Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY551587 Registered with Ofsted: 11/12/2017 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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Achievement Expected standard

Children make suitable progress from their individual starting points. They explore a range of carefully planned experiences linked to their interests and develop a range of key skills, such as listening, taking turns, communicating their ideas and developing early mathematical and literacy understanding. They gain the abilities that support success at school. Children develop increasing confidence and pride in their artwork, which is celebrated through carefully presented displays around the room. This helps them to recognise their achievements and contributes positively to their growing independence. Children across the setting, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, participate fully in well-planned group activities. For example, they confidently recall and retell parts of a familiar story. Children become progressively more secure in using language to express themselves and make positive progress in their communication

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder and her assistants have created a culture of kindness and respect. This is reflected in children's positive behaviour. Older children benefit from the supportive relationships with adults to enable them to understand their own emotions. For example, they send their negative feelings or 'grumps' to a special bin. This supports children to self- regulate their own emotions and maintain friendships with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children enthusiastically take part in their daily group discussion, such as learning the days of the week and months and talking about the seasonal weather. They show a sense of enjoyment and close connection and behave well. Children respectfully take turns when speaking and learn to collaborate with others. They develop positive attitudes to learning effectively.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder is a role model for children's behaviour and teaches them suitable social skills. For instance, she gently reminds them to use their social manners, such as saying 'please' when asking for more fruit at snack time. Children know how to look after their bodies and that fruit and vegetables are good for them. They enjoy regular physical exercise and use the cosy areas for rest and relaxation.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder keeps accurate records of children's attendance and absences. She works effectively with parents to establish positive attitudes to attendance, routines and learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder works closely with parents to understand each individual child's care needs, such as feeding and sleep patterns. This helps children to settle quickly. Children form secure attachments with the childminder and her assistants. They receive warm and consistent care. Younger children play with increasing confidence on their own and with other children when they know their key person is nearby. They seek comfort when needed, such as sitting on the childminder's lap for a cuddle. Several cosy spaces across the provision help children feel emotionally secure. For example, children relax together in the book corner, calmly looking through the books they have chosen. They are increasingly able to recognise and respond to their own needs and show growing independence.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Older children manage their personal needs, such as to use the toilet and wash and dry their own hands independently. The childminder ensures privacy for younger children during intimate care routines, such as by tying coloured scarves to the stairgate to block the view when nappies are changed.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's awareness of personal safety through group discussions. Children think about appropriate clothing for winter and confidently suggest items such as gloves, a scarf and a hat. This helps them learn to safeguard themselves and promotes their wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Parents value the Christmas parties the childminder organises to build supportive relationships. They explain that these events help families connect and further strengthen children's social skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has effective knowledge of child development and knows the children in her care well. She uses her ongoing observations and assessments to identify appropriate next steps for children's individual learning. Children benefit from a themed approach to their learning and explore topics such as winter and birds through a range of meaningful activities. They follow their interests and make informed choices about what to play with. For example, the childminder encourages younger children to open a range of coloured silicone eggs in different ways, such as pulling and twisting them to support their physical skills. Children develop their confidence to try new things. The childminder builds a sense of anticipation and awe and wonder by shining a torch underneath the eggs to illuminate them and look for a chicken inside. However, because the eggs are empty, investigations to deepen children's curiosity are not extended further. Additionally, the childminder does not

