Mantle, Katy Louise

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2840760 Registered with Ofsted: 10/06/2025 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 typically make progress from their starting points. Young children move on from using gestures to single words. They learn to join words and use longer sentences. This enables them to move into collaborative play with friends. Children share ideas during water play and chat to each other at lunchtime. They share resources and wait for their turn patiently, such as waiting to describe their item during the feely bag game.

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Achievement Expected standard

Children develop the skills they need for the transition to school or a new setting. Children can concentrate well and focus. They explore the sensory toys for an extended period, working hard to balance items. This develops their attention skills ready for school. All children, including those children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, join outings and make progress in their social development. Children enjoy meeting new friends and going to new places. This enables all children to develop skills they need to enjoy a wide range of experiences. However, some children do not benefit from consistent information-sharing when they transition to their next education setting.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder has well-established routines. These result in children's positive behaviours and attitudes towards learning and each other. For example, while supporting a building activity, when different children want the childminder's attention, she listens to all children. This results in children feeling valued and able to mange their feelings. The childminder is calm, gentle and consistent in her interactions. She knows children well.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder is swift to praise children when they show kindness to friends. Children can recognise and manage their feelings and behaviours. For example, when children explore an emotions game, they learn new vocabulary and talk about what makes them sad or scared. The childminder acknowledges and names children's feelings. She is inclusive in her approaches to supporting children's behaviour. The childminder generally uses her knowledge of children to support them to engage well with learning. Children are motivated to persevere when an activity is trickier, such as reconstructing a house that fell down. This builds children's resilience and prepares them well for future learning. The childminder promotes positive attendance for all children.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder creates a home-from-home setting. These values are extremely important to her and underpin her work. As a result, children are calm and free to explore. The childminder typically offers experiences that widen opportunities for children. She plans outings to support their next steps and promote safety. Children walk on the many local outings. The childminder teaches children to walk on the inside, to hold hands or straps and to be safe at the swings. The childminder risk assesses all outings and ensures children are safe. Children attend stay-and-play groups. This helps them to be socially ready for school. Children who were quiet now explore independently in different settings. Families value the experiences and trips that the childminder provides to give their children a wider experience of the world. The childminder recognises that children sometimes learn differently with her. She is able to teach children how to be safe in the water while looking for

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

tadpoles and fish. Children learn how to play alongside each other and build friendships. The childminder encourages children to build confidence and independence. This enables children to face a fear of trying something new and then to grow through the experience. For example, during water play in a new environment.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder offers children comfort and nurtures them. She promotes independence by asking children to collect their shoes and wash their hands before lunch. Children settle to sleep well and enjoy a sense of wellbeing in the setting. The childminder is alert for changes in children's behaviour and in their family lives. Through her positive relationships with parents and carers, the childminder can explore these changes. She keeps her routines consistent for children through difficult family times. This reduces any barriers to learning for children. Overall, this consistency enables her to achieve the best outcomes for the children.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children enjoy a range of activities. These build their communication and language and physical development skills. The childminder plans experiences and trips to create opportunities for children's learning. She forms a broad curriculum. Overall, children make progress across the areas of learning in this setting. Children learn mathematical vocabulary. For example, they cut out the shapes and name them. Children learn about concepts, such as floating and sinking during water play. They enthusiastically add different cereals to the water to see what happens. Children have individual next steps in learning. The childminder uses her observations to inform these and shares them across the setting. This means children receive support for those and make progress. The childminder focuses next steps on supporting children's speech development when they have a delay in this area. Children enjoy using feely bags, describing what they have in their bag. The

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

childminder adds new words and models new language.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Children attend stay-and-play groups locally and meet up with other children. This develops their personal, social and emotional skills. As a result, children grow in confidence. The curriculum is inclusive for all children. This means children with special educational needs and/or disabilities make progress. Typically, the childminder teaches children well. However, she does not tailor some activities consistently to children's individual stages and ages. This results in some children with emerging needs not making rapid progress or receiving support to engage fully with the curriculum.

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Inclusion Expected standard

Children are happy and feel safe in the care of this childminder. The childminder knows children's interests and stages of development. Overall, she focuses on their emerging needs. The childminder knows to seek outside support when needed. Her interactions create the foundation for children's communication skills. This results in progress for most children in this area. Typically, the childminder can identify barriers to children's learning. She knows the processes to request support. The childminder highlights children's needs or any delays in their development during health checks and discussions with parents and carers.

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Inclusion Expected standard

All children with special educational needs and/or disabilities enjoy a rich and inclusive range of activities and experiences. The childminder uses funding well to improve outcomes. For example, the childminder buys memberships to a local play centre and shares these with parents. This supports all children's physical development and social skills. Children who experience changes at home are well supported. The childminder has positive relationships with parents. This enables her to share advice and promote wellbeing for children in her care. The childminder works in partnership with another childminder. This helps children to thrive in her care through their shared knowledge and experience. The childminder typically helps all children to make progress from their starting points. She plans next steps for children and reviews these to ensure all children make progress.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has a clear vision for her work. She provides many opportunities for children to learn about the local community. Parents and carers are appreciative of these rich experiences. The childminder reflects and identifies priorities for improvement. She identified that her workload was having an impact and has made changes. The childminder prioritises being with the children, interacting and making observations. She gives parents and carers a comprehensive handover at the end of each day, which they value this time to talk.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder's ethos is to ensure children learn through play and develop their independence. She plans activities and experiences. These provide the foundation for a love of learning and exploring. The childminder's ambitions for the care she offers are clear. The childminder ensures children get the same care as they would from their own parents, in a genuine environment. Her home-from-home feeling means parents are able to share worries.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

Overall, children are well prepared for their next stage in learning. However, the childminder does not share information with receiving settings when children leave her setting. This does not strengthen children's transitions or support them to move seamlessly into their new setting.

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

Children enjoy attending this setting and are thriving. They have a lovely sense of belonging, sharing stories from home and chatting at snack time. Children share their thoughts and feelings The childminder values these and promotes children's wellbeing. Children show curiosity and concentration at activities. They make tractors and ice creams from play dough on arrival. Children talk about circles for the wheels and flavours for the ice creams. They enjoy experiences that help them to develop age-appropriate physical skills. This includes developing their hand strength and learning mathematical vocabulary.

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

Families value their children's frequent outings to local parks and the market. The childminder uses regular walks to support children's physical development, independence and understanding of the world. Children show they feel safe, welcome and valued. They form secure attachments, and seek comfort and reassurance when needed. Children develop confidence, learn to express preferences and make simple choices.

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

Positive relationships between children encourage their social skills. Children play well together. The childminder includes children with special educational needs and/or disabilities in all aspects of the setting. Children follow routines well and develop early self-care skills. This includes toileting and putting on their own shoes. Children understand how to be safe in the sun, having a go at applying their own sun cream.

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

Children enjoy spending time in this setting. They explore the environment, selecting activities to play with. Younger children look at books. Older children use the magnetic tiles to build a house, creating their own design. Children are kind and caring towards each other. For example, older children reach the water bottles for the younger children.

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

The childminder promotes positive and respectful relationships. She builds close bonds with children and their families. The childminder shows a comprehensive knowledge of each child. Her frequent interactions with children help them to progress, achieve and thrive. The childminder recognises the importance of promoting children's attendance.

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Next steps

The childminder should share information with other professionals at points of transition, to ensure children move seamlessly on to the next stage of learning. The childminder should continue to develop their approach to the curriculum so that high- quality teaching and interactions with children are embedded, to strengthen children's achievement and progress.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder, parents and carers and children during the inspection.

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About this setting

Operating hours: 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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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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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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