Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY554452 Registered with Ofsted: 07/12/2017 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. This puts children at significant risk of harm. The childminder is not clear about which agencies to contact and the role that they play in safeguarding children, including the local authority designated officer. The childminder has a poor understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child could be at risk of harm. This means that she may not be able to identify and act appropriately when there are concerns about a child's welfare. This compromises children's safety.

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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 Urgent improvement

Children are not taught the skills they will require for their next stage in education, such as how to manage their emotions, to be kind to their friends, sharing and taking turns. Children are unable to regulate their emotions, which often results in children being hurt by their friends.

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Achievement Urgent improvement

Children do not make secure progress in their communication and language development. This is because the childminder does not develop and extend children's communication and language development. For example, the childminder fails to interact and communicate with babies as they watch older children feed the guinea pigs. This means that gaps in children's learning, including children with barriers to their learning, are not identified and targeted support implemented.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to teach children appropriate behaviour strategies. Children do not understand what acceptable behaviour is. For example, when children roll trucks up and down a glass cabinet, the childminder does not challenge this and explain it is not safe. When children's emotions overwhelm them and their frustrations are directed at their friends, the childminder offers no comfort or reassurance. This has a negative impact on children's emotional wellbeing and does not prepare them for their next stage in education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Activities provided do not capture children's attention for sustained periods of time. Lack of adult interaction means that any learning that takes place is incidental and not gained from meaningful planning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Children's attendance is monitored daily. Contact is made with parents to identify reasons for late attendance or absences and recorded in the attendance book.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Urgent improvement

Children are confident to seek help when needed and have a positive relationship with the childminder. When children arrive, they greet their friends with enthusiasm.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to ensure children are safe from unauthorised persons entering the property or children leaving unsupervised. This compromises children's safety.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to ensure safer eating procedures are implemented. For example, children touch and share food from one bowl. When food is dropped on the kitchen floor, this is then placed into the children's bowl to eat. The childminder does not always ensure children are within sight and hearing when eating to protect children from potential choking. This puts children at risk of harm.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Risk assessments are ineffective and do not identify risks to children's safety. For example, the toilet seat was not secure, children were allowed to roll cars up and down a glass cabinet that does not contain safety glass, and toiletries were accessible to children in the bathroom. This compromises children's safety.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

Hygiene practices are poor. Children share a hand towel for washing and drying hands, and some areas that children access are dirty. The childminder has failed to provide children with appropriate seating when eating snacks and meals. Children, including babies, sit on the kitchen floor to eat their food. Dog food and water bowls are on the floor next to where children eat. This compromises children's health.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to teach children to understand and manage their emotions. When children disagree, the childminder does not intervene and demonstrate a resolution such as sharing and taking turns. As a result, children's interactions with each other often escalate to hurting their friends.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Assessment of children's progress is ineffective. The childminder does not identify children's starting points or make regular assessments of children's learning across all 7 areas of the early years foundation stage. The childminder has little understanding of what she wants children to learn. Teaching is ineffective, as there is little interaction between the childminder and the children she cares for. The childminder does not identify and implement targeted support for those children who have barriers to their learning. This reduces opportunities for children to make progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

The childminder identified supporting children to be healthy as part of her curriculum. However, she demonstrates a poor understanding of how to develop children's good health. For example, children are given food that has been dropped on the floor. They share food that has been touched by others and walk around eating unsupervised. This compromises children's health.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

Daily visits to play centres offer children socialisation opportunities. Children develop their physical skills through climbing, jumping and navigating the obstacles. However, daily visits reduce opportunities for the childminder to plan meaningful and purposeful learning to develop children's learning across other areas of learning, such as communication and language. Activities provided do not consider the potential learning needs of individual children.

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Curriculum and teaching Urgent improvement

The childminder does not help children develop a love of stories by reading to them or using books to find out further information. For example, when some children become disengaged from stories, the childminder puts the story away and disregards the children who were actively listening. This means children do not always understand the value of books, reading and sharing stories.

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

The provision is poorly resourced and does not meet the needs of the children attending. For example, all children, including babies, are provided with the same resources. There are no adaptions or adult support provided, which results in chaotic and often inappropriate play. The childminder does not identify relevant next steps in children's learning and development, particularly for children who have barriers to their learning and development. She is guided by her co-childminder, who focuses on children's major milestones, such as walking and toilet training. This leads to gaps in the vital learning stages of children's development, including communication and language skills, managing their own feelings, how to share their toys and how to keep themselves safe. The childminder has not implemented effective strategies and assessment to support children's language acquisition, including for children who receive support from external agencies. This impacts on the

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Inclusion Urgent improvement

The childminder's practice is not inclusive for all children attending. Activities are focused on older children while babies are not provided with age-appropriate resources to explore and make sense of the world around them. Children's progress checks at age 2 have been completed, and these have been shared with parents.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder does not have a good enough understanding of the signs and symptoms that may indicate a child may be at risk of harm, including through terrorism and extremism. The childminder has failed to ensure that children are supervised while eating and have appropriate chairs for mealtimes. This compromises children's health and safety.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to implement risk assessments to identify and eliminate potential risks to children's health and safety. This includes the safety of the premises to prevent unauthorised persons from entering. This puts children at risk of harm.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to ensure appropriate activities and opportunities are accessible to all ages of children. Activities and resources do not meet the individual needs of children attending. She has a poor understanding of how children learn, which has resulted in gaps in children's learning and development. This impacts on the progress children make in their learning and development, including children who have barriers to their learning.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder does not identify the weaknesses in her practice, which limits the opportunity for improvement. She has not worked on recommendations raised at her last inspection, and the quality of the provision has declined significantly. The childminder has completed some training courses to develop her skills and knowledge. However, this is not reflected in her practice.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not 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 not 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 is not clear about who to contact if she has a child protection concern or an allegation is made against herself or family member. She has a poor understanding of what can make children vulnerable to terrorism and extremism. The premises are not secure, presenting a risk of unauthorised persons entering or children leaving the premises unattended. The childminder's poor risk assessments fail to identify potential risks to children. For example, toiletries are accessible to children and the toilet seat is not fitted. This compromises children's safety. Children are not consistently supervised while eating, which means the childminder is not always available in case of potential choking. The childminder demonstrates a poor understanding of food hygiene, such as when food is dropped on the floor then placed on children's plates. Safer eating practices are ineffective and put children at risk of harm.

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

Children's learning opportunities are not all valued. When older children go outdoors to feed the guinea pigs, babies watch from the doorway with no interaction or conversation. Children's storytelling experiences are inconsistent. When listening to a story and children leave, the childminder puts the book away, disregarding the learning of others that were listening. Gaps in children's learning are not identified due to the childminder's poor understanding of how children learn. This includes children known to social care and those who have barriers to their learning. Teaching of the curriculum is unimaginative and does not engage children in their learning. This impacts on the progress all children make.

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

Children do not understand how to manage their own feelings, and inappropriate behaviour is not addressed by the childminder. Children do not understand what appropriate behaviour is, as boundaries are not made clear. As a result, play is often chaotic, as children will not share or take turns. This compromises children's positive interactions with their peers.

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Next steps

The provider is not meeting the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare register and Ofsted intends to take enforcement action.

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Next steps

We will issue a Welfare Requirements Notice requiring the provider to have taken the following actions by the assigned date:

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snacks and meals

ensure children are always supervised when eating to keep them safe 22/01/2026

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Date

implement effective hygiene routines to promote children's health 22/01/2026

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Date

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 her co-childminder.

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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 inspection

We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this. Registration date: 07/12/2017

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 17:30

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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

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