Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY475726 Registered with Ofsted: 03/03/2014 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 Strong standard

Children make secure progress across the curriculum. They move from requiring adult support to applying new skills with increasing independence. For example, children who previously relied on help with self-care now master the techniques required to manage their own clothing. Their knowledge of the world has grown significantly. Having nurtured seeds, they now confidently harvest vegetables, such as carrots and beetroot, and explain the life cycles they have observed.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children's language is thriving. During group conversations about fruit, those who once had little speech now share ideas and recall events using longer sentences. For example, a child says, 'Grandad likes to eat strawberries.'

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Achievement Strong standard

In early literacy, children have progressed from listening to stories to recognising familiar words and letters, such as those in their names. Children are well prepared for their move to school. The childminder precisely monitors the progress of all children, including those who require extra support. This ensures that every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or have barriers to learning, gain the foundational knowledge and skills they need for future success.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder has established a positive environment where children clearly know what is expected of them, promoting a culture of kindness and respect. Children feel safe and settled, which allows them to explore with curiosity. They use the childminder as a secure base, frequently seeking her out to join in their play. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning. For example, during storytelling, children identify visual cues to discuss a character's feelings, identifying when something is not very kind and showing empathy for others. Children show affection to their peers, such as giving one another cuddles. The childminder models polite interactions, and children mirror this by consistently using their manners. The childminder encourages children to use a sand timer to manage their own turn taking. As a result, children learn to negotiate and share popular toys fairly.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Routines are used to develop children's independence. The childminder uses engaging songs to help children transition between activities, such as a handwashing song that makes hygiene routines memorable. From a young age, children take responsibility by tidying away resources and managing their own personal care. The childminder promotes the importance of attendance, helping children benefit from consistency as they prepare for school.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Care practices meet the individual needs of every child. The childminder establishes secure, responsive attachments that support children's emotional health. Children feel safe to express their feelings and are supported to manage their emotions through nurturing interactions. For example, they use quiet reflection spaces to identify how they are feeling. As a result, children develop resilience and the ability to self-regulate, which allows them to return to their play quickly.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder promotes physical health by involving children in discussions about nutrition. During supervised mealtimes, children identify the benefits of different foods, such as knowing that bananas provide potassium. They have independent access to fresh drinking water throughout the day. The childminder also provides advice to parents about healthy lunch boxes.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Safe sleep practices are implemented to ensure that children rest in a secure environment. Children learn about personal safety, such as waiting for the 'green man' when practicing road safety. This inclusive environment ensures that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who face barriers to their learning, receive the care they need to thrive.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder delivers an ambitious curriculum that covers all areas of learning. She uses precise assessments to identify children's starting points, ensuring that her teaching is tailored to their individual needs. The childminder prioritises personal, social and emotional development. For example, she provides sensory tools, such as balls, to help children manage their feelings and settle quickly into play.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder focuses on physical development. She provides purposeful activities to help children build hand strength, such as encouraging them to use scissors with increasing control to snip chives and large pipettes to squeeze water. Communication and language are supported through a rich environment where she provides gentle prompts and allows children time to respond. She introduces new words, such as 'scared', when children discuss their emotions. This is consistently effective for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or who face barriers to their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder encourages a love of reading by choosing books that match children's interests. Children show excitement as they point to books on the shelf that they recognise from home. Mathematics is woven into play. For example, the childminder challenges children to use words such as 'taller' or 'shorter' to describe structures. Outdoors, children are encouraged to recognise numbers on scales to weigh out ingredients, building their confidence with measurement and weight.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder provides an inclusive environment and precisely assesses children's needs, using observations to identify and close any gaps in learning. Following specialised training, she adapts the curriculum and modifies activities effectively to ensure that children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, participate fully. She uses the progress check for children at age 2 to monitor development and shares this information with parents and other settings that children attend to maintain a consistent approach to learning. The childminder takes prompt action to reduce barriers to success. She has clear plans to use early years pupil premium funding, if required, to provide one-to-one support or purchase specialised resources that target a child's specific next steps. The childminder works collaboratively with various professionals to ensure that every child receives timely support. She consistently uses modelling and targeted activities, such as

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Inclusion Strong standard

blowing through straws and feathers, to help children express themselves clearly and develop their physical skills. This approach helps children, including those who find self- regulation challenging, to feel secure and understood.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder provides books and toys that reflect different families and languages to encourage children to value their heritage. These resources help children to respect differences and ensure that everyone integrates fully into the setting.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder provides a curriculum based on a clear understanding of the setting's strengths. She uses self-evaluation to identify areas for improvement. To support safety, she completes specialist training to stay informed about safeguarding risks, ensuring that procedures remain current. The childminder works with her co-childminder to implement policies that maintain a safe environment. Through daily discussions, they ensure a consistent approach to care, while cascading information to the assistant so the whole team is fully informed. This collaborative way of working is further supported by weekly reflections to review which activities work best for the children. These reviews also help to manage the team's workload and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Leadership decisions are made in the best interests of the children. The childminder acts as a pillar of the community by offering first-aid training to parents and installing a public defibrillator. This helps parents and neighbours to feel more confident to act in an emergency, making children safer beyond the setting. The childminder collaborates with the local authority and other childminders to help improve the quality of care available to families in the area. This ensures that the educational offer meets the needs of every child, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, or those who face barriers to 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 arrive at this nurturing setting with visible excitement, receiving a warm welcome that ensures they feel immediately valued. Children sing a welcome song to their friends, creating a sense of community. The childminder works closely with families to promote the importance of regular attendance, ensuring that children benefit from consistent learning. This belonging is strengthened by a curriculum that reflects children's individual family lives. For example, children play with building blocks featuring photos of their own homes and excitedly identify these to their peers. The childminder consistently places inclusive activities at the heart of the setting to honour each child's background. This includes sharing recipes from different cultures and providing books for children to share with parents on Mothers' Day, ensuring that all children feel recognised and proud of their identity.

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

In this supportive atmosphere, children thrive through real-world play, such as mixing potions in the garden and making predictions using coloured water. Independence is a defining feature of the daily routine. Children are confident and learn to independently manage their own coats and shoes for outdoor play, supported by the childminder's focus on a 'can-do' attitude. They demonstrate this growing confidence by proudly stating, 'I did it'. Purposeful activities ensure that children remain deeply absorbed. For example, they show sustained concentration when using natural materials to build complex structures, such as a hedgehog's house, to test their ideas of balance.

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

Children are highly motivated and enjoy doing things for themselves. They confidently manage personal care, such as changing into slippers and preparing fruit snacks. The childminder successfully introduces the wider world, and children immerse themselves in various cultures. They explore traditional customs during Chinese New Year through tasting different fruits, such as lychee. They develop a sense of respect through Remembrance Day

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 07:30 - 18:00

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Facts and figures used on inspection

activities, including visits to the local cenotaph. As a result, children move on to their next steps in learning exceptionally well prepared.

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Next steps

The childminder 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 disadvantaged learners, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her co-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. 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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