, planning activities to support children's learning and reviewing the progress they make, helps to reduce barriers to their learning. By recognising each child's individual needs, responding promptly, seeking guidance from other professionals and using the early years pupil premium to buy resources identified through discussions with the children and their families, the childminder creates an inclusive environment where every child can thrive.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder is dedicated to continual professional development and reflective practice. She keeps her mandatory training up to date and ensures that any emergency assistants she works with do the same. The childminder has completed a wide range of training, which helps her provide consistently high-quality education and care for every child in the setting.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder also uses current guidance to inform her practice and update her knowledge. For example, she shares oral hygiene data with families and children, supporting them in making healthy food choices and accessing toothbrushing resources. The childminder demonstrates a clear and ambitious vision for the setting. She develops this vision through reflective practice and seeks feedback from children and parents. The childminder has expanded outdoor play opportunities by obtaining an allotment, which children regularly visit to tend vegetables and care for chickens.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder collaborates with local childminders through a joint toddler group, enhancing her own practice even further while also giving children opportunities to socialise in larger groups.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has met the requirements of the compulsory part of the Childcare Register.

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Register

When we check if settings meet the Compulsory Childcare Register requirements, they can have the following outcomes:

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

Children, including those who have only recently started attending, settle well, supported by a thoughtful settling-in process. They demonstrate that they form secure bonds with the highly experienced childminder, seeking her out for reassurance while exploring and playing. During the settling-in process, the childminder gathers detailed information about each child, which enables her to provide tailored support as they adjust to the new environment. Once children feel safe and secure, the childminder uses this information to plan and deliver activities that build on each child's individual starting points, promoting their ongoing development and engagement.

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What it's like to be a child at this setting

The childminder takes time to understand children extremely well. Instrumental to this are the positive relationships she forms with children's families. The childminder uses this information to make sure that every learning opportunity is meaningful and matched to children's individual needs. For example, she supports young children's speech development through modelling language, introducing a variety of sounds, singing or using sign language as part of the daily routine.

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Inspector:

Joanne Goldsmith The childminder and children together set clear expectations for how children interact with each other in their environment. She encourages children to take turns, share, explore their emotions and develop consideration for others. The childminder teaches children about any differences they may encounter in the children and families around them.

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Inspector:

The younger children show they feel extremely safe and secure by being confident in moving freely around the house and exploring. They giggle with delight as the childminder praises their attempts at standing or pushing a toy car over a bridge. Older children write that the childminder is 'kind' and 'lovely', gives them cuddles and gives them a safe space to talk. This positive emotional environment enables children to feel valued and safe, supporting their curiosity, independence and eagerness to learn.

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Next steps

The childminder should sustain her work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. She should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with childminder, children and parents during the inspection.

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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection 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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About this inspection

A quality assurance visit by an additional inspector was carried out at this inspection.

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Address:

16 Swansley Lane Lower Cambourne CAMBRIDGE CB23 6BT

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:45 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

This data was available to the inspector at the time of the inspection.

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Exceptional

Practice is exceptional: of the highest standard nationally. Other settings can learn from it.

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Strong standard

The setting reaches a strong standard. Leaders are working above the standard expected of them.

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Expected standard

The setting is fulfilling the expected standard of education and/or care. This means they are following the standard set out in statutory and non ‑ statutory legislation and the professional standards expected of them.

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Needs attention

The expected standards are not met but leaders are likely able to make the necessary improvements.

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Urgent improvement

The setting needs to make urgent improvements to provide the expected standard of education and/or care.

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Urgent improvement

services providing education and skills for children and learners of all ages, and inspects and regulates services that care for children and young people.

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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