Cutler, Mrs Abigail

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2723003 Registered with Ofsted: 02/11/2023 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 Strong standard

Children make excellent progress from their starting points across all areas of learning. A clear focus on communication and language helps children develop a love of reading, stories and early literacy skills. The childminder carefully prepares children for their next stage of development, including school readiness, toileting and independence.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children who face barriers to learning, including those with emerging additional needs or delays in communication and concentration, receive targeted support. The childminder works closely with parents and outside agencies to ensure that children receive the right help at the right time. As a result, they make secure and sustained progress from their individual starting points and are fully included in daily routines and activities.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children who once struggled with concentration now engage for longer periods and show greater interest in learning. They also develop empathy, curiosity and respect for others. Daily routines, including mealtimes, are carefully planned and purposeful. These routines provide valuable opportunities for children to make choices, develop independence and build social skills. The childminder uses these moments intentionally to support children's confidence, communication and positive relationships with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder sets high and consistent expectations for children's behaviour and actively promotes kindness, respect and cooperation. She provides thoughtful and consistent guidance to encourage children to share, take turns and treat one another with care. When unwanted behaviour occurs, she responds in a calm, consistent and effective manner. This helps children understand the impact of their actions and gently supports them towards making positive and appropriate choices.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder acts as a highly effective role model, speaking softly, respectfully and patiently to children. She clearly explains why positive behaviour is important and helps children understand how their actions affect others. This creates a calm, nurturing and supportive environment where children feel safe, secure and valued.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder works closely and effectively with parents to ensure that children experience clear and consistent boundaries between home and the setting. She shares thoughtful strategies and guidance with parents to support behaviour management and promote consistency, helping children to understand expectations across both environments.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

She also supports children sensitively and effectively to recognise and manage their own feelings. She helps them identify emotions, such as anger, upset or confusion, and guides them towards appropriate ways to self-regulate and calm themselves. This helps children to develop emotional understanding, resilience and confidence in managing their feelings.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's welfare and wellbeing are highly important to the childminder. She has created a safe, welcoming and nurturing environment where children feel happy, secure and confident. Children play alongside their peers and benefit from daily access to outdoor learning through visits to local parks, the library and daily walks to and from school. These experiences provide a rich and stimulating range of opportunities, helping children to stay active, explore their community and develop a broader understanding of the world around them.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder teaches children good hygiene practices through clear, consistent and well- established routines. Children are encouraged to wash their hands before mealtimes and after self-care routines, such as nappy changes. There is a dedicated area with a portable sink, enabling children to wash their hands independently and develop positive and well- embedded hygiene habits from an early age. As a result, children confidently understand and cooperate with daily routines.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder prepares healthy, balanced meals and uses mealtimes as calm, social and purposeful opportunities to promote good manners, conversation and social development. Children sit together during meals, creating a positive and consistent routine that supports healthy habits and the development of strong social skills. The childminder consistently supports children's mental health and emotional wellbeing. She helps children to express their feelings and understand their emotions. The smallest changes in children's wellbeing are quickly and carefully identified and addressed. Children are given time and space to rest and regulate themselves and, as a result, they are beginning to develop early self-regulation skills. This creates a nurturing and emotionally secure environment where children feel safe and valued.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The needs of children who may face barriers to their learning are identified and supported promptly. The childminder works closely and effectively with children's other settings to ensure that she meets their individual needs and provides consistent and well-matched support.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder has created a curriculum that meets the needs of all children. She carefully identifies what children already know and plans what they need to learn next. She embeds this through strong daily routines and purposeful practice throughout the day. She actively supports children to develop independence and prepares them for school readiness. For example, she encourages children to pull up their own trousers after nappy changes. This helps them build confidence, develop self-care skills and supports early toilet training.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder adapts her teaching precisely in the moment by responding to children's immediate interests and emerging ideas. While children explore natural materials in the tuff tray, she asks open-ended questions that encourage curiosity, problem-solving and deeper levels of thinking. She also supports younger children to join activities confidently and explore resources independently. Children take responsibility for tidying away resources after activities. With gentle support, they remember where items belong and return them correctly. This strengthens their understanding of routines and promotes responsibility. The childminder also promotes equality and diversity through everyday conversations and experiences. She helps children understand that everyone is unique and valued. For example, she talks about differences, such as height, hair colour and eye colour, helping children recognise and respect diversity.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

