Duxbury, Elle May

Duxbury, Elle May

Unique reference number (URN): 2831862 Address: Unit 5 Wood Street Mill, Hacking Street, Darwen, BB3 1AL Type: Childminder without domestic premises Registered with Ofsted: 03/04/2025 Registers: EYR, CCR, VCR Registered person: Elle Duxbury

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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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

The childminder creates a culture of respect and kindness with clear and consistent expectations for behaviour. She adapts a calm and consistent approach and responds sensitively to children's different stages of development and individual needs. Consequently, children show excellent enjoyment and engagement and behave extremely well. They listen to each other, wait patiently during conversations and take turns. They also show each other kindness and consideration. Children understand the routine and boundaries of the setting superbly. They delight in helping tidy up along to music, and show they understand the sequence of the day incredibly well.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children receive excellent support to learn about different feelings and emotions. Each morning, children are asked about how they feel and use the 'colour monsters' to help express their emotions. The childminder also introduces empathy when reading stories and during play, helping children to consider things from another perspective. The childminder works closely with parents and carers to ensure that children attend regularly. She has effective arrangements in place to seek further information when children do not attend the setting as expected. This helps to keep children safe. Parents' written comments highlight the helpful guidance they receive to support children's behaviour at home. The childminder outlines the importance of consistent messages and boundaries between the setting and home, to best support children's wellbeing and behaviour.

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Inclusion Strong standard

Children thrive at this small and very welcoming and inclusive environment. The childminder carefully assesses each child's individual needs, undertakes focused training and makes successful adaptions to support their learning. For instance, she introduces British Sign Language, alongside visuals and objects of reference to support children's understanding and comprehension. The childminder skilfully implements the Graduated Approach to 'assess, plan, do and review' when children require some extra support. In addition, she uses additional funding in a highly effective way. This is evident when she engages in specialist training to enhance her knowledge and skills of supporting individual needs. This successfully offers children bespoke and targeted help to develop their confidence, concentration and to support them to close gaps in their learning and achieve.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder works in very close partnership with parents and carers and other professionals. She is proactive in seeking additional help for children from outside agencies, to support children's understanding and language development. She also works with professionals to engage in weekly targeted intervention sessions to boost children's focus, attention and communication skills. This helps to ensure that children receive a highly consistent approach and make excellent progress. Children that face other barriers to learning also receive sensitive and dedicated support, and make evident progress in relation to their starting points at the setting.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, children make positive progress in their personal development and across all areas of the curriculum. They show increasing independence at the setting. They wash their hands independently, pour their own drinks from a water dispenser and eat with developing levels of independence, displaying excellent table manners and social skills. They also get ready for local trips in the community with minimal support, and discuss the importance of holding hands and road safety. This supports them to develop high levels of self-esteem as they master new skills. It also helps them to learn about their personal safety.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop positive listening and attention skills. They enjoy stories and discuss the meaning of new words, such as 'coral' and 'seaweed'. They also use lots of mathematical language as they play and discuss the difference between 'heavy' and 'light', and 'empty' and 'full'. As they explore, children show positive skills of perseverance and cooperation. This is evident when they work together to complete puzzles. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make notable progress, alongside other children that learn the key skills and knowledge needed for their next stage in education and eventual move on to school. Children evidently flourish and thrive under the childminder's care and guidance.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children display positive levels of contentment and show they feel happy and secure. They build trusting relationships and bonds with the childminder and her assistants, and frequently laugh and smile throughout the day.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children thrive and respond positively to being given responsibilities. They learn how to cut grapes vertically to ensure they do not become a choking risk, and discuss the health benefits of different fruits as they help to prepare snack. The childminder and her assistants know children extremely well. They understand their interests, routines at home and how best to nurture their confidence. The childminder promotes healthy lifestyles. This is apparent when she provides meals that are nutritious and wholesome. She also plans daily opportunities for children to be active and develop their physical skills, through walks to the local park, gymnastic sessions and swimming.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Overall, children have frequent opportunities to learn about others' lives that are different to their own. This is apparent when they share a variety of books and engage in arts and crafts to celebrate Chinese New Year, Diwali and Christmas. For instance, they decorate dragons, lanterns and study Chinese writing. This helps children learn about different traditions and celebrations across the world. They also talk about their families, engage in self portraits and discuss what makes them unique.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has high expectations and aspirations for children. She plans a varied and exciting curriculum that fosters their development across all areas of learning. Children delight in listening to a story called 'Tickly Octopus'. They listen superbly and discuss coral, ink, oysters and pearls. This promotes a love of reading and develops their growing interest in early literacy. Children also count the octopus' tentacles, which supports their mathematical development. Furthermore, children have fun making ice creams from sand. They confidently discuss different flavours, such as 'pistachio' and 'chocolate' as they play ice-cream parlours.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

