Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY137172 Registered with Ofsted: 21/05/2002 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

Equitable access to experiences ensures that all children are included, engaged and motivated to learn alongside their peers. This supports their sustained progress across all areas of learning and development. Children develop excellent communication, social and emotional skills while enjoying opportunities to explore, investigate and interact with their environment.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children confidently use early numeracy and language skills through counting, songs and everyday activities. They show increasing curiosity, independence and physical coordination. Children engage enthusiastically in sensory and outdoor play, developing their strength, balance and confidence.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children demonstrate growing confidence in making choices, expressing their needs and interacting with others. They achieve well from their individual starting points and gain the essential skills and knowledge needed for the next stage of learning, including starting school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder provides a happy, calm and positive environment, where she models respect, care and kindness consistently. She considers each child's age and stage of development, individual needs and circumstances when maintaining expectations. Children develop a clear understanding of their emotions. They learn to manage their behaviour through strategies that are tailored to them. When disagreements occur, children are encouraged to resolve issues independently. If needed, the childminder guides discussions to help them to understand others' perspectives, reflect on choices and develop strategies to solve problems.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Well-established routines help the day run smoothly. These enable children to feel safe, secure and confident. Mealtimes promote hygiene, healthy eating and independence. The childminder observes babies' signals closely. She adapts her approach when they become upset and sensitively supports them to feel secure. This helps babies to settle and eat well.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Deep and trusting relationships underpin all interactions. Children feel valued, understood and included. Excellent partnerships with parents and carers ensure consistency in routines, weaning, introduction of foods and allergy management. These approaches enable children to engage fully, develop positive behaviour and attitudes and make sustained progress across all areas of learning and development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Care practices are highly effective, responsive and tailored to children's individual needs. Consistent routines for sleeping, feeding and toileting support children's security, comfort and emotional wellbeing. Hygiene practices, including regular nappy changes and clear handwashing routines, promote healthy lifestyles.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates an expert understanding of babies' nutritional, developmental and emotional needs. She prepares healthy and age-appropriate meals following current nutritional guidance and safe weaning practices. The childminder gives detailed attention to food consistency, choking awareness and hygiene. Her interactions are wonderfully warm, nurturing and highly attentive. Babies are supported to develop independence through opportunities for self-feeding, enriched with constant verbal interaction, singing and modelling language, which also supports early communication and learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children are encouraged to express their feelings and needs, and the childminder responds sensitively, helping them manage emotions and develop a secure sense of wellbeing. For example, when babies become unsettled, she observes cues carefully, offers comfort and reassurance and adapts her approach to ensure that children's needs are consistently met in a timely manner.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Excellent partnerships with parents and carers ensure continuity in routines, diet and allergy management. Children gain independence, emotional resilience and confidence in their environment.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder provides a broad, well-sequenced curriculum covering all areas of learning. She demonstrates highly responsive and purposeful practice with a sharp focus on children's physical, personal, social and emotional development.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder has an in-depth clear understanding of children's developmental stages and uses assessment highly effectively to identify next steps. Her consistent narration and excellent modelling of language promote early communication, social interaction and language through engaging activities, such as bubble play and sensory exploration. The childminder demonstrates expert knowledge in adapting provision to meet children's individual needs, providing sensory toys, floor-based activities and cushions to support young babies to sit. She uses objects just out of reach to encourage babies to roll, reach and crawl.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Mathematical concepts are embedded through counting, songs and everyday language. The childminder sings frequently with action and counting songs, engaging children and supporting their enjoyment. She helps them to learn the names of some body parts and numbers from a very early age. Physical play is integral, with children enjoying daily outdoor activities and regular forest school visits. Children thrive in the childminder's care, making excellent progress across in all areas of their learning.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder identifies children's individual needs through information gathered about their starting points, ongoing observations and close partnerships with parents and carers. She monitors children's progress carefully and adapts her support to ensure that all children make the best possible progress from their individual starting points. Through reflective and child-centred practice, she ensures that children receive the support they need to thrive, achieve and access the same opportunities as their peers.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Although the childminder currently has no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those known to children's social care on roll, she demonstrates a secure and applied understanding of the graduated approach. This is informed by previous training, such as in speech and language development, alongside regular engagement with local authority training updates.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder has previously supported children with emerging needs very successfully. For example, she adapts settling-in routines and daily provision to meet individual needs and uses visual choices and non-verbal strategies to support their communication. She has an excellent understanding of when and how to seek advice from external professionals and how to use additional funding to provide equitable experiences for all children This demonstrates confident and inclusive practice that is grounded in real experience.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder maintains consistently high standards across all areas of her work. She demonstrates a clear vision for her setting and proactively introduces improvements, such as new outdoor resources to extend children's exploration, physical development and curiosity. Her commitment to continual improvement reflects her determination to enhance children's learning, independence and engagement.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder is relentless in her pursuit of professional development, regularly accessing training to strengthen her practice. Recent workshops on speech and language development and inclusive strategies have enabled her to adapt activities to meet individual needs.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Secure and trusting relationships with parents and carers are central to the childminder's practice. She shares detailed updates on routines, diet, developmental milestones and strategies to support children's learning at home. Collaborative approaches, such as introducing new foods or supporting emerging communication skills, ensure continuity of care and consistency in children's experiences.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Through proactive planning, reflective practice and strong partnership working, the childminder consistently creates an environment in which children feel secure, valued and understood. This enables them to engage fully, develop confidence and independence and achieve well across all areas of learning and development.

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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 build wonderfully nurturing relationships and form secure attachments with this warm and loving childminder. They settle quickly because well-embedded and consistent routines promote their confidence and emotional security. Children benefit immensely from

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Inspector:

Sarah Dukes an environment that helps them feel safe. They receive cuddles in abundance, further reinforcing their sense of safety and belonging.

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Inspector:

The childminder provides an extremely warm, welcoming and well-managed environment. Children thoroughly enjoy the wide range of experiences available to them. They demonstrate consistently high levels of curiosity and engagement during their play. Shared stories incorporate movement, animal sounds and descriptive language. This broadens children's vocabulary and deepens their understanding of language.

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Inspector:

The childminder skilfully draws on children's own experiences and interests, such as role play based on hospital visits or starting school, and incorporating them into her provision. As a result, children feel secure, confident and motivated to explore. They develop important skills that prepare them well for future learning.

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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 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.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, the children and the 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 : 08:00 - 18:00,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:00 - 18:00,Friday : 08:00 - 09:00,Friday : 15:30 - 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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