Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 504996 Registered with Ofsted: 28/09/2000 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR

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Safeguarding standards not met

The childminder has not ensured that there is an open and positive culture around safeguarding. The childminder does not fully understand her safeguarding responsibilities, including how to report concerns in line with local safeguarding partners' procedures. This means the childminder may not be able to refer safeguarding concerns in line with specified procedures. The childminder has attended safeguarding training. However, the course she has completed does not meet the expected criteria for effective safeguarding training. As such, her confidence, skills and knowledge about safeguarding are not sufficient.

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Safeguarding standards not met

The childminder has not ensured that all persons who have regular contact with children are suitably checked, as required. There have been changes to persons living in the childminder's home, and suitability checks have not been completed. This compromises children's welfare. These changes to household members occurred several weeks ago, and the childminder's lack of urgency in vetting these individuals indicates she is not sufficiently prioritising children's safety.

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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 Needs attention

Children do not make secure progress because they are not continually supported by high- quality teaching. Although children remain occupied, teaching does not successfully extend and shape children's learning. As such, children make some progress, but they are not reaching their full potential.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children begin to babble and say some recognisable words. They communicate through gestures and sounds, indicating their needs and ideas in age-appropriate ways. For instance, children point and sound the word 'door' and are also heard shouting 'more' as they enjoy their food at mealtimes. Children begin to solve problems and think critically. For instance, young children enjoy posting objects into a toy post box. This requires precise and careful movements, extending their fine motor skills. Children develop their ideas and make sense of the world around them when they play imaginatively. Although children remain busy and occupied, their learning is largely incidental. Children repeatedly lose interest and move quickly from one task to another with limited engagement. This is because they do not benefit from high-quality teaching, and thus learning is routinely not extended, which hinders the progress they make.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Weaknesses in the childminder's curriculum and teaching do not fully foster children's positive attitudes towards their learning. The childminder has limited knowledge of the learning and development requirements. As such, her curriculum and teaching are weak. This impacts significantly on children's attitudes to learn. Children are not exposed to high- quality interactions to help them focus, engage or develop concentration in purposeful learning activities.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Warm and positive relationships are established between children and the childminder. This helps to ensure that children feel content and well cared for. They trust the childminder and often check that she is nearby during play, reassured by her friendly and affectionate interactions.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Generally, children are supported to be independent. They choose toys and games from the range offered and available, extending their decision-making skills. The childminder has established regular routines. Children are reassured by the predictable daily schedule. They know what to expect and follow simple instructions as they transition from one activity to another. For instance, when it is lunchtime, children eagerly anticipate their food, showing they know what is happening next. Routines promote children's positive behaviour.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

Typically, children attend regularly, and absences are low. The childminder works with parents to promote children's attendance and punctuality.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Risk assessments completed by the childminder are not effective. There are hazards in her home that compromise children's welfare, such as exposed hot pipes and a broken garden fence. The childminder is aware of these risks. However, she has not taken steps to mitigate these hazards. The childminder's perimeter fence in the rear garden is in disrepair in some areas. The childminder has put a temporary blockade in place. However, this is not a suitable long-term measure to fully protect children's welfare when playing in the garden.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not implement safer sleep guidance when children sleep in her care. She knows what this guidance entails, but her current practice contradicts this. Children currently sleep in buggies, and although these recline, they do not enable babies and children to lie on a firm and flat surface. Current sleeping arrangements do not fully promote children's welfare.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently maintain and implement hygiene procedures. For instance, children do not wash their hands prior to eating although they largely feed themselves using their fingers. The lack of regular handwashing at mealtimes impacts on children's wellbeing. At other times of the day, the childminder implements secure hygiene practices. For instance, when changing nappies, she sterilises the equipment and uses antibacterial gel to reduce the risk of cross-contamination. Hygiene practices are variable throughout the day, which does not fully promote children's health and wellbeing. The childminder does not have access to an appropriate first-aid kit in her home. This does not fully promote children's welfare in the event of a medical emergency.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not routinely check what children know and can do. Her assessments of children are not completed regularly enough or with sufficient rigour. As such, she is unsure about gaps in children's learning. The childminder's knowledge of child development, including the 7 areas of learning, is limited. This means that learning activities and teaching do not match children's development needs. Children do not benefit from high-quality teaching.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not identify clear learning objectives for her planned activities, to focus her teaching where children would benefit from additional support. She typically plans activities to entertain children. She follows their interests and incorporates these into the games she offers. In turn, children remain occupied and busy, but they are not engaged in purposeful learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not have sufficient knowledge of children's learning and development. This means she is not equipped with adequate skills to lead or design a suitable and inclusive curriculum. The childminder takes children to playgroups daily, but she has not considered children's learning through a structured curriculum design.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Generally, the childminder provides a wide range of resources and play materials to help support children's learning. She rotates and updates the games available to promote children's engagement to some extent. Children enjoy exploring and choosing what to play with in the stimulating environment.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder is an active participant in children's play. She joins in their games, and her interactions are friendly and warm. This helps to support children's communication and language.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder does not currently care for any children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or those facing barriers to their learning. Through discussion, her knowledge about how to identify these children and meet their unique needs is limited. The childminder's knowledge of how to design and deliver an appropriate curriculum to support children's learning is not sufficient. She does not complete accurate assessments of children's progress. This means that the childminder is not able to provide a tailored and targeted curriculum to meet children's learning needs, and to reduce any barriers to learning.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder's teaching is not fully accessible or inclusive for every child. She does not ensure that all children make steady progress. The childminder is not making sufficient adaptations or providing children with targeted learning opportunities to enable all children to thrive. For example, she is not aware of how to access and use additional funding to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children.

