Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2615831 Registered with Ofsted: 14/05/2021 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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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder knows the children exceptionally well, and with the detailed information she collects, she tailors the support she provides. The childminder quickly identifies gaps in learning and implements targeted strategies to support children's next steps. Her ongoing tracking and assessments give her a clear understanding of what children can already do and what they need to learn next. She consistently adapts activities so that all children can participate, such as linking activities to the child's interests or offering sensory resources for children who need additional support. The childminder is reflective. For example, she evaluates the impact of strategies and amends them to ensure that they are having the desired impact for children's individual needs. The childminder ensures inclusive communication. For instance, she tunes in to one-to-one interactions, models simple language and uses visual prompts to support children's communication.

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Inclusion Strong standard

The childminder works closely with parents, offering guidance and support. This ensures a consistent approach and supports children's ongoing development. The childminder also works closely with relevant agencies and professionals, including speech and language therapists, where appropriate, to ensure children receive help to engage successfully in play and social interactions. She ensures all children access a range of rich, first-hand experiences that promote independence, confidence and communication. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities or barriers to learning make excellent, sustained progress from their starting points.

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Achievement Expected standard

Overall, all children make steady progress and are ready for the next stages in their learning. Children demonstrate competent hand–eye coordination, using paintbrushes and chalks. They make marks with control and confidence, laying secure foundations in readiness for school. Older children help younger children. They demonstrate kindness and offer support. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities confidently navigate the outdoor area and take part in planned activities. Children engage in meaningful conversations and express their needs, such as asking for food or resources. They show resilience when they have a go at making sand shapes by themselves, adapting their approach until they achieve the desired outcome. They proudly count little bears and match and sort them into different coloured pots using tweezers. Children demonstrate their growing independence by wiping their own noses and cutting their own fruit at snack time.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

All children recognise and follow established behavioural expectations in routines and are generally well behaved. For instance, they are respectful of their environment and are keen to tidy up. They carefully put back resources where they belong when they have finished with them. The childminder is a positive role model. She reminds children that they are capable and champions an attitude that promotes independence. She says 'you can do it' to children to support them to build resilience on trickier tasks, and then praises them for their efforts. This means all children have positive self-esteem.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

At times, children are not supported to further engage in activities that would deepen their learning and understanding and can sometimes move quickly between activities. Despite this, they all happily take part in experiences. The children show good manners, regularly saying please and thank you. Children are polite and respectful towards each other. The childminder takes the children to the local park and playgroup, where they have opportunities to interact within larger groups. This supports their social skills.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

The childminder supports those with barriers to learning to maintain the expectations of the setting. She skilfully re-directs any unwanted behaviour by identifying initial signs of frustration and gently shifts the child's focus to an appropriate activity before the situation escalates. When a child needs reassurance, they reach out for a cuddle with the childminder. The children and the childminder have warm, trusting bonds that support them to thrive in her care. The childminder monitors attendance to ensure the wellbeing and safeguarding of the children.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children are supported to develop healthy eating habits. The childminder promotes manners during mealtimes, supervises throughout and encourages children to try new foods. The childminder teaches personal safety. She reminds children of the importance of cutting up food so it helps them not to choke. The childminder shares reminders with parents about things they could include in a healthy lunch box, and things that should be avoided. She checks food brought from home to check it has been prepared correctly to adhere to safer eating practices. This helps children to keep safe in her care.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

Children have secure relationships with the childminder. The childminder knows the children well and offers emotional reassurance. However, at times, she does not fully support children's emotional wellbeing. She does not provide names for different emotions and feelings they may experience, such as nervous, shy or tired. This means children are not able to develop the emotional language they need to express themselves.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Expected standard

The childminder promotes independence by letting the children have a go, encouraging them to practise self-care by themselves. This means children develop confidence and self- belief. Children with special educational needs and/or disabilities have their routines adapted so their individual needs are met effectively. Children are given daily access to the outdoors and regular opportunities to exercise, such as going for walks, trips to soft plays and manoeuvring in cars or trikes in the garden.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

The childminder knows the interests and needs of the children in her care well. She designs a curriculum that focuses on the children's interests and stages of development. The childminder carefully checks what children can do when they start and regularly checks their ongoing progress. Generally, she uses this information to support her in planning activities that help children build on what they know and to meet their next steps.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Teaching is typically purposeful and mathematical language is skilfully embedded during play and routines. For example, she supports children to count the fish they catch in their nets during water play. At times, the childminder is not able to support children to sustain engagement and focus on activities, which would deepen their understanding of concepts. This means children are not able to make even better progress in their learning and development.

