Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2678654 Registered with Ofsted: 19/12/2022 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 love to play outdoors. They experience fresh air and exercise daily in the childminder's large garden, contributing to their physical health. Young children practise navigating sloped grassed areas, a task which requires resilience. Older children jump with purpose on a bouncy trampoline, extending their core physical strength. Children of all ages push scooters and other mobile toys, developing their gross motor skills through enjoyable and varied outdoor play. Children kick, chase and throw soft footballs indoors. They challenge each other to keep the ball off the ground, extending impressive focus and concentration. Children's physical development, coupled with their positive mental attitudes, are well supported. They acquire key skills in readiness for the next stage in their learning.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are provided with plenty of opportunities to learn about numbers and mathematics. For instance, children enjoy playing with abacus equipment. They slide beads across the bars and count, extending their knowledge of quantity. Children develop their social skills through interactive role play. They take care of dolls and toy babies. Children develop their empathy and make sense of the world around them through this imaginative game. Achievement is inclusive and all children generally make steady progress. However, extending conversations and discussion through more open-ended dialogue will further enrich children's achievement in their language skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children's behaviour is typically mature and cooperative. They are generally polite and respectful towards each other and are often heard using their manners as they interact with peers. Children learn how to treat others by watching the childminder, who is a great role model. She treats everyone she encounters with a warm and friendly approach. In turn, children emulate her kindness and respect for others. The childminder offers verbal praise and stickers to reward children for positive behaviour. All children benefit from plenty of encouragement, which helps to bolster their positive sense of self-worth.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children demonstrate a positive attitude to their play and learning. When they arrive, children show excitement about the activities and games that await them. They cheer when discussing outdoor play, showing that they have a thirst to explore. This positive attitude, largely created by the childminder's engaging activities and stimulating environment, is a secure foundation for children's learning. Generally, children display positive behaviours and attitudes to their learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder works closely with parents to foster a shared understanding of attendance and punctuality. Children are rarely absent, and this is accredited to the flexible service the childminder offers families. The childminder carefully adapts her care practices and interactions, considering children's age and stage of development.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder is cautious and completes regular checks of her home to ensure it remains continually safe and suitable for children to play. She diligently uses a checklist to prompt her visual inspections and ensure that no area is missed or overlooked. Children's welfare and safety are given high priority.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Prior to snack, children use soap and rigorously wash their hands with warm water, removing germs and promoting their health and welfare. They undertake this task independently because they understand the importance of this personal care routine.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children show that they feel happy, content and secure by laughing, smiling and giggling frequently. The childminder is polite and respectful towards children, fostering positive attachments to enhance children's emotional wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Mealtimes are typically a social occasion, and children join together to eat with peers, promoting inclusive wellbeing for everyone during these collectively social times of the day. They have wonderful appetites and often ask for more. The childminder knows what children like to eat and meets their individual preferences and needs during mealtimes. She prepares snack in advance of children's arrival. This effective organisation means that the childminder's attention during mealtimes is exclusively focused on the children and close supervision is consistently maintained. This promotes safe eating arrangements. Sometimes, children get up from the table during mealtimes. This is because there are distractions in the environment. The childminder quickly responds by explaining to children the importance of remaining seated to promote their ongoing safety. However, the organisation of the space while eating would benefit from review to minimise distractions

