Cashmore, Alana Margaret

Cashmore, Alana Margaret

Unique reference number (URN): EY436487 Address: Corbel Cottage, The Street, Swallowfield, Reading, RG7 1RB Type: Childminder Registered with Ofsted: 07/11/2011 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Cashmore, Alana Margaret

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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

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, actively engage alongside their friends and show high levels of enjoyment. They form positive relationships and demonstrate genuine respect for one another. Children are extremely independent. They recognise when their hands are dirty and understand the importance of washing away germs to stay healthy and safe. They use a range of communication methods to show good manners, including saying 'please' and 'thank you.' Children confidently use mathematical language through everyday experiences. For example, younger children naturally count fruit at snack time, and older children use comparative language, such as 'bigger' and 'smaller'. Children show expressive language and communication skills. They improve their physical development and build on their stamina and core strength as they transport objects across the garden. Children develop superb social skills and wonderful

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Achievement Strong standard

imaginations and are developing the skills they need in preparation for school.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder builds warm and trusting relationships with every child. Children demonstrate they feel safe and valued, which enables them to thrive in her welcoming and nurturing environment.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder is a good role model and provides exceptionally high levels of support and encouragement. She strengthens children's relationships and empowers them to solve challenges together. For example, when young children notice there are not enough chairs during imaginative play, she guides them to find a solution. Children confidently negotiate, find another chair and continue playing harmoniously.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder supports all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to express their feelings and emotions. For example, when children become frustrated during water play, she patiently encourages them to share their thoughts and supports them sensitively to persevere.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder establishes clear, consistent routines while remaining flexible and responsive to children's individual needs. She uses effective communication strategies, including visual supports and sign language, to provide reassurance. This helps children feel confident about what will happen next and strengthens their sense of security and independence.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder promotes regular and punctual attendance. This ensures that children benefit fully from the rich and engaging learning opportunities she provides.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder's compassionate and caring relationships she establishes with all children significantly enhance their confidence and emotional wellbeing. With sensitive support, children confidently help to move tables aside, understanding that this helps create a safe space for their singing and dancing session. This strengthens their sense of belonging and independence and teaches them cooperation skills to ensure the safety of themselves and others.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder engages children in meaningful discussions about the importance of healthy eating. She skilfully adapts her explanations to suit each child's needs and understanding, using simple language and visual prompts and encouraging them to share their ideas. This has a positive impact, and children confidently and enthusiastically explain that healthy food gives them the strength they need for dancing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder's enthusiastic and nurturing approach inspires children's active engagement. Her warm energy creates a joyful environment where children eagerly sing, move and develop their physical, social and communication skills. She thoughtfully adapts activities to meet the individual needs of all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, enabling them to participate fully and express themselves through movement and sounds. The childminder skilfully introduces language, such as 'higher', 'faster' and 'slower', and children express delight as they stretch, bend and explore different ways of moving their bodies alongside their friends.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder designs and delivers a rich, engaging and well-balanced curriculum that covers all areas of learning effectively. She uses her in-depth understanding of each child to tailor teaching precisely and consistently build on their individual care and developmental needs.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder promotes early mathematical understanding exceptionally well. She encourages younger children to count objects as they roll them down tubes and extends learning for older children, with support to match quantities to dots and written numbers.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder makes thoughtful adaptations to ensure that all children can participate fully. She provides a wide range of resources that strengthen hand and finger muscles, enabling all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to explore tools and objects with confidence. For example, older children focus intently and practise new skills with resources, such as pipettes. Their peers take pleasure in scooping up bubbles and grasping hidden objects.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder provides rich outdoor experiences that support discovery. She encourages children to lift stones and logs safely, and children express delight in what they find. The childminder introduces vocabulary and talks with children about what they see, helping them to describe the size and movement of worms and other creatures. Through gentle guidance, she teaches children how to handle living things with care and supports their developing understanding of respect for nature.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder works exceptionally well in partnership with parents. On entry, she gains an in-depth understanding of each child's individual interests, strengths and developmental needs, and, alongside her own assessments, she establishes accurate starting points. The childminder continues to monitor and evaluate children's progress meticulously. She shares detailed updates with parents and with other settings that children also attend to ensure a consistent and collaborative approach to learning. This enables her to identify any emerging gaps at the earliest possible stage, ensuring that timely and highly effective support is put in place.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder works exceptionally well with other professionals, such as physiotherapists, to ensure that all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive highly tailored support. She implements specialist recommendations with precision and integrates them seamlessly into her daily practice. Through carefully planned and highly effective targeted interventions, all children make excellent progress from their individual starting points.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates a clear understanding of how to use additional funding to further enhance the individual care and learning needs of children. She invests this purposefully in high-quality resources, such as sensory equipment, which support children's exploration, engagement and emotional regulation. She integrates these resources into her daily activities to improve outcomes for children. All children make excellent progress.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates a remarkable commitment to continuous professional development and consistently strives to enhance her knowledge and skills. She regularly evaluates her provision and makes well-considered improvements to enhance children's learning experiences. For example, she has repositioned the creative and writing area to increase children's engagement and introduced mirrors to support children in recognising facial expressions and developing emotional awareness.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder plays an active and influential role within the local early years community. She provides advice, guidance and practical support to other childminders, particularly those who are new to the profession or adapting to changes in legislation. This helps to promote high standards of practice across local provision and helps to ensure that children consistently receive high-quality care and meaningful learning experiences.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder has established robust and productive links with the local authority, which enables her to access current guidance and professional support, for example. She uses this information highly effectively to signpost parents to relevant services, including courses that support children's smooth and confident transition to school. This improves outcomes for children and families. Parents report that the childminder goes 'above and beyond' for their children. They value her unwavering focus on meeting their children's individual needs, which they say contributes significantly to their children's happiness, confidence and progress.

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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 clearly enjoy their time in the care of the childminder and benefit from her caring and attentive approach. They are highly settled and emotionally secure, and confidently seek her support for reassurance. The childminder gives careful attention to identifying each child's starting points, interests and preferred ways of learning. This enables her to plan precisely tailored experiences that support rapid and sustained progress. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, receive highly personalised support and achieve their full potential.

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Inspector:

Jane Franks The childminder provides many valuable opportunities for children to explore the local community. She supports children to develop their social skills, such as interacting with others at local groups and community activities. The childminder carefully adapts these experiences to meet the individual needs of children. She encourages children to engage confidently and independently, while offering reassurance and close support for those children who need it.

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Inspector:

The childminder supports children's understanding of personal safety extremely well. She gives gentle reminders, such as encouraging children to remain on the rug during dance activities, and explains the reasons why. She adapts her guidance to suit different ages, offering simple, clear messages to younger children and encouraging older children to reflect on their actions and consider others.

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Inspector:

The childminder successfully embeds routines into daily play. She encourages children to tidy away resources and explains the importance of doing so, such as keeping themselves and others safe. This supports children in developing independence and positive attitudes towards their environment.

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Inspector:

Children demonstrate high levels of curiosity. They delight in exploring texture and the scent of natural materials and show sustained engagement. The childminder fosters children's interests and engages them in purposeful discussions, skilfully extending their vocabulary and descriptive language. All children are eager to take part. They confidently explore their senses and strengthen their developing relationships as they learn and communicate together.

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Next steps

Leaders and those responsible for governance should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of children.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, children and parents 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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Address:

Corbel Cottage The Street Swallowfield Reading RG7 1RB

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Address:

Registered person: Cashmore, Alana Margaret

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Address:

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

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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