Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2775257 Registered with Ofsted: 07/06/2024 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 make suitable progress from their starting points across different areas of learning. For example, children develop their communication, physical skills and social understanding over time, including moving from using single words to speaking in short phrases, gaining confidence in walking, and learning to share with support.

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Achievement Expected standard

Babies build physical skills through regular opportunities to practise movements such as cruising and taking supported steps, which helps develop their confidence and coordination.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children engage in activities they enjoy, such as gardening, and are able to sustain attention for periods of time. The childminder identifies their next steps and supports these through repeated experiences, which helps children build their skills gradually.

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Achievement Expected standard

Early mathematics is introduced through play, such as counting while building and using number books. Communication and language are supported through everyday interactions and modelling during routines. However, because the curriculum and teaching are not consistently evaluated, opportunities to further build on children's learning and deepen progress are sometimes missed.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children benefit from calm, predictable routines that help them feel secure and confident throughout the day. The childminder generally models positive behaviour. For example, when babies move stools and children become upset, the childminder calmly explains babies' developmental stages and reminds older child not to snatch. This helps older children begin to understand the feelings of others and respond appropriately.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children typically engage in activities that interest them and show developing levels of concentration. For example, children spend time colouring and remain focused on activities. The childminder supports sharing and turn-taking during play, helping children to begin to get along with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Relationships are warm and respectful. Children respond positively to the childminder's guidance and feel confident to explore, knowing she is nearby and attentive. Independence is supported through familiar routines. Children make choices, access resources and take part in tasks such as wiping their own faces after lunch, which helps to develop their confidence and self-help skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Overall, children experience a nurturing environment with clear expectations for behaviour, which supports their developing attitudes, routines and wellbeing.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children experience warm, secure relationships with the childminder, who offers reassurance and sensitive support. The childminder knows each child's routines,

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Needs attention

preferences and needs well and adapts her approach throughout the day, recognising when children need rest, reassurance or additional help. This helps children to settle and engage in play as their needs are met.

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Needs attention

Babies receive attentive, responsive care. They have safe spaces to move, practise new skills, such as cruising and early walking, and explore at their own pace. This supports their physical development and emotional security. Children are supported to begin to understand and manage their emotions. The childminder uses calm explanations and gentle reminders, helping children to express themselves and begin to resolve small conflicts.

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Needs attention

Healthy routines are established. Children enjoy nutritious, home-cooked meals and are introduced to a range of foods. This helps children develop confidence in trying different foods and supports positive eating habits. The childminder supports children's understanding of personal safety and physical wellbeing through everyday routines and outdoor play, helping them begin to follow simple safety expectations.

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Needs attention

A calm, homely environment supports children's sense of belonging and wellbeing. They typically move through the day with confidence and benefit from a range of experiences, including outdoor play and sensory activities.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder knows children well, drawing on what she observes in the setting and what parents share from home. This helps her build a picture of each child's development. She adapts her practice to reduce barriers to learning and wellbeing, for example modelling skills through older children, introducing new foods to support healthy eating and adjusting activities so all children can participate. These approaches support children to engage, build confidence and develop independence over time.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder keeps track of children's progress and repeats learning to support children in developing secure understanding. This helps children with additional needs to access the curriculum. She engages with families and external professionals, including seeking advice from the local authority special educational needs and/or disabilities team when required, which supports continuity in children's care and learning.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children, including babies with irregular attendance, are included in planned experiences because the childminder communicates with parents. Children's interests, needs and backgrounds are reflected through personalised activities, themed play and cultural food experiences, promoting an inclusive culture across the setting. As a result, children feel secure and are able to take part, regardless of their starting points or patterns of attendance.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not yet have a secure understanding of the quality of her curriculum and teaching. She is not able to clearly identify what is working well or where improvements are needed, and reflective practice is not embedded. As a result, improvements to the curriculum are not consistently planned or evaluated. This means that, over time, there are missed opportunities to strengthen teaching, refine the curriculum and ensure that all children make the best possible progress.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Despite this, the childminder plans learning around children's interests, such as gardening, cars and small-world play, which supports engagement. Learning is appropriately linked. For example, the gardening theme is reflected through colouring, watering plants and planned planting activities, helping children revisit ideas.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder identifies children's next steps and supports these through repetition in everyday interactions. For example, she reinforces colour vocabulary during play and encourages early walking for younger children. Teaching is responsive and supports children's engagement, although it is not consistently informed by a clear evaluation of its impact.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The environment is organised to allow children to access resources independently, indoors and outdoors. Opportunities for early mathematics are included through play, and younger children are supported to develop physical skills through appropriate experiences.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder does not yet have a sufficiently evaluative approach to reviewing her practice. Although she reflects informally and makes day-to-day adjustments, she is not able to clearly identify what is working well or what needs to improve. As a result, priorities for improvement are not sharply focused, and changes to the curriculum and teaching are not consistently informed by a clear understanding of their impact. This limits how effectively teaching is strengthened over time and means that some opportunities to improve children's learning are missed.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder maintains an organised and appropriately managed setting. Documentation is clear, up to date and accessible, including safeguarding certificates, attendance records and visitor logs. She knows the children and their families well and uses this knowledge to shape routines and respond to individual needs. This helps children feel secure and settled, although this knowledge is not used as effectively to evaluate and strengthen the quality of teaching over time.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder engages appropriately with external professionals, such as the local authority special educational needs and/or disabilities team, showing a willingness to seek advice to support children's development. She uses guidance to identify next steps and talks about children's progress. However, this information is not consistently used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum or adapt provision in a more strategic way. As a result, opportunities to deepen learning and further improve outcomes for all children, including those with emerging additional needs or irregular attendance, are not fully realised.

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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 experience warm, nurturing relationships with the childminder, helping them to feel safe and settled. They move through the day confidently, as routines are calm, predictable and shaped around their individual needs. Even very young children know where things are and access resources independently, which supports their growing confidence and sense of belonging.

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

Children follow their interests, such as watering plants, colouring, exploring small-world play or taking part in sensory activities. The childminder responds thoughtfully to their curiosity, offering experiences that keep them engaged for extended periods. Babies receive attentive care, with safe spaces to explore, suitable resources and encouragement as they develop skills such as cruising and early walking.

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

Children are beginning to develop positive social skills. They learn to share and to manage their feelings with gentle support. The childminder models calm, respectful interactions, helping children to understand how to play alongside others. Children enjoy healthy, home- cooked meals, including foods from different cultures, which supports their developing awareness of a varied diet.

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

Children make progress because the childminder knows them well and recognises what they can do. However, the curriculum and teaching are not yet consistently informed by a clear understanding of what is working well and what could be improved. As a result, some opportunities to build further on children's learning are not fully explored. While the

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About this setting

Type: Childminder childminder adapts activities appropriately, her evaluation of practice is still developing, which limits how precisely she identifies and plans for children's next steps over time.

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About this setting

Overall, children enjoy their time in the setting, form secure relationships and take part in activities that reflect their interests and stage of development.

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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 actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

strengthen evaluative practice so strengths and areas for development are clearly identified and used to drive improvement 14/05/2027

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Action Completion Date

strengthen the design and evaluation of the curriculum so that it is ambitious and consistently adapted to meet children's differing needs, enabling more effective progress over time 14/05/2027

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder 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. Registration date: 07/06/2024

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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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