Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 107797 Registered with Ofsted: 06/10/1999 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder ensures children understand, at their own stage of development, her behavioural expectations of them. Children respond positively to some of the daily routines, such as going in the garden or having their lunch. The childminder helps children to understand routines as she explains what will happen next, such as nap time or nappy changing.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children are very well behaved. They play well alongside each other and babble to each other. The childminder reinforces the use of good manners. Children are generally keen to join in and participate. They have effective bonds and relationships with the childminder and their peers. This helps them develop a sense of belonging. Children are kind to each other, happily sharing resources and taking turns with the childminder's support. Children are patient, such as when waiting to have their rain suit and shoes put on to play in the garden.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has suitable processes in place to support punctuality and attendance and to work with parents so they understand the importance of this.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children do not achieve well enough from their individual starting points. This includes those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those who face other barriers to learning. They do not fully gain the skills they need to be confident learners or to develop positive attitudes to learning. For example, at times, children wander around lacking purpose and becoming restless.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children develop satisfactory listening and attention skills. They enjoy music and squeal with delight when they hear their favourite song. Some children's speech and language development is emerging. They babble and make sounds and have a few recognisable words. Children also enjoy books and understand the function of these and how to turn the pages.

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Achievement Needs attention

Overall, children do not progress or acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be ready for their next stage of learning, including school, swiftly enough. They do not receive quality interactions from the childminder to ensure they develop the desired knowledge and skills over time.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not ensure children's care needs are entirely met. She is not fully effective in supporting children's good hygiene and health. She talks about her procedures for handwashing but does not follow these. Children are not encouraged to wash their hands after being in the garden where they have been touching many things. They put their hands in their mouths, risking cross-contamination. Additionally, the childminder does not ensure that her routines support children to receive well-timed food and snacks or have accessible drinking water. On occasion, children go to bed without having food or drinks for the entire morning. However, the food the childminder provides for children is healthy and nutritious. Children enjoy plentiful fruit and vegetable sticks.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder demonstrates a good knowledge of meeting the needs of children with additional needs and ensures she follows the relevant care practices. The childminder has suitable processes in place to support safe sleeping for children. She also offers privacy when nappy changing and encourages other children to respect their friends and move away when nappies are being changed.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Children develop suitable attachments to the childminder to ensure they feel safe in her care. She supports their emotions and offers cuddles and reassuring words when needed.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder has a basic understanding of what she would like children to learn. There are some elements of her curriculum and practice that she describes but does not deliver in practice, for example using signs to support children's understanding. She does not deliver her planned curriculum in an effective way to build knowledge and skills over time. Her teaching is also inconsistent. Therefore, children do not make the progress they are capable of.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder has relevant systems in place to seek information from parents when children first start. She then enhances this with her own observations and information gathered on home visits. The childminder uses this information to help children settle and then to identify next steps in learning. However, she does not focus effectively enough on supporting children to work towards these.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not make the most of her interactions with children as opportunities to extend and build on children's learning. When young children babble, the childminder does not respond to this or pick up on key words to promote children's emerging language skills. The childminder does ensure children have opportunities for experiences away from the home. This helps them to learn about the natural world and to be physically active through visiting parks and soft-play centres. The childminder supports children to feel safe and settled and to learn to interact appropriately with their peers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder is aware of each child's individual needs, although these are not always met well enough. She understands where children may face barriers to their learning or wellbeing. The childminder has made adaptations to her setting and routines to ensure these children can be included. For example, she has adapted her daily routines to offer lunch at a different time to suit children's needs. She has also attended additional specialist training to enable her to meet children's specific needs.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder understands the adjustments she must make to support children. This includes those who are disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), those known (or previously known) to children's social care and those who face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. The childminder liaises with other professionals as appropriate, and particularly where children have barriers to learning or SEND. She seeks their advice and guidance on best supporting these children and makes appropriate changes to her environment or approaches. The childminder has appropriate plans for how she intends to spend any additional funding to meet children's individual needs and to ensure she is able to access any additional training that may be required. The childminder has completed a level 3 qualification in SEND.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder is not fully successful in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of her setting. She does not adequately assess the quality of her curriculum and teaching practice and the impact this has on children's learning and development. Although she is able to reflect on some practice, she is yet to take the steps to ensure that she provides quality experiences for children that meet their needs. Consequently, children's individual needs are not always met, and they do not have effective support to make the progress they are capable of. The childminder does generally make decisions that are in the best interests of children, particularly those who face other barriers to learning and wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

Through discussion, the childminder demonstrates she has suitable arrangements in place to meet the requirements relating to the use of assistants. She ensures their workloads are manageable and they have the necessary training and skills to fulfil their roles. The childminder attends training and completes reading to support her own professional development and ensures her assistants do the same.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder has adequate processes in place to ensure children receive their full funding entitlement. She shares relevant information with parents to ensure they understand this and are able to access anything they are entitled to.

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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

Weaknesses in curriculum and teaching impact the experiences for children, how their needs are met and the progress they make. The childminder has failed to identify the weaknesses and has therefore not taken steps to ensure her curriculum and teaching are of an appropriate quality. She also has not ensured that she fully meets the requirements relating to food and drink, and health. This impacts somewhat on children's needs being met. However, the childminder is aware of, and takes steps to reduce, barriers to children's learning. The childminder works with parents to support children to be punctual and attend regularly.

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

The childminder provides an environment that is calm and child orientated with plentiful accessible toys and resources. Children are happy and settled and explore the environment confidently. They have appropriate bonds with the childminder and approach her for comfort and support as needed. The childminder values the uniqueness of each child in the setting and is aware of what interests them.

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

Children develop relationships with their peers, and they play happily alongside each other. They share resources and are generally kind to one another. Children are largely enthusiastic and curious and keen to play with the toys on offer. Children enjoy making towers with bricks. Children get very excited and flap their hands when the childminder spins a shape for them. They watch closely as its spins around. They also enjoy spending time in the garden, exploring resources selected by the childminder. Children go on regular local visits with the childminder, supporting them to learn about the local community and natural world.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

improve the curriculum to ensure it is ambitious and tailored to accurately meet children's different ages and stages of development and that it supports them to make effective progress in all aspects of learning and development 02/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

strengthen the delivery of the curriculum to ensure all children consistently benefit from high-quality teaching and adult interactions to ensure they make the progress they are capable of 02/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure routines support children to be provided with timely meals to meet their needs and that drinking water is available and accessible to children 02/03/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure children's good health is promoted through effective hygiene practices, including handwashing 02/03/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection and received written feedback from parents.

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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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About this inspection

Since the last inspection, the childminder has reduced the number of assistants she works with, and consequently the numbers of children she cares for at any one time. She now works with one assistant some of the time. The assistant was not working at the time of inspection.

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About this setting

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

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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