Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2788732 Registered with Ofsted: 06/06/2024 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

Children typically make steady progress with their personal, social and emotional skills, their physical development and their communication and language development. They develop skills and knowledge to help them in their next stage of learning. Younger children strengthen their fine motor skills as they explore water play and try and pick up ducks as they bob in the water.

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Achievement Expected standard

Babies are confident babblers, and toddlers' are confident talkers, with a broadening vocabulary that they eagerly use. Children thrive as the childminder targets her interactions to generally support learning and development. All children benefit from frequent interactions that support their progress. Children are settled and confident, and they achieve well.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children make typical progress from their starting points. Children benefit from the effective and regular supportive communication between the childminder and families. This supports consistency in care.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder creates a learning environment that is positive and nurturing. She has high expectations for all children and helps them to develop respectful relationships. The childminder promotes sharing and taking turns well. She understands the importance of children attending regularly and promotes this with parents and carers. Children build positive relationships with the childminder. They show confidence in her care. The childminder offers children cuddles, comfort and reassurance as needed. This supports children's emotional development.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder knows children well and builds on their interests. She has established settling-in routines that support new starters to settle quickly and feel happy and safe in her care. This supports children to fully engage in activities and experiences. The childminder narrates on children's play and praises them as they focus and persevere in activities of their choosing. The childminder typically promotes children's independence. However, she does not consistently do this. For example, the childminder is quick to offer help when children are eating or completing a matching shape activity. This lessens children's opportunities to practise skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, enjoy learning that typically supports their next steps. For example, the childminder supports younger children's physical development well. For example, she clears floorspace to best support children's confidence and independence to walk. Children beam with pride as the childminder praises their walking. Children develop whole-hand grasp and finger control as they enjoy removing pipe cleaners out of the holes of a colander. The childminder encourages perseverance as children repeatedly pull each one. She praises their efforts and highlights that they managed to succeed all by themselves. The childminder promotes children's early mathematical skills. She models counting in sequence as she counts the number of pipe cleaners.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's early literacy skills. Children enjoy selecting stories for the childminder to read and focus well. They enjoy taking turns at turning the pages. Children enjoy making animal sounds as they enjoy seeing animals adventures in the story. As children quack like ducks, the childminder speaks with them about prior learning experiences of feeding ducks at the park. Children smile as they recall this. The childminder promotes kindness and respect of others. She reinforces expectations as she reads.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's communication and language skills well. She constantly narrates babies' play and sings songs and nursery rhymes with them as they play. The childminder typically models new words for children such as 'fir cone' and 'pine cone', as children enjoy using them to make marks and patterns in dough. However, at times, the childminder does not speak words clearly or in full at times. This does not best support children to learn and use new words for themselves. During regular outings, children enjoy interacting with children outside the childminder's home. They learn to take turns, share and play cooperatively as they play in larger groups.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder provides an inclusive environment. Children feel confident, safe and valued. The childminder knows children and their families well. She carefully monitors children's learning and development. The childminder uses observations to identify each child's needs and generally identifies where additional support may be required. She works closely with families to develop a shared understanding of children's needs. This helps the childminder to seek early help to best promote children's progress. The childminder uses additional funding to best support eligible children. For example, she purchases all-weather clothing to ensure that all children can fully engage with outdoor learning activities.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder is sensitive to children's experiences out of her care. Her regular open and honest communication with parents and carers helps her to support children and their families. The childminder helps children to recognise and manage their emotions. This helps young children to develop respectful relationships. The childminder recognises that some children are less confident than others and that some children find sharing her attention difficult. Her interactions are typically sensitive to each child's needs. She responds to and builds on children's interests swiftly. This promotes progress for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those with other barriers to their learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder reflects on her practice. She is committed to continually improving and refining her skills. The childminder is planning to engage in training and guidance to support her to establish effective sleep routines for babies. The childminder engages in professional networking to ensure that she continually develops her practice. She regularly meets with a fellow childminder and reviews activities that have proved particularly beneficial in promoting children's progress. The childminder then adapts these to support children in her care.

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Needs attention

The childminder works in partnership with parents and carers. She regularly updates them on children's progress and provides guidance on how to support their children's learning and development at home. This builds consistency in care. Parents are particularly appreciative of the childminder's warm and friendly communication. They value how she supports families, as well as their children.

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Needs attention

The childminder has a sound understanding of strengths of her provision and identifies areas she feels need developing, such as sleep routines. However, because the childminder takes children out and about most days, she has not fully developed this aspect of care. This is is now the childminder's focus.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder's procedures and practice typically promote children's wellbeing and welfare. While the childminder recognises she needs to develop sleep routines that best support children's wellbeing, she has not yet taken enough action to improve this. The childminder keeps children safe when they sleep, carrying out regular checks. However, she does not best meet children's need for sleep as she has not built children's confidence and familiarity to sleep in her home. This means children do not receive high-quality rest experiences when care is taking place predominantly in the childminder's home. This does not best promote children's physical development or emotional wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder identifies and manages risks well. She helps children to learn to keep themselves safe. For example, as younger children attempt to put play dough in their mouths, she reinforces the expectation that dough must not be eaten and that it is not a food. She then focuses children's attention well as she instructs them to press the dough, squeeze the dough and use shape cutters.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

When children start with the childminder, she gathers information from parents and carers to support children's welfare and wellbeing, such as their health needs or allergies and intolerances. The childminder supports children develop healthy habits, such as washing their hands after nappy changes or before eating. She promotes an active lifestyle through the many and varied outings children experience. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or other barriers to learning receive targeted support as they eat. The childminder encourages them to try new foods and models enjoyment in eating a variety of foods. As children have their nappies changed, the childminder sings to them and they babble. She takes turns in the communication, promoting further vocalising from babies.

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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

Children do not benefit from well-embedded sleep routines that best support their wellbeing. Children are settled and happy in this setting. They have trusting bonds with the childminder. Children are clearly content in her care, such as as they babble and giggle as they play. They experience a curriculum that is rich and varied in experiences and meets all children's needs. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and children who are disadvantaged or face other barriers to learning benefit from support that helps them to thrive. The childminder knows children well. She is responsive when changes in their lives affect their confidence. The childminder provides extra cuddles and reassurance to build children's self-confidence and sense of belonging. Children experience a curriculum that builds their existing knowledge and skills. They develop the skills and understanding they need for their next stage in learning. The curriculum is inclusive, and the childminder is swift

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

to adapt activities to promote joy and focus for all children.

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

Children enjoy daily outings that promote a love of nature. They develop social skills as they grow in confidence playing and learning with other local childminders and children in their care. The childminder plans experiences and outings that provide new learning, such as a visit to a local farm where children enjoy bottle feeding lambs for the first time.

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

Children enjoy frequent story times. The childminder promotes the joy of reading. Children choose to independently look at books shared after they have shared them with her. Children press sound buttons on a book about animals. They giggle as they hear the sounds each type of animal makes. The childminder links learning to children's experience and speaks to them about pets they have at home. This helps build on what children already

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday : 08:00 - 17:00

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About this setting

Local authority: Devon know and can do. The childminder promotes positive attendance through regular communication with parents and carers, and children attend well.

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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

improve knowledge of and expertise in how to best support children's welfare and wellbeing effectively by meeting their sleep needs. 15/07/2026

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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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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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