Bolland, Gemma

Bolland, Gemma

Unique reference number (URN): 2832554 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: Gemma Bolland

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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 harmonious and calm atmosphere at the setting. She has high expectations for children's behaviour and frequently reminds them about kindness, turn- taking and listening. Consequently, all children behave incredibly well, show growing confidence and eagerness to join in. Younger children engage happily as they read stories, participate in fun dancing sessions and make sandcastle collage pictures. Older children cooperate superbly. They help each other as they complete puzzles together and play collaboratively in a large sandpit where they pretend to make different flavoured ice creams.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Strong standard

Children are very polite, sociable and show excellent understanding of the routine. Furthermore, children receive consistent support to learn about their different feelings and emotions. This is apparent when they discuss how they feel during group time and make comparisons to the Colour Monster. They also join in with tidy-up time, which is a fun and interactive part of their day, and show great levels of respect for the resources and their environment. The childminder also works closely with families to promote regular attendance. She is proactive in monitoring attendance and highlights the benefits of consistent attendance to support children's ongoing progress.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder creates a highly inclusive environment where children evidently feel happy and safe. She swiftly identifies when a child may need some extra support and works closely with parents to make referrals in a timely manner. Furthermore, the childminder makes relevant adaptations to ensure she meets the various needs of the children that attend, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. She uses funding effectively and organises training to support herself and her assistants to gain new knowledge and skills, to meet the differing needs of the children that attend. This is evident, when she introduces British Sign Language at the setting to support all children's understanding and broader communication skills.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder prioritises building positive partnerships with parents, carers and external professionals. This is evident when she works extremely closely with deaf teachers to carry out small group interventions on a weekly basis at the setting. She also works closely with speech and language practitioners and health visitors. This ensures children benefit from a collaborative approach, bridging any gaps in learning and supporting their individual developmental needs. The childminder uses visual aids such as 'objects of reference' and visual timetables, along with British Sign Language, to help children to make rapid progress.

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Achievement Expected standard

All children, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those who face other barriers to learning, clearly make positive progress. They develop a range of knowledge and skills to support them to be ready for their next stage of learning and eventual move on to school. Younger children display confidence to explore and try new things. They show enthusiasm and interest as they investigate a range of sensory resources, such as poppers, scarves and ribbons, and hear new words such as 'pop' and 'silky'. They also show appropriate concentration as they engage in large-scale painting and learn lots of different colour names. Older children explore stories and discuss octopus ink and oyster pearls, extending their wider understanding of the world.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children also display positive levels of independence. Younger children help to tidy up when they engage in the 'Tidy up samba'. Older children help to prepare snack and cut up their fruits. This fosters their sense of responsibility and confidence. Children develop awareness of road safety when going on local outings. They also have fun playing with a parachute and work collaboratively as they explore the concept of 'up and down'. Children enjoy their time at the setting and experience lots of fun. Children develop positive attitudes towards learning and joining in.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children show positive levels of wellbeing at this welcoming setting. They build secure attachments with the childminder and her assistants and respond positively to the consistent and attentive care. Younger children seek comfort and enjoy cuddles throughout the day. Older children develop their confidence to join in and try new experiences. The childminder places high emphasis on promoting healthy lifestyles. This is apparent when she freshly cooks all of the meals and considers the salt and sugar content of different recipes. Children also engage in discussions about healthy eating and discuss how carrots help them see in the dark. Children have weekly opportunities to engage in gymnastics and develop their balance and coordination, strength and stamina. They also have opportunities to go swimming. This helps to build their confidence in water and their overall physical skills.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder implements safer-sleep routines and supports safe-eating practices at mealtimes and high hygiene standards. Furthermore, she works in partnership with a local dentist to provide families with free toothbrushes and toothpaste to support healthy teeth- brushing habits. Children have frequent opportunities to learn about different cultures and diversity. This is apparent when they celebrate different festivals, such as engaging in Chinese writing activities to mark Chinese New Year. This helps them to experience different traditions and build awareness of different ways of life.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder has a clear vision for the curriculum and plans a wide variety of stimulating activities to capture children's interest and support their overall development. She places positive focus on supporting children's language and communication skills. For instance, she introduces new words such as 'sour' and 'sweet' as children explore lemons and limes during sensory play. Children also enjoy listening to stories about the seaside and discuss sandcastles and shells. Furthermore, children delight in making textured sand collages and hear words such as 'soft' and 'crumbly'. Although children receive positive support to hear new language on occasion, they would benefit from some extra time to process questions and comments. For instance, they are sometimes asked new questions before they have had time to respond. In addition, although interactions are very encouraging and generally support children's learning well, at times the childminder and her assistants could extend

