Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2704302 Registered with Ofsted: 24/07/2023 Registers: EYR

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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 Expected standard

Children make secure progress; they fully engage in a broad and well-planned curriculum. They concentrate and persevere within their learning. For example, they sit and engage in mark making for long periods of time. Furthermore, they are developing a love of books, which they have learned to handle with care. Their ability to stay on task helps them to develop skills they will need to support their future move to school.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are proud of their achievements. For example, they celebrate with the childminder when they can build a tall tower with bricks. This supports their developing self-esteem. The childminder is skilled at identifying and addressing barriers to learning as she is on hand to offer support and extension for individual children. Children are confident in the childminder's care; they are curious and eager to learn new skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder provides a warm and nurturing environment, where children are treated with respect and care. Young children who are new to the setting, settle quickly and demonstrate growing confidence. For example, they independently sit with the older children at lunchtime and enjoy the social interaction. Older children politely communicate their needs and enjoy initiating learning experiences.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children have developed secure emotional attachments with the childminder. This contributes to them feeling safe and secure. Children display helpful behaviours, such as enjoying helping to tidy up. They can work cooperatively with their friends as they learn to understand about the importance of sharing and taking turns. The childminder's clear expectations for behaviour are understood, as children are developing polite behaviours, such as knowing when to say please and thank you. This supports them to develop positive attitudes towards their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder encourages children's attendance and maintains contact with parents when children are away from the setting. This helps to ensure children's safety and wellbeing are prioritised. The childminder works in partnership with parents to overcome any barriers, such as separation anxiety for children who are new to the setting. This helps to build trust and supports smooth transitions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are happy and content in the childminder's care, benefiting from warm, interactions that build confidence and age-appropriate independence. For example, all children, including babies, enjoy the independence of feeding themselves. The childminder sits close by to help ensure children remain safe while eating. Older children learn where food comes from by helping to grow, pick and eat vegetables and fruit. The childminder is aware of the importance of promoting children's understanding of healthy food options.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder has identified the need to promote positive oral health. The childminder is currently working with parents with the intention of implementing teeth brushing as part of children's routines. Furthermore, she ensures that she works closely with parents to support important milestones, such as children learning to use the potty.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children's physical development is prioritised through planned activities that build physical skills. They enjoy energetic play outdoors, climbing and riding wheeled toys, while learning safety rules. The childminder helps children manage emotions by acknowledging feelings and reassuring them, such as when they are tired. Children know and understand the routine when it is time for a sleep. The childminder monitors children closely when sleeping to help ensure they remain comfortable and safe.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder shows secure knowledge of the early years foundation stage and uses this to plan varied experiences that support development across all learning areas. She follows children's interests to deepen understanding and extend skills. For example, when children notice a spider's web, she encourages close observation and invites them to consider what the spider might be doing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

She ensures every interaction is purposeful, fostering warm, positive relationships and creating an inclusive environment, where all children feel valued. Learning is adapted to individual needs, with extra support or challenge offered as needed. The childminder encourages children to think and question, such as when exploring how an interactive toy works, to understand cause and effect. Children learn about shape and size through puzzles and building towers, while she introduces mathematical language, like big, small, tall and long.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Daily story and singing sessions engage all children. They eagerly join in with action rhymes, such as hopping like bunnies, and enjoy learning new words like gold and glitter. The childminder celebrates home languages, encouraging children to learn key words from their friends. Occasionally, background music is played during routines. While children still engage positively, this may reduce opportunities for them to listen fully.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has a secure knowledge and understanding of the unique individual needs of the children in her care. She is clear about their individual progress and how she is supporting them to develop the most important next steps in their learning. The childminder is duly focused on making any adjustments to ensure that any barriers to children's learning are managed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

At the time of the inspection, there were no children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities. However, the childminder demonstrates that she monitors children's progress and uses assessment to help ensure that all children are making the best possible progress. For example, young children who are learning to communicate are encouraged to develop speaking skills in both English and in their home language. Parents highlight the childminder's inclusive approach as a strength of the setting. They value how the childminder promotes their children's home languages and helps their children to become fully integrated within the setting.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder demonstrates that she is confident in her responsibilities to work with outside professional, where this is needed. The childminder understands the importance of how to use additional funding to benefit individual children's welfare and learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder keeps her knowledge of child development up to date and prioritises her training in safeguarding and first aid to promote children's welfare. However, the childminder failed to notify Ofsted of significant events. The childminder rectified this matter when this was brought to her attention. This had no impact on the positive care and learning experiences for children. The childminder has reflected on this matter and demonstrates that she will in future make timely notifications to Ofsted.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder reviews the quality of care that she provides, to ensure she is meeting the needs of all the children and to ensure she is supporting their progress. She understands the importance of working closely with outside professionals, when necessary, to support those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those children that face barriers to learning and/or wellbeing. The childminder works collaboratively with parents to support children's individual care and learning needs. Parents express their children have developed in confidence, they have developed good language skills and social skills and, more importantly, are very happy to attend the setting.

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

Children are happy and settled in the childminder's welcoming, safe and accessible home environment. They are confident to engage in the exciting, planned learning experiences. Children are delighted to explore the properties of corn flour; they spend extensive periods of time concentrating and persevering within these fun learning experiences. The childminder is skilled at using this time to extend children's speaking and language skills. Children are encouraged to talk about how the corn flour feels and to observe the changes as water is added to the flour. Children are developing positive social skills and secure relationships as the childminder role models how they must work together and share resources.

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

The childminder understands child development and how children learn. She works closely with parents to ensure she meets all children's individual needs and supports them to make progress from their starting points. The childminder shares the importance of children's regular attendance and home learning ideas with parents, which supports children's progress. She is duly focused on promoting inclusive practice. For example, the childminder observes how younger children are watching older friends ride wheeled toys and promptly encourages them to join in. She demonstrates how to use the trike and closely supervises to ensure their safety. Children are developing secure independence skills; they are able to move freely between the 2 rooms that are set up for them. They confidently access resources independently and enjoy the childminder's warm interactions as she engages in their learning choices. For example, children are delighted when the childminder plays along

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

with imaginary games as they pretend to feed the toy dog. Children demonstrate they have secure attachments as they enjoy receiving reassuring cuddles and consistent praise. For example, they are delighted when the childminder acknowledges how well they have remembered words they have learned in Spanish.

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Next steps

The childminder should consider how background music is incorporated into daily routines when planning, ensuring it supports rather than limits children's ability to listen and engage fully in conversations.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her co-childminder and parents/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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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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