Dido, Jennifer Mawusi

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2766421 Registered with Ofsted: 13/02/2024 Registers: EYR

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Safeguarding standards not met

Leaders have not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding that adequately protects children from harm. The childminder fails to provide the necessary information to Ofsted so the suitability of all adults working with children can be assessed. She allows these unchecked adults to have unsupervised contact with children. For example, during the inspection, we found that the childminder leaves children in the sole care of unchecked adults and children's basic needs are not met. Additionally, she allows these unchecked adults to provide intimate care. This puts children at risk of harm.

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Safeguarding standards not met

Furthermore, the childminder has not ensured that all adults working with children have a secure knowledge of safeguarding and child protection. Some adults are unable to identify when there are concerns about a child's welfare. These weaknesses mean that children's safety cannot be assured. While the childminder understands how to recognise signs of abuse, make referrals and respond to allegations, this knowledge is not matched by a full understanding of her statutory responsibilities to ensure the suitability of every adult working on the premises. This gap in understanding shows that safeguarding practice is not embedded securely.

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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 Needs attention

Children do not make expected progress due to weaknesses in the implementation of the curriculum. Children who require additional support to help them make secure progress in their personal, social and emotional development as well as communication and language do not always get the right level of support that they need. This affects the progress that these children make.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children have acquired some independence skills. For example, with little guidance from adults, some children are able to put their shoes and coats on. Some children are confident to wash their hands and put used tissues in a bin. Children play nicely together and listen to instructions from adults. Older children are developing good communication skills. They respond to and ask relevant questions. However, occasionally, children's learning and engagement in activities are hindered due to inconsistent interactions from the adults looking after them. Overall, children have acquired some basic skills to support the transition to their next stage of learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder does not ensure that all children are responded to promptly when they become unsettled. This does not help all children to become emotionally secure and engage in the learning experiences on offer. The childminder ensures that expectations for behaviour are clear and consistently reinforced by all adults who she works with. The childminder models patience, kindness and respect. This helps children to understand how to share, take turns and look after each other. Overall, children demonstrate positive relationships, showing care and consideration during play and group activities.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder works closely with families to promote children's regular attendance and consistent routines at home. She monitors children's attendance effectively and encourages prompt attendance, which helps to provide continuity of learning and supports children to develop a sense of belonging. However, children's confidence and attitudes to learning are slightly impaired due to the inconsistent support they receive from the childminder and her assistants.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not implement an effective key-person system to ensure all children's individual needs are met. The childminder has a high number of young children in her care. As such, she has employed other adults in order to meet the ratio requirements. However, some of the adults working with children do not know the children well enough. This often means that children's individual needs are not fully met.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder provides healthy meals and supports children to lead a healthy lifestyle through regular outdoor play and meaningful discussions. For example, the childminder discusses the benefits of eating fruits, while reading a book to a group of children. Opportunities are provided for children to learn about their physical development through everyday play and movement. The childminder ensures that children's care routines, such as mealtimes, toileting and sleep times, are managed effectively and sensitively. However, at times, there is a lack of oversight on how other adults implement these routines to support children's welfare and ensure the safe and efficient management of the provision.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder's curriculum is not implemented effectively to ensure all children can consistently achieve and thrive. The childminder is clear about what it is that she wants children to learn. However, she has not ensured that adults working with her share the same vision and that they know how to support children's learning. The quality of interactions that children receive is often variable, which leads to inconsistent progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder plans group-time activities with the focus of developing children's attention, listening and speaking skills. She engages children in lots of singing, storytelling and imaginative play to help develop their emerging language. However, adults supporting these activities take on supervisory roles rather than leading and modelling play. Some adults also have limited English, and therefore, they are unable to extend children's learning and

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Urgent improvement

expose them to a wide range of vocabulary. Some children quickly lose interest in planned learning activities and wander off.

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Urgent improvement

The childminder supports children's physical development well. Children have many opportunities throughout the day to access the garden and engage in robust physical play and also explore nature. Children enjoy riding bikes, walking on balancing beams and mixing mud using different play tools. The childminder uses these opportunities to count and introduce mathematical language to support children's early mathematical development. While the majority of children benefit from these positive interactions from the childminder, others do not gain the same level of experience. For instance, some very young children who are yet to develop their manual dexterity skills are provided with rolling pins to roll dough, which they are unable to do. Children stand and watch without knowing what to do.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder does not ensure that all children are able to access the curriculum to the best of their ability. Some children, who the childminder has identified as needing extra support with their physical development as well as their communication and language, do not always receive the right level of support. For example, when these children become disengaged during group-time activities, the childminder does not ensure that they are re- engaged meaningfully. Some children often loiter around while their peers are meaningfully engaged. This means that not all children are able to make secure progress from their starting points.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder understands the need to access specific training to help children who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She knows the importance of working in close partnerships with parents and external professionals if needed, to help meet the needs of children with SEND and close any learning gaps. The childminder understands the need to access and use additional funding effectively to help improve outcomes for disadvantaged children should she have any of these children attending the provision in the future.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

