Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2791328 Registered with Ofsted: 21/06/2024 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

Children's behaviour is excellent. They play exceptionally well together, cooperating, sharing and taking turns with ease. The childminder teaches children from a young age how to share and take turns. For instance, children wait patiently for their turn to pick an object out of the song box. They understand that it is fair to play with only 1 doll at a time, so their friends can play too. Children have very positive attitudes to their learning. They engage in all activities willingly and try hard. Children persevere when things are trickier, such as when they cut up their fruit at snack time.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder places an emphasis on teaching children about their emotions, such as through puppets and stories. This helps children to very successfully understand their feelings. Children begin to use words to describe how they are feeling. For instance, they tell the childminder they are 'hungry' before snack time. The childminder gives children specific praise. For instance, she tells children when they are being kind. This helps children to understand what they have done well and repeat this behaviour. Children show very high levels of self-esteem.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder monitors and supports children's punctuality and attendance very well. She offers to collect and take children home to support families. The childminder is mindful of children's attendance patterns, so repeats activities and outings, so all children can access them equally. The childminder explains that she has previously worked with social services to support looked-after children. The childminder describes the importance of supporting these children to build secure attachments and supporting them through times of change.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder plans very predictable and established routines. She uses a visual timetable to help children understand what comes next. Children show a deep understanding of the routine of their day. This helps them to feel very secure in the setting. The childminder, any assistants she works with and children have lovely attachments. Children lovingly cuddle into the childminder and any assistants she works with. They show deep affection and how settled they are.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder works very closely with parents and carers to help meet children's individual needs. She gathers a wealth of information about children when they start. Parents appreciate how the childminder adapts her practice to accommodate children's allergies and dietary needs. The childminder offers very flexible settling-in sessions, which are led by the needs of children and their parents. This helps children to settle very quickly.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder places a huge focus on children's learning about healthy lifestyles. She encourages children sensitively to try new and different foods. Children understand the importance of a nutritious diet. They willingly try different fruits, such as watermelon and plums, that they have read about in a story. Children discuss that these are healthy for them. They understand the need to stay hydrated. Even very young children independently access drinks from the accessible water station, demonstrating growing independence and

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Expected standard

confidence. They competently drink from open cups, helping to develop their self-care skills and coordination.

