Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2804026 Registered with Ofsted: 07/10/2024 Registers: EYR

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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 are enthusiastic learners who engage purposefully in their play and show sustained concentration as they carry out their own ideas. For example, they expertly manipulate an ice-cream scoop to lift different ice-cream flavours and carefully place them onto a cone, demonstrating good hand-eye coordination and fine motor control. They safely use child- friendly cutting tools to chop bananas at snack time, developing the skills needed for everyday independence. Children confidently recognise and name colours and shapes and enjoy practising their physical skills as they successfully throw and catch a beach ball.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make good progress in their communication and language development through the childminder's high-quality interactions. She introduces new vocabulary naturally through play, encouraging children to use and extend their language. For example, children proudly describe their creations as 'My ginormous ice cream'. During story time, children listen attentively, study the illustrations, recall familiar and repeated phrases, and answer questions that demonstrate their understanding of the story.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children make secure progress from their individual starting points and are well prepared for the next stage of their learning, including starting school. They develop increasing independence through daily routines, such as confidently using cutlery at mealtimes and managing their own self-care. Children are friendly, polite and demonstrate positive attitudes to learning, approaching new experiences with confidence and enthusiasm.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave positively. They follow instructions readily and are cooperative towards adults and one another. Strong relationships between the childminder, children and their families create a secure sense of belonging. The childminder consistently praises children's efforts and positive behaviour. This builds children's confidence and helps them to develop a positive attitude towards learning and playing cooperatively with others.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder shares clear expectations for children's behaviour through well-organised routines. Children follow these confidently and independently, helping them to feel safe and secure. They respond enthusiastically to instructions to tidy up and take pride in using their own dustpan and brush to sweep cornflakes from the floor before putting them in the bin.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children behave well because the childminder provides clear, timely and consistent feedback. She gently reminds children of expectations, such as not climbing on furniture and putting toys away when they have finished playing. To help younger children learn to share, the childminder uses carefully chosen books to support their understanding of waiting their turn and plans games that encourage turn-taking, such as rolling a ball to one another. Children further develop their social skills during visits to local playgroups, where they build confidence in interacting with a wider range of children and adults. The childminder promotes good attendance and works closely with families to ensure children attend regularly. As a result, children develop positive routines and habits that prepare them well for school.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder is friendly, warm and affectionate, providing children with consistent encouragement so they feel secure and confident to explore the stimulating environment. She supports children's emotional development by empathising with them, helping them to recognise and name their feelings and emotions.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder is knowledgeable about safer sleep practices for babies and remains vigilant at mealtimes, ensuring children have finished eating before leaving the table. She consistently prioritises children's comfort and safety. During hot weather, she encourages children to drink water regularly, wear sun hats and play in the shade. The childminder explains how to use cutting tools safely, reminding children not to touch the serrated edge of a knife when chopping their fruit. She communicates promptly with parents about any concerns and shares guidance on topics such as heatwaves and online safety to help promote children's wellbeing beyond the setting.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder provides healthy, nutritious food and encourages children to make healthy choices at snack time. For example, she explains that watermelon is 'refreshing' to eat in hot weather and that fruit is good for 'our tummies'.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children enjoy regular trips to the local park and benefit from daily opportunities for physical exercise in the garden, where they ride trikes, use the slide and bounce on the trampette. These experiences support their physical development and promote their overall health and wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children enjoy learning through an engaging curriculum. The childminder supports children well to develop their communication and language skills. She narrates their play, models full sentences and uses knowledge of children's siblings and holidays to engage them in conversation. This supports children to widen their vocabulary and practise new words. Occasionally, the childminder asks younger children questions without giving them enough time to answer, which hinders them fully processing information, thinking and expressing their thoughts.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has systems in place to identify children's starting points and records regular assessments of their progress. She considers gaps in children's learning and plans activities to support their individual next steps and stages of development by revisiting and securing key skills and knowledge.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder uses opportunities during play and routines to model and encourage mathematical language related to shape, size and number. Children count when climbing the stairs. They compare and describe different sizes as they play with toy ice creams and fruit. Children enjoy opportunities to draw with crayons and chalks inside and outside which strengthens their small physical skills. They develop a love of reading and enjoy visits to the library, listening to stories and are keen to predict what is happening by looking at the pictures.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder gathers detailed information from families, when children start, so she is knowledgeable about their individual preferences, needs and interests. She regularly undertakes assessments to track children's development from their starting points. This allows her to set next steps to target any gaps in their learning and adapt specific activities to support them further.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Although she is not currently caring for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) the childminder demonstrates a suitable knowledge of inclusive practice, including early identification of needs and adapted support. The childminder understands the importance of raising concerns early with families and supporting them to make appropriate referrals. She explains how she would reach out to her local authority early years adviser for further support for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and access additional funding. The childminder can explain how she would adapt her provision to ensure children with SEND could access all activities and develop their speech and language to communicate their needs.

