Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 504431 Registered with Ofsted: 05/04/1994 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

Overall, children are developing the appropriate knowledge and skills within all areas of their early years learning journey. Children are typically achieving well from their starting points. They become increasingly more independent, learning new skills including handwashing as well as how to put on coats, sweatshirts and footwear. Children make progress in their physical development. For example, there are plastic stepping stones within the conservatory to provide opportunities for toddlers and pre-schoolers to develop their balance and core strength as well as their problem-solving skills. They also develop secure fine motor control through the use of creative activities such as designing butterflies. Children are well prepared to effectively move on to their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children have a positive and secure attachment with their childminder. Toddlers and pre- school children are engaged in their learning and have well-established routines. They demonstrate positive attitudes to learning and know right from wrong. For example, they display patience and tolerance when waiting for their turn with the stroller pram.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder recognises the importance of developing young children's personal, social and emotional development skills. This includes a focus on helping children to understand and regulate their emotions as well as fostering a positive and respectful culture through promoting sharing and turn-taking with the children. The children share role-play resources including play food and learn to collaborate during free play by feeding play food into the mouth of a cardboard caterpillar the childminder made with the children.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder supports children's understanding of difference. For instance she explores and discusses special cultural events such as Lunar New Year. Toys, books and resources reflect different races and cultures. This helps children respect and accept others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children attend regularly, and parents are always punctual. The childminder promotes the importance of regular attendance with parents and carers and monitors children's attendance carefully.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder creates a safe and welcoming setting. The children transition well from parents into the setting with a self-registration system on arrival to promote independence and build a sense of belonging. Children enjoy play and learning. Children's physical and emotional health are supported. The childminder supports children to recognise, express and manage their emotions by naming feelings during day-to-day situations and through discussions about characters' feelings during stories.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder is responsive to young children in supporting them with their play and as part of routines. For example, children have an awareness of healthy eating by reading stories and having discussions with the childminder to teach them about the value of eating well and the significance of oral hygiene. There is also an understanding of safe sleep practices to ensure children are kept safe, including being regularly checked by the childminder. Children are confident and proud of using the toilet independently, and the childminder offers lots of positive reinforcement. The childminder ensures that children learn how and when to wash their hands and explains the importance of hygiene to prevent illness and understand cleanliness. These routines and activities support children's welfare and wellbeing to promote the best possible outcomes for children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has a varied and well-established curriculum. She promotes children's communication, language and literacy skills effectively. She reads interactive stories to children, who enjoy lifting the flaps to reveal different images and consolidating the stories' content with story sack props to reciprocate the images within the text. Children listen carefully and make spontaneous comments. Children attend a toddler group regularly that the childminder facilitates and volunteers as part of. They sing action songs and rhymes. All of these activities support the children to gain effective early communication skills, language and literacy skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder ensures that children have opportunities to practise a range of physical skills with the use of the spacious garden and conservatory area. She provides equipment that can be utilised both indoors and outdoors, including sensory stepping stones to encourage their gross motor skills. She also encourages social skills as children help prepare lunch together. The childminder and children always sit together around the playroom table for mealtimes and children engage in meaningful conversations with each other and the childminder.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder supports the children's mathematical development successfully. For example, children identify items of food then instantly recognise the quantities in relation to the story sack they are exploring.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has high expectations for all children. She understands children's changing and emerging needs, responding to these appropriately.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder communicates well with parents. Parents praise how well the childminder has supported their children, including the offer of local authority funded places. She can explain how she would identify and support the needs of disadvantaged children. Where there are identified gaps in children's learning, the childminder puts effective support in place such as encouraging their confidence to develop through experiences.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has explained she has no children on roll with development delay concerns, special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or children in care. However, she has recently supported children who have faced other barriers, such as the transition of moving home and the transition of the childminder moving to a new home. She has actively involved the children in this transition, providing choices of where resources are stored and which outdoor equipment is offered. The childminder recognises there is still more improvement to be made in relation to professional learning to further enhance knowledge of SEND services and training available.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder encourages the children to make their own choices, for example as they select their own books to read, with older pre-school children offering to read to toddlers.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has moved address since being previously inspected and requested the children's views on the new toys and resources on offer. She has carefully risk assessed the learning environment and considered safety measures in terms of security and potential hazards.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder demonstrates an understanding of her strengths and areas for improvement. She celebrates her passion for promoting early literacy skills through story sacks and monthly postal subscription boxes. A further strength is the toddler group the childminder facilitates, with the children attending on a weekly basis as part of her provision. This enables opportunities for the children to reinforce social skills and gain confidence in new environments. Since her last inspection, the childminder has made better use of self- evaluation to raise the quality of teaching to a higher standard. The childminder wishes to continue to further improve her practice. She has expressed her wishes to gain further knowledge and training to support children and their families with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face barriers to their learning. This has been highlighted as a priority for improvement within their next steps.

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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 are nurtured and supported from the very beginning of their learning journey at this home-from-home childminding provision. The childminder is well established and experienced, with her current families relocating alongside the childminder's relocation of home address. She is caring and attentive to children's needs. She has a close and warm relationship with the children. She ensures children feel safe and secure through listening to their feelings and interacting with each child. The children are confident and eagerly talk about their families. The childminder values each child and readily praises their behaviour and efforts. For instance, she praises a child for identifying their personal piece of artwork on display. Children enjoy stories and access various texts freely and can anticipate what happens next within the story. They play well together, and the childminder encourages the children to do things for themselves, including handwashing and preparing lunch.

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

The childminder provides a broad and balanced curriculum so that all areas of learning and development are met. She can identify children's interests and skills, ensuring they all make expected progress from their starting points, with the intention of preparing the children for starting school. The childminder identifies that a strength of her provision is a love of books. For example, she offers a variety of story sack resources, and children are very well established at using them independently and with the childminder. This supports children's communication and language effectively. The childminder consistently observes children's progress and updates parents regularly and shares any concerns.

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Next steps

The childminder should improve their practice in relation to professional learning, with a priority to further enhance their knowledge of special educational needs and/or disabilities

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 17:30

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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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Children numbers

services and training offered by their local authority so that they have a constant focus on securing excellence for all children. Establish links in relation to regular shared communication with the local nursery within the feeder school, as some children on roll already attend, with a further child due to join sessions at the nursery from September 2026.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder 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.

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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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