Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY361062 Registered with Ofsted: 24/08/2007 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's speech and language skills are extremely well supported. All children thoroughly enjoy group time and enthusiastically sing favourite songs together while joining in with the familiar actions. Even the youngest children use interesting words that quickly become immersed in their play. When children make pretend drinks for others, the childminder asks if it is 'delicious' or 'atrocious'. Children fall about laughing and stating it is 'atrocious', fully knowing it means it tastes bad. All children actively involve themselves in back-and-forth conversations with others. They take time to think and provide their individual responses.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children make excellent progress from their starting points. Identified gaps in children's learning are closing quickly. Children are ready for the next stage in their education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder places emphasis on children being respectful and mindful of others. She installs an attitude of kindness in all interactions that children experience. The childminder is an excellent role model. She reinforces how children can resolve their own conflicts with others. In turn, children confidently and politely ask to share toys and negotiate when they can take a turn. Children play together remarkably well, which supports their developing social skills. They happily work together to run a pretend coffee shop. Children determine their roles, such as serving coffee, making cakes and charging the childminder for their services.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder has built strong and secure relationships with children who thrive on her attention and praise. They beam with delight when the childminder expresses her pride when they persevere with new experiences. Children are remarkably confident in making choices, asking for their needs to be met and exploring their environment. Routines are fully established, and children know what is expected of them. They independently pick fallen items from the floor, showing care for the resources. Children excitedly tell the childminder it is time to wash hands as they recognise it is lunchtime.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder monitors children's attendance. She has a clear process in place to enable parents to communicate any absence early in the day. The childminder understands the importance of regular attendance and the positive impact it has on children's development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children build a strong attachment to the childminder, helping them settle and feel secure. The childminder works closely with parents to develop care routines that are aligned to what is experienced at home. Children develop a sense of belonging and are consistently confident and independent.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder provides regular information to parents to embed healthy lifestyles. As a result, children are provided with healthy, nutritious lunch boxes and fresh drinking water. Children are supported to sit safely at mealtimes and reminded to sit 'tummy to table', so they do not fall. The childminder creates a calm and comfortable environment for children who need sleep or rest. She regularly checks on children, ensuring that they remain safe while they sleep.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children have a multitude of opportunities to develop their physical skills. The childminder ensures that children get daily access to outdoor play and go on local woodland walks. Children excitedly dress up as butterflies. They use their muscles to jump and hop, pretending to flap their wings to the music.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder embeds support for children's emotional wellbeing. Children readily look at 'emotion spoons' to find one that reflects how they feel. They giggle as they practise making the faces they can see on the spoons. When children start to become overwhelmed, the childminder calmly speaks with them about why they feel that way. This helps to validate children's emotions.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder has carefully constructed a curriculum that builds on children's existing knowledge and skills. She places a clear focus on supporting children's emotional wellbeing, independence and physical skills. She expertly uses assessment and observation to identify and support each child's next steps. All children receive excellent support. The childminder is proactive, working closely with parents to ensure that additional funding is best spent to help children thrive.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder knows exactly when to interact with children to enhance their learning and teach them new skills. Children concentrate for lengthy periods of time during a craft activity. They use their finger and hand muscles to use scissors, snipping wool and cutting paper shapes. Children who need additional help are encouraged to position their fingers correctly while being provided with words of encouragement. This sees children persevere and show immense pride at their achievements.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder is fully aware of each child's level of ability and skilfully adapts her teaching accordingly. For example, to support early mathematics, children are helped to identify numbers in a play telephone book and match these on their toy phones. Others work with the childminder to build towers from blocks. The childminder embeds mathematical

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Expected standard

language during their play regarding colours, positional language and size. This ensures that each child consistently builds on what they already know and can do.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder is highly qualified and values her continuing professional development. She has taken proactive steps that are based on recent changes to the early years foundation stage to enhance her knowledge further on healthy eating. The childminder has used this knowledge to work with parents on providing their children with healthy lunchboxes. The childminder is reflective and precisely matches her training needs to the cohort of children she cares for. For example, she has proactively sourced and undertaken specifically focused safeguarding training to support herself in her role.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Parents state the childminder works with them during their children's settling-in period to ensure that children feel secure and safe. They say the childminder consistently provides feedback about what their child is achieving at the setting and provides regular ideas that parents can continue at home to further support their child's progress. Parents say their children have quickly grown in confidence and their interactions with others.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder recognises the benefit of enhancing children's experience of the local community. For example, she and the children are currently involved in a community art project. This helps children gain access to wider experiences that they may otherwise not have.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder knows the children in her care well, including what makes them unique. She accurately assesses children's development and achievements to determine appropriate next steps, which are embedded within children's play. The childminder works with external professionals to ensure that children receive the support they need to help them make the progress they are capable of.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder uses funding effectively to support children. For example, targeted funding is used to purchase appropriate resources to support children's development and provide opportunities that children may not otherwise have. The childminder monitors and reviews the impact this has on children's learning to ensure that it helps to improve outcomes for them.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has a clear understanding of how she would support any children who face barriers to their learning, such as those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, including how to help them make progress. However, she has not yet fully extended her skills, knowledge and experience in this area to help her make a sustained difference to these children's opportunities and experiences when relevant.

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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

Children are extremely happy and settled. The childminder's house is full of children's laughter as they engage with the exciting and inviting activities on offer. The childminder is highly responsive and skilfully adapts children's play activities to ensure that each child's individual learning needs are met. Children are highly motivated and remain deeply engaged in their play as they take part in the well-considered activities.

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

The childminder ensures that children's speech and language skills are extremely well supported. Children benefit from being immersed in a language-rich environment, and even the youngest children are becoming confident communicators who are developing excellent speech and language skills. The childminder uses effective strategies, such as narrating

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Inspector:

Susan Hyatt what children are doing, using excellent questioning skills to prompt children's thinking and introducing new words with clearly explained meanings during play.

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Inspector:

Children behave incredibly well. The childminder is an excellent role model and interacts with kindness, care and respect. She has high expectations and supports children to be mindful of others. As a result, children are highly responsive to their friends. Even the youngest children offer assurance and comfort to their friends when they show minor upset.

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Inspector:

The childminder consistently promotes an inclusive environment for all children in her care. She ensures that activities and routines are closely aligned with their next steps and skilfully uses every opportunity to extend children's learning. She works closely with parents to understand each child's needs, ensuring that routines are aligned with what children experience at home. The childminder creates an environment that consistently encourages children's early independence skills. Children freely tidy away when change occurs within the daily routine. They help each other set up activities they have chosen and identify what additional resources they need for their play. The childminder encourages children to do as much for themselves as possible, including expressing their own needs.

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Next steps

The childminder should continue to build on her work to ensure ongoing improvement in inclusive practice. She should focus on further enhancing her understanding of how to support any disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing that they may care for in the future.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and the 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 setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:00 - 16:00

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About this setting

Local authority: Nottinghamshire County Council

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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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