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Expected standard

The childminder is very aware of priorities in the local areas, such as supporting children's oral health. She encourages children to share discussions about their visits to the dentist with other children. Children practise brushing their teeth in the setting. They access play resources and books to further extend their understanding of dental hygiene.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children are extremely independent in this setting. Children use the toilet and wash their hands confidently. They understand that using individual paper towels promotes good hygiene. Younger children confidently attempt to cut up their fruit at snack time. Even very young children attempt to put on their waterproof suits and boots to play outside.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make choices about their play and lead their own learning. They show deep engagement as they access activities that are planned around their interests. For instance, children immerse themselves in imaginative play with pretend dinosaurs and natural materials in a large tray outdoors. They make up their own stories and develop their creativity.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children show positive listening skills. They focus and show concentration for long periods, such as during storytelling sessions. They typically communicate their wants and needs. However, some children do not benefit from more targeted and consistent support to help them catch up in their language development. Overall, children make positive progress in this setting. They develop the skills and knowledge that they need to be ready for the next stage of their learning, such as pre-school.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder knows children very well and has clear next steps for their learning. She plans her curriculum around children's interests and stages of development. The childminder plans exciting activities across different areas of learning and engages and motivates children. For example, she reads the story of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' and uses props and real fruit to engage children in the story. The childminder introduces new vocabulary and weaves mathematics through the story. Children learn the names of different fruit and practise counting them. They compare the sizes of toy caterpillars and recognise different colours in the story. The childminder adapts activities to ensure that all children can join in. For instance, younger children sit on her knee with their own book of the same story. This helps to develop children's early literacy skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder constantly comments on children's play, extending their vocabularies. For instance, when younger children roll balls down ramps, she talks about 'fast' and 'slow'. However, on some occasions, the childminder asks questions that do not encourage children to reply in detail, such as what colour objects are. This does not support children to further extend their conversational skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children have lots of opportunities to practise their fine motor skills. For example, older children squeeze spray bottles with precision. Younger children carefully pour and empty water when playing with real tea sets. This helps children to develop their coordination. The childminder places a focus on children being creative and experiencing dance and music. Children excitedly move like butterflies and explore making sounds with musical instruments to the rhythm of music.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder offers a fully inclusive setting and welcomes all children. She works closely with parents and carers to meet children's individual needs. The childminder uses her observations and assessments of children's learning to identify any gaps in their development. She generally adapts her practice to meet children's individual needs. The childminder shares information with health visitors when she completes progress checks for children. She knows how to refer to other agencies, such as speech and language therapy, to gain further support for children. However, the childminder does not consistently implement more targeted strategies to address gaps in children's language skills. This does not help children to catch up more quickly in their communication development.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder targets additional funding around children's individual needs. She is mindful of children's prior experiences. For example, the childminder hires the local hall and soft- play equipment to give children more opportunities to practise their large-physical skills. The childminder recognises she has not yet targeted professional development on extending her knowledge of the processes and procedures to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities further. She acknowledges that this will help her be aware of more specialist support available to support children even further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is dedicated to providing children with the best possible experiences while they are in her care. She is committed to keeping her knowledge up to date. For instance, the childminder has kept herself fully informed about the guidance to keep children safe when they are eating and sleeping. She shares relevant information with any assistants she works with. The childminder acknowledges that focusing professional development more precisely will strengthen her practice further.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder evaluates her practice and makes plans for improvement. For instance, she has plans to attend forest school training. She has also enquired about accessing an allotment. The childminder explains that this will enhance children's outdoor experiences even further. The childminder monitors and supervises the practice of any assistants she works with. She is mindful of their workload and wellbeing. For instance, the childminder ensures that they take regular breaks.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Parents and carers are very happy with the service the childminder provides. The childminder shares lots of information with parents about their children's progress. Parents particularly appreciate the advice the childminder gives them, such as around toilet training and being ready for pre-school. They comment that they value the photos they receive each day. Parents value the time the childminder dedicates to them at the end of each day to discuss their children.

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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 are extremely happy, very settled and safe in this home-from-home setting. They benefit from attentive care from a warm, loving and dedicated childminder. Children have access to very enabling environments that cover all areas of learning. This enables children to make choices and lead their own play. There is a focus on children learning and playing outdoors. Children benefit from a dedicated play cabin in the garden and access 2 well- planned outdoor areas. These are planned by the childminder to provide children with lots of opportunities to investigate, explore and make their own discoveries. For instance, children demonstrate their imaginations and creativity as they bathe dolls outdoors. They explore adding bubbles to the water to create foam, which they use with sponges to wash the dolls. Children further develop their fine motor skills as they carefully peg the dolls' clothes onto a

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

low-level washing line. They remain highly engaged and deeply absorbed in their play, showing sustained concentration and enjoyment.

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

Children benefit from an abundance in visits in the local area on the childminder's minibus. Children experience what life was like in the past on trips to open-air museums. They learn about life cycles and animals on trips to the farm. Children enjoy new experiences, such as riding on tractors. They learn about the world around them. For example, they have wildflower areas in the setting where they watch bees. The childminder teaches children about the importance of bees for the environment.

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

Children learn many skills that will prepare them for pre-school. They come into the setting and recognise their names to register their attendance. Children regularly visit local groups where they build their social skills and confidence in larger groups. They learn how to keep themselves safe. For instance, children know to hold onto the handrail as they go down the stairs into the garden. They benefit from the childminder working closely with other settings, especially to prepare them for transitions, such as to school. The childminder ensures that children are familiar with their new surroundings and meet the staff. Children access books and resources to help them know what to expect for this big change in their lives.

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Next steps

The childminder should enhance her knowledge of the processes and procedures to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities even further. The childminder should focus professional development on enhancing her knowledge of how to support children with their communication and language skills further, especially when there are gaps in this area of their development.

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About this inspection

The childminder spoke to the childminder, her assistant, children and parents and carers 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 : 07:30 - 17:30

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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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