Chatwood, Helen Ann

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2767768 Registered with Ofsted: 22/01/2024 Registers: EYR, CCR

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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

Typically, the childminder's focus on the prime areas supports children to make expected progress for their age and stage of development. All children benefit from daily routines and the close attention of their childminder to generally achieve well from their starting points. For example, the childminder shares books with children throughout the day. She promotes a love of reading as she encourages them to engage with the story and the pictures. Children are keen to snuggle up and talk about what they see with their childminder. Children are developing positive attitudes to a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy physical activity and relish the healthy meals and snacks the childminder provides.

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Achievement Expected standard

The childminder instils confidence in children through her attentive and responsive care. This supports children to develop the resilience, perseverance and 'motivation to learn' they need to transition to school. Children demonstrate their burgeoning independence skills with pride.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has high expectations of all children's behaviour. She supports children to meet these expectations by setting fair and consistent boundaries that children understand well. Children show pride in their positive behaviour and look to their childminder for praise when they are kind to their friends. The childminder uses a range of strategies to teach children the social skills they need for collaborative play. She role-models turn-taking, encourages children to empathise with others and shows them how to share. Children are able to play harmoniously together as a result. Children wait patiently for their turn to spoon flour into a dough mixture and make imaginary party food together in the play kitchen.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder builds positive and trusting relationships with children as their key person. This enables children to feel safe to seek comfort, guidance and reassurance when they find it difficult to manage their feelings. The childminder helps them to understand how to resolve conflict and begin to regulate their own emotions. The childminder understands the importance of secure attachments to help children feel secure and ready to learn. Children are motivated to learn through the praise and encouragement the childminder offers.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder demonstrates a secure understanding of the importance of promoting attendance. This helps to establish good routines and contributes to safeguarding arrangements.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder ensures that all children feel safe, welcome and happy in her setting. She gets to know each child well and designs care routines to mimic those used at home. For example, children are patted or read to as they gently fall asleep.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder ensures that mealtimes are enjoyable by encouraging conversation as children eat healthy meals and snacks. The childminder gives positive messages about

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Needs attention

healthy eating and supports children to prepare their own food. This encourages children to try an increasing variety of foods. The childminder promotes oral health, and children drink milk or water from cups appropriate for their age. The childminder helps children understand how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Children make their own risk assessments outdoors and know the rules that keep them safe, such as walking slowly when the decking is wet. The childminder teaches children to wash their hands to remove germs after playing outdoors.

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Needs attention

Children demonstrate the secure attachments they have with their childminder. They are confident to meet new people and engage in challenge and risky play before returning to the caring childminder for comfort and praise. Children forge strong relationships with each other. This contributes to the positive environment and supports children's developing social skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not plan a broad curriculum in the specific areas of learning. Although she provides activities that meet children's interests and help children develop some knowledge and skills, these are not ambitious for all children or move children's learning forward. In particular, the childminder's curriculum to support mathematics does not support children to develop skills in sequence. For example, she plans for children to learn to match written numbers to quantities before they can count reliably. Additionally, the way children learn about people who are different to themselves is limited to looking at a book.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

During teaching, the childminder does not routinely correct misconceptions, provide accurate information or encourage children to think for themselves. This has a negative impact on children's learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not monitor children's progress effectively. She does not accurately identify next steps for children's learning based on what they know and can do. During activities, the childminder does not adapt her teaching to what children know and can do based on the observations she makes. When the childminder identifies that children may be at risk of falling behind the expected stages of development, she does not take decisive action to ensure her teaching supports them to overcome any barriers to their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder focuses on the prime areas of learning to establish secure foundations for younger children. She offers activities that help children develop their large and fine motor skills effectively, and they make good progress in this area. Children develop communication skills, which allows them to express themselves effectively and communicate their needs. The childminder promotes children's social and emotional development through daily routines that help children to feel confident and secure.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder knows how to ask for and implement the advice of specialists when children have possible barriers to their learning. However, she does not take these actions consistently to improve her own practice and seek the support children need to overcome these barriers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder's systems of checking children's progress are not robust enough to ensure that any emerging needs are identified swiftly and accurately to support them to make progress.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Overall, the childminder knows how to support disadvantaged children and those known or previously known to social care. However, the childminder's curriculum is not coherently planned to support the needs of disadvantaged children. She forms secure relationships with parents to ensure that information is exchanged about children's welfare, what they do at home and any challenges families may face. The childminder demonstrates an understanding of how to use early years pupil premium to ensure children access the resources, experiences and support they need most.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder does not work effectively with other agencies and settings the children attend to understand children's learning and meet their changing needs. The childminder does not conduct a 2-year progress check for all children, which is a breach of requirements. This means parents and other professionals may not receive the information they need to understand children's progress and identify any areas where children may need extra support.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder engages thoughtfully and positively with parents, many of whom praise the childminder's attentive and nurturing care. However, the childminder does not work with parents to understand what children know and can do on entry and to help parents understand children's progress in their learning. She shares updates about what children have been doing each day, but she does not actively involve parents in children's learning to help them reach their next steps.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder shows limited self-evaluation skills, which prevents her from precisely identifying strengths and areas for improvement in her practice. Although the childminder undertakes some continuous professional development, this is not sufficiently focused on ensuring she is able to support children to overcome potential barriers to their learning. However, the childminder has a positive attitude to receiving feedback and is committed to rapidly improving areas identified for improvement.

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

Typically, children acquire the essential knowledge and skills they need to make the transition to school. They demonstrate motivation to learn and persevere with tasks they find difficult. However, the curriculum provided is not sufficiently broad, sequenced or ambitious. The childminder does not teach new concepts effectively or adapt her teaching to children's changing needs. Systems for checking children's progress are not robust. This prevents the childminder from planning for children's learning based on what they know and can do.

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

The childminder does not consistently work effectively with other agencies, including specialists and other settings that children attend, to support children's progress. The childminder does not use effective systems to evaluate her own practice and accurately identify areas for improvement. This has a negative impact on practice as it prevents the childminder from undertaking continuous professional development opportunities that will raise the quality of the setting.

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

Children are very happy with this warm and nurturing childminder. She provides a homely environment where children find the toys they want to play with and favourite books to enjoy together. The childminder knows each child well and plans activities based on what they are interested in. Children are confident to communicate with their attentive childminder. They demonstrate a sense of belonging as they express their needs, preferences and ideas, which the childminder listens to with interest and enthusiasm.

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

The childminder teaches children to be kind to each other, share and take turns. Children beam with pride as she praises them for being thoughtful and gentle. Children behave well,

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About this setting

and this contributes to a positive atmosphere. They develop the social skills they need to make friends and play cooperatively. Children feel secure with their childminder, and this helps them feel safe to challenge themselves physically. Young children climb, balance and jump from soft play equipment with close support and constant supervision.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following action by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

develop robust systems of assessment, including the progress check between age 2 and 3, in order to precisely identify next steps and any areas of concern and share these assessments with parents and other relevant professionals. 01/09/2026

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Action Completion Date

The childminder should review and improve the curriculum to ensure that it is broad, ambitious and supports all children to make the best possible progress from their starting points. The childminder should implement strategies to evaluate her practice in order to identify areas for improvement and raise quality. The childminder should enhance her teaching practice to support children to reach their next steps in learning.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with children, the childminder and parents 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. Unique reference number (URN): 2767768

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About this inspection

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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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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