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

and better support children's wellbeing and welfare.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder cares for children of vastly different ages and who consequently have different interests and needs. She carefully adapts her teaching to accommodate these differences. For example, young children read simple books with plenty of illustrations to help them decode stories and learn that print carries meaning. Older children enjoy more complicated books, extending their literacy through greater complexity and challenge. The curriculum and range of activities are carefully sequenced to ensure that all children are well supported in their learning. The childminder has created a stimulating learning environment in her home. The bright and inviting playroom offers a wealth of toys and games to support learning for everyone. All children, including those who face barriers to their learning, are well supported.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder observes children and knows them well. She tracks and monitors their progress and highlights gaps in their development. The childminder subsequently uses this knowledge to target her teaching and narrow gaps in children's learning. Children typically progress well across all areas, including their physical, personal and social development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder plans a varied and interesting curriculum, covering all areas of learning. Children choose where they would like to play. They follow their interests and engage in activities that enthuse them. The childminder is bilingual and uses her secure knowledge of language to support children's communication development. She is inquisitive and engages children in conversations to support their emerging vocabulary. However, sometimes, the childminder's questions do not support children to practise their conversational skills.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder cares for children from broad and diverse backgrounds. Children who have barriers to their learning, such as those who speak English as an additional language, benefit from adjustments and adaptations to enable them to fully participate. For instance, the childminder displays key words in a number of different languages to ensure everyone is fully included.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is welcoming to all children and families in the local community and celebrates every child's uniqueness. Although she doesn't currently care for any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or any children who are known to social care, the childminder has a deep appreciation of how to support all children to enable them to reach their full potential. To illustrate this, the childminder observes children closely to develop an accurate, professional overview of their needs. She carefully meets these needs through her adapted and targeted care routines.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has secure links with local schools and teachers, working closely with them to benefit from their expertise. She uses their knowledge of child development to shape her curriculum to complement children's learning. The childminder invests effort, time and energy observing children and making accurate assessments of their abilities to tailor her teaching.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has completed lots of training, particularly over the last 12 months. This has helped to build her knowledge and skills and, moreover, it has extended her confidence. She intends to continue with this professional development to further improve the quality of her service.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder engages in reflection, and this self-evaluation has led her to make worthwhile improvements. For instance, she has introduced a range of outdoor play equipment to extend children's physical learning provision in her setting. This has impacted positively on children's development in this area. Generally, children progress well. However, improvements in the curriculum to support language through effective questioning will further extend children's overall development.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is extremely organised, and this is a key strength of her practice. She uses this skill to ensure that her workload is well managed, leading to her positive professional wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder works closely with parents. She extends a warm welcome to all new families and manages settling-in periods very closely. This helps parents, children and the childminder to develop positive relationships right from the outset. Parents praise the childminder for her welcoming and home-from-home setting, where their children are happy and settled.

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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

After a busy day at school and nursery, children arrive excited and eager to play. They are clearly happy and reassured by familiar routines. For example, when children arrive, they take off their coats, remove their shoes and quickly go to wash their hands. All these tasks

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Inspector:

Michelle Latchford are completed independently and without prompting. Familiar and consistent routines help to ensure that children know what is expected of them and, in turn, their behaviour is cooperative and helpful. Furthermore, children enjoy lovely warm relationships with the friendly childminder. Children are treated as part of the childminder's extended family in this nurturing, home-from-home setting. Children call the childminder 'auntie', illustrating the close relationships shared. They are excited to share stories from their day because their voices and unique opinions are valued. For instance, some children talk about scoring a goal at lunchtime and others discuss making a bug hotel on the playground. There is an element of democracy in the childminder's planning. For instance, some children want to play in the front garden and others favour the back garden. Together, they decide to play in

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Inspector:

the front first, followed by the back garden. This ensures all needs and interests are met, all opinions are valued and children learn to compromise through democratic discussion. Children show that they feel safe. For instance, they confidently navigate their way around the childminder's home in an assured manner, demonstrating personal security. Children are safe, happy, settled and content.

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Inspector:

Children and families are valued by the childminder. She works in partnership with parents to offer children complementary routines and care practices, which children find reassuring. The childminder offers flexibility for parents to book sessions to meet their needs. Children's attendance is promoted and is consistently high, which impacts positively on children's emotional wellbeing and learning.

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Next steps

The childminder should improve her questioning techniques to provide children with more opportunities to engage in two-way discussions and practise their conversational skills. The childminder should minimise distractions in the environment during mealtimes to better support children's wellbeing and welfare.

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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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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 15:00 - 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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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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