This creates a highly inclusive environment where all children feel welcomed, respected and understood.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Every child is supported to make meaningful and sustained progress across all areas of their learning. All children are provided with opportunities to become curious, confident and independent learners. Activities are carefully and thoughtfully adapted to children's age and stage of development, which ensures that they all experience success and achievement. There is a clear and consistent emphasis on communication and language for all children. The childminder models simple words and phrases with clarity, consistency and purposeful intention throughout activities.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder ensures that all children have a baseline assessment after they have settled. Weekly planning allows reflection and focuses on children's next steps in development. This ensures that the childminder has accurate, detailed and precise oversight of the progress children are making. Children who may face barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing are quickly identified and sensitively yet effectively supported. The childminder attends local authority-run sessions with a focus on building language development to improve her practice and strengthen highly specific and well-matched support plans for children. She has developed highly effective, well-established and purposeful links with external professionals and uses these to ensure that children are supported to make excellent and sustained progress over time.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder consistently reflects on the progress children are making and adapts her approach when needed. For example, when children need a little more support to reach their next steps, the childminder carefully and deliberately considers how the curriculum is sequenced, structured and precisely matched to their needs. As a result, children are making secure and appropriate progress that is relevant to their age and stage of development.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates a clear and reflective understanding of how to improve her setting and the outcomes for the children in her care. She uses self-evaluation effectively and has completed a detailed and thoughtful review, which considers all evaluation areas and identifies clear priorities for development. For example, she is focusing on strengthening community links and considering how she can further enhance the environment to build children's awe, wonder and curiosity.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents to build effective partnerships that support children's learning and development. She regularly shares information about children's progress, routines and next steps, ensuring that parents are well informed and engaged. This encourages parents to continue children's learning at home and promotes consistency between home and the setting, helping children feel secure and ensuring that their individual needs are understood and met. These positive partnerships also enable early concerns to be identified quickly, supporting children to make better and more sustained progress. For example, when input from external professionals is required, this is acted upon promptly and appropriately.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder takes children on regular outings, including playgroups, and carefully and thoughtfully reflects on how these experiences support learning and development. She provides a balanced and purposeful approach, ensuring that outings are meaningful and contribute to children's wider development. The childminder has previously developed community links, which she is keen to revisit by working with a local care home. Children showed patience, kindness and enjoyment when spending time with elderly residents, supporting their social and emotional development in a meaningful way.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder works closely with outside agencies, including the local authority and the special educational needs and/or disabilities team, to ensure that children receive the right support. Through these partnerships, she has gained valuable guidance and professional input to strengthen provision for the children she works with. The childminder also prioritises her own professional development through regular training. Communication and language remains a key focus and, as a result, she has a secure and well-developed understanding of how children acquire language and the experiences they need to succeed.

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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 settled, confident and emotionally secure in this setting. They benefit from secure attachments with the childminder, which help them feel safe and well supported. Children make strong and sustained progress and approach learning with enthusiasm and confidence. They engage in meaningful learning experiences that consistently build their knowledge and broaden their understanding of the world around them. For example, children take daily walks with the childminder, where they carefully observe their surroundings. They notice small details, such as ladybirds and interesting logs, which they later recall and talk about, making rich and meaningful connections in their learning.

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

Children also engage in purposeful learning opportunities, such as exploring natural materials in a tuff tray. They observe different textures and small creatures, discussing what they can see and feel while talking about where these materials might be found in the environment. The childminder supports their curiosity through positive, responsive interactions that encourage exploration, thinking and sustained engagement. Children develop special friendships and learn to be kind, considerate and respectful of others. Younger children are particularly well supported, developing confidence through secure attachments with the childminder. Overall, children feel safe, valued and thrive, and they flourish in this nurturing environment.

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

All children show high levels of engagement and a strong understanding of their daily routine. For example, children play collaboratively with trains and tracks. They fix the pieces together with confidence and show a keen interest in how the magnets work. Children are learning to share, with support from the childminder who is responsive and attuned to their conversations and actions. They then cooperate during tidy-up time, putting toys away happily and independently as they prepare for the next activity.

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

Parents share that the childminder provides excellent opportunities for their children and is always on hand for support when needed. This has created strong and positive relationships

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:30 - 18:00

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About this setting

Local authority: Cheshire East between home and the setting. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are valued and supported, so they can flourish during their time with the childminder. Children consistently demonstrate high levels of engagement and a genuine love of learning.

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Next steps

The childminder should sustain their work to ensure continued improvement and high standards. They should focus on creating a transformational impact on the outcomes and experiences of disadvantaged children, those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, those who are known (or previously known) to children's social care, and those who may face other barriers to their learning and/or wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke to the childminder and the 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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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. 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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