Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2837623 Registered with Ofsted: 31/10/2025 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

The childminder prioritises practices to teach children how to look after themselves and their environment. She involves children in daily routine tasks, such as washing up after snack time. This helps children to learn skills and form habits that will underpin their future health and cleanliness. Children from a young age show that they are making healthy choices by enjoying the fruits and vegetables offered to them, and signalling when they want a drink.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder constantly reviews the ways in which she cares for children. She reflects on learning from the early years sector, such as regarding children's safe sleep. The childminder is highly responsive and adapts the routine of the day to reflect children's changing needs, such as the different times that children need to rest. The childminder works collaboratively with parents and carers to understand children's changing routines and care requirements. Parents comment that the childminder is 'wonderfully attentive' to their children's needs.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder plans children's physical activity and their time spent outside with careful consideration of what she wants children to learn next. She organises outings to places where children can excel in their physical development. The childminder understands that children have different needs, and she makes sure her abilities and skills as a childminder support their secure wellbeing and welfare. This includes the rate at which she enrols new children, so that she has ample time to form a solid relationship with children and their families before taking on more responsibility.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make expected progress. This is particularly evident in children who have faced some barriers to their learning in their earlier years. Children practise using their physical skills on daily walks in local woodland areas, where they manoeuvre over tree roots, balance and climb. Through this activity, children build their strength and stamina so that they can take on more physical challenges as they grow older.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make steady progress in their communication and language development. Younger children start to engage in back-and-forth dialogue as they develop their conversational skills at snack time. They copy the childminder and pronounce recognisable words, such as 'car'. Young children would benefit from being given more time to process and respond to the language they hear. Children show that they know how to handle books. They hold books the correct way around and turn pages from left to right.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has appropriate expectations for children's behaviour, taking into consideration their different ages and stages of development. She helps children to understand the impact of their actions and links this with helping them to learn how they can stay safe. For instance, the childminder reminds children not to pour water on the floor while washing up because they could slip.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder leads by example. For example, she uses kind words and a nurturing tone of voice with the children. This helps children to learn how they should interact with others. Children respond well to this approach. They show their secure attachments with the childminder as they are soothed and quickly settle to sleep.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder teaches children how to take care of her pet cat. Through this learning, children practise using some of their kind behaviours. The childminder helps parents to understand the importance of their child's regular attendance at the setting. She explains that this instils a routine and supports children's consistent learning and development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder knows what she wants children to learn and why. The curriculum is age and developmentally appropriate for the children who attend the setting. The childminder explains how she would adapt the curriculum for older and younger children, or for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Her focus is on getting children ready for the next stages of their education. The childminder uses assessment to identify what children know and can do. From this, she plans activities to help children make progress in line with their individual learning goals.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

For the most part, the childminder uses effective teaching methods. She reads books which feature mathematical language to help children to learn about concepts, such as 'in front' and 'behind'. The childminder has rightly prioritised children's physical development based on her accurate assessments. She knows that promoting children's communication and language development is extremely important and, overall, she does this well. However, the childminder sometimes limits children's opportunity to use their developing language. For example, during story time, she gives children little time to process and respond to what they are hearing and seeing. Also, although the childminder takes children on regular outings, she has not yet secured a consistent approach to enable children to practise using their developing social skills with larger groups of peers, during times when they attend the setting on their own.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has systems in place to identify children's different and unique learning and development needs. This includes effective communication with parents and carers, when children first start. This helps the childminder to understand their lives at home and make an accurate assessment of what children know and can do. When the childminder notices that children may need some extra support in a particular area, she makes the necessary adaptations so that all children make expected progress. For example, she prioritises parts of the curriculum, such as around physical development, to increase children's exposure to the learning that they need most.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is undertaking training to develop her knowledge of how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). This learning will secure the childminder's knowledge of strategies that she can use to make sure children with SEND make swift and secure progress using the graduated approach. The childminder understands that additional funding must be used to benefit the children who are entitled to it. She explains how she would monitor the impact of additional funding to make sure that it is being used appropriately.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has a clear understanding of her strengths and her areas for development. She engages in relevant training and professional development opportunities to keep her knowledge and skills up to date and in line with requirements. This helps the childminder to become more confident in her role and informs her reflections and evaluation of the setting. However, the childminder has not yet established a network of professional support, where she can reflect with others and benefit from support for her wellbeing. This would contribute to her continued professional development and evolving knowledge and skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has formed effective relationships with parents and carers. There is a regular exchange of information about children's experiences at home and at the setting. This helps the childminder to know when she might need to change how she is caring for children or adapt the learning on offer.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder understands the characteristics of the area in which she operates. She recognises certain vulnerabilities that some families may face because of their links to transient communities, such as the armed forces. The childminder takes this into consideration in her role as the designated safeguarding lead and when she is planning the curriculum for children.

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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 show their curiosity and eagerness for learning as they explore the resources that the childminder provides. They explore baskets of household objects and show an interest as they find different-sized tubes, cotton reels and cones. Using their developing problem- solving skills, younger children work out how they can fit the tube they have found inside a cone. The childminder praises children's efforts, which encourages their continual participation in this new learning. The childminder acts as a positive role model, emphasising words, such as please and thank you, throughout her interactions with children.

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

Children who have recently learned to walk show how they are becoming more confident as they move around the childminder's house. They happily accept the childminder's reassuring hand as they navigate through a safety gate from one room to the next, so they do not trip. They are pleased with their achievement and smile proudly. Children who have shown some delay in their physical development benefit from the childminder's careful consideration and planning in this area. The childminder understands that children must strengthen their core muscles if they are to succeed at standing and walking. She plans well-thought-out activities that encourage children to lean and stretch forward while sitting to help with this development.

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

Children learn about the community in which they live. They enjoy the outings that the childminder plans, where they visit local points of interest that hold historical or geographical

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About this setting

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

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About this setting

Local authority: Lincolnshire significance. This learning helps children to understand about their heritage and what makes themselves and their families unique. It helps children to foster a sense of belonging.

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Next steps

The childminder should focus teaching more precisely on encouraging younger children to use more language. The childminder should include more opportunities through the curriculum design for children to practise using their developing social skills with other groups of children. The childminder should find and engage in opportunities to reflect with other professionals and source support for her wellbeing.

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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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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. 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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