Childminder

Childminder

Unique reference number (URN): 2805171 Registered with Ofsted: 23/10/2024 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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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children generally understand the expectations of the setting and behave appropriately. They follow established routines, cooperate with one another and share resources appropriately. Children express their feelings appropriately when minor disagreements arise and re-engage in their play with adult support. Older children invite younger children to join their play, including initiating games of peekaboo that encourage shared interaction. Children play alongside one another and respond to the childminder's praise and encouragement during their play and daily routines.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children develop secure relationships with the adults who care for them. The childminder responds sensitively to children's ages, stages of development and individual needs, providing reassurance and emotional support when they need it. At the end of activities, children help to tidy away toys and resources before selecting the next activity. They know where resources belong and respond to praise and encouragement, placing used tissues in the bin when prompted and understanding the expectations for everyday routines.

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Behaviour, attitudes and establishing routines Expected standard

Children attend regularly. The childminder promotes the importance of attendance by monitoring children's absences and contacting parents when children do not arrive as expected. This helps maintain children's routines and supports their sense of belonging within the setting.

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Achievement Needs attention

Children do not consistently achieve as well as they could from their individual starting points. Younger children do not consistently build on their new skills or apply them across different experiences. Their achievements do not consistently reflect their individual starting points. There are no children with special educational needs and/or disabilities, in receipt of additional funding or known to children's social care attending the setting. Children who speak English as an additional language make appropriate progress in their communication and language as they hear and use English alongside their home language.

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Achievement Needs attention

Older children communicate confidently with one another, expressing their ideas and sharing their own experiences. As they share books, they talk about the pictures and recall their own visits to the seaside. They recognise letters using alphabet puzzles, identify colours as they select pencils and count objects during activities. During music and movement activities, children follow instructions and take part in games with their peers. They develop personal, social and emotional skills that support their next stage of learning, including school.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently meet children's welfare and wellbeing needs through everyday care practices. Feeding routines do not consistently promote children's independence or reflect their individual stages of development, with children routinely provided with the same level of support during mealtimes. Mealtime routines do not consistently promote children's health and wellbeing. Opportunities to reinforce good hygiene and safe eating practices are not always recognised, including when children continue to handle play materials while eating. Daily routines also do not consistently support children to develop an understanding of how to manage age-appropriate risks safely, with opportunities to reinforce safe choices during play sometimes missed.

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Children's welfare and wellbeing Needs attention

Children develop warm and secure relationships with the childminder and confidently seek comfort and reassurance when they need it. They feel safe, settled and valued. Younger children receive sensitive reassurance when they become upset following separation from their parent and gradually develop the confidence to explore the environment before returning for comfort when needed. Parents value the regular communication they receive about their children's care and wellbeing. Sleep routines meet children's individual needs, and regular sleep checks help keep children safe. Consistent routines help children feel secure and support their emotional wellbeing.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently adapt teaching to build on children's different starting points, interests and stages of development. Teaching is largely organised around planned activities, with the childminder leading children's learning throughout the session. Learning relies heavily on adult-led activities and questioning, limiting opportunities for children to make choices, develop their own ideas, solve problems and think for themselves. Children move quickly between activities, with limited time to practise new skills, build confidence and explore through play. Teaching does not consistently provide appropriate challenge or reflect children's identified next steps. Younger children do not consistently receive learning experiences that support their stage of development, including opportunities to independently explore, move freely and strengthen their physical skills.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

Teaching does not consistently build on what children already know and can do. Children's identified next steps are not routinely woven into everyday teaching or planned experiences, limiting opportunities for them to build on previous learning.