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

children's learning and knowledge to an even higher level.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Throughout the day children have lots of opportunities to count, match and classify. Younger children enjoy counting boats during water play, and matching colours. Older children also make comparisons and predictions when playing in the sand pit. This fosters their understanding of different mathematical concepts. They also enjoy using tools such as pegs and tweezers during play. This supports their hand and eye co-ordination and hand muscles and helps to prepare for early writing.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is dedicated to offering high-quality care and education to children. When new assistants join the setting they engage in a range of training, such as first aid, safeguarding and food hygiene, to support them to be effective in their roles. Although the childminder and her assistants engage in mandatory training, they have not fully explored additional 'learning and development' training opportunities to further enhance their teaching skills to a higher level. The childminder creates a supportive work culture. She has regular check-ins and an open-door policy with her assistants to build open communication. Despite these positive measures, her assistants do not consistently benefit from regular and structured supervision meetings, to more precisely reflect on practice and focus on their personal effectiveness.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Partnerships with parents are a huge strength of the setting. Several parents express very high levels of appreciation for the work the childminder and her assistants do. They state that the childminder and her assistants show genuine love for their children and they can see notable progress in their children. They also highlight how much their children enjoy the regular trips and express that the childminder's dedication and passion shines through.

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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 show high levels of engagement and emotional wellbeing at this small and nurturing setting. They build positive relationships with the childminder and her assistants. Consequently, children show they feel content, happy and secure. Children enjoy a varied and ambitious curriculum. Promoting children's curiosity and creativity are key components of the curriculum. Children enjoy a range of fun and engaging activities throughout the day. For instance, younger children like participating in a sensory beach activity where they hear lots of new language and explore different textures, tastes and smells. Older children enjoy

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Inspector:

Amy Wilkinson learning about sea creatures, explore colourful coral and discuss different textures as they explore different sea shells. This supports their curiosity and develops their knowledge of the wider world.

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Inspector:

Outdoor learning and local trips in the community are a large part of the provision. Children have daily opportunities to visit local parks. This supports their physical development and promotes active lifestyles. They also participate in frequent gymnastics sessions, swimming activities and play centre visits. This helps build children's confidence and supports their social development. Children behave extremely well and show that they understand the well-established routines and boundaries at the setting. They frequently receive encouragement and praise as they play and explore. Younger children listen well and show positive levels of enjoyment during play, and older children are polite, considerate and have superb listening and attention skills.

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Inspector:

Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and those that may face other barriers to learning receive excellent support. All children are fully valued and the childminder has an in-depth understanding of each child's family background. The childminder has put high levels of support in place to help children develop a strong sense of self and make positive progress in their personal development and overall learning.

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Next steps

The childminder should ensure children have more time to process and respond to questions and new information to best support their understanding and thinking skills. The childminder should explore ongoing professional development opportunities to support her assistants to further enhance their teaching skills to a higher level. The childminder should strengthen supervision arrangements in order for her assistants to benefit from regular, structured opportunities to reflect on their practice and further enhance the quality of the provision.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, the co-childminder, her assistants and children during the inspection and considered parents' and carers' written views.

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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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