Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 322695 Registered with Ofsted: 07/10/1998 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 Expected standard

The childminder provides care that meets children's individual needs effectively. Children benefit from daily outdoor provision, including walks in the community, visits to local parks and play centres and seasonal use of the garden. These experiences support children's physical development, independence and social confidence, enabling children to engage positively with their environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Nutrition and hydration routines promote children's health. Children are offered balanced meals and snacks, with water readily available, and are encouraged to understand healthy eating habits and oral hygiene. The childminder discusses foods and routines with children, reinforcing healthy lifestyles, and children demonstrate awareness of these habits. Daily sleep routines are well managed, with children resting in travel cots under supervision. The childminder applies her knowledge of safe sleep arrangements consistently. Secure and responsive relationships support children's emotional wellbeing. Overall, children are confident to express needs, manage routines and engage socially.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder provides consistent routines and responsive care, which supports children's physical health, emotional wellbeing and social development. Children are safe, confident and able to participate in daily activities, demonstrating that their welfare and wellbeing are supported effectively.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children make progress in aspects of their learning. They confidently engage in conversations during routines and play, developing their communication skills and extending their vocabulary. Children show curiosity as they explore creative and outdoor activities, demonstrating interest in their surroundings and a willingness to try new experiences.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children do not consistently build on what they already know across all areas of learning. At times, activities do not fully support them in deepening or securing their understanding, which means some children do not make the progress they are capable of. Children who may require additional support are not always provided with learning experiences that precisely meet their individual needs, limiting opportunities for them to achieve as well as possible.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children benefit from daily routines and practical experiences that encourage independence, social interaction and confidence. However, variations in the learning experiences provided mean that children are not always fully supported in developing the knowledge and skills needed to prepare them for their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently adapt activities or support strategies to meet the individual needs of all children. Children who face barriers to learning or development do not always receive tailored support, which can limit their ability to participate confidently in group activities and collaborative play. Engagement with external professionals is limited, meaning that opportunities to access timely advice or coordinated support are missed, reducing the childminder's ability to reinforce age-appropriate behaviour expectations effectively. Despite these challenges, children generally settle quickly on arrival and engage with activities, demonstrating that they feel safe and secure in the setting. The childminder provides calm, clear guidance and intervenes when conflicts arise, supporting children to understand the impact of their actions on others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Overall, children are developing positive attitudes towards routines and learning. For example, during story time, they listen attentively, ask questions and engage with the story, demonstrating curiosity and enjoyment in learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder promotes attendance through a clear approach to monitoring and managing non-attendance. She maintains accurate records of arrivals and departures, communicates expectations clearly with families and follows up if children are absent without explanation. Flexible drop-off and pick-up arrangements help families maintain consistent attendance, ensuring that children can access provision regularly and benefit from daily routines.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder provides access to all 7 areas of learning and designs the curriculum around children's daily routines, interests and practical experiences. Children benefit from outdoor walks, visits to local parks and creative activities that support physical, social and communication skills. One-to-one interactions, including conversations during activities and practical guidance, help children develop language and an understanding of the world around them.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

However, the curriculum is not consistently sequenced to build on what children already know and can do. Planning does not always take sufficient account of children's developmental stages or emerging additional needs. Some group activities are not adapted well enough for all children, which can make it harder for some children to engage fully or sustain attention. Next steps are not always clearly identified in planning, which limits how effectively learning can be tailored to support children's development.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder demonstrates knowledge of child development and the early years foundation stage educational programmes in her interactions. Children enjoy exploring the environment, participating in physical and creative activities and engaging with the childminder during daily routines.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently identify or act on emerging additional needs, which limits how well all children can access the provision and achieve their potential. Assessment information is not always used effectively to plan support, and strategies to reduce barriers to learning are not applied consistently. This is particularly evident for children with emerging speech or sensory needs, where support is not sufficiently targeted or timely.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Although the childminder knows the children well and maintains positive relationships, she does not consistently engage with external professionals to secure additional support when required. This limits children's access to specialist guidance and delays interventions that could improve their learning, wellbeing and readiness for school.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder provides some reasonable adjustments and adaptations to support children's daily routines, and families benefit from flexible arrangements that promote attendance. Children generally feel safe and included and are able to participate in daily activities.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder ensures that mandatory requirements are met. Required training, including safeguarding and paediatric first aid, is up to date, which helps to keep children safe. The childminder also maintains some contact with local authority early years advisers and receives updates about expectations and events. However, the childminder's understanding of the setting's strengths and areas for development is not precise enough to secure improvement. She has not reflected on practice since the previous inspection and cannot identify improvements made in response to earlier recommendations. Consequently, areas for development are not addressed systematically. Professional development is not used effectively to improve practice. Although some training is accessed, this is irregular and generic. The childminder is unable to demonstrate how recent training has influenced practice or improved outcomes for children. This means that children do not always receive

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

support that is tailored to their abilities, some activities are not fully accessible and opportunities to promptly address children's developmental gaps are limited.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder engages positively with parents. However, engagement with external professionals is limited and not sufficiently purposeful. The childminder lacks confidence in working with professionals to support children with emerging needs or to plan for transitions. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from coordinated support to help them settle quickly or move on smoothly to their next stage of learning.

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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's experiences are generally positive, but they are not yet consistently effective across all aspects of the provision. While the childminder knows the children well, assessment information is not always used to adapt activities or support individual needs. As a result, some activities do not fully meet the needs of all children, which limits engagement and progress.

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

Children are developing some of the skills they need for their future learning. They demonstrate growing independence, social confidence and curiosity, for example in dressing themselves for outdoor play, exploring creative activities and engaging in daily walks and community visits. The childminder supports social interactions and helps children manage minor disputes, but strategies to promote sharing, turn-taking and sustained attention are not applied consistently, which sometimes affects how well children participate in group experiences.

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

Children feel safe, secure and valued. They settle quickly on arrival, engage with activities and enjoy responsive, calm interactions with the childminder. Routines for children's meals, snacks, their hydration and sleep are well managed, supporting children's health and wellbeing. Flexible arrangements, including adjusted working days and drop-off and pick-up support, help families access the provision and promote regular attendance.

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

Children enjoy learning and benefit from responsive support during one-to-one activities. However, weaknesses in adapting group activities and providing timely support for children's emerging additional needs mean that not all children are able to thrive fully or achieve their potential.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children 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 : 07:00 - 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

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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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