Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2763941 Registered with Ofsted: 07/02/2024 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 have made positive progress in all areas of learning in the short period of time they have been attending the setting. They enjoy accessing a variety of activities to support their smaller muscles and hand-eye coordination. For example, children learn to mark make, peel stickers and stick materials with glue. Children develop skills to help prepare them for their next steps in learning. Additionally, they develop their larger muscles in the outdoors and when accessing their local soft play centre, where they learn to balance, climb and jump.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop their communication and language skills well. They enjoy joining in with actions and words to familiar nursery rhymes. They develop a love of reading and freely choose books to look at and talk about with the childminder. Children enjoy identifying animals hiding in flip-flap books where they reenact the noises that they make. However, children are not consistently supported in having back-and-forth conversations to help them make even better progress in all areas of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children understand the expectations of the setting. The childminder supports children's behaviour by explaining how to use resources appropriately. Children listen and follow the rules. Typically, children develop their understanding of self-care needs, such as knowing how to take their socks off, practise dressing themselves and self-feeding. However, from time to time, the childminder does not support children to consistently build on their independent skills further, such as encouraging them to tidy away toys after they have finished playing. This does not support children's understanding of looking after their environment.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children develop positive relationships with the childminder. They confidently access the provision, which is carefully planned and easily accessible. The childminder supports children to play alongside one another, using different strategies during times of conflict. For example, she uses distraction tactics like singing to help children wait their turn. She is a positive role model. For example, she names whose turn it is, to support children's understanding and help children to wait. Additionally, the childminder takes children out into the local community to help them learn to socialise with different children in unfamiliar environments. This also helps build children's confidence.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder ensures good attendance practice for all children. She works with parents sharing attendance procedures to follow and has devised an effective attendance monitoring system.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Generally, the childminder supports children's understanding of personal hygiene. She talks to children about the importance of washing their hands. Children know to clean their hands before eating and know to sit at the table ready for snack or lunch. Eating times are a positive social experience, where the childminder talks about the foods the children are eating. Children learn about healthy foods. The childminder knows to work with parents to support children with their personal needs, such as toileting, and put in place consistent strategies.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children have secure bonds with the childminder and they settle quickly into her care. She prioritises gathering information about children to help implement changes or adaptations, when necessary. Typically, she adapts her resources linked to children's interests to help them engage in play with the childminder and other children. She offers settling-in sessions to build on children's confidence within the setting and adapts her routine. For example, she ensures children feel comfortable in her home before going out into the local community. Additionally, the childminder supports children's understanding of personal safety when out and about. For instance, children know to hold the childminder's hand when in the car park to keep themselves safe.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has designed an ambitious curriculum across all areas of learning. She has a focus on supporting children's communication and languages skills, building on what children know and can do. For example, she revisits children's favourites stories, comments and narrates children's actions. This helps build on children's language and understanding. She extends children's language through introducing vocabulary, which children copy. She repeats new language in different contexts to help embed new learning. For instance, the childminder talks about sizes and positions of objects during several different interactions to build on children's mathematical language. The childminder adapts her interactions to meet children's needs, using simple words for babies and longer phrases and sentences to support older children. She also models counting when singing and looking at objects from a story. Children develop their mathematical understanding well. Although the childminder

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

uses appropriate questions during her interactions, she does not consistently give children enough time to think and respond to them. This does not support children to develop their language skills or promote back-and-forth conversations.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder plans activities linking to children's interests. For instance, she introduces stickers to help build children's smaller muscles after they show an interest in sticking. Children sustain attention well.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Generally, the childminder identifies and assesses children's learning well and puts in place appropriate support and next steps in learning. For example, the childminder reduces barriers to children's wellbeing by supporting children when they first start. She prioritises getting to know them, and gathers information about children's likes from parents to implement into her provision. Typically, she also puts in place consistent strategies to support children during nap times at her home such as using their favourite home comforters. Children settle quickly into her care and confidently access the resources available.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder follows safety procedures when administrating medication to support the needs of the children. She works closely with parents, sharing any concerns. She also gathers vital information about children's allergies and intolerances before they attend. She is knowledgeable about common signs and symptoms to look out for that might cause concern about children's development, and knows to work with parents to ensure adaptations are proactively put in place, when needed. Although at the time of the inspection, there were no children attending with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the childminder is knowledgeable in how to support them if they were to attend in the future.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is passionate and knowledgeable about her roles and responsibilities. She ensures she keeps up to date with any changes to the early years foundation stage framework, and continues enhancing her professional development through ongoing training. She uses information she has learnt from training to implement changes to support the children in her care. For example, she adapted her teaching to introduce mathematics through interactions and routines. Children are at the heart of the setting. The childminder reflects on her practice, identifying her strengths and areas of improvements. Although, there were no children attending at the time of inspection with special educational needs and/or disabilities, the childminder has put in place further training to ensure she is confident and prepared to support all children that may attend in the future.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has built positive relationships with parents. She shares information on children's day-to-day activities and any concerns. The childminder knows to share information on children's learning with other settings to support transitions in the future, such as the move to school. Although the childminder has started sharing information on children's learning with parents, she has yet to embed this to support home 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 are safe and secure in the childminder's welcoming home. They develop positive relationships from the very beginning through the childminder prioritising getting to know the children and their families. Children confidently and quickly settle into the environment. They access toys and resources of interest and enjoy playing alongside the childminder and their peers. They take part in planned activities to meet their needs organised by the childminder. For example, children learn to take turns, choosing objects from a box, to sing the next nursery rhyme. They enthusiastically join in with actions and words. Children enjoy repeating familiar songs modelled by the childminder to help embed new language. They have a positive attitude to learning. Children behave well, listening to the childminder's expectations. When the childminder reinforces or gently guides children, she helps support their understanding of the expectation. Children demonstrate trust in her care.

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

Children build their understanding of emotions through play and carefully chosen resources. For example, they enjoy looking at different emotion cards, where they copy the facial expressions alongside the childminder. Children start to name emotions and understand the feelings of others. When children feel upset, the childminder cuddles, reassures and uses toys of interests to help them to regulate. This helps give children strategies to deal with different emotions, supporting them in their next steps in learning.

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

Children develop their mathematical skills well, during play and embedded routines. Children learn about number as the childminder demonstrates counting skills and shows the amount using her fingers. Children repeat mathematical language modelled by the childminder in different parts of their play to help embed new words. Children also enjoy exploring different outfits with the childminder comparing their sizes and whether they would fit or not.

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 05:30

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About this setting

Local authority: Nottinghamshire County Council

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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 consistently give children enough time to think and respond when asking questions to support them to develop their language skills further. The childminder should ensure that they consistently promote children's growing independence skills to allow children to carry out tasks by themselves. The childminder should embed effective ways to share learning with parents to support possible home learning.

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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. This data is from 6 May 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

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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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