This inspection was conducted following concerns received about the childminding provision. We initially visited on 10 February 2026 to carry out a full inspection. We found breaches of requirements which had a significant impact on children and therefore took steps to mitigate the risk to children by suspending the provider's registration.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

At the initial inspection, we found significant concerns about unchecked adults caring for children. A high number of children were being cared for, and their individual needs were not met. Children were placed at risk of harm due to a lack of effective supervision. The childminder was found to be providing care outside of her registration. She was working with too many adults under her childminding registration, which only permits her to work with 3 additional adults. The childminder took immediate steps to reduce the risk of harm to children. However, there are still breaches to the safeguarding and welfare requirements, which means urgent improvement is needed to bring the provision to an expected level.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder has failed to comply with requirements under the 'Statutory framework for the early years foundation stage'. She has not informed Ofsted about all adults working with children and failed to provide information in a timely manner so Ofsted can assess their suitability. The childminder took action to rectify this. The childminder does not ensure all adults working with her have a good command of the English language in order to keep children safe and support their learning effectively. Some adults working with children are unable to explain their safeguarding responsibilities, neither are they able to teach children effectively. The childminder provides some training for the adults she works with and has regular discussions around their workload. However, through discussions, they are unable to articulate what they have learned or how this has improved their practice.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder has positive relationships with families and is committed to supporting children's wellbeing. However, her lack of awareness and oversight of statutory responsibilities means she has not taken decisions that ensure children are fully safeguarded. This gap in leadership knowledge limits her capacity to assure children's safety and to meet her legal obligations.

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

Children's safety is compromised to some extent as the childminder does not ensure that all adults working with her have undergone appropriate suitability checks. The childminder does not ensure that all her assistants have the necessary skills and knowledge to keep children safe and support their learning. Children receive variable learning experiences and do not always enjoy the activities that have been provided for them. Occasionally, children's individual needs are not met and some younger children become easily unsettled.

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

On the whole, the childminder knows what she wants children to learn and achieve. However, she does not ensure that all her assistants are fully aware of the curriculum aims in order to support children's learning effectively. Some children benefit from positive interactions from the childminder. For example, they enjoy the childminder's company as she reads stories to them and sings nursery rhymes. Children who know these rhymes join in confidently and receive regular praise from the childminder. However, this practice is not consistent throughout, and therefore, some children do not benefit from high-quality teaching, which then affects the progress they make. Children generally appear secure and happy in the childminder's care. Some explore the play area confidently, choosing what they would like to play with and learn. Some older children smile, dance, copy new words and join in enthusiastically with songs and messy

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

play. These experiences help children to develop communication, confidence and curiosity. Younger children, on the other hand, wander around, lose interest in planned activities quickly and become unsettled.

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

Children begin to understand the importance of sharing, turn-taking and playing cooperatively with each other. Children are developing some independence skills. For example, with the support from adults, they wash their hands, help themselves to water and feed themselves at lunchtime.

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Next steps

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

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Action Completion Date

ensure any adult whose suitability has not been checked is not left unsupervised with children 23/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

provide information to Ofsted promptly in order to assess and determine the suitability of all adults working with children 23/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure all adults working with children have a good knowledge and understanding of child protection, including how to identify and escalate concerns about a child's welfare 23/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure all adults working with children possess a good level of English in order to support children's learning effectively 23/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

implement an effective key-person system to ensure all children's needs are met 23/04/2026

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Action Completion Date

establish effective supervision and training to help ensure that all adults working with children are competent and confident to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. 23/04/2026

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Inspectors:

Anja Eribake Trina Lynskey Josephine Afful

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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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About this inspection

We carried out this inspection as a result of a risk assessment, following information we received about the provider. The provider will be able to give parents further information about this.

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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

The inspection started on 10 February 2026. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. Inspectors returned on 26 March 2026 to complete the inspection.

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About this inspection

The inspectors spoke with the childminder, her assistants and parents during 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

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Urgent improvement

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Urgent improvement

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