Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY429096 Registered with Ofsted: 07/06/2011 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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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children form close bonds with the childminder, often approaching her for a hug. Her primary focus is to support children to belong and thrive. Her warm and open welcome extends to their families. Parents and children add handprints to the 'family tree', and notches on the door record every child she has cared for. They see photos of themselves in her home and happily recall fond memories of their time here. These measures help children to feel deeply valued and unique.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's wellbeing is paramount. The childminder scrutinises her provision to ensure that their welfare remains priority. She consistently encourages children to lead healthy lifestyles. Meals are nutritious, and she talks to children about positive food choices. Parents praise her for 'getting fussy children to try new things'. Children who were initially reluctant now enjoy a much healthier, more varied diet.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Routines are consistently responsive to children's needs, and the childminder's affectionate, nurturing approach puts them completely at ease. For example, she soothes children to sleep with gentle strokes and soft singing. She comforts them when needed and acknowledges their feelings, helping them to understand and express their emotions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder further ensures children's welfare by teaching them to keep themselves safe. Young children know to stay still when eating and choose one piece of fruit at a time. They learn ways to protect their own health through consistent routines, for example learning about germs and the importance of washing their hands at key times. Children learn about road safety when going to the park for daily exercise.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make steady progress. They develop skills in all areas of learning across the broad and balanced curriculum. They show secure imaginative skills, creating scenarios for their favourite characters. Children are keen talkers who chat happily during their play. They build successfully on their vocabulary and learn the meaning of the new words they attempt. However, they would benefit from more consistent support to master their pronunciation and grammar skills.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children overcome any difficulties or barriers to their learning and continue to achieve well. They enjoy activities that match their interests and abilities and help them to build progressively on what they already know and can do in enjoyable ways.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop positive attitudes and motivation that prepare them well for later learning. They are very confident and independent. For example, they eagerly select toys and invite others into their play.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children know what to expect in their day because the childminder creates a supportive environment with familiar routines. This is further supported by her partnership working with parents to enable children's regular and punctual attendance. Consistent attendance helps children to feel safe and settle quickly.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Occasionally, when the childminder gives children instructions, her light-hearted and fun approach leads to children running off to giggle and hide rather than respond. The childminder coaxes or encourages children instead of giving them clear direction. This limits children's opportunities to develop a more secure understanding of when they should follow instructions. That said, children behave well. The childminder models good manners and shows respect to children. This helps children to develop consideration and understand how to form relationships and get along with others. They develop warm and trusting relationships with the childminder.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has realistic expectations of how children of different ages and abilities should behave and understands how their prior experiences can shape their behaviour. She recognises times when she may need to change her approach or activities to support children's positive behaviour. For example, she quickly notices when children become restless and provides space and opportunities to rest and settle their emotions.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder reflects on her curriculum and adapts it to ensure that it meets all children's needs. Overall, she focuses on helping children to be confident and independent and ready for their move to nursery or school. She gathers information from parents and uses her own observations to identify what children already know and what they need to learn next. She plans ahead to ensure that she supports all areas of development. This broadly supports their learning well.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children have plenty of opportunities to develop their independence, confidence and social skills. Overall, the childminder supports children's developing language skills well. Her frequent and skilled interactions help children to build their vocabulary. For example, during stories, the childminder clearly models new words to encourage children to understand and use them. However, occasionally, this is limited. For example, children sometimes are distracted by background music or the television or when allowed to have their dummy beyond rest periods. The childminder encourages children to count and become familiar with numbers. While her teaching in this area is appropriate, she has not considered ways to extend children's understanding of other mathematical concepts such as shape, space and measuring. Although she has attended a training course on this subject, she has not yet applied her learning to strengthen this area of practice further.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children have plenty of opportunities to be physical in their play and enjoy activities such as dance exercises and walks in the community. This helps them to develop confidence and strength in their movements.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder knows children very well, which helps her to identify their individual needs and the best way to support them. Where children attend another setting, such as nursery, she works closely with teachers to provide consistent care and tailored learning experiences. She checks what children are learning and shares her assessments with parents and professionals, such as health visitors. This helps to identify any barriers to children's learning and raise opportunities to seek any specialist support that children might need. The childminder plans to strengthen her understanding of specific needs and disabilities in her professional development.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder's knowledge of each child's preferences, behaviours and interests informs her practice well. For example, she provides plenty of outdoor learning experiences for children who prefer to be active. The childminder ensures that all children are included and do not miss out on key learning experiences. For example, she delivers activities to children at home when they are too poorly to attend her setting. This helps all children to benefit from the full curriculum. Children are supported well to engage in purposeful activities that support their ongoing progress.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder mindfully ensures that all children and families directly benefit from any additional support that is available to them. For example, she passes on supermarket vouchers intended to support families in providing a nutritious diet for their children at home. She discusses how to use early years premium thoughtfully to ensure that eligible children benefit directly from additional support, such as resources that help them to develop particular skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder gathers feedback from parents and uses this, alongside what she knows about the children she cares for, to review and develop her provision. This is further supported by her contact with other professionals and leads to continual improvements in her practice. For example, the childminder identified a need to better support children's oral health. She made links with a local dentist and now includes appropriate toothbrushing activities as part of her routine.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnership working with the local school helps to support the progress of children who attend both settings. The childminder has established a secure two-way flow of information with teachers, which supports a consistent approach to children's care and learning. Furthermore, the childminder knows who to contact if she has concerns about children's progress to ensure they get the right support at the right time.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder keeps her knowledge up to date by attending training and network meetings. However, her professional development is not always focused on building the quality of education she provides. Sometimes, she does not apply her new learning to practice, which limits its impact on children's outcomes. For example, recently she attended training to help her strengthen her curriculum for mathematics, but she has not yet fully embedded this in her teaching.

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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 places children's happiness and wellbeing at the centre of her practice. Her home is filled with fun and laughter, and children clearly enjoy being in her care. The childminder's astute attention to detail helps children to feel at home, and they develop a deep sense of belonging. For example, on cold days, she warms pyjamas on the radiator for them to change into when they return to her home after being out in the cold.

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

Th childminder's high level of support extends to the whole family. She does all she can to support parents to make it easy for them to get children to her setting on time and benefit from the care and learning she provides. The childminder knows parents well, and they report that she goes above and beyond. For example, she sends them home with cooked meals when their schedule is busy so they can spend more quality time with their children in the evening.

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

The childminder thinks carefully about the activities that she provides for children. She identifies children's starting points, knows about their achievements and has a clear sense of what she wants them to learn next. Overall, all children make steady progress in their learning and achieve well. The childminder is quick to identify any barriers to children's learning and adapts her provision to ensure that every child gets the support they need to flourish.

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

Children develop positive relationships with the childminder. Her in-depth knowledge and regard for what makes each child unique helps them to thrive. Children play and learn together happily. They benefit from opportunities to widen their friendship group and develop their social skills through visits in the local community. For example, attendance at carefully selected play sessions gives children experience of being part of a larger group. This helps them to develop confidence and independence in preparation for starting nursery or school.

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Next steps

The childminder should strengthen support for children's language development by removing distractions so that children have more consistent opportunities to hear and speak clearly. The childminder should build on the curriculum for mathematics so that children benefit consistently from more purposeful learning about shape, space and measures. The childminder should give children clear guidance and direction to help them to better understand her expectations, routines and boundaries for behaviour. The childminder should focus her professional development on ways to enhance her teaching skills and apply new learning more consistently.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 18:00

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection and took account of written feedback from parents.

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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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