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Curriculum and teaching Needs attention

The childminder plans a broad curriculum that covers all areas of learning and development. Children recognise letters through alphabet puzzles and create letter shapes as they explore slime. They recognise colours as they select pencils and respond to the childminder's questions about each colour. Children are encouraged to count objects during activities, supporting their early mathematical understanding. Children enjoy looking at books with the childminder, talking about the pictures and developing their communication and vocabulary.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder does not consistently use the information she gathers about children's individual needs to make reasonable adjustments that enable all children to fully access learning experiences. She does not organise the learning environment in a way that reflects children's differing ages and stages of development. The learning environment does not remove barriers to participation for children at different stages of development. Resources and activities are organised around older children's play, limiting opportunities for younger children to engage in the same experiences and participate alongside older children. This reduces opportunities for children of different ages and stages of development to learn from one another and be fully included in the experiences on offer. Inclusive practice is not consistently reflected in children's everyday experiences. The childminder does not currently care for children with identified special educational needs and/or disabilities or children

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Inclusion Needs attention

known to children's social care. No children are in receipt of additional funding.

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Inclusion Needs attention

The childminder gathers information about children's development through observations and regular discussions with parents to monitor children's progress. She does not always use this information to identify and remove barriers to participation or make appropriate adjustments to the learning environment that reflect children's differing ages and stages of development.

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Inclusion Needs attention

Children attending the setting have different ages and stages of development, and some speak English as an additional language. The childminder works in partnership with parents and recognises the importance of seeking additional support from other professionals if concerns about a child's development arise. She supports children's communication by using familiar words and phrases in their home language alongside English.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder provides care alongside a co-childminder. She does not consistently identify and address weaknesses in the quality of the provision. She knows the children well and understands their individual ages and stages of development. However, she does not consistently use this knowledge to evaluate the effectiveness of her practice or identify where improvements are needed to better meet children's needs. Assessment identifies what children know and can do, but is not used effectively enough to evaluate the quality of the provision or inform timely improvements to children's experiences. This means that some areas of practice continue without being reviewed or improved.

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Leadership and governance Needs attention

The childminder maintains organised records of children's learning, development and welfare and regularly reviews children's progress and next steps. She maintains her professional knowledge through regular training, including training in safeguarding and children's special educational needs and/or disabilities, and understands her safeguarding duties and responsibilities. However, professional development, observations and assessment do not consistently inform self-evaluation or drive improvements to the quality of the provision.

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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 do not consistently experience teaching that meets their different stages of development or helps them achieve as well as they can. Learning relies heavily on adult direction, giving older children few opportunities to make choices, develop their own ideas, solve problems and direct aspects of their own learning. Younger children receive few learning experiences that reflect their stage of development. They have limited opportunities to independently explore, develop their physical skills and build their independence. Daily routines do not consistently promote children's independence or help them learn to manage age-appropriate risks safely. Mealtime hygiene routines do not consistently support children's health and wellbeing. Children do not consistently experience the level of challenge, independence and participation they need to achieve as well as they can.

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

Children are settled in the setting and develop warm, secure relationships with the childminder. They feel safe and confidently seek comfort, reassurance and praise when they need it, and younger children return to the childminder for reassurance before continuing to explore their surroundings. Children behave kindly towards one another, share resources and play alongside their peers. Parents describe the setting as a welcoming, home-from- home environment where children are happy and well cared for.

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

Children take part in a range of activities that support different areas of learning. Older children recognise letters, count, identify colours and follow familiar routines. Sleep routines meet children's individual needs, regular sleep checks help keep children safe and caring relationships support children's emotional wellbeing. Children make progress in some areas of learning. However, the quality of teaching and daily practice does not consistently provide children with the challenge and opportunities they need to achieve as well as they can.

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Next steps

To meet the requirements of the Early years foundation stage and Childcare Register the provider must take the following actions by the assigned date:

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Action Completion Date

ensure that everyday care routines and risk assessments consistently support children's health, safety and wellbeing and reflect their age and stage of development 24/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that all children consistently have opportunities to independently explore, develop their physical skills and take an active role in their learning 24/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that children's individual needs consistently inform the learning environment, daily routines and planned experiences 24/08/2026

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Action Completion Date

ensure that assessment consistently informs teaching so that children extend their learning and build on what they already know and can do. 24/08/2026

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About this setting

Operating hours: Monday,Tuesday,Wednesday,Thursday,Friday : 07:00 - 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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About this inspection

The inspector spoke with the childminder and co-childminder and received parents' written feedback during the inspection.

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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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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

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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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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