Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2768372 Registered with Ofsted: 16/01/2024 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 Strong standard

Children make consistently strong progress across all areas of learning because the childminder provides a calm, purposeful and well-organised learning environment. Children demonstrate high levels of confidence and emotional security. For example, they independently prepare the table at mealtimes, choosing their own food and engaging in sociable conversations. Children show clear enjoyment as they watch movement and experiment with how the force of their breath changes the speed or direction of windmills. Their communication and language develops greatly through rich interactions, such as discussing photos of their families and what they notice in the natural world, for example recognising that after it has rained, they might see a rainbow.

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Achievement Strong standard

Children's physical development is strengthened through well-planned opportunities to refine their fine motor skills, including safely chopping fruit, pouring milk from a jug and using tools during creative activities. They enjoy being physically active as they access outdoor spaces every day. Creative and imaginative experiences, such as dressing up, acting out role play and building with construction materials, enable children to express their ideas confidently and deepen their learning. As a result, they benefit from a curriculum that is fun, engaging and thoughtfully designed to meet their individual needs. Children make meaningful progress and are well prepared for the next stage of their education.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children benefit from clear and consistent expectations that promote positive behaviour. The childminder establishes a calm and respectful culture where routines are well embedded and modelled extremely well. As a result, children listen attentively, follow instructions and respond promptly to gentle reminders. Even the youngest children show emerging independence as they attempt to put on and take off their shoes, carry items from the playroom to the main house and help to feed the fish. They join in with the tidy-up-song and return items to the correct places, demonstrating respect for the environment.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children move confidently between activities, make independent choices about what they play with. They are curious, sustain concentration and show purposeful involvement in activities. For example, younger children remain focused as they explore the textures of fruit salad they prepare. The childminder extends their learning through meaningful conversations, such as discussing the seeds inside the fruit and how these can grow into a pear tree.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Attendance arrangements are thoughtfully designed to support children's consistent engagement. The childminder works closely with parents to establish routines that reflect children's home lives while promoting regular attendance. This enables children to settle quickly, participate fully and engage confidently in daily experiences. This inclusive approach ensures that all children meet their individual goals and develop positive attitudes to learning.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder promotes children's welfare and wellbeing effectively. Good hygiene and oral health are promoted. Children demonstrate a secure understanding of how to keep themselves healthy, confidently explaining why they wash their hands after using the toilet and before eating. They know that soap and water help to wash away germs, showing strong early health awareness and responsibility of their own self-care. After meals, the childminder sensitively asks whether they would like a hot or cold flannel to clean their face, and children use mirrors to check their faces are clean, further strengthening their independence.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder's calm and consistent approach ensures that children feel emotionally secure. The simple explanations and consistent routines help children understand what is expected of them. For example, the childminder supports them to find and put on their aprons before preparing food, strengthening their independence skills and confidence in managing everyday tasks.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Snack and mealtimes are unhurried, sociable and purposeful. The childminder sits with the children, modelling warm interactions and encouraging all children to join in. She remains vigilant to ensure that children eat safely, gently reminding them to pause when drinking and monitoring how much food they place in their mouths. This supports children's safe eating habits and promotes their physical wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

The childminder delivers an ambitious, well-sequenced curriculum that reflects her in-depth understanding of child development and all areas of learning. The childminder understands that every interaction she has with children is an opportunity for teaching and learning. She is skilled at teaching and adapting in the moment to respond to children's emerging thinking and curiosity, providing opportunities for children to excel in their learning and development. The learning environment is thoughtfully organised, with resources consistently available to children. This successfully promotes independence, confident decision-making and sustained engagement in purposeful play and learning. All children benefit from tailored approaches that recognise their individual needs, enabling them to participate fully and make meaningful progress in their learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Strong standard

Communication and language development is a clear priority. The childminder consistently strengthens children's language and mathematical understanding with high-quality interactions, including narrating play, revisiting past experiences, introducing new vocabulary and sharing stories and number songs. The childminder uses assessment extremely well to understand what children know and can do. She works closely with parents and carers and adapts teaching responsively to ensure that the curriculum is inclusive for all children.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder demonstrates a consistently strong and integrated approach to supporting children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). She engages in a broad range of relevant professional development, ensuring that her practice is informed and of high quality. Targeted health, speech, language and communication programmes are implemented effectively, promoting children's wellbeing and supporting their ongoing development.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder has a detailed understanding of each child. Accurate observations and assessments enable her to identify individual needs at an early stage. Targeted strategies are introduced promptly and applied consistently, helping children to engage successfully in learning. Strong partnerships with parents contribute meaningfully to children's progress. The childminder maintains open and regular communication through daily discussions, developmental updates, monthly newsletters and activity bags that help families to support children's learning at home. In addition, where appropriate, the childminder works effectively with external professionals to secure continuity for children with emerging or identified SEND.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

The childminder has clear oversight of her provision. She consistently reflects on her practice and adapts what she does in response to children's needs. Decisions are informed by her well-informed understanding of child development and help ensure that experiences meet children's starting points. Information is shared purposefully with parents and other settings to support continuity in children's learning and development. Ongoing reflection and feedback are used effectively to make improvements. This ensures that children receive consistent care and meaningful learning experiences and continue to make progress. Leadership is clearly focused on children's outcomes, with careful consideration of how routines, resources and interactions support learning, engagement and wellbeing across the setting.

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Leadership and governance Strong standard

Professional development is purposeful and targeted. The childminder uses a range of training opportunities to strengthen her practice. She applies new approaches to shape learning experiences that are responsive to children's interests and next steps, embedding improvements consistently in her provision. She evaluates the impact of her professional development on children's experiences, ensuring that her learning translates directly into high-quality provision.

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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

The childminder has established warm and trusting relationships with all the children. Their individual needs, interests and abilities are skilfully recognised and supported with clear purpose. Children learn about the routines of the day through picture cards and conversations held by the childminder. As a result, they feel secure and well cared for. This strong emotional foundation enables children to engage in learning with curiosity and increasing independence.

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

Children demonstrate high levels of engagement and are confident learners. The childminder offers a rich, well-planned range of activities that encourages children to explore and follow their interests. For example, they enjoy pouring and filling different containers when playing with water. Early mathematical understanding is continuously developed, as children confidently count, recognise number and sequence numbers during play. They listen attentively to stories and respond eagerly to the childminder's questions. The childminder supports language development effectively by narrating play, modelling clear vocabulary and using open-ended questions to extend children's thinking.

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

Children are supported extremely well to share and take turns. The childminder provides gentle reminders and models positive behaviour. For example, she encourages children to ask each other for what they need. She supports both the child making the request and the child listening, helping them build confidence in expressing themselves and responding appropriately to others. As a result, the children are developing the skills to share, take turns and clearly communicate with each other.

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About this setting

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

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About this setting

Local authority: Essex Partnerships with parents are robust. Parents receive regular updates on their children's progress, including observations, assessments and development goals. Partnerships are strengthened through initiatives such as monthly newsletters and activity bags that children take home. This supports learning beyond the setting. This inclusive approach helps all children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, to maintain the childminder's expectations and develop positive attitudes to learning.

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Next steps

The childminder should ensure continued improvement in the setting's successful work to remove barriers for children who need extra help to realise a transformational impact on all children's achievement and wellbeing.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children and took account of written parent testimonials 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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