Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY477364 Registered with Ofsted: 02/06/2014 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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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 are well prepared for the next stage of their learning. They make positive progress in all areas of their development due to the broad and ambitious curriculum planned by the childminder. Children thrive through an abundance of outside learning opportunities available within the local area. For example, children visit museums, farms and art galleries, learning about the world around them. They visit local playgroups to develop their communication and social skills with larger groups of children, ready for that transition to school.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children develop their physical skills and understand how to negotiate risk safety as they negotiate different apparatus within soft-play centres. Weekly outings to the library reinforce children's love of books and reading. Children demonstrate in the setting they understand how to handle books carefully, and even the youngest children develop a love of core texts.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children develop very secure attachments with the childminder. They seek her out for comfort and reassurance when needed, as well as to share meaningful play interactions. The childminder is highly responsive to children's needs. For instance, she recognises their cues for being sleepy and swiftly adapts the schedule of the morning so that children can have an earlier nap. The childminder also supports children to recognise and manage their own emotions. For example, she verbalises the fact she can see they are hungry or tired, and offers comfort or a snack.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder has rigorous policies, procedures and practices in place that prioritise children's welfare and wellbeing. She regularly reviews these and updates them in line with changes to guidance while remaining highly responsive to the varying needs of children and families. Risk assessments for outings are robust. The childminder teaches children how they also can begin to learn to keep themselves safe, teaching them about road safety for example.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children clearly understand the routines of the day and feel safe within these. They sing along with the childminder as breakfast is prepared and happily take the childminder's hand to go and have their nappy changed. The childminder helps children to develop long-lasting

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Expected standard

healthy habits. Children enjoy a wide range of fresh and nutritionally balanced meals. They take part in cooking activities, and in the garden, they grow fruit and vegetables with the childminder. This growing of fresh produce helps children to understand where food comes from. Children enjoy choosing which fruits from the basket they would like to have daily and learn about the impact that different foods have on their bodies.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder has an excellent understanding of child development and how to structure the curriculum. She accurately tracks children's development to understand what it is they know and can do and what it is they need to learn next. The childminder places a strong focus on children's communication and language. She provides an environment that is rich in language for children, with lots of narrative to enhance children's vocabulary as they play.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder uses intimate care routine times as opportunities to engage purposefully with children and promote their personal, social and emotional development, She sings to them as she changes them and helps them to identify their facial features by pointing to their eyes, nose and ears using repetition. The childminder skilfully builds on children's learning. She carefully connects their next steps with different activities across all areas of learning so that every interaction is used as an opportunity to embed this learning. For example, the childminder is currently working on counting from one to 10 with children. She encourages children to count as they go up and down the stairs, sing number rhymes and read stories where they can count different objects they see on the page.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder places a clear focus on children's physical development. For example, she provides a wide range of experiences to develop children's core skills, such as coordination, balance and strength.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder works closely with parents and carers to ensure that they understand the importance that regular attendance has on their children's early education. She is flexible, where appropriate, to overcome any barriers to children's attendance swiftly.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has clear rules and boundaries in place for children and understands the importance of promoting consistency so children clearly know the expectations of the setting. Even the youngest children understand that they must not climb on furniture.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder is a positive role model for children, saying 'thank you' when she is given something by children. She has developed positive relationships with children and created an environment that is filled with praise and encouragement, which promotes confidence and self-esteem. Although for most of the time the childminder provides experiences that capture children's imaginations, there are times when she does not consistently follow children's interests to help them to stay focused. For example, as the childminder begins to sing a nursery rhyme, children are not as interested and look for other distractions. However, as soon as the childminder sings one of their favourite rhymes, they are fully focused. Due to the ambitious targets the childminder has for children, this does not have a significant impact on children's overall learning and outcomes.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Although there are currently no children at the setting with special educational needs and/or disabilities or who are disadvantaged, the childminder keeps up to date with training on how to assess, plan and review all children's progress. This helps her to understand the next steps to take should children need additional interventions or referrals.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder describes how she has previously worked together with parents and carers to put reasonable adjustments in place, such as giving children extra time for processing information. She has embedded these strategies within her setting to ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum. The childminder has good connections with the early years team at the local authority. She understands the support that is available to her should she need advice or support.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is clear that any additional funding she receives for children should be used to close any gaps in their development. She discusses how she has used previous funding to add to her resources, especially in terms of a wider range of books, to boost the communication and language development of all children.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has a good oversight of her setting. She understands the strengths in what she does and how she could continue to develop her services to offer children and families high-quality care and education.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder recognises the importance of continuing her own professional development. She has understood the need to develop her understanding of supporting children with their emotional literacy, and so recently undertook a course around this. This reinforced for her the importance of listening to children fully without distractions, so they feel heard and their opinions valued. The course also provided the childminder with techniques to support children to understand what they are feeling and how she can guide them. This has had a positive impact on children within the setting.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has developed effective relationships with parents and carers. She ensures that communication is clear and open, and parents value this. They comment that they feel very well informed of what their children are learning and how they can continue to support this at home. Parents feel that their children have been well prepared for school. The childminder provides detailed transition reports to schools that children move to that detail the progress they have made since their starting points.

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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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Voluntary Childcare Register requirements

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

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Register

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

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

The childminder has created a safe, warm and welcoming home-from-home environment. Children are settled and display high levels of confidence and a curiosity to explore. The childminder is enthusiastic in her engagement with children. She gets down to children's level and interacts with them in a purposeful way. For example, the childminder

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Inspector:

Natalie O'Leary demonstrates how certain toys work, such as a shape sorter, and then allows children to problem-solve to work out how to get the shapes into the different slots.

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Inspector:

Children develop positive relationships with others. They bring resources to share experiences with others. Children are beginning to understand that some resources belong to them and others are shared. The childminder supports children to understand how to take turns through songs and simple games. She promotes a love of reading and books with children. The childminder rotates books to fit in with the learning interests of children, providing a rich range of fiction and factual books. Children understand how to handle books with care. They turn the pages carefully as the childminder points out the different animals. Children laugh with glee when the childminder makes the noises of the different animals, such as roaring like a lion.

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Inspector:

Children thrive within the setting, which is an inclusive environment where all children can see themselves positively represented. The childminder learns key words in children's home languages and incorporates these into her interactions with children. This promotes a strong sense of self and belonging within children.

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Inspector:

The childminder has high expectations of children. She has worked hard since her last inspection to provide opportunities for children to be more independent. For instance, the childminder has safety knives so children can help prepare snacks and cook with her. She also supports younger children to learn to feed themselves, providing support and guidance where needed.

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Next steps

The childminder should consider how to give children more choice within their learning to ensure that they are consistently engaged and focused in their play.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, children, and parents and carers 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 setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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