When experimenting with sand, the childminder encourages the children to make predictions. She skilfully asks what they think will happen if they add water to the sand pit. Children use lots of descriptive words, such as 'crumbly' and 'grainy' as they explore. The childminder engages in thoughtful conversations with children and supports their language development and thinking skills extremely well. However, on occasion, the assistants working alongside the childminder do not maximise the opportunities that arise in play to extend children's learning to the same high level. Children show excellent focus and perseverance as they use tweezers and engage in pegging activities. This strengthens their hand–eye coordination and supports their early writing and literacy skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder leads her setting with an ambitious vision, and is clear on the ethos and curriculum aims for the children that attend. She ensures that it runs smoothly and that children's emotional needs and wellbeing remain at the centre of everything she does. She also builds a curriculum that emphasises promoting children's creativity, curiosity and critical-thinking skills.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder engages in ongoing professional development. For example, she focuses on how to promote children's speech and language development, and how to support children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. Although the childminder is a reflective practitioner, she does not place precise focus on monitoring the quality of her assistants work and maximising opportunities for them to further enhance their knowledge and skills. For instance, through structured supervision meetings, peer observations and targeted learning and development training.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder builds superb relationships with parents and carers. Their written feedback states that they are extremely grateful for the dedication and professionalism she shows. They also value how she is an advocate for their children and creates a very caring and supportive environment for both children and families. They state that their children love attending and make excellent progress in this very welcoming environment.

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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

The childminder and her assistants provide a very welcoming and responsive environment, where every child is highly valued. Children's individual interests and developmental needs are swiftly identified and purposefully supported. Children build very secure relationships with the childminder and her assistants. This has a positive impact on their emotional wellbeing and enables them to explore, learn and gain confidence in this nurturing environment.

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Inspector:

Amy Wilkinson Children show high levels of interest and engagement, and are confident learners. The childminder plans an interesting range of activities that children delight in exploring. For instance, children show excitement when exploring a beach-sensory tray, and discuss the texture and characteristics of different sea creatures and shells. They also enjoy discussing different minibeasts and insects, and learn about tarantulas and mosquitoes. Furthermore, they discuss how coral is a living plant and grows in lots of vibrant colours under the sea.

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Inspector:

The childminder is a very positive role model. She constantly narrates play, models new vocabulary and asks lots of open-ended questions. She also allows children time to develop their ideas, and engages in meaningful discussions that helps them to extend their knowledge of the wider world. Children demonstrate excellent behaviour and attitudes towards learning. They listen to each other, take turns, show respect and play collaboratively. This helps to create a sense of belonging, and creates a calm and harmonious atmosphere. Children have superb opportunities to engage in a variety of activities beyond the setting. This is evident when they frequently visit local parks, go to gymnastics sessions and go swimming. This helps children build up new skills and broadens their social development. All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities, and those that face other barriers to their learning, make evident progress and

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Next steps

The childminder should build on opportunities for more targeted learning and development training to support her assistants to further enhance their teaching skills to the very highest level. The childminder should strengthen supervision arrangements for her assistants and place stronger focus on developing their knowledge and skills to help monitor the overall quality of the provision.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, her co-childminder, assistants and children, and read feedback from parents.

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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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Address:

Unit 5 Wood Street Mill Hacking Street Darwen BB3 1AL

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Address:

Type: Childminder without domestic premises

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Address:

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 17:00

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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

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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