Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2783709 Registered with Ofsted: 30/04/2024 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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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder has implemented highly effective procedures to ensure that children's welfare is well promoted. She has created a supportive environment where children are becoming increasingly independent in managing their personal needs. Hygiene practices are robust, with children consistently washing their hands before meals and after garden play. Older children attend to their self-care with minimal prompts. Support in these processes is gentle and nurturing and promotes children's welfare, dignity and privacy.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

Children's physical development is well promoted through weekly sports coaching from an external provider. Children also have daily access to the childminder's garden and go on various outings in the local community. They learn the benefits of exercise, rest and nutrition. The childminder ensures that children's lunch boxes from home adhere to the latest government nutritional guidance. Healthy eating and good oral health are discussed and promoted in the setting. The childminder works in partnership with parents and provides them with information so they can continue with healthy routines at home.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Strong standard

The childminder teaches children to manage their own risks safely, such as road safety while out in the local community. She offers gentle reminders to eat slowly so children do not choke. The childminder talks confidently about safer eating practices and has completed her renewed paediatric first aid training last month to ensure she is up to date with the latest guidance.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder ensures that children of all ages and stages have a suitably differentiated curriculum and consistently adapts her practice to suit all children. She uses regular assessment to check what children know and can do and skilfully tailors her teaching to children's different starting points. This accurate and targeted approach helps to ensure all children progress well.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder is passionate about including every child and their family in her setting. She makes sure that any barriers children face are swiftly identified. For those children that need additional support, she works tirelessly with parents and other professionals to ensure timely referrals are made and any waits for additional intervention are mitigated. Parents are highly positive about the care their children receive. They feed back on the additional support they have had as a family and the attention to detail in ensuring their children's needs are fully met.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder provides an abundance of opportunities for children to gain a broader understanding of the world through real-life experiences on their regular weekly outings. They meet people from different backgrounds and cultures and experience intergenerational learning at a local care home. Children are developing empathy and respect for each other's differences and learning about the wider world.

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Achievement Expected standard

Generally, children achieve well from their starting points. Gaps in all children's learning are closing consistently, in particular for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. All children gain skills that will prepare them for their move on to school. They develop their motor skills effectively, building their strength and coordination in a well- resourced outdoor environment. They practise using hand-held tools to scoop, pour and transport water. They use their imaginations and invite the childminder to join in with their play. Children have plenty of opportunity to explore freely and lead their own learning. Children demonstrate a sense of pride in their achievements.

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Achievement Expected standard

Typically, children learn to express themselves well. They demonstrate the motivation and confidence to try new things. Children of all ages develop their listening and attention skills effectively. They are interested and engaged in the activities the childminder provides. Children develop their conversation skills and their communication and language well. They enjoy selecting and looking at books independently, developing their literacy skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder promotes children's regular attendance. She recognises that this helps children to form good habits for future learning and she works closely with parents to support this. Any absences are recorded and closely monitored, and parents are encouraged to maintain a consistent routine for their children. The childminder has developed secure relations with all families who attend and children are developing positive attitudes to learning.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children are highly valued by the childminder, and their ideas and opinions are listened to. Children receive specific praise for their efforts and this helps them to learn what the expected behaviours are and how to meet them. The childminder has high expectations for children's behaviour. She has created a culture of kindness and respect, with clear and consistent routines established. Children listen well and follow the childminder's gentle instructions and guidance. All children are forging close friendships and secure relationships. However, the childminder's strategies for understanding and supporting children's behaviour do not include opportunities for children to discuss and validate their feelings. She has not considered how best to adapt the environment to allow children time for quiet, to support self-regulation.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has high expectations for children's learning and development. She has implemented an ambitious curriculum for all children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She knows the children very well and ensures the curriculum is child led, purposeful and fluid, regardless of their starting points. Typically, the childminder is skilled at adapting in the moment, following children's interests and extending their learning by adding ambitious vocabulary and various purposeful props. For example, a table-top tray of oats to explore with hand-held tools had the dual purpose of developing children's small muscles in preparation for early writing, as they scooped and poured, as well as sustained engagement and strengthening of a child's core muscles as they pulled themselves up to the table. This helps to ensure that learning is successfully differentiated for all children in attendance. However, children's emerging interests and learning styles are

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

not yet included in sufficient detail in the childminder's planning, in order to make children's next steps more specific and measurable.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder promotes a love of reading. Children have access to books both in the setting and through regular library visits, with stories becoming a consistent element of their daily learning. The childminder reads with enthusiasm, and children are eager to join in, recalling the story and confidently adding what they know comes next. Children demonstrate sustained interest and enjoyment.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Mathematics is woven into daily play. Children are learning to count and compare as they carry out simple tasks such as pouring water from a big jug to a smaller pan. The childminder introduces volume, capacity and positional language during play. Children are learning new vocabulary and skills and repeat these to their friends. They receive praise for their efforts and are becoming confident and capable individuals as they demonstrate pride in their new skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has a clear and reflective vision for providing high-quality education to the children she cares for. Her self-evaluation identifies areas of strength, such as her secure partnerships with parents and other professionals, and the close community links she has forged. Parents are highly appreciative of how patient and proactive she is, particularly with children who are in need of extra support. She works closely with various professionals, including physiotherapists, speech and language therapists and medical professionals to ensure a triangulated approach to the care and development of children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, so that they make the best possible progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder recognises the importance of continued professional development. She has a level 3 qualification in early years education and has recently undertaken specific training relevant to her role and the children she cares for. She shares information with parents about their children's development, including the progress check at age 2. However, she does not continuously support parents to extend their children's learning at home. This does not consistently support children in all aspects of their development nor ensure they are well-prepared for their next stage.

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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 thrive in this bright and enticing setting. The childminder is kind and nurturing. She has forged secure bonds with the children and knows their individual interests and personalities well. She readily adapts her curriculum to suit all children who attend, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Children demonstrate ownership and inclusion in the setting and know they are valued by the childminder. They express their joy and contentment and know they are safe. All children are achieving well.

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Inspector:

Marianne McDowell Children have an ambitious curriculum that helps to ensure they learn the necessary skills across all areas of learning. Their confidence and social skills are promoted well during the regular outings in the local community and all of the extra-curricular activities on offer. Children are learning about the world around them and learning opportunities are skilfully woven through everyday experiences.

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Inspector:

Children demonstrate a strong sense of belonging in the setting. They explore freely, access resources independently and tidy up with minimal prompts, ready for the transition to the next part of their daily routine. A tidy-up song is used effectively to encourage children to take pride in the setting and learn respect for people and property. Any barriers to learning are swiftly reduced and children progress well.

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Inspector:

Partnerships with parents and other professionals are well established. The childminder knows every family well and is on hand to ensure that children and families that need the most support have access to the relevant services to help them thrive. The childminder recognises the importance of children's regular attendance and follows up on any absences in a timely manner. This helps to ensure children's wellbeing and continuity of care. All children are making consistent progress from their starting points.

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Next steps

The childminder should strengthen her strategies for supporting and understanding children's behaviour by providing more opportunities to discuss and validate children's feelings, and review the areas designated for children to use for quiet time and self- regulation. The childminder should strengthen her partnership with parents to provide more opportunities to further children's learning at home. The childminder should include children's emerging interests and learning styles in her planning in order to make children's next steps more specific and measurable.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and children during the inspection, and read parents' feedback.

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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 : 08:00 - 17:00

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About this setting

Local authority: Cheshire West and Chester

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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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