Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2787356 Registered with Ofsted: 26/04/2024 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder creates a well-organised, calm and friendly environment where children thrive. She models positive attitudes and behaviours, including polite manners. The childminder offers children plenty of praise and encouragement. Children demonstrate that they understand her high expectations as they say 'please' and 'thank you' without prompting. They consistently behave kindly and respectfully towards others. Older children willingly help younger ones, such as when they are climbing on play equipment in the park.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder encourages and supports children to get along with each other during routines. She plans group activities to help children to practise sharing and taking turns. Children follow clear daily routines that are shared with parents and carers. This helps parents to understand the importance of children's experiences and of regular attendance and punctuality. Routines are inclusive and adapted for those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. For instance, the childminder uses real objects and pictures to indicate changes in activities. Children develop independence and confidence in readiness for the next stage of their learning. For example, all children confidently collect their lunchboxes and water bottles, and put these away in the kitchen after their meals. They proudly help with purposeful tasks, such as tidying away resources and preparing for outdoor play and snack times.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder provides a homely, welcoming and secure environment where children have plenty of fun. Children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, benefit from daily opportunities to be physically active. They learn to manage risks for themselves. For example, young children receive guidance to balance and climb safely up and down steps between different levels in the garden. The childminder talks with children about road safety. For instance, she ensures they understand the rules and boundaries that keep them safe from harm.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder develops highly positive relationships with children in her care and their families. Meaningful partnerships ensure parents and carers share information willingly. This enables the childminder to respond swiftly to children's ongoing needs and new ones as they emerge. For instance, the childminder provides information and guidance to parents on a range of topics, such as safety online, healthy eating and oral health. As a result of this effective communication, snacks and meals provided for children are wonderfully nutritious and balanced. The childminder ensures that children enjoy their food sociably and with close supervision. She is responsive to children's requirements for rest and follows guidance from safe sleeping training to maintain a robust approach. The childminder works in partnership with parents to promote toilet training effectively.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder prioritises supporting children to recognise and manage their emotions, for instance, through games and stories. She helps them to identify different feelings and respond to these appropriately. This helps children, including those with barriers to their