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Curriculum and teaching Expected standard

Physical development is prioritised. Older children enjoy jumping on the trampoline or playing catch with balls in the large garden. Younger children enjoy chasing bubbles and jumping up to catch them. Smaller muscles in the hand and hand–eye coordination are encouraged through different sensory experiences, such as sand, water or painting. The childminder role models how to make sand shapes. The children attempt this too, and although they find it tricky at first, she encourages them until they achieve their goals. The childminder extends children's communication and language through the conversations she has with them throughout the day. For example, she talks to the children about mixing water into the sand to change its consistency while introducing new vocabulary such as 'grainy'.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder is knowledgeable and experienced and generally keeps her knowledge of new requirements up to date. However, she does not routinely access training to build on her existing skills to improve her practice. This reduces opportunities to further enhance children's learning and development. The childminder makes purposeful use of the local community to enrich children's experiences. She meets with other childminders through outings, enabling children to develop friendships with a wider group of children. This promotes children's understanding of diversity and understanding of the world around them.

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Leadership and governance Expected standard

The childminder has an understanding of her strengths and areas for development. She has plans to further develop the way she stores resources to make them even more accessible for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The childminder carefully considers the best interests of every child in her care. She works hard to support each child and their family fully. She generally signposts families to wider agencies for support where this is needed, particularly for children who may face barriers to their learning. The childminder maintains partnerships with parents. She keeps them fully informed about their children's daily experiences and ongoing progress. Parents value the childminder's support in helping their children make excellent progress and share that they appreciate the varied trips and outings the children have benefited from in her care, for instance, trips along the river Thames, visits to zoos, and visiting Chinatown to celebrate Chinese New Year.

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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 enjoy their time at this setting. They are given independence to choose what they would like to play with. This supports children to feel motivated to learn. Children show increasing confidence in their physical development, independently exploring resources with curiosity and enthusiasm. Older children use their imagination to build a magnet tile castle and talk about who is going to live in it. Younger children enjoy popping bubbles, jumping up and down with excitement trying to catch them. The childminder encourages communication, and can be heard chatting away with the children, reading well-known stories or singing nursery rhymes to support speech and language.

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

The childminder knows the children well and adapts activities appropriately to meet each child's developmental stage. Children choose resources, tidy away after activities and persist when challenges arise. This means they are prepared for their next steps in development. Barriers to learning are reduced appropriately. For instance, children with special educational needs and/or disabilities are supported through visual prompts, adapted routines and sensory resources. All children benefit from regular assessments and targeted support, helping them to make progress from their starting points. The childminder closely monitors children's attendance and ensures she follows up on any unexpected absences.

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

The children at this setting experience a rich variety of day-to-day experiences and outings that the childminder organises. They take walks in the woods to collect nature for art, visit splashpads in warm weather and attend playgroups in the community. This supports children to have a greater understanding of the world around them and confidence in different environments. The childminder ensures all parts of the day are learning opportunities. For example, during snack time, the children talk about the fruits they are eating, count and talk about how many pieces they have left as they eat. They talk about what the fruit tastes like and where it comes from. During activities, the childminder sits closely to children and often describes what children are doing. This helps the children to feel safe and secure.

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Next steps

The childminder should strengthen her practice to support children to sustain engagement and concentration to enhance children's learning development outcomes. The childminder should teach children a wider range of words to describe their feelings and emotions so they can express their feelings with greater clarity. The childminder should pursue further professional development opportunities to enable her to raise the quality of teaching to a constantly higher level.

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About this inspection

The inspector spoke to the childminder and children during the inspection and reviewed written parental 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 : 07:30 - 18:00

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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

You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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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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