Foxley, Elizabeth Anne

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2820768 Registered with Ofsted: 05/06/2025 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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Achievement Needs attention

Children's progress is hindered because teaching does not build purposefully on what they already know and can do. Children often repeat familiar experiences, rather than extending their knowledge and skills through carefully planned learning. As a result, children of different ages and stages, including those who face barriers to learning, do not achieve as well as they should. Children develop the some of the confidence, independence and skills they need for their next stage of learning. However, they do not receive consistent support to deepen their learning or achieve their full potential.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children develop some knowledge and skills across the areas of learning. They become increasingly confident as they explore the outdoor environment, care for animals and investigate how things work. Children develop their physical skills as they climb, balance, swing and negotiate uneven ground. They begin to use some mathematical ideas during everyday routines. Babies develop some early physical skills that support them for crawling.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder does not promote children's attendance consistently. This is because she asks parents and carers to keep their children at home when she or any assistants she works with are absent. The childminder has not established staffing arrangements that enable children to attend as per their agreed days. As a result, children do not consistently receive the broad curriculum they are entitled to, including those children in receipt of additional funding. This interrupts the continuity of children's learning and limits the consistency of the support for their routines and relationships.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Needs attention

The childminder is caring and a positive role model with children. She helps them to understand expectations, especially when they visit the animals in the small holding. Children know how prepare for outdoor play. They find their own wellington boots and understand the familiar sequence of the daily routine. Children know they will first visit the pigs before moving on to feed the goats, ducks and other animals around the small holding. The childminder encourages children to work cooperatively and take turns during their play. Children happily share water play resources, wait as they send cars down the ramps and work together to push heavy rollers across the grass. Within the learning environment children have some opportunities to develop positive relationships, cooperate with one another and persevere with shared tasks.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not organise some care routines well enough to promote children's welfare and wellbeing. While these weaknesses increase the potential for avoidable risks, they do not place children at significant risk of harm. Staffing pressures mean the chidlminder does not always respond promptly to children's individual care needs, such as when their nappy has leaked. She supervises children while they are eating but does not position herself so she can observe every child directly and remain alert to the risk of silent choking. The childminder does not provide suitable equipment for children to wash their hands hygienically after feeding the farm animals. Instead, children wash their hands one after another in the same bowl of water, increasing the risk of cross-contamination.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder supports babies individually during mealtimes and ensures children have nutritiously balanced meals and snacks. She recognises children's individual emotional needs. She provides reassurance when children become upset, including those children who face barriers to their learning. The childminder ensures children have regular access to drinking water throughout the day and encourages them to spend time outdoors in the fresh air. She follows appropriate sun safety routines, monitors the temperature of sleeping areas and has suitable risk assessments in place to help children explore the small holding safely. She has identified that a further review of the sleeping equipment for babies aged under one year is required.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not implement the curriculum consistently well. She identifies children's next steps. However, the childminder does not routinely plan how shared experiences will build on the knowledge, skills and understanding of children of different ages and stages, including those who face barriers to learning. As a result, children's learning is often incidental rather than purposefully planned. This means children do not benefit from teaching that builds progressively on what they already know and can do.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The learning environment is rich in open-ended resources that encourage curiosity, exploration and independence. However, the childminder does not translate this rich environment into purposeful teaching. While she provides babies with opportunities for tummy time, she does not plan these experiences well enough to promote their individual learning. Babies spend periods of time either being held or on a mat with no resources. They have limited interactions to encourage exploration and development. On busier days, staffing pressures mean the childminder and any assistants working with her become focused on supervising children and managing routines. Consequently, older children often direct their own play while opportunities for purposeful teaching and extending learning are minimal.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder's inclusive practice is not consistently effective. This is because staffing arrangements sometimes means the childminder asks parents and carers to keep their children at home due to staff absences and meet ratio requirements. As a result, some children do not consistently access the provision they need to overcome barriers to their learning and wellbeing. This limits how effectively the childminder's strategies help children to participate fully alongside their peers.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder places a clear focus on identifying children who face barriers to their learning. She works proactively with parents and other professionals to help meet children's needs. The childminder has strengthened her knowledge of supporting children's communication and language development through professional development. She is developing resources to support children's communication and incorporates signing into her interactions with children where appropriate. However, the childminder does not translate her assessment and knowledge into learning experiences that reflect children's identified needs. As a result, she does not implement planned support well enough to reduce barriers to children's learning and help them to make the best possible progress.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder makes thoughtful decisions about how additional funding can best support children. She directs additional funding towards resources that reflect children's identified needs and considers how to use these to help remove barriers to learning for individual children.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder has not evaluated the quality of the provision precisely enough with her co- childminder to identify the underlying causes of weaknesses in practice. She has not established effective staffing arrangements or contingency plans to consistently meet the care and learning needs of all children or enable them to attend on their agreed days. As a result, staff workload is not managed effectively on busy days and they become overstretched. While she has developed a shared vision with her co-childminder, she has not identified weaknesses in curriculum planning, teaching and care routines quickly enough. This does not secure the best possible experiences for children.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder engages in professional development. She has used recent training to strengthen her understanding of how to support children with communication and language delay. The childminder has started to review the resources and strategies she uses, including introducing more signing into the curriculum. However, she does not target professional development precisely enough to strengthen all aspects of teaching and curriculum implementation.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder works closely with parents and carers. She shares regular information through daily conversations, photos and ideas they can use at home. Parents value her approachable manner and appreciate the time she takes to discuss their children's individual needs and routines.

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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 attendance is not always promoted because, on occasions, parents and carers are asked to keep their children at home when staff are absent. This interrupts children's learning and daily routines, including for those who face barriers to their learning and need continuity. On busier days, the childminder and any assistants that work with her become focused on managing routines and supervising children. This reduces opportunities for children to receive purposeful enhancements to their play to support their learning. Although children enjoy a range of experiences, these are not planned effectively to build on what children of different ages and stages already know and can do. Some care routines, including mealtimes, hygiene arrangements and care for the youngest children, are not always organised as well as possible.

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

Children nevertheless make their own choices about how they spend their time indoors and outdoors. They understand the familiar routines and join in group experiences, such as singing, dancing and imaginative games, including pretending to avoid the 'lava'. Children enjoy exploring the farm, where they confidently feed animals and collect eggs. They begin to develop mathematical understanding as they count and record how many eggs they have collected. Children take responsibility for simple jobs and learn about caring for living things through first-hand experiences.

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

Children benefit from a well-resourced outdoor environment where they test out their own ideas. They roll water and cars through drainpipes, balance, climb, swing, explore natural materials and enjoy open-ended play. Children develop positive relationships with the childminder, any assistants she works with and one another. Their families receive a friendly welcome. Children are happy, settled and demonstrate that they feel safe. They experience a broad range of opportunities that begin to prepare them for their next steps in learning,

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Inspector:

Anne Dyoss although these are not always matched closely enough to their individual stages 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

establish more effective staffing arrangements and contingency planning so children can access the provision consistently, staff workload is manageable and so they have sufficient time to meet children's care and learning needs 03/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

review and improve arrangements to ensure hygiene arrangements and safer eating practices promote children's safety and wellbeing 03/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve the implementation of the curriculum so planned experiences build on children's individual developmental needs and what they already know and can do 03/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

improve monitoring and self-review so weaknesses in practice are identified swiftly and professional development is used strategically to improve teaching, curriculum implementation and children's care. 03/08/2026

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her assistants, 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 : 07:30 - 18:00,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 09:00 - 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

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