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

introduce more challenge for older children and extend their learning further. For example, after a social game of story cubes where children make up a story based on the roll of some dice, children continue to play with stick puppets without additional challenge. This means, at times, although children remain within their preferred interests, they are not being supported to broaden them and extend their skills fully.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder develops children's mathematical skills through well-planned play experiences that consider the age and abilities of all children. For example, younger children enjoy the physical element of filling the weighing scale containers with mathematical cubes, while older children explore weight and learn mathematical language, such as 'heavier' and 'lighter'. They begin to make meaningful connections between number and measure.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder makes referrals to health professionals for children who require an assessment about their communication and language development. However, she does not routinely refresh her training or seek wider professional advice on additional strategies that could further enhance children's learning while they wait for support. As a result, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) do not always make the rapid progress that they are capable of.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Older children are proficient at using some Makaton signs, such as 'today'. This helps break down any barriers to their learning and wellbeing. The childminder provides picture cards, both indoors and outdoors, that link to the current topic and help aid children's communication and understanding. She identifies other key visuals that would support children with SEND to manage daily routines more independently. However, these are not yet consistently embedded in practice.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder claims funding for disadvantaged children and uses her knowledge of their progress and interests to purchase resources that enrich their learning. For example, she buys floor puzzles linked to familiar stories, funds visits to the farm to explore living things and provides dual-language books to support transitions at home. These targeted enhancements strengthen children's experiences and contribute to children's improved outcomes.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has an accurate understanding of her strengths and areas for development. She works effectively with her assistants to enhance the learning environment, for example by adding mirrors and a mud kitchen outdoors. These improvements are already having a positive impact on children's enjoyment and physical development. The childminder supports children's emerging communication and language skills through the use of Makaton signs and some visual aids during group activities. However, she has not yet established strong partnerships with external professionals to seek advice about targeted intervention strategies for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She also does not identify training that would provide highly effective strategies to accelerate children's speech and language progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder meets regularly with her assistants to discuss children's development and reflect on practice. Assistants report feeling well supported. They all complete safeguarding training.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder does not have a valid first-aid certificate and exceeds the renewal deadline by 3 days. This is a breach of requirements. However, she has taken steps to minimise any risk to children while she completes the necessary training. The childminder makes sure her assistants have valid first-aid certificates and are able to respond promptly to any incident that requires first aid. She ensures that children are supervised at mealtimes to reduce any potential risks to choking and to maintain their safety.

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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 welcomes all families to her home. Children develop strong, trusting relationships with the childminder and her assistants, which supports their overall wellbeing and feeling of emotional security. They benefit from the safe and nurturing home-from-home environment, which deepens their sense of belonging. Children of all ages are motivated to explore the stimulating activities in thoughtfully well-arranged spaces. They show genuine enjoyment as they play happily alongside the childminder and talk to their friends.

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Inspector:

Children engage enthusiastically in social activities, such as circle time, to develop their storytelling skills through playful, hands-on activities. They take turns telling their friends what picture they have painted on their wooden spoon to practise reciting the vocabulary and language from a familiar book. For example, children hold up a spoon and say, 'It's a river' and 'splish, splash'. They develop positive attitudes in their learning. Children confidently join in the lively song associated with the story and share their own imaginative ideas, such as taking their swimming goggles if going swimming. Younger children with lower starting points in their language development are confident to draw on the vocabulary that they know. For instance, they call the bear cave a 'house'. The childminder gives consistent praise for children's achievements, which reinforces their confidence and helps them to thrive and flourish. This helps to reduce any barriers to their learning. Children

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Inspector:

behave well, and attendance is positive.

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Inspector:

Younger children develop their sensory and physical skills. For example, they pick up white sand in a tray and watch it gently trickle between their fingers. Children watch the childminder make circular marks with a paintbrush to support early mark-making skills. They learn to be curious and capable, freely exploring the resources on offer. The childminder shares information with parents about the children's experiences. This supports their learning at home.

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Inspector:

Children enjoy a wide range of experiences beyond the setting. For instance, they walk to the local pond to feed the ducks and visit stately homes and gardens to explore nature outdoors and move freely. Parents report that trips, such as to the theatre, enhance their children's learning, and 'Adventure Friday' is popular with everyone.

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Next steps

The childminder should develop the curriculum and increase the quality and impact of adult interactions to extend and challenge children consistently. The childminder should work more closely with other professionals to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, parents 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. Jane Winnan

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 08:00 - 17:00

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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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