Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): EY432374 Registered with Ofsted: 26/09/2011 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 steady progress from their starting points across the prime areas of learning. They develop increasing physical confidence as they practise standing and climbing and begin to balance with decreasing support. Children strengthen their fine motor skills as they manipulate shape sorters, press-and-release toys and activity cubes, showing growing control and concentration. They demonstrate curiosity and persistence, returning to familiar resources and exploring them in new ways.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children's personal, social and emotional development progresses securely. They respond positively to consistent routines and show pride when they achieve small milestones, such as standing briefly without support. In communication and language, children listen attentively to songs and familiar words and begin to respond to simple prompts during routines. Children respond through sounds, gestures and early words. However, they have fewer opportunities to practise extending their communication through sustained interaction, which limits how consistently they build on and develop their early language skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children thrive in a calm and nurturing environment where expectations for behaviour are clear and developmentally appropriate. The childminder establishes predictable daily routines that help children to feel secure and to understand what will happen next. For example, she uses consistent verbal cues and counting during transitions, such as before nappy changing or tidying away toys. These routines reduce uncertainty and help children cooperate positively.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children show sustained engagement in activities such as exploring play dough with textured rollers and manipulating activity cubes. They demonstrate growing concentration as they attempt to fit shapes into corresponding spaces or press buttons to produce sounds. The childminder encourages perseverance by giving children time to try independently before offering gentle support. She offers specific encouragement linked to effort and achievement, which strengthens children's confidence and willingness to attempt new challenges.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Relationships are warm and respectful. Children seek reassurance when needed and respond positively to the childminder's calm tone and clear guidance. The childminder promotes good attendance through open communication with families and follows up promptly if a child is absent without explanation. She considers children's age and stage carefully when supporting behaviour, ensuring expectations remain realistic and supportive of learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's welfare and wellbeing effectively. Care practices are responsive and tailored to individual needs. She gathers detailed information about routines and any additional needs before children start and uses this to maintain consistency between home and the setting. Daily safety checks and careful organisation of resources ensure children explore in a secure environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children form secure attachments with the childminder. She responds sensitively to cues and provides comfort when needed. During care routines, such as nappy changing, she speaks calmly and maintains reassuring eye contact, helping children feel safe and respected. Children begin to develop an awareness of their physical development as they practise climbing and balancing in a supervised space designed to encourage safe risk- taking.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder supports emotional development by naming feelings and acknowledging children's efforts, for example commenting when children smile at themselves in the mirror or express frustration during play. This helps children begin to recognise and manage their emotions. She also promotes health and wellbeing by providing safe teething resources and ensuring all accessible materials are suitable for children who explore through mouthing. Predictable routines for feeding and rest further support children's security and overall wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder designs a curriculum that reflects the early years foundation stage and focuses appropriately on the prime areas for the youngest children. She prioritises physical development and personal, social and emotional development well. For example, she positions a favourite toy at the top of a small climbing frame to motivate children to pull to stand and practise balance. She offers steady reassurance and specific encouragement as children attempt new movements, helping them to build confidence and resilience.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder uses assessment effectively to identify starting points and plan experiences that build on what children know and can do. She completes baseline assessments after settling-in sessions and selects resources, such as textured rollers and mark-making materials, to strengthen fine motor control. She promotes early mathematical understanding through everyday routines, including counting during care tasks.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder supports communication and language through narration, singing and introducing new vocabulary during meaningful experiences, such as describing food as 'slippery' at snack time. However, interactions are often brief and led by the adult, with fewer opportunities for sustained back-and-forth exchanges that build on children's sounds and gestures. This limits how consistently children can practise early communication and extend their language during everyday interactions.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder identifies children's individual needs well. She gathers detailed information from parents about routines, interests and any additional needs before children start. She uses this knowledge to tailor care and learning so that children take part fully. For example, she introduces unfamiliar resources gradually for children who show uncertainty, helping them to build confidence and engage in a wider range of play experiences. The childminder works in partnership with parents to review children's progress and agree shared priorities. Parents describe regular communication, including photos and updates, which helps them support learning at home. The childminder keeps clear attendance records and follows up on unexplained absence promptly, supporting children's welfare.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder strengthens inclusive practice through relevant professional development, including equality and diversity training. She understands when to seek advice if children require additional support. The childminder recognises the importance of building on planned communication and language training to strengthen the range and depth of her teaching strategies, so that approaches are consistently embedded for children who may face barriers in this prime area.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder keeps key documentation up to date, including public liability insurance, paediatric first-aid certification and suitability checks for relevant household members. She regularly reviews policies and updates them when circumstances change, such as amending the pet policy following changes within the household. This ensures that procedures remain current and reflective of practice.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder understands the strengths of her provision and takes appropriate action to address areas for development. Since the previous inspection, she has strengthened her professional knowledge through training focused on the early years foundation stage and child development. This is evident in her consistent use of specific encouragement that helps children understand what they have achieved. She maintains a clear professional development record and undertakes training relevant to children's welfare, safeguarding and inclusion, including updates in equality and diversity and safeguarding-related courses.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder works closely with parents and shares information about children's progress and next steps. She identifies areas for development through reflection and professional discussion. For example, she recognises that her knowledge of communication and language strategies for children under 2 is less well developed than for older children. This means that teaching approaches in this area are not yet applied with the same precision and consistency across the provision.

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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 feel safe and well cared for in this calm home-from-home environment. They form secure attachments with the childminder, who responds quickly to their needs and helps them feel settled during routines and transitions. Children settle confidently because the childminder gathers detailed information from parents before they start and uses flexible settling-in sessions so children become familiar with her and the setting at their own pace. Parents describe the childminder as caring and attentive and say she keeps them updated through regular communication and photos.

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About this setting

Children enjoy exploring a well-organised play space. They investigate sensory resources, such as play dough with textured rollers, press-down toys and activity cubes, which encourage curiosity and sustained engagement. Children develop independence as the childminder models how to use resources and then gives them time to try for themselves. For example, she supports children to persist with simple problems, such as removing items from containers, which builds confidence and resilience.

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About this setting

Overall, children make steady progress in the prime areas of learning. The childminder prioritises physical development and personal, social and emotional development well. She motivates children to practise climbing, balancing and standing by carefully arranging equipment and favourite resources. Predictable routines, such as counting during care tasks, help children understand what will happen next and support emotional wellbeing. The childminder promotes communication and language through songs, narration and introducing new words during daily routines. However, interactions are often brief and led by the adult, with fewer opportunities for sustained back-and-forth exchanges that build on children's sounds and gestures. This limits opportunities for children to practise early conversational turn-taking and extend their communication.

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Next steps

The childminder should strengthen the use of sustained back-and-forth interactions that build on children's sounds, gestures and early attempts to communicate. The childminder should deepen her knowledge of communication and language development for children under 2 to enable teaching strategies to be applied with greater precision and consistency across routines and play.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and parents/carers 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. Unique reference number (URN): EY432374

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About this inspection

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 06:00 - 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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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