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Expected standard

learning and wellbeing, to regulate their emotions and prepares them for the next stage of their education.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, develop their independence and social skills well, in the main. They show significant progress from settling-in that is tailored by the childminder to their needs, through to preparation for attending school. Older children find and put on their own shoes before going outdoors to play. Younger children attempt simple tasks with help from the childminder when needed. Parents and carers comment that they highly value the self-care abilities that children gain in the childminder's care, including toilet training and positive hygiene practices, such as brushing their teeth and handwashing. Children communicate their needs to others confidently. Generally, they help with everyday tasks, such as tidying away resources where they belong.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children enjoy role play, such as pretending to cook meals with model fruits and vegetable. This helps them to practise their language skills. They demonstrate physical abilities, and an understanding of how to keep themselves safe. For example, young children learn to safely climb up and down steps into the garden which helps them to use play equipment such as slides with confidence.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder reflects regularly on the quality of her provision to help ensure that the curriculum helps children gain skills they will need for future learning, including the eventual move to school. She plans teaching and learning according to children's unique qualities and interests while prioritising emotional welfare, confidence and independence skills. Overall, the curriculum supports children's progress effectively, particularly in their personal, social and emotional development and physical development. Typically, the childminder ensures the activities she offers are inclusive and meet children's needs. However, on occasions, the childminder does not plan adult-led group activities to extend children's learning as effectively to enhance their outcomes. For instance, she does not give children opportunities to help measure ingredients and mix these to make dough, to promote their mathematical understanding and practise their independence skills further.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's communication and language skills effectively throughout everyday play experiences. For example, while children practise their fine motor skills, such as moulding homemade dough, she introduces words such as 'mix', 'cut', 'roll', 'tap' and 'squeeze' for children to hear and copy. The childminder reads familiar stories and recites favourite rhymes with children to enrich their language experience.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder introduces children to some early mathematical skills through counting slices of dough, measuring out ingredients and recognising shapes used to cut the dough, such as stars and circles. Generally, the curriculum is structured and sequenced to support children's development across the areas of learning. Sometimes, however, the childminder's expectations of what children need to learn next in mathematics do not build as securely on what children already know and can do. For example, she introduces more complex calculations before children are wholly secure in their understanding of numbers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder gets to know children and families well from the start. Typically, she uses observations and assessments, as well as the knowledge gathered about children, to identify their interests and what they already know and can do. The childminder swiftly identifies any additional needs arising from barriers to, or gaps in, children's learning overall. She continues to regularly exchange information in discussions with parents and carers. Generally, the childminder uses this to adapt learning and routines appropriately, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) or who are known (or previously known) to social care. Ongoing training helps the childminder to build an understanding of how to support children with SEND.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder works closely in partnership with outside agencies to ensure a consistent approach to children's learning and development. She plans one-to-one support based on feedback from professionals. The childminder continuously reviews children's progress, makes changes to their next steps and secures further advice when needed.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder uses additional funding effectively in response to children's interests and communication and language needs, including where children speak other languages at home. She collects rhymes and songs in these languages. The childminder shares these with children to help value and promote their diverse cultures.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is deeply reflective about her practice in meeting the needs of children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities or facing other barriers to learning. She understands the strengths of her provision and identifies some areas for improvement. The childminder benefits from working with local authority advisers. She completes professional development, including online courses, to help enhance her knowledge and skills generally. However, she has not yet targeted the professional development programme to address specific areas for improvement, such as the mathematics curriculum. The childminder ensures that all those working with children are suitable. She makes sure her assistants have ongoing training and support to help maintain the ethos of the setting as a happy place for children and adults to learn together. She coaches and supervises assistants and is mindful of their wellbeing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents and carers highly value the care provided at the setting. They feel fully informed about children's experiences and achievements so that they can continue with learning at home. Parents value the childminder's support for transitions into her home and the eventual move to school. They comment on the trusting relationships the childminder develops with children and themselves. The childminder uses effective ongoing communication to ensure that she is informed about any potential absences and supports positive attendance. Generally, the childminder uses any additional funding effectively to help address barriers to children's learning and development. She seeks out resources matched to children's needs and interests, provides one-to-one interventions and adapts the environment to promote inclusion and individual needs.

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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 arrive smiling broadly and young children jump up and down with excitement in anticipation of the fun they will have. They receive a warm greeting from the childminder and enter her home-from-home setting confidently. Children demonstrate that they feel safe and a sense of belonging as they leave their parents and carers comfortably and settle quickly to play. They have warm and nurturing relationships with the childminder. Children develop firm friendships with others and are consistently well behaved. They play cooperatively together and are keen to help their friends during play activities and routines.

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

Children make choices from activities that promote their individual learning needs and interests. For example, they complete shape jigsaws independently and role play about their recent baking experiences. Outdoors, children enjoy access to resources chosen to promote their physical skills. These include exploring sand and water, jumping and balancing on an obstacle course made from tyres and vigorously chasing bubbles around the garden. Children respond positively to praise and encouragement and have a go, such as when pushing buttons into dough and counting these as they remove them.

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

All children, including those with families that speak English as an additional language, gain the communication and language skills they need for future learning. They listen to and repeat new vocabulary introduced by the childminder, while they take part in activities. For example, they repeat 'sprinkle, sprinkle' as flour is dropped onto homemade dough to help them roll the mixture out. The childminder supports children's development effectively. She ensures that parents know which words she is focusing on so that they continue this learning at home. The childminder includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in all routines and experiences. She helps them to gain independence skills, such as looking after their personal belongings. Regular attendance helps children to feel secure in the childminder's home.

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Next steps

The childminder should enhance teaching of the mathematics curriculum to ensure that children's next steps build consistently on what they already know and can do. The childminder should review the planning of adult-led group activities to help extend and enrich children's learning even further.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her assistants, parents and carers 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

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday,Saturday : 07:30 - 20:00

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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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Our grades explained

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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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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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