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Urgent improvement

The childminder has developed relationships with other professionals. For instance, she engages with communications sent by local authority quality advisers. She has also established friendships with other registered childminders. These wider professionals are available for the childminder to seek additional support for herself and children in her care.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder's practice breaches the requirements of her registration in several areas. The childminder has not ensured her home is safe and secure for children to play and learn. She has failed to notify Ofsted within the specified time frame about changes to household members.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder's understanding of her safeguarding responsibilities is not secure enough. She has completed some training in this area. However, this has not been adequate to raise the quality of her knowledge. She is not confident about the procedures she would follow if a safeguarding concern was identified, including the local safeguarding partners' reporting procedures.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder does not have the relevant knowledge and skills regarding child development, assessment or teaching to provide high-quality and inclusive learning experiences. This means children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, are not adequately supported. Coupled with her weak knowledge in safeguarding, the childminder's training and development require urgent and significant improvement to raise her practice to expected standards.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder's oversight of the quality of her practice is weak. She does not undertake any effective self-evaluation and has not identified the areas of her service that need urgent improvement. This is because she does not routinely reflect on her practice. The childminder shows willingness to improve.

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Leadership and governance Urgent improvement

The childminder builds positive relationships with parents, and they compliment her home- from-home environment. The childminder enjoys working with young children and manages her wellbeing and workload well.

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Compulsory Childcare Register requirements

This setting has not 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 not 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's safety is compromised because the childminder has not identified and removed risks in her home. For instance, there are exposed pipes in the bathroom and broken fence panels in the rear garden. Children play near both of these possible hazards. Although the childminder remains nearby, these areas of the childminder's home present a possible risk to children. Vulnerable children, including those who may be at risk from safeguarding concerns, are not effectively protected because the childminder's knowledge in this area is not secure. Children are not supported well enough to build on their existing knowledge. They move quickly from one activity to another with little engagement because they are not supported by high-quality teaching. Although children remain occupied, they are not developing positive attitudes towards their learning. Improvements are needed in the childminder's curriculum and teaching to support children's progress and enable them to reach their full

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

potential. Children do not wash their hands prior to eating. The childminder does not encourage regular handwashing. This compromises children's welfare and wellbeing.

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

Children enjoy some activities and games that are linked to their interests. Children go out on trips in the local community every day and attend a range of different toddler groups. This enriches their experiences and enables children to mix with a wider range of friends from different backgrounds, extending their social skills. Children enjoy fresh air and exercise every day, for instance exerting themselves during walks in the local area. This contributes positively to their physical health.

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

Overall, children enjoy their time spent in the childminder's care. They are happy and relaxed as they play. Children explore the learning environment with an assured sense of belonging.

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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

improve the quality of observations and assessment and use this knowledge to target teaching to close gaps in children's learning 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve knowledge of early child development and quality teaching, and maintain positive interactions with children to help support and extend children's learning 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that sleeping arrangements are in line with safety guidelines to fully promote children's welfare 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure a first-aid kit is easily accessible and contents are in date and appropriate for use to treat any injuries 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

develop a secure knowledge and understanding of safeguarding, including how to identify and report concerns about children's welfare 06/07/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all risks within the environment are identified and minimised, in particular regard to exposed hot water pipes in the bathroom area and broken garden fence panels 06/07/2026

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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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Action Completion Date

ensure all household members are suitable to have regular contact with children 06/07/2026

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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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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

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