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Inclusion Expected standard

The childminder has identified that she needs to further her professional knowledge of SEND so she can be better prepared to support the best outcomes for all future children in her care.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has strengthened her professional knowledge by attending local authority childminding forums to keep up to date with current early years guidance and best practice. She also attends weekly local childminding groups to share ideas and learn from others, using this knowledge to continually enhance her provision. Following training to develop a more ambitious mathematics curriculum, the childminder has embedded mathematical language into everyday routines and interactions. As a result, the quality of learning has improved, and children develop a secure understanding of early mathematical concepts.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has established positive partnerships with parents and carers. Parents express their appreciation for the care their children receive and value the regular feedback about their child's progress and next steps for learning at home. The childminder routinely reviews the quality and organisation of resources to ensure they remain accessible, stimulating and maximise children's opportunities for play and learning.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder understands the importance of sharing key information to support smooth transitions, particularly when children move on to school. She recognises the importance of working closely with other professionals, especially for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The childminder has identified further training in inclusion and SEND as a priority for her professional development, enabling her to further strengthen her knowledge and continue to meet the needs of children who may face barriers to learning and wellbeing.

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

The childminder knows children and their families well and has developed close attachments with all children. Children are happy and confident to seek support when needed because the childminder is responsive and caring.

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

Children enjoy a range of learning opportunities. For example, the childminder responds to children's love of the outside by taking them on trips to the local park, farm, library and on nature walks. These experiences deepen children's knowledge of the world in which they live. Children celebrate and learn about diverse cultures by celebrating festivals such as Diwali, Ramadan and Chinese New Year. This helps children to understand what makes them and others unique.

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

Younger children engage in a variety of sensory activities so they can explore different textures and materials and develop their small physical skills. For example, children use tweezers to hunt for animals in cereal and make marks with their fingers in the shaving foam. Children are confident learners, who engage fully in a variety of activities which they approach with curiosity. For example, following a nature walk, children are keen to touch, name and talk about the natural resources they have found which they use to create their own 'nature collages.'

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

Children progress well from their starting points because the childminder plans activities based on their individual needs and what they need to learn next. Achievements such as successful toilet training and catching a ball are celebrated by the childminder and this motivates children further. Children attend local childminder groups and engage in singing, soft-play and story sessions. They interact with other children which develops their turn taking and social skills.

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

Children are taught how to wash their hands, wipe their noses and put their shoes on. Following these routines supports the children to develop self-care and independent skills ready for school. The childminder promotes regular attendance with families which enables all children to thrive.

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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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Next steps

The childminder should further strengthen her knowledge and understanding of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities through targeted professional development and inclusion training, so that she is even better equipped to identify and reduce potential barriers to learning and wellbeing for future children. The childminder should further develop her teaching practice so that children have more opportunities to express their own thoughts and ideas.

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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. This data is from 26 June 2026

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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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