Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2760862 Registered with Ofsted: 28/11/2023 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 are gaining skills and making steady progress, this includes children that have barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. They develop their speech and expand their vocabulary. For example, children name colours as they paint, talking about the items they are representing, such as a monkey. They learn numbers and to count items, such as pine cones as they explore placing these in containers. Children enjoy stories and listen attentively. They show their growing confidence and ask questions. Children develop their understanding of the world as they learn new animal names and attempt pronouncing ones they have heard before, such as 'octopus'. Children develop their dexterity and hand–eye coordination as they pour water. They build with different materials, connecting magnetic pieces and show their growing concentration. Generally, they gain useful skills in readiness for their move on to school. Although at times, they do not receive encouragement to do

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Achievement Expected standard

things for themselves, such as using cutlery or persevering with trickier tasks.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children receive support to understand and follow safety boundaries, share resources and take turns with toys. They do this well. Children are respectful and show that they have positive relationships with the childminder and other children. This helps them to build their confidence and ensures they are happy at her home.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder works with parents and carers to help ensure children's regular attendance. She makes sure children benefit from consistent routines that are reassuring and beneficial for them. The childminder leads these routines well. She repeats some activities daily, giving children the reassurance of revisiting their favourite games. The childminder takes time during her routines to explain what is happening and encourage children's participation.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder offers children some opportunities to do some tasks themselves such as getting their boots on to go outside. At other times though, she does not build children's independence skills fully, such as encouraging them to use their cutlery to eat. Additionally, the childminder does not always persist in getting children to persevere with age-appropriate tasks, such as to finish a puzzle or to try to squeeze water out of a bottle.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children do well at the childminder's provision. The childminder is patient, kind and considerate. She works with parents and carers to find out about and support children's care needs. For example, she liaises with them to offer children consistent support for their naps, carefully working to the same routines and arrangements. The childminder has close relationships with children. She picks up on children's feelings. The childminder helps them manage their emotions and builds their self-confidence. She is mindful to sensitively support any changes to their circumstances, ensuring their emotional wellbeing remains high.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder offers plenty of opportunities for children to develop their physical skills and enjoy being in the fresh air. She takes children out to local parks and on walks in nearby woodlands. The childminder teaches children about road safety and about the local community, such as on visits to the library. Children learn about the world around them and the childminder builds their interest in nature. She reads them stories about animals and seasonal changes, and they visit the local safari park regularly. The childminder appropriately supports children's physical wellbeing. She makes sure children are comfortable and happy in her home. The childminder changes children's nappies regularly and ensures she can give them some privacy. She provides children with nutritious snacks and meals and healthy drinks, and makes sure that they get the rest they need.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder supports children's personal development. She gets to know them well and takes note of their interests. The childminder links these in her activities to build children's confidence and engagement. Generally, children develop age-appropriate skills. In some areas such as mathematics, they do particularly well. The childminder encourages them to count toy cars, linking to their preferred patterns of play in making a line of these. She takes time to help children correctly sequence and count each one, building their skills well. The childminder assesses children's skills. She outlines next steps in their learning but does not consistently make these as precise as possible or clearly measurable and achievable. Additionally, these next steps are not always focused on all gaps in children's learning, such as children's skills at doing things for themselves. This does not help her, and parents and

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

carers, to build children's skill across all areas of learning quickly and consistently.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder considers her curriculum and the experiences she offers children. She provides children with a suitable balance of adult-led calm or lively activities, as well as child-led time to play. Children eagerly join in with games, such as 'Simon Says'. They excitedly move in different ways, developing their physical skills, fitness and coordination effectively. Children listen well and enjoy a focused quiet time with the childminder as she reads a story. Children develop their speech. The childminder gives them time to talk, children start to ask questions and copy new words. Children develop their self-confidence, this includes children with barriers to their learning and wellbeing.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder observes and assesses children's achievements. She outlines any gaps in children's development. The childminder works closely with parents and carers to help these gaps close, such as to support children's speech development. She knows her responsibility to get help for children and families. The childminder is ready to seek additional support for children for any persistent gaps and areas of additional need, signposting parents to outside professionals or liaising with specialist services to obtain advice and help.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder understands the importance of using any additional funding children receive carefully linking to gaps in their experiences. She is mindful of all children's home situations. The childminder works with parents to sensitively help children with barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. She provides a graduated and adapted approach as children's circumstances change. At times, the childminder undertakes training linked to new situations to help her gain ideas of ways to support children and improve their opportunities. Overall, children gain the skills they need and are suitably prepared for the next stage of their education and their move on to school.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder thinks about what she can provide and is keen to gain new ideas, develop her knowledge and teaching. She does professional research, enjoying listening to child development podcasts. The childminder also undertakes some training, targeting this at the changing needs of the children that attend. She trials new approaches developing her practice and provision. Some of these are still in the early stages and she plans to embed and implement these more fully and consistently to progress her practice further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is dedicated to her provision and providing the best she can for the children in her care. She has a deep sense of responsibility for children. She conscientiously works to make sure children are safe, and seeks advice to help her at each step. The childminder has suitable links with parents and carers. This includes children that have some barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.The childminder works closely with them, building up and maintaining a two-way flow of information. This helps them to share information about children's changing circumstances, interests and achievements.

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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 thrive on the attention they get from the childminder. She is kind, patient, encouraging and welcoming. If on arrival children are slightly unsure, she offers cuddles and reassurance to them. The childminder knows children and their interests, and reminds them where their favourite toys are. Children go off to find their favourite cars, starting to quickly line these up and settling down to play alongside their friends, their confidence growing. Children gain a beneficial sense of belonging. They show they feel safe and are happy in the childminder's home.

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

The childminder adapts her support to children's different needs. She helps them to count in sequence or count on from a higher number depending on their stage of development. The childminder repeats numbers, sensitively correcting them. Children mange very well, counting to 20. The childminder links the experiences she offers children, helping them to practise new skills, their speech and consolidate their learning. She helps children to recall things from trips she has taken them on. For example, as children notice animals in a puzzle and ask her what they are she names a bat. The childminder then discusses the fruit bats they see on their safari park visits. Children relate to this well. They listen to the childminder and then start to discuss these and other animals they see there. Children use their memory to recall the information and extend their learning and understanding further.

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

Generally, children achieve the skills they need to gain for the next stage of their education and their move on to school. This includes children with some barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing. Children learn useful social skills. The childminder takes children out into the local community. They visit play-based groups and develop their confidence in groups and new situations. Children learn to interact and play with other children of a similar age; this includes children that lack confidence in such situations.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday : 09:00 - 15:00

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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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Next steps

The childminder should outline children's next steps more precisely, making them clearly measurable and achievable, helping both her and parents and carers work on these and provide a concerted approach to supporting children's learning and development further. The childminder should encourage children to persevere with tasks, do more things for themselves and develop their independence and sense of responsibility further.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection and took into account parents' written views.

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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 is from 25 March